Sol 6.1

  1. صحا القلب لولا نسمةٌ تتخطَّر

    ولمعةُ برق بالغضا تتسعَّر

    My heart would have sobered, were it not for a breeze that sways,

    and a flash of lightning kindling at al-Ghada,

  2. وذكر جبين البابلية إذ بدا

    هلال الدجى والشيء بالشيء يذكر

    and the memory of the Babylonian woman's brow as there appeared

    the crescent of darkness—for one thing recalls another.

  3. سقى الله أكناف الغضا سائل الحيا

    وإن كنت أسقى أدمعاً تتحدَّر

    May God water the reaches of al-Ghada with flowing rain,

    though I am watered with tears pouring down,

  4. وعيشاً نضا عنه الزمانُ بياضه

    وخلَّفه في الرأسِ يزهو ويزهر

    and a life from which Time stripped its whiteness

    and left it upon my head, flourishing and blooming.

  5. تغير ذاك اللون مع من أحبه

    ومن ذا الذي يا عزّ لا يتغير

    That color changed, along with the one I love;

    and who is there, O ‘Azz, who does not change?

  6. وكان الصبى ليلاً وكنتُ كحالمٍ

    فيا أسفي والشيبُ كالصبح يسفر

    Youth was a night, and I was like a dreamer;

    alas for me—gray hair breaks forth like dawn.

  7. يعللني تحت العمامة كتمه

    فيعتاد قلبي حسرة حين أحسر

    Hiding it beneath the turban consoles me,

    but grief revisits my heart when I bare my head.

  8. وينكرني ليلي وما خلت أنه

    إذا وضعَ المرءُ العمامةَ ينكر

    My night disowns me, and I never thought

    a man would be disowned when he took off his turban.

  9. ألا في سبيل الله صوم عن الصَّبى

    وقلب على عهد الحسان مفطر

    Lo, for God's sake, a fast from youth,

    yet a heart still pledged to beauties breaks that fast.

  10. تذكرت أوطان الوصالِ فأشهبٌ

    من الدَّمع في ميدان خدِّي وأحمر

    I remembered the homelands of union—and there is a gray steed

    of tears in the arena of my cheek, and a red one.

  11. إذا لم تفضْ عيني العقيق فلا رأت

    منازله بالوصلِ تبهى وتبهر

    If my eye does not pour forth carnelian, may it never see

    al-‘Aqiq's dwellings radiant and dazzling with reunion.

  12. وإن لم تواصل غادة السفح مقلتي

    فلا عادها عيشٌ بمغناه أخضر

    And if my eye does not commune with the maiden of the hillside,

    may no life green in its dwelling return to it.

  13. ليالي تجني الحسن في أوجه الدّمى

    وتجني على أجسامِها حين تنظر

    Nights when my eye gathered beauty in the faces of doll-like maidens,

    yet wronged their bodies whenever it gazed.

  14. يؤثر في خدِّ المليحة لحظها

    وإن كانَ في ميثاقِها لا يؤثر

    Its glance leaves a mark upon the fair one's cheek,

    though it leaves no mark upon her pledge.

  15. رأيت الصَّبى مما يكفّر للفتى

    ذنوباً إذا كانَ المشيب يكفّر

    I saw youth as something that atones for a young man's

    sins, if gray hair itself can atone.

  16. إذا حلَّ مبيضّ المشيب بعارضٍ

    فما هو إلاَّ للمدامعِ ممطر

    When the whiteness of gray hair settles upon a sideburn,

    it can only bring a downpour of tears.

  17. كأنيَ لم أتبع صبى وصبابةً

    خليع عذارٍ حيثما همت أعذَر

    As though I had never pursued youth and yearning,

    unbridled, excused wherever I wandered in love,

  18. ولم أطرق الحيّ الخصيب زمانه

    يقابلني زهرٌ لديه ومزهر

    and never visited the quarter whose days were fertile,

    where blossoms and a lute greeted me,

  19. وغيداء أما جفنها فمؤنث

    كليلٌ وأما لحظها فمذكَّر

    and a slender maiden: her eyelid was feminine,

    languid, while her glance was masculine.

  20. يروقُك جمعُ الحسن في لحظاتها

    على أنه بالجفنِ جمعٌ مكسَّر

    The gathering of beauty in her glances enchants you,

    though within her eyelid it is a broken plural.

  21. من الغيد تحتفّ الظبا بحجابها

    ولكنها كالبدرِ في الماءِ يظهر

    One of the graceful maidens, with sword-blades encircling her veil,

    yet she appears like the full moon in water.

  22. يشفّ وراء المشرفيَّة خدها

    كما شفَّ من دون الزجاجة مسْكر

    Her cheek shines through behind the Mashrafi swords,

    as intoxicating wine shines through the glass.

  23. ولا عيبَ فيها غير سحر جفونها

    وأحبب بها سحَّارة حين تسحر

    She has no flaw except the sorcery of her eyelids;

    how lovely she is—a sorceress whenever she enchants!

  24. إذا جرّدت من بردها فهي عبلةٌ

    وإن جرَّدت ألحاظها فهيَ عنتر

    Stripped of her cloak, she is ‘Abla;

    but when she unsheathes her glances, she is ‘Antar.

  25. إذا خطرت في الروض طاب كلاهما

    فلم يذْرِ من أزهى وأشهى وأعطر

    When she sways through the garden, both are lovely,

    and one cannot tell which is fairer, sweeter, or more fragrant.

  26. خليليّ كم روضٍ نزلت فناءه

    وفيه ربيعٌ للنزيل وجعفر

    My two friends, how many a garden's forecourt I have entered,

    with spring and a flowing stream for its guest,

  27. وفارقته والطَّير صافرةٌ به

    وكم مثلها فارقتها وهي تصفر

    and left it while birds were whistling there;

    how many like them I have left while they grew pale!

  28. إلى أعينٍ بالماءِ نضَّاحة الصفا

    إذا سدَّ منها مِنخرٌ جاش منخرُ

    To springs splashing smooth rocks with water:

    when one nostril is stopped, another surges.

  29. نداماي من خودٍ وراحٍ وقينة

    ثلاث شخوصٍ كاعبات ومعصر

    My drinking companions: a youthful beauty, wine, and a singing girl—

    three figures: full-breasted maidens and one newly ripe.

  30. قضيت لبانات الشبيبة والهوى

    وطوَّلت حتَّى آن أنيَ أقصر

    I fulfilled the desires of youth and love,

    and lingered long, until it was time for me to desist.

  31. وربَّ طموح العزم إدماء جسرة

    يظل بها عزمي على البيدِ يجسر

    And many a dusky, sturdy she-camel of aspiring spirit

    has kept my resolve daring across the deserts.

  32. طوت بذراعي وخدها شقَّة الفلا

    وكفّ الثريا في دجى الليل يشبر

    With the two forelegs of her swift gait, she folded up the wilderness's expanse,

    while the Pleiades' palm measured spans in the night's darkness.

  33. ومد جناحي ظلها آلِقُ الضحى

    فشدت كما شد النعام المنفّر

    The radiance of forenoon spread the two wings of her shadow,

    and she raced as startled ostriches race.

  34. بصمّ الحصى ترمي الحداة كأنما

    تغارُ على محبوبها حين يُذكر

    She pelts the camel-drivers with hard pebbles, as though

    jealous for her beloved whenever he is mentioned.

  35. إذا ما حروف العيس خطَّت بقفرةٍ

    غدت موضع العنوانِ والعيس أسطر

    When the slender pale camels trace their script in a wilderness,

    she takes the place of the heading, while the camels are the lines.

  36. فلله حرفٌ لا ترام كأنها

    لوشك السرى حرف لدى البيد مضمر

    What a slender she-camel, beyond reach! As though she were,

    from the swiftness of her night journey, a hidden letter in the desert.

  37. تخطت بنا أرض الشآم إلى حمى

    به روضة ريا الجنان ومنبر

    She carried us across the land of al-Sham to a sanctuary,

    with a garden of lush groves and a pulpit,

  38. إلى حرمِ الأمن المنيع جواره

    إذا ظلت الأصوات بالروعِ تجأر

    to a sanctuary of safety whose protection is impregnable

    when voices cry out in terror,

  39. إلى من هو التبر الخلاصِ لناقدٍ

    غداة الثنا والصفوة المتخير

    to him who is pure gold to the assayer

    on the day of praise, the chosen, finest essence:

  40. نبيٌّ أتم الله صورةَ فخرِهِ

    وآدم في فخاره يتصور

    a Prophet whose image of glory God perfected

    while Adam was still being shaped from his clay;

  41. نظيم العلى والأفق ما مدَّ طرسهُ

    ولا الزهر إلا والكواكب تنثر

    a pearl-string of lofty virtues, before the horizon spread its parchment,

    nor blossoms, save with the stars being scattered;

  42. ولا لعصا الجوزاء في الشهبِ آية

    مجرّ النّجى من تحتها يتفجر

    nor had Orion's staff a sign among the meteors:

    a stream of stars bursting forth beneath it.

  43. نبيٌّ له مجدٌ قديمٌ وسؤددٌ

    صميمٌ وأخبارٌ تجل وتخبر

    A Prophet with ancient glory and nobility

    deep-rooted, and accounts that exalt him and tell of him.

  44. تحزم جبريلٌ لخدمة وحيه

    وأقبل عيسى بالبشارة يجهر

    Gabriel girded himself to serve his revelation,

    and Jesus came proclaiming the glad tidings.

  45. فمن ذا يضاهيه وجبريل خادمٌ

    لمقدمه العالي وعيسى مبشرُ

    Who could equal him, when Gabriel is an attendant

    at his exalted arrival, and Jesus a herald?

  46. تهاوى لمأتاه النجوم كأنها

    تشافه بالخدِّ الثرى وتعفّر

    The stars fell at his coming, as though

    their cheeks kissed the earth and were dusted with soil.

  47. وينضب طام من بحيرة ساوة

    ولم لا وقد فاضت بكفيه أبحر

    The brimming waters of Lake Sawa recede,

    and why not, when seas have overflowed from his two palms?

  48. نبيٌّ له الحوضان هذا أصابعٌ

    تفيض وهذا في القيامةِ كوثر

    A Prophet with two pools: this one, fingers

    that pour forth; that one, Kawthar on Resurrection Day.

  49. وعن جاهه الناران هذي بفارسٍ

    تبوخ وهذي في غدٍ حين تحشر

    Through his standing, the two fires: this one in Persia

    dies down; the other, on the morrow when you are gathered.

  50. إذا ما تشفعنا به كُفّ غيظها

    وقالت عبارات الصراط لنا اعبروا

    When we seek his intercession, its wrath is restrained,

    and the utterances of the Sirat say to us, 'Cross over!'

  51. تنقل نوراً بين أصلاب سادة

    فلله منه في سما الفضل نير

    He passed as light through the loins of noble lords—

    what a luminary he is in the heaven of excellence!

  52. به أيَّد الطهر الخليليّ فانتحت

    يداه على الأصنام تغزو وتكسر

    Through him He strengthened the pure one, the Friend, and then

    his hands assailed the idols, attacking and breaking them.

  53. ومن أجله جيء الذبيحان بالفدى

    وصين دمٌ بين الدماءِ مطهَّر

    For his sake the two destined for sacrifice were brought ransoms,

    and purified blood was preserved amid all blood.

  54. ورُدَّت جيوش الفيل عن دار قومه

    فلله نصلٌ قبل ما سُلَّ ينصرُ

    The armies of the Elephant were turned from his people's abode—

    what a blade that wins victory before it is drawn!

  55. ولما أراد الله إظهار دينه

    بدا قمراً والشرك كالليل يكفر

    When God desired to make His religion manifest,

    he appeared as a moon, while idolatry veiled like night.

  56. فجلى الدجى واسْتوثق الدِّين واضحاً

    وقام بنصر الله داعٍ مظفر

    He dispelled the darkness, and the faith stood firm and clear;

    a triumphant caller arose with God's support.

  57. بخوف السطا بالرعب ينصر والظبا

    وداني الحيا في اليسر والعسر يهمر

    Through dread of his assault, he is aided by terror and sword-blades,

    and his ready rain pours down in ease and hardship.

  58. عزائم من لا يختشي يوم غزوِهِ

    ردًى وعطاً من ليسَ للفقرِ يحذر

    The resolves of one who fears, on the day of his battle,

    no death, and the gifts of one who has no fear of poverty.

  59. علا من محاكاة الغمام لفضله

    وكيف يحاكيه الخديم المسخَّر

    His excellence rose beyond any likeness to clouds;

    how could his subjugated little servant resemble him?

  60. يظلله وقت المسير وتارةً

    يشير إليه بالبنان فيمطر

    It shades him on his journey, and at times

    he points to it with a fingertip, and it rains.

  61. ألم ترَ أنَّ القطر في الغيم فارسٌ

    إذا برزت آلاؤه يتقَطَّر

    Do you not see that the rain in the clouds is a horseman,

    who falls headlong when his bounties appear?

  62. هو البحر فيَّاض المواردِ للورى

    ولكنه العذبُ الذي لا يكدّر

    He is the sea, overflowing with watering places for humankind,

    yet he is the sweet water that never grows turbid.

  63. فمن لي بلفظٍ جوهريّ قصائدٍ

    تنظم حتَّى يمدح البحرَ جوهر

    Who will give me jewel-like words for poems

    strung so that pearls may praise the sea?

  64. وهيهات أن تحصى بتقدير مادحٍ

    مناقبُ في الذكر الحكيم تقرّر

    Far beyond a praiser's reckoning are

    virtues established in the wise Scripture.

  65. إذا شعراء الذكر قامت بمدحه

    فما قدرُ ما تنشي الأنام وتشعر

    If the Scripture's 'Poets' rise to praise him,

    what worth has what humankind composes and versifies?

  66. نبيٌّ زكا أصلاً وفرعاً وأقبلت

    إليه أصولٌ في الثرى تتجرَّر

    A Prophet pure in root and branch, toward whom came

    roots dragging themselves through the earth.

  67. وخاطبه وحشُ المهامهِ آنساً

    إليه وما عن ذلك الحسن منفر

    The wild beasts of the trackless wastes addressed him, drawing close

    to him—and nothing could drive them from that beauty.

  68. له راحةٌ فيها على البأسِ والندى

    دلائلُ حتَّى في الجمادِ تؤثر

    He has a palm wherein prowess and generosity find

    proofs that leave their mark even upon lifeless things.

  69. فبينا العصا فيها وريقُ قضيبها

    إذا هو مشحوذُ الغرارين أبتر

    While the staff in it was still a leafy bough,

    suddenly it became a short sword, sharp on both edges.

  70. كذا فليكن في شكرِها وصفاتها

    يدٌ بينَ أوصاف النبيين تشكر

    Thus, in gratitude for it and its qualities, let there be

    a hand praised among the attributes of the prophets.

  71. سخت ومحت شكوى قتادة فاغْتدت

    بها العينُ تجري إذ بها العين تجبر

    It gave freely and erased Qatada's affliction, so that

    through it a spring flowed, as through it an eye was restored.

  72. لعمري لقد سارتْ صفات محمدٍ

    كذاك النجوم الزاهرات تسير

    By my life, Muhammad's qualities have traveled far,

    as the radiant stars travel.

  73. أرى معجز الرسل انْطوى بانْطوائِهم

    ومعجزهُ حتَّى القيامة ينشر

    I see the messengers' miracles folded away with their passing,

    while his miracle unfolds until Resurrection.

  74. كبير فخار الذكر في الخلقِ كلما

    تلا قارئٌ أو قيلَ الله أكبرُ

    Great is the glory of his mention among creation, whenever

    a reciter recites, or 'God is greatest' is said.

  75. هو المرتقي السبع الطباق إلى مدًى

    لجبريل عنهُ موقفٌ متأخِّر

    He ascended the seven layered heavens to a height

    with Gabriel's station left behind.

  76. هو الثابت العليا على كلّ مرسلٍ

    بحيثُ له في حضرة القدس محضر

    He holds the highest rank above every messenger,

    with a place in the Presence of Holiness.

  77. هو المصطفى والمقتفى لا مناره

    يحطّ ولا أنواره تتكوَّر

    He is the chosen and the followed; his beacon is never

    lowered, nor are his lights folded away.

  78. إليكَ رسولَ اللهِ مدَّت مطالبي

    على أنَّها أضحت على الغور تقصر

    To you, Messenger of God, my petitions have reached out,

    though they now fall short of reaching the depths.

  79. خلقتَ شفيعاً للأنامِ مشفعاً

    فرجواك في الدَّارين أجدى وأجدر

    You were created an intercessor for humankind, whose intercession is accepted;

    hope in you is more fruitful and more fitting in both abodes.

  80. ولي حالتا دنيا وأخرى أراهما

    يمرَّان بي في عيشةٍ تتمرَّر

    I have two states, worldly and hereafter, and I see them

    passing over me in a life that grows bitter.

  81. حياةٌ ولكن بين ذلٍّ وغربةٍ

    فلا العزّ يستجلى ولا البين يفتر

    Life, but between humiliation and exile:

    honor never comes to light, and separation never slackens.

  82. وعزمٌ إلى الأخرى يهمّ نهوضه

    ولكنه بالذَّنبِ كالظَّهر مُوقَر

    And a resolve toward the hereafter strives to rise,

    but, laden with sin, it is like an overburdened back.

  83. تصبرت في هذا وذاك كأنني

    من العجز والبؤس قتيلٌ مصبر

    I force myself to endure this and that, as though

    from helplessness and misery I were a man bound and slain.

  84. وها أنا ذا أبلغت عذريَ قاصداً

    وأيقنت أن النجح لا يتعذَّر

    Here I am, having offered my plea of excuse, seeking you,

    certain that success will not be beyond reach.

  85. عليك صلاةُ الله في كلِّ منزلٍ

    تعبر عنه سرّ الجنان وتعبرُ

    God's blessing be upon you in every dwelling,

    expressing the heart's secret, and passing beyond it,

  86. وآلك والصحب الذين عليهمُ

    تحلُّ حُبا مدحٍ ويعقد خنصر

    and upon your family and companions, upon whom

    gifts of praise alight, and the little finger is bent in counting.

  87. بجاهك عند الله أقبلت لائِذاً

    فكثرت حاجاتي وجاهك أكثر

    By your standing with God, I have come seeking refuge;

    many are my needs, but your standing is greater.

  88. ونظّمت شعري فيك تزهى قصيدةٌ

    على كلِّ ذي بيتٍ من الشعر يعمر

    I have strung my verse about you—a poem that vaunts itself

    above every poet who builds a house of verse.

  89. معظّمة المعنى يكرَّر لفظها

    فيحلو نباتيّ الكلام المكرَّر

    Exalted in meaning, its wording is repeated,

    so the repeated speech of Ibn Nubata grows sweet.

  90. دنت من صفات الفضل منك وإنها

    لتفضل ما قالته طيُّ وبحترُ

    It drew near to your qualities of excellence, and indeed

    surpasses what Tayy and Buhtur have said.

  91. وما ضرَّها إذ كانَ نشر نسيمها

    رخاء إذا ما لم يكنْ فيهِ صرصرُ

    Nor did it suffer because the wafting of its breeze

    was gentle, when no fierce cold gale blew within it.