Sol 6.1

  1. قطع الجهول زمانه بتغزلِ

    إن الجهول عن الجمال بمعزل

    The ignorant man spent his time composing love verse;

    Indeed, the ignorant man is far removed from beauty.

  2. أنا لا أميل إلى كلام العذَّل

    سهري لتنقيح العلوم ألذ لي

    I am not swayed by the words of reproachers.

    My vigil to refine the sciences is sweeter to me

  3. من وصل غانية وطيب عناقِ

    إن كنت جئت لدى العدى بنقيصةٍ

    Than union with a beauty and the sweetness of an embrace.

    If I have appeared before my enemies with a flaw,

  4. فهي الكمال وذاك عن خصِّيصةٍ

    طلبي لغالية ببذل رخيصةٍ

    Then it is perfection, and that comes from a distinctive quality:

    My quest for something precious by spending something cheap,

  5. وتمايلي طرباً لحل عويصةٍ

    في الذهن أبلغ من مدامة ساقي

    And my swaying in rapture at solving a knotty problem

    In the mind is more potent than a cupbearer's wine.

  6. سم الجهالة زال من ترياقها

    وهو العلوم بمقتضى إشراقها

    The poison of ignorance vanished through its antidote,

    And it is the sciences, by virtue of their radiance.

  7. حرَّرتها في الطرس باستحقاقها

    وصرير أقلامي على أوراقها

    I set them down on the page as they deserve;

    And the scratching of my pens upon their pages

  8. أشهى من الدوكاة والعشاق

    فانهض لتحصيل العلوم ووفِّها

    Is more delightful than Dugah and Ushshaq.

    So rise to acquire the sciences, and give them

  9. حقاً بأشرف حالة وأعفها

    إني كُفِفْتُ عن السوى بِأَكُفِّها

    Their due, in the noblest and chastest state.

    Indeed, I have been kept from all else by their hands.

  10. وألذ من نقر الفتاة لدفها

    نقري لألقي الرملَ عن أوراقي

    And sweeter than a maiden's tapping on her frame drum

    Is my tapping to cast the sand off my pages.

  11. تعلو على أوج المعالي همتي

    في نيل مقصودي وقرب أحبتي

    My aspiration rises above the pinnacle of lofty attainments,

    In attaining my aim and drawing near my loved ones.

  12. وأنا الذي عزمي كسيف مصلت

    يا من يبالغ بالأمالني رتبتي

    And I am he whose resolve is like a drawn sword.

    O you who strive through wishes [uncertain reading] to reach my rank,

  13. كم بين منسفل وآخر راقي

    أصبحت موصوف العلى منعوتَهُ

    How far apart are one sunk low and another ascending!

    I have become known for loftiness, characterized by it;

  14. لا أختشي من جانب تفويتَه

    يا قاصراً فينا يحاول صيته

    I fear no loss of it from any quarter.

    O one who falls short among us, seeking his renown,

  15. أأبيت سهرانَ الدجى وتبيتَه

    نوماً وتبغي بعد ذاك لحاقي

    Do I spend the dark night awake, while you spend it

    Asleep, and then seek to catch up with me?