Sol 6.1

  1. أعبدَ اللَّطيفِ أجِب عُمَرَا

    وأوجِز جَوابَكَواختَصِرَا

    O Abd al-Latif, answer Umar,

    and make your answer concise and brief.

  2. جوابي له سَيِّدي حاضرٌ

    وخيرُ الجَواب الذي حَضَرا

    My reply to him, my master, is ready,

    and the best reply is the one at hand.

  3. ذكرتُ له نَظَري مُجمَلاً

    وإن شئتَ فصَّلتُ ما ذُكِرا

    I stated my view to him in outline,

    and if you wish, I shall detail what was mentioned.

  4. وتعليمُ علمٍ له عِلمُه

    كما حَرَّرَ الأمرَ مَن حَرَّرا

    And teaching a science has a science of its own,

    as those who expounded the matter have made clear.

  5. وقد جَرَّبوهُ كما جَرَّبوا

    سِواهُ فجاءَ بما أبهَرا

    And they have tried it, just as they tried

    alternatives, and it yielded something dazzling.

  6. وذلك أنَّهمُ اقتَصروا

    على كلِّ عِلمٍ يُفيدُ الورى

    That is because they confined themselves

    to every science that benefits humankind,

  7. ومن بَعدِ ذاكَ على خَيرِ ما

    قَدُ الِّفَ فيهِ قدِ اقتُصِرا

    and afterward, to the best of what

    had been written on it, they confined themselves.

  8. فخيرُ التآليفِ ما سَهُلَت

    عبَارَتُه كُلَّما عَبَّرا

    For the best works are those that are easy

    in wording whenever they explain,

  9. وما كانَ مُقتَصراً عن لُبابِ

    معانٍ وما كانَ مُختَصَرا

    and do not fall short of the essence

    of meanings, nor are they abridged.

  10. وقد حدَّدوا الوقتَ في دَرسِ كُل

    لِ فَنِّ مخافَة أَن تَضجَرا

    They also set a time for studying each

    discipline, for fear that you might grow weary.

  11. فأنتَ تَرى أنَّ هذا يَفِي

    بقَصدٍ ولِلوَقتِ قد وفَّرا

    So you see that this fulfills

    an aim, and has saved time.

  12. كما قد يَقي النَّفسَ إجهادُها

    لِفَهمِ عَويصٍ اذا ماعَرا

    It may likewise spare the mind exhaustion

    in grasping a difficult matter, should one arise.

  13. وإني أخذتُ بما قُلتَه

    فكانت نَتيجَتُه ما تَرى

    And I acted on what you said,

    so its outcome was what you see.

  14. لذلكَ قلتَ زمانٌ يَسيرٌ

    سَتُدرِكُ علما بِهِ أَغزَرا

    That is why you said, “A short time—

    you will gain more abundant knowledge in it.”

  15. ولكن بشَرطِ اجتهادٍ كما

    ذَكرتَ فشرطُكَ لن يُنكَرا

    But on condition of diligent effort, as

    you mentioned; your condition will not be denied.

  16. فإن شِئتَ فاسأَل كما شئتَ إن

    تَرُم أن تُصَدِّقَني خَبَرا

    So if you wish, ask as you wish, if

    you seek to find me truthful in my account.