Sol 6.1

  1. Lessons have appeared before your eyes,

    yet there is neither thought nor reflection.

  2. They warned the intellect, yet you turned

    deaf to the warnings you had known.

  3. You paid no heed to long ages—

    the days and time that are yours.

  4. You squandered youth foolishly;

    now here are gray hair and old age.

  5. You diligently prolong your hopes,

    but brevity has betrayed your life.

  6. You offer, O deluded one,

    choice displays of disobedience to them.

  7. You deny the bounty of Him to whom

    evenings and mornings bear witness.

  8. In Him, the proofs of divine unity

    are plain, yet there is no sight.

  9. Exalted is the dominion of Him before whom

    spirits and forms bow down,

  10. and of Him whose act of creation

    these innate natures proclaim with certainty.

  11. A God whose sovereignty is untouched

    by deficiency or change.

  12. A Lord—thoughts hover over

    nothing beyond His signs.

  13. Thus His proofs are not denied

    by one sound of mind who takes heed.

  14. Nor does one ascribe to anyone

    but Him either benefit or harm.

  15. In His creation He has proofs,

    and in His ordering of them are lessons.

  16. Self-sufficient, He has no need,

    while we stand in need of Him.

  17. So glory to Him who is gentle with us,

    while the violence of calamity spreads.

  18. And glory to Him who is disobeyed,

    yet pardons, though all-powerful.

  19. At every sunrise, His are

    favors beyond all counting.

  20. Can they be hidden, when there have appeared

    bright marks of them upon our faces?

  21. The gardens of His bounty rise tall;

    in them are shade and fruit.

  22. And best of all in its effect,

    when blessings are counted,

  23. is an imam who commands the world

    to obey him, and it obeys.

  24. He is affiliated with al-Mansur,

    and victorious through the All-Merciful.

  25. Strong are the bridles of his resolves

    when strength grows weak.

  26. Whenever someone challenges him,

    the earth almost splits apart.

  27. He is our worldly life and our faith;

    he is fair weather and rain.

  28. His valor furnishes him with armaments,

    and his resolves with troops.

  29. If he becomes our caliph,

    what a fine pillar and refuge!

  30. And if we become his subjects,

    what fortune destiny has brought!

  31. We heard, then saw,

    and both experience and report proved pleasing.

  32. We came to drink from his bounty,

    and sweet were both approach and return.

  33. His bounty has enriched all people,

    making nomads and townsfolk wealthy.

  34. His justice has embraced all people,

    so there is neither fear nor harm.

  35. He has surpassed all people,

    and no mortal is ranked his equal.

  36. How could one act unjustly who is committed

    to what the Qur'anic chapters have brought?

  37. The lion and ibex roam at evening,

    and the sheep and leopard run.

  38. The world is adorned by his good fortune,

    and no desire of hers is left unmet.

  39. Every land of hers is blossom,

    and every hour of hers is dawn.

  40. His generosity is like a sea

    with pearls floating upon it.

  41. And his forbearance—have you seen a mountain

    with neither wind nor dust?

  42. And his might—have you glimpsed the fire

    that spares nothing and leaves nothing?

  43. Victory will suffice him against his foes,

    stored away in the unseen,

  44. and prayers strengthened

    by tears of the eye and sleeplessness.

  45. And a company affirming divine unity

    hastens to uphold the truth.

  46. It is certain that victory

    over the enemies is awaited.

  47. No failure has befallen it,

    nor has faintheartedness held it back.

  48. Its dark spears form a forest,

    and its banners form blossoms.

  49. When they ride, you would think a sea

    is pouring down upon another sea.

  50. And when they charge, you would think fire

    is blazing beneath the wind.

  51. Their battle dust is like clouds,

    within which meteors tumble.

  52. Armored champions, chosen and noble,

    protectors, defenders, steadfast.

  53. Before them stands their imam;

    that is enough for you, so we say no more.

  54. How could a company go astray

    with the moon marching before it?

  55. His valor goes before them,

    and there are bright swords and dark spears.

  56. His good fortune surrounds them,

    so there is neither fear nor weakness.

  57. Do not fear his enemies:

    they are slaughter-beasts for his swords.

  58. Nor dread his adversary,

    even if arrogance gives him free rein.

  59. When slender Indian swords are appraised,

    needles are not reckoned their equals.

  60. And when the lions of the thicket roar,

    wild asses cannot stand against them.

  61. O you whom your own gaze has deceived—

    barren clouds, bearing no rain.

  62. Awake! The lion is looming

    over you, while you wait.

  63. Has his forbearance deceived you for a while?

    You will know when you put him to the test.

  64. The scabbard feels soft to your touch,

    yet within it lies the keen, virile sword.

  65. So too the fire lies still,

    with sparks beneath its stillness.

  66. I can almost see you, [if] you confront him:

    no sign or trace of you remains.

  67. So hasten to the door of one who pardons

    those who err and then apologize.

  68. And know with certainty that God's command

    is a necklace whose beads never scatter.

  69. You will receive what treachery brings

    upon you, O treacherous one.

  70. Remember what became

    of the others who were like you.

  71. Our caliph is al-Mansur;

    so muster all you can, or face death.

  72. The pure will rise on high,

    while the dregs sink beneath it.

  73. Whoever has guidance with him

    is assured of victory.

Sol 6.1