Sol 6.1

  1. أَجَلتُ لِحاظي في الرِياضِ الرَمائثِ

    وَنَزَّهتُ فكري في فُنونِ المَباحثِ

    I let my gaze roam through gardens thick with ramth shrubs,

    And refreshed my mind among the branches of inquiry.

  2. وَشاهَدتُ مَجموعاً حَوى العلمَ كُلَّه

    فَأَولُ مَكتوبٍ وَثانٍ وَثالثِ

    And I beheld a compilation containing all learning:

    Thus, a first written work, a second, and a third.

  3. فَيا حُسنه مِن جامِعٍ لِفَضائلٍ

    جَليلٍ على نَيلِ المَعارفِ باعثِ

    How beautiful it is—a gatherer of virtues,

    Noble, spurring one to attain knowledge.

  4. لَحازَ لِسانَ العُربِ أَجمَعَ فَاِغتَدى

    نِهايةَ مُرتادٍ وَمَطلَبَ باحِثِ

    It indeed encompassed the entire tongue of the Arabs, becoming

    The seeker's ultimate goal and the researcher's object of pursuit.

  5. بِهِ أَزهَرَت لِلأَزهَريِّ رِياضُهُ

    فَأَنوارُها تَجلو دَياجي الحَوادثِ

    Through it, al-Azhari's gardens blossomed,

    So their lights dispel the darkness of calamities.

  6. وَصَحَّت بِهِ لِلجَوهَريِّ صِحاحُه

    فَلا كسرَ يَعروها وَلا نقرَ عابِثِ

    And through it al-Jawhari's Sihah became sound,

    So no fracture afflicts it, nor a meddler's chipping.

  7. وَسادَ بِهِ بَينَ الأَنامِ ابنُ سيدةٍ

    فَمحكمُهُ ما فيهِ عيثٌ لِعايثِ

    And through it Ibn Sidah became preeminent among humankind;

    So his Muhkam offers no scope for a mischief-maker's havoc.

  8. وَبرّ ابنُ بريٍّ وَصَحَّت بِنَقدِهِ الص

    صحاحُ اِستَقَلَّت في بَراثِنِ ضابثِ

    And Ibn Barri excelled, and his critique made sound the—

    Sihah, raised aloft in a firm grasper's claws.

  9. وَللجزريِّ ابنِ الأَثير نِهايَةٌ

    إِذا قُرِئَت أَزرَت بِسَمعِ المَثالِبِ

    And al-Jazari, Ibn al-Athir, has a Nihayah,

    Which, when read, belittles the hearing of faults.

  10. وَكُلّ مُجَلٍّ إِذ تَقادَمَ عَهدُهُ

    وَلَيسَ المُصلّي في السباقِ بِرابِثِ

    And each is a race-winner, since his time is long past;

    Yet the runner-up in the race is no laggard.

  11. وَإِنَّ جَمالَ الدينَ جَمَّلَ كُتبَهُمُ

    بإصلاحِ ما قَد أَوهَنوا مِن رَثائِثِ

    And indeed Jamal al-Din beautified their books,

    By mending the worn-out remnants they had weakened.

  12. لَقَد فاقَهَم عِلماً وَزادَ عَلَيهِم

    وَأَنّى بِبادي الفتخ حُرج الأَباغِثِ

    He indeed surpassed them in learning and went beyond them;

    And how could flocks of feeble birds rival one with broad, supple wings?

  13. تَجمَّع فيهِ ما تَفَرَّقَ عِندَهُم

    وَأَربى عَلَيهِم بِالعلوم الأثائِثِ

    In him was gathered what lay scattered among them,

    And he surpassed them in luxuriant learning:

  14. بنثرٍ كَشِبهِ الزَهرِ غِبَّ سَمائِهِ

    وَنَظمٍ كَمثلِ الزَهرِ بِالسحرِ نافثِ

    With prose like blossoms after their rain,

    And verse like blossoms, breathing enchantment.

  15. لَهُ قدمٌ في ساحةِ الفَضلِ راسِخٌ

    وَمَجدٌ قَديمٌ لَيسَ فيهِ بِحادثِ

    He has firm footing in the arena of excellence,

    And ancient glory, in which he is no newcomer.

  16. وَنسبةُ علمٍ كابِراً بَعدَ كابرٍ

    فَمِن خَيرِ مَوروثٍ إِلى خَيرِ وَارثِ

    And a lineage of learning, great forebear after great forebear:

    Thus, from the finest inheritance to the finest heir.

  17. حَفيظٍ لِأَسرارِ المُلوكِ أَمينها

    عَليمٍ بِتَصريفِ الخُطوبِ الكَوارثِ

    A guardian of kings' secrets, their trusted keeper,

    Well versed in managing calamitous affairs.

  18. بِهِ افتخرت قحطانُ وَاشتَدَّ أَزرُها

    وَباهت بِهِ الأَملاكَ أَبناءُ يافثِ

    In him Qahtan took pride, and her strength grew firm,

    And through him the sons of Japheth vied with kings in glory.

  19. وَلا بَرِحَت روحُ الجَمالِ مُقيمَةً

    بِعَدنٍ لَدى الحُورِ الحِسانِ الأَواعثِ

    And may Jamal's soul forever abide

    In Eden, beside the beautiful, soft-bodied houris.