Sol 6.1

  1. يا داعياً نحو العلاءِ مُثَوِّباً

    لَبَّيك إن الحق أزهرُ أبلجُ

    O you who call repeatedly toward al-ʿAlāʾ,

    I answer your call: truth is radiant and clear.

  2. أنشأت تنطق بالصواب ولم تزل

    قِدْماً وسهمُك في الصواب الأفلجُ

    You began to speak rightly, as you have always done;

    long has yours been the winning arrow in sound judgment.

  3. فشكرتَ سيِّدَنا وقلتَ بفضله

    ولقائِل الحق المبَيَّنِ منهجُ

    So you thanked our lord and spoke of his excellence;

    and the speaker of plain truth has a clear path.

  4. ولئن نطقت بحكمةٍ وبلاغةٍ

    ومن الكلام محقَّق ومُثبّجُ

    And if you have spoken with wisdom and eloquence—

    and some speech is precise, some ill-formed—

  5. فلقد وجدتَ لمن مدحت مآثراً

    من مثلها يُبْنَى المديح وينسجُ

    you surely found in the man you praised noble deeds

    from whose like praise is built and woven.

  6. ما زال يلبس مذ تأَزَّر وارتدى

    مِدَحاً تُحبَّر باسمه وتُدبَّجُ

    He has always worn, since he donned waist-wrap and cloak,

    praises adorned with his name and richly embroidered.

  7. ولَيُجزلنَّ لك الثوابَ ولم يكن

    لخليقة منه نَتيجٌ مُخْدَجُ

    And he will surely lavish reward upon you; never has

    any trait of his brought forth stunted offspring.

  8. وليقبلنَّ صحيح وُدِّك إنه

    لا يدفع الحسنى بما هو أسمجُ

    And he will surely accept your sincere affection, for he

    does not repay kindness with baseness.

  9. وليشكرنَّك وهو أعلم عالمٍ

    أن المديح به ينير ويَبْهجُ

    And he will surely thank you, though he knows better than anyone

    that praise shines and delights through him,

  10. وبأن ما حَلَّيته من منطقٍ

    حسنٍ فمن فَعلاته يُسْتنتجُ

    and that the speech with which you adorned him,

    in all its beauty, is drawn from his own deeds.

  11. فاعجب لشكر البحر إنْ حلَّيته

    والحَلْيُ من بُطنانه يُستخرجُ

    So marvel at the sea's gratitude if you adorn it,

    though the jewels are drawn from its own depths.

  12. أبشرْ أجارك من زمانك ماجدٌ

    حبلُ الجوار لديه حبل مدمجُ

    Rejoice! A noble man has sheltered you from the trials of your time;

    with him, protection's bond is a tightly braided cord.

  13. ما دون معروفِ العلاء وعفوهِ

    عند الرجوع إليه بابٌ مُرْتَجُ

    Before al-ʿAlāʾ's bounty and pardon,

    no door is bolted when one turns to him.

  14. إن العلاء لَمَاجِدٌ ولِمَاجِدٍ

    من معشر طلبوا العلاء فأدلجوا

    Indeed, al-ʿAlāʾ is noble, and a nobleman's son,

    of a people who sought eminence and so journeyed by night.

  15. ملك إذا الكُرَبُ الشداد تظاهرت

    فبوجهه وبرأيه تَتفرَّجُ

    A king: when grievous troubles band together,

    through his countenance and his counsel they are dispelled.

  16. ممن إذا أبت الخطوبُ أو الْتَوَتْ

    عاج الأبيُّ به وقام الأعوجُ

    He is among those who, when calamities resist or twist,

    make the unyielding bend and the crooked stand straight.

  17. لا عيبَ في نُعماه إلا أنها

    للخاطبين وغيرِهم تتبرّجُ

    There is no fault in his bounty, except that it

    flaunts its beauty before suitors and others;

  18. أو أنها تصفو لنا وتعمُّنا

    حتى يُخَيَّل أننا نُسْتَدرَجُ

    or that it comes to us pure and embraces us all,

    until it seems that we are being lured on.

  19. أضحى الملوك وهم مَجاز نحوه

    للطالبين الخيرَ وهو مُعَرَّجُ

    Kings have become a passage toward him

    for those seeking bounty, while he is their stopping place.