Sol 6.1

  1. عزاؤكَ أن الدهرَ ذو فَجعاتِ

    وكلُّ جميعٍ صائرٌ لشَتاتِ

    Your consolation is that Time brings bereavements,

    and every gathering is destined for dispersal.

  2. لك الخيرُ كم أبصرتَهُ وسمعتَهُ

    قرائنَ حيٍّ غيرَ مختلجاتِ

    May good be yours! How many have you seen and heard of—

    a living person's companions, not snatched away?

  3. هلِ الناس إلا معشرٌ من سلالةٍ

    تعودُ رُفاتاً ثَمَّ أيَّ رفاتِ

    Are people anything but a company sprung from an extracted essence,

    which returns to dust there—and what dust!

  4. مياهٌ مَهينات يؤولُ مآلُها

    إلى رِمَمٍ من أعظُمٍ نخراتِ

    Lowly fluids, whose ultimate end comes

    to decayed remains of rotten bones.

  5. أرى الدهر ظَهراً لا يزال براكبٍ

    وإن زل لم يُؤْمنْ من العثراتِ

    I see Time as a mount, ever bearing a rider,

    and if it slips, none is safe from stumbling.

  6. ومن عجبٍ أنْ كلما جدَّ ركضُنا

    عليه تباعدنا من الطَّلباتِ

    It is strange that whenever our galloping grows fiercer

    upon it, we grow farther from what we seek.

  7. وأعجبُ منه حرصُنا كلما خلتْ

    سنونا كأنا من بني العشراتِ

    Stranger still is our eagerness whenever

    our years pass, as though we were children of ten.

  8. نُخلِّف مأمولاتنا وكأننا

    نسيرُ إليها لا إلى الغَمراتِ

    We leave our hopes behind, yet seem

    to journey toward them, not toward overwhelming perils.

  9. غُررْنا وأُنذرنا بدهرٍ أَملَّنا

    غُروراً وإنذاراً بهاكَ وهاتِ

    We have been deceived and warned by a Time that has wearied us

    with deception and warning, with 'Take this!' and 'Give!'

  10. إذا مجَّ مجاتٍ من الأَري أَعْقبت

    بأقصى سهام في أحدِّ حُماتِ

    When it spits out mouthfuls of honey, they are followed

    by far-reaching arrows with the keenest barbs.

  11. أميْري وأنت المرءُ ينجم رأيهُ

    فيسري به السارونَ في الظُّلماتِ

    My prince, you are the man whose judgment rises like a star,

    by which night-travelers make their way through darkness.

  12. وتعصِفُ ريحُ الخطبِ عند هُبوبها

    وأنت كركنِ الطَّودِ ذي الهَضباتِ

    The wind of calamity rages when it blows,

    yet you are like the buttress of a mountain with lofty plateaus.

  13. عليك بتقوى الله والصبرِ إنهُ

    مَعاذٌ وإن الدهر ذو سَطواتِ

    Hold fast to reverence for God and patience: it

    is a refuge, though Time has mighty assaults.

  14. وليس حكيمُ القوم بالرَّجل الذي

    تكون الرزايا عنده نَقماتِ

    The wise man of a people is not the man

    who takes calamities to be punishments.

  15. فُجعَت فلا عادت إليك فجيعةٌ

    كما يُفجَع الأملاك بالملِكاتِ

    You have been bereaved—may no bereavement return to you—

    as kings are bereaved of queens.

  16. أصِبْتَ وكلٌّ قد أُصيب بنكبة

    يُهاض بها الماضي من النَكباتِ

    You have been stricken, as everyone has been, by a calamity

    that breaks afresh the hurt of earlier calamities.

  17. فلا تجزعَنْ منها وإن كان مثلها

    زعيماً بنفرِ الجأشِ ذي السكناتِ

    Do not give way to anguish over it, though its like

    is sure to startle even a settled heart.

  18. وما نَفْرُ نفسٍ من حلول مصيبةٍ

    وقد أيقَنَتْ قِدماً بما هو آتِ

    Why should a soul recoil at the arrival of misfortune,

    when long ago it knew for certain what must come?

  19. أتوقنُ بالمقدور قبل وقوعِه

    وتنفِر نفرَ الغِرِّ ذي الغفلاتِ

    Do you believe in what is decreed before it happens,

    yet start like an inexperienced man prone to heedlessness?

  20. لقد أونَست حتى لقد حان أنسُها

    بما شاهدت للدهر من وقعاتِ

    It has been made familiar; surely it is time it grew accustomed

    to the blows of Time that it has witnessed.

  21. فما بالها نفرُ الأغرَّاء نفرُها

    وقد أُنذِرت من قبلُ بالمَثُلاتِ

    What ails it, that its recoil is that of the unsuspecting,

    when it was warned before by exemplary punishments?

  22. من احتسبَ الأقدار أيقن فاستوتْ

    لديه منيخات ومنتظَراتِ

    Whoever reckons with fate becomes certain, and equal

    to him are calamities already encamped and those still awaited.

  23. هلِ المرءُ في الدنيا الدنيةِ ناظرٌ

    سوى فقد حبٍ أو لقاء مَماتِ

    Does a person in this lowly world await

    anything but the loss of a loved one or the meeting with death?

  24. ألم تَر غَاراتِ الخطوب مُلِحّةً

    فبين مُغاداةٍ وبين ثباتِ

    Have you not seen calamities' relentless raids,

    now arriving at dawn, now remaining?

  25. تروحُ وتغدو غير ذات ونيَّةٍ

    على حيوان مرة ومَواتِ

    They go at evening and come at dawn, never slackening,

    upon living things at one time, and lifeless things at another.

  26. وما حركاتُ الدهر في كل طَرفةٍ

    بلاهيةٍ عن هذه الحركاتِ

    Nor are Time's movements, in every blink,

    heedless of these movements.

  27. سَيسْقي بني الدنيا كؤوسَ حتوفهم

    إلى أن يناموا لا منامَ سُباتِ

    It will give the world's children the cups of their deaths to drink,

    until they sleep—not the sleep of repose.

  28. وفاءٌ من الأيام لا شك غدرُها

    وهل هنّ إلا منجزاتُ عِداتِ

    The days' treachery is, without doubt, their faithfulness,

    for are they anything but fulfillers of promises?

  29. يَعِدْن بغدر ليس بالمُخلفاتِهِ

    فقُلْ في وفاءٍ من أخي غَدراتِ

    They promise treachery, and never fail to deliver it—

    so speak of such faithfulness from a master of betrayals!

  30. تعزَّ بموت الصِّيد من آل مُصْعب

    تجدهُم أُسىً إن شئت أو قدواتِ

    Find solace in the deaths of the proud nobles of Mus'ab's house;

    you will find them sources of solace, if you wish, or examples.

  31. تعزَّوا وقد نابتهُمُ كلُّ نوبةٍ

    وماتوا فعزَّوا كلَّ ذي حسراتِ

    They took consolation, though every affliction had befallen them,

    and died, thus comforting everyone burdened with grief.

  32. ومن سُنن اللَّه التي سنّ في الورى

    إذا جالتِ الآراءُ مُعتبِراتِ

    Among God's laws, which He ordained among humankind,

    as minds discover when they range in reflection,

  33. زوالُ أصول الناسِ قبل فروعهم

    وتلك وهذي غيرُ ذات ثباتِ

    is that people's roots depart before their branches;

    yet neither these nor those have permanence.

  34. ليبقَى جديدٌ بعد بالٍ وكلُّهم

    سَيْبلَى على الصّيفاتِ والشَّتَواتِ

    So that the fresh may remain after the worn, though all of them

    will wear away through summers and winters.

  35. وإن زالَ فرعٌ قبل أصلٍ فإنما

    تُعَدُّ من الأحداث والفَلتاتِ

    And if a branch departs before its root, that

    is counted among mishaps and unexpected events.

  36. وتلك قضايا الله جلَّ ثناؤه

    وليست قضايا الله بالهفواتِ

    These are God's decrees—exalted be His praise—

    and God's decrees are no blunders.

  37. لِيُعلَم ألَّا موتَ ميتٍ لكَبْرةٍ

    ولا عيش حيٍّ لاقتبال نباتِ

    So it may be known that no one dies simply from old age,

    nor lives simply through the vigor of youthful growth.

  38. وتقديمُ من قَدَّمت شيءٌ بحقِّهِ

    فَدَعْ عنك سَحَّ الدمع والزفراتِ

    The passing ahead of the one you sent ahead is fitting;

    so put aside the streaming tears and sighs.

  39. ولا تَسخَطِ الحقَّ الذي وافق الهدى

    هوى من له أمسيتَ في كُرباتِ

    Do not resent the right, where guidance has met

    the wish of the one for whom you now grieve.

  40. رُزئتَ التي ودَّت بقاءَك بعدها

    وأحيت به في ليلها الدعواتِ

    You have lost the woman who wished you to survive her,

    and kept her prayers for it alive through the night.

  41. وكانت تَمنَّى أن تُردَّى سريرها

    وبعضُ أمانيِّ النفوس مُواتي

    She used to wish you would shoulder her bier,

    and some of the soul's wishes are granted.

  42. فلا تكرهَنْ أن أوتِيَتْ ما تودُّهُ

    فكرهُك ما ودت من النكراتِ

    Do not, then, dislike her receiving what she wished,

    for your dislike of what she wished is something wrong.

  43. ألم تر رُزءَ الدَّهر من قبل كونهِ

    كفاحاً إذا فكَّرتَ في الخلواتِ

    Did you not see Time's bereavement before it came,

    face to face, when you reflected in solitude?

  44. بلى كنتَ تلقاهُ وإن كان غائباً

    بفكرك إن الفكرَ ذو غزواتِ

    Yes, you used to meet it, though it was absent,

    in your thought, for thought goes raiding.

  45. فما لك كالمَرميِّ من مأمنٍ لهُ

    بنَبْلٍ أبَتْه غيرَ مُرتقباتِ

    Why are you, then, like one shot from his own place of safety,

    by unexpected arrows that denied him safety?

  46. زَعِ القلب إن الفاجعاتِ مصائبٌ

    أصابت وكانت قبل مُحتسَباتِ

    Restrain your heart: these bereavements are calamities

    that have struck, and were already anticipated.

  47. فإن قلتَ مكروهٌ ألمت فُجاءةً

    فما فوجئت نفسٌ مع الخطراتِ

    If you say, 'A hateful thing! I suffered without warning,'

    no soul is taken unawares when it has had forethought.

  48. ولا غوفصت نفسٌ ببلوى وقد رأت

    عِظاتٍ من الأيام بعد عظاتِ

    Nor is a soul ambushed by affliction after it has seen

    admonition after admonition from the days.

  49. إذا بغَتتْ أشياءُ قد كان مثلها

    قديماً فلا تعتدَّها بغَتَاتِ

    If things strike suddenly whose like occurred

    long ago, do not count them as surprises.

  50. جزعتَ وأنت المرءُ يوصف حزمُهُ

    ولا بدَّ للأَيقاظِ من رَقَداتِ

    You gave way to grief, though you are a man whose resolve is renowned;

    yet even the wakeful must sometimes sleep.

  51. فأعقِبْ من النوم التنبُّهَ راشداً

    فلا بد للنُّوام من يقظاتِ

    So let wakefulness follow sleep, rightly guided,

    for sleepers must surely have awakenings.

  52. ومَن راغم الشيطانَ مثلك لم يُجب

    رُقاهُ ولم يَتْبع له خُطواتِ

    One who defies Satan as you do does not answer

    his spells, nor follow in his footsteps.

  53. ومما ينسِّيك الأَسى حسناتُها

    وإن كنت منها يا أخا الحسناتِ

    Among the things that make you forget grief are her good deeds,

    though you are one of them, O man of good deeds.

  54. فإن ثوابَ الله في رُزء مثلها

    لِقاؤُكها في أرفع الدرجاتِ

    God's reward for losing one like her

    is your meeting her in the loftiest ranks.

  55. وذاك إذا قضَّيتَ كلّ لُبانةٍ

    من المجد واستمتعتَ بالمُتُعاتِ

    And that will be once you have fulfilled every desire

    for glory and enjoyed all pleasures.

  56. مضت بعدما مُدَّتْ على الأرض برهةً

    لتُمجِدَ من فيها من البركاتِ

    She passed, after being granted a span upon the earth,

    to lavish blessings on those who dwell there.

  57. فإن تكُ طوبى راجعت أخواتها

    فقد زوِّدت من طيّب الثمراتِ

    If Tuba has rejoined her sisters,

    she has been provisioned with the choicest fruits.

  58. لعَمرك ما زُفّت إلى قعر حفرةٍ

    ولكنها زُفَّت إلى الغُرُفاتِ

    By your life, she was not led as a bride to a pit's depths,

    but was led as a bride to the lofty chambers.

  59. ولولاك قلنا من يقومُ مقامها

    ومن يؤثِر التقوى على الشبهاتِ

    Were it not for you, we would ask, 'Who will take her place,

    and who will choose piety over doubtful things?'

  60. سقاها مع الدمع الذي بُكِيَتْ به

    حيا الغيثِ في الروحات والغدواتِ

    May she be watered, along with the tears shed for her,

    by life-giving rain at evening and at dawn.

  61. وصلّى عليها كلما ذرَّ شارقٌ

    وحان غروبٌ صاحبُ الصلواتِ

    And may she be blessed whenever a rising sun appears

    and sunset comes, by the Lord of prayers.