Sol 6.1

  1. ما للسماء عليه ليس تنفطر

    وللكواكب لا تهوى فتنتشرُ

    Why does the sky not split apart over him,

    and the stars not fall and scatter?

  2. وللبلاد ألا تسمو زلازلها

    والراسيات ألا تَرْدى فتنقعُر

    Why do the lands' earthquakes not surge,

    and the firmly rooted mountains not tumble and be uprooted?

  3. إنّ الندى وأبا عمرو تضمَنَهُ

    قبرٌ ببغداد يُستَسْقى به المطرُ

    Indeed, generosity and Abu Amr are enclosed by

    a grave in Baghdad through which rain is sought.

  4. للّه حزمٌ وجودٌ ضمّه جدثٌ

    ومكرماتٌ طواها التّربُ والمدرُ

    By God, what resolve and generosity a grave has enclosed,

    and noble deeds the dust and clay clods have buried!

  5. يا طالباً وزراً من ريبِ حادثة

    أودى سعيدٌ فلا كهفٌ ولا وزرُ

    O seeker of refuge from a calamity's dangers,

    Sa'id has perished: no shelter and no refuge remain.

  6. أبكى عليك عيونَ الحيّ من يمنٍ

    ومن ربيعةَ ما تَبكِي له مضرُ

    The eyes of Yemen's tribes were brought to tears for you,

    and Rabi'a's, by what makes Mudar weep.

  7. كلُّ القبائل قد ردّيتَ أَرديةً

    من فضل نُعْماكَ لايجَزي بها شكرُ

    You clothed all the tribes in mantles

    of your abundant favors, which no gratitude can repay.

  8. ما خَصَّ رُزؤك لا قيساً ولا مضراً

    إنّ الرزّية مَعْمومٌ بها البشَرُ

    The grief of losing you was not confined to Qays or Mudar;

    this calamity has afflicted all humankind.

  9. لو كان يَبْكي كتابُ اللّهِ من أحدٍ

    لِطولِ إلفٍ بكتْكَ الآيُ والسورُ

    If the Book of God could weep for anyone,

    its verses and chapters would weep for you, from long companionship.

  10. أبو الأرامِلِ والأيتامِ ليس له

    إلاّ مُرَاعاتَهم همّ ولا وطرُ

    A father to widows and orphans, he had

    no concern or desire except caring for them.

  11. للهاربينَ مَصَادٌ غيرُ مُطّلع

    وللعُفاةِ جَنَابٌ ممرعٌ خَضِرُ

    For fugitives, an unscalable mountain refuge;

    and for seekers of bounty, a lush, green haven.

  12. من كل أفقٍ إليه العِيسُ مُعْمَلَةٌ

    وكل حيّ على أبوابه زُمَرُ

    From every horizon, pale camels are urged toward him,

    and every tribe gathers in bands at his doors.

  13. مُشَيّعٌ لا يغوث الذحل صولَتهُ

    وأكرم الناس عفواً حين يقتدرُ

    Valiant, his onslaught is not aided by vengeance,

    and the most generous of men in pardon when he holds power.

  14. لا يَزدَهيهِ لغيرِ الحقّ منطقُهُ

    ولا تناجيه إلاّ بالتقى الفكرُ

    His eloquence does not lure him away from truth,

    and his thoughts whisper to him only of piety.

  15. ثبت على زلل الأيام مُضطَلعٌ

    بالنائباتِ لِصَعْبِ الدهرِ مُقْتَسرُ

    Steadfast amid the days' stumblings, able to bear

    calamities and subdue the hardships of time.

  16. سامي الجفونِ يروق الطّرفَ منظرُهُ

    وأطهرُ الناسِ غيباً حينَ يُختَبَرُ

    Lofty of gaze, his appearance delights the eye,

    and, when tested, he is the purest of men inwardly.

  17. الحِلمُ يُصمتهُ والعلمُ يُنطقُهُ

    وفي تُقى اللّهِ ما يأتي وما يَذَرُ

    Forbearance makes him silent, and knowledge makes him speak;

    whatever he does or leaves undone is in reverence for God.

  18. لم تَسْمُ همتهُ يوماً إلى شَرَفٍ

    إلاّ حباه بما يَسْمو له الظفَرُ

    Never did his ambition rise toward an honor

    without victory granting him the means to attain it.

  19. يُعطيكَ فوقَ المنى من فَضْلِ نائِلِهِ

    وليس يعطيك إلاّ وهو مُعتذرُ

    He gives you beyond your wishes from his abundant bounty,

    and never gives to you without apologizing.

  20. يَزيدُ مَعْروفَهُ كِبراً وَيَرفَعُهُ

    أنّ الجسيمَ لديه منه مُحْتقَرُ

    What enlarges his generosity and elevates it

    is that he regards even its greatest gifts as trifles.

  21. وليس يسعى لغير الحمد يَكسِبُهُ

    وليس إلاّ من المعروف يَدَّخرُ

    He strives only to earn praise,

    and lays up nothing but good deeds.

  22. عَفُ الضمير رحيبُ الباعِ مُضْطلعٌ

    لحرمةِ اللّه والإسلامِ مُنتصِرُ

    Pure of conscience, broad of reach, able to bear burdens,

    a defender of God's sanctity and of Islam.

  23. ما أنْفكَّ في كلِّ فجّ من ندى يدِهِ

    للناس جودَانِ محويّ ومُنتظَرُ

    In every mountain pass, his hand's bounty has always meant

    two gifts for people: one received, one awaited.

  24. لوهابَ عن عزّةٍ أو نجدةٍ قدرٌ

    من البرّيةِ خَلقاً هَابَكَ القدرُ

    Had fate, for might or courage, ever feared

    any creature in creation, fate would have feared you.

  25. لِيَبْكِ فَقدَك أطرافُ البلادِ كما

    لم يخلُ من نعمةٍ أسْدَيتَها قُطُرُ

    Let the farthest reaches of the lands mourn your loss, as

    no region lacked a blessing you bestowed.

  26. وَلَيبْككَ المرملونَ الشُّعثُ ضَمّهُمُ

    من كلّ أوبٍ إلى أبياتكَ السّفَرُ

    And let the destitute and disheveled weep for you, gathered

    by travel from every quarter to your dwellings.

  27. وذاتُ هِدْمينِ تُزجي دَرْدقاً قَزَماً

    مثلَ الرئالِ حباها البؤسُ والكِبَرُ

    And the woman in two ragged garments, urging along little, undersized children

    like ostrich chicks, herself dowered by poverty and old age.

  28. وَيَبكِكَ الدينُ والدنيا لِرَعْيِهما

    والبَرُّ والبَحْرُ والإعسار واليُسُرُ

    And let faith and the world weep for you, for your care of both,

    and land and sea, poverty and prosperity.

  29. كَفلتَ عْترةَ أقوامٍ مُهَاجِرَةٍ

    عُثمانُ جَدُّهُمُ أو جَدُّهُمْ عُمَرُ

    You cared for the families of emigrant men,

    whose forefather was Uthman, or whose forefather was Umar.

  30. وقد نَصَرْتَ وقد آوَيْتَ مُحتسِباً

    أبناءَ قومٍ هُمُ آوَوا وهم نَصَرُوا

    You gave aid and shelter, seeking God's reward,

    to the sons of men who themselves gave shelter and aid.

  31. يا رُبَّ أرمَلَةٍ منهم ومكتَهِلٍ

    أَيتَمْتَهُ وهو مُبيَضّ له الشِعَرُ

    Ah, how many a widow among them, and a middle-aged man,

    you have orphaned, though his hair has turned white!

  32. للّه شَمْلُ جميعٍ كان مُلتئماً

    أَضحى لِيَومِ سَعِيد وَهْو مُنْتَشِرُ

    By God, a company once bound together

    has scattered on the day of Sa'id's death.

  33. أمسى لِفَقْدكَ ظهر الأرض مُختشِعاً

    بادِي الكآبةِ واختالت بِك الحُفَرُ

    At your loss the surface of the earth has grown humbled,

    visibly sorrowful, while the graves strut proudly with you.

  34. أحياكَ عمرو ولولاه واخوتَهُ

    عَفَا النوالُ فلم يُسمعْ له خَبَرُ

    Amr has kept you alive; were it not for him and his brothers,

    bounty would have vanished, and no word of it been heard.

  35. ألهَمْتَهُمْ طوعَهُ فانقاد رشدُهُمُ

    كلٌّ يراه بحيثُ السمعُ والبصرُ

    You inspired them to obey him, and their sound judgment yielded;

    each regards him as his own hearing and sight.

  36. كأنهم كَنَفاهُ وَهْوَ بَينَهُمُ

    بَدْرُ السّماء حَوَتْهُ الأنجمُ الزُهُرُ

    They seem his two flanks, while he in their midst is

    the sky's full moon, encircled by radiant stars.

  37. بنو قُتيبَةَ نُورُ الأرضِ نورُهُمُ

    إذا خبا قمر منهم بدا قمرُ

    The sons of Qutayba: their light is the light of the earth;

    whenever one moon among them dims, another moon appears.

  38. إذا تشاكهت الأيام واشتبهت

    أبان أيامكَ التحجيل والغُرَرُ

    When the days resemble one another and blur together,

    white leg-markings and forehead blazes set your days apart.

  39. إمّا ثويتَ فما أبقيت مكرمةً

    إلاّ بكفك منها العين والأثرُ

    Though you have gone to rest, you left no noble deed

    without its substance and trace in your palm.

  40. إنّ الليالي والأيام لو نطقت

    أثنت بآلائك الآصال والبكرُ

    Indeed, if the nights and days could speak,

    the evenings and early mornings would extol your favors.

  41. كان الندى في شهور الحول مُقْتَسَماً

    بين البرية فاغتال الندى صَفَرُ

    Generosity was shared out throughout the year's months

    among humankind; then Safar assassinated generosity.