Sol 6.1

  1. مَملوكُكَ اليَومَ أَبو حُبِّهِ

    مُجتَهِدٌ في خِسَّةِ النَفسِ

    Your servant today is Abu Habbah,

    Diligent in meanness of soul.

  2. يُزاحِمُ الجَمالَ في قوتِهِ

    وَيَخزِنُ الفَلسَ عَلا الفَلسِ

    He competes with camels for his food,

    And hoards copper coin upon copper coin.

  3. يَأكُلُ وَالغِلمانَ في يَومِهِ

    فَضلَةَ ما قَد كانَ بِالأَمسِ

    He eats with the servant boys each day

    The leftovers from what there was yesterday.

  4. يَوَدُّ يُمسي عِرضُهُ مُطلَقاً

    وَمالُهُ المَوفورُ في حَبسِ

    He wants his honor set free at nightfall,

    And his abundant wealth kept imprisoned.

  5. لا يَعرِفُ الحَمّامَ لَكِنَّهُ

    في البَيتِ يَحمي الماءَ في الشَمسِ

    He knows no bathhouse, but

    At home he heats water in the sun.

  6. إِذا رَأى في قَدرِهِ لَحمَةً

    تَلا عَليها آيَةَ الكُرسي

    If he sees a morsel of meat in his pot,

    He recites the Throne Verse over it.

  7. وَإِن رَأى في بَيتِهِ فارَةً

    بادَرَها بِالسَيفِ وَالتُرسِ

    And if he sees a mouse in his house,

    He rushes at it with sword and shield.

  8. يُجِلَّ أَن تُدرِكَ رُغفانَهُ

    حَواسُ مَن يَأتيهِ بِالخَمسِ

    He holds his loaves too precious to be perceived

    By all five senses of anyone who visits him.

  9. بِالسَمعِ وَالأَبصارِ وَالشَمِّ قَد

    تُدرَكُ دونَ الذَوقِ وَاللَمسِ

    Through hearing, sight, and smell they may

    Be perceived, but not through taste or touch.

  10. يُقفِلُ عِندَ الأَكلِ أَبوابَهُ

    خَوفاً عَلى الزادِ مِنَ الكَبسِ

    He locks his doors at mealtime,

    For fear of a raid on his provisions.

  11. فَإِن أَتى ضَيفٌ عَلى غِرَّةٍ

    قابَلَهُ بِالتَعسِ وَالنُكسِ

    And if a guest arrives unexpectedly,

    He greets him with curses of ruin and downfall.

  12. يَلقاهُ بِالتَرغيبِ في الاِحتِما

    وَبَعدَهُ بِالخُبزِ وَالدُبسِ

    He greets him by urging abstinence from food,

    And afterward with bread and molasses.

  13. فَإِنَّ تَعَدَّ أَكلُهُ لُقمَةً

    رَأَيتَ في أَضلاعِهِ رَفسي

    But if his eating exceeds a mouthful,

    You would see my kicks against his ribs.

  14. فَهَذِهِ الأَوصافُ مَكسوبَةٌ

    أَدرَكَها في غُربَتي حِسّي

    So these traits are acquired;

    My senses perceived them while I was far from home.

  15. قَد عَلِمَ السُلطانُ مِن قَبلِها

    أَنِّيَ مِن ذَلِكَ بِالعَكسِ

    The sultan had already known before this

    That I was the opposite of that.

  16. وَلَم أَزَل في رَحبِ أَكنافِهِ

    أَقولُ بِاللَذّاتِ وَاللُبسِ

    And I never ceased, within his ample shelter,

    To champion pleasures and dress.

  17. وَإِن تَراءَت في يَدي بَدرَةٌ

    أَتلَفتُها في مَجلِسِ الأُنسِ

    And if a purse of coins appeared in my hand,

    I squandered it at a convivial gathering.

  18. فَمُذ ثَناني الدَهرُ عَن رَبعِهِ

    وَلَم يَكُن ذَلِكَ في حَدسي

    But since Time turned me away from his abode,

    And I had not foreseen that,

  19. وَجُزتُ في المَتجَرِ مَع مَعشَرٍ

    هَمُّهُمُ في الضَبطِ وَالبَخسِ

    And I traveled in trade with a company

    Whose concern was tight control and shortchanging,

  20. طَوراً عَلى الرومِ أَرى بَينَهُم

    وَتارَةً في بَلَدِ الفُرسِ

    At times I was seen among them in Roman lands,

    And at times in the land of the Persians,

  21. فَصِرتُ مِن أَبناءِ جِنسٍ لَهُم

    وَاِستَرَقَت أَخلاقَهُم نَفسي

    I became one of their own kind,

    And their ways enslaved my soul.

  22. أُحِبُّ مِن في نَفسِهِ خِسَّةٌ

    وَالجِنسُ مَيّالٌ إِلى الجِنسِ

    I love anyone with meanness in his soul,

    And like is drawn to like.

  23. وَلَم أَكُن مُستَحدِثاً نِعمَةً

    أَفضى بِيَ السَعدُ إِلى نَحسِ

    Nor was I a newcomer to prosperity;

    Good fortune led me into ill fortune.

  24. لَكِنَّ شَمسَ الدينِ مُذ مَلَّني

    صَوَّحَ نَبتي وَذَوى غَرسي

    But Shams al-Din, since he grew weary of me,

    Has dried up my growth, and my planting has withered.

  25. كَذاكَ كُلُّ النَبتِ مِن شَأنِهِ

    يُفسِدُهُ البُعدُ عَنِ الشَمسِ

    Such is the nature of every plant:

    Distance from the sun ruins it.