Sol 6.1

  1. أَلَم تَعجَبا لِلجارِياتِ البَوارِحِ

    جَرَت ثُمَّ قَفَّتها جُدودُ السَوانِحِ

    Have you two not marveled at the passing birds of ill omen,

    That passed, then were followed by the good fortunes of auspicious birds?

  2. تُخَبِّرُنا أَنَّ العَشيرَةَ جامِعٌ

    بِها عقرَ دارٍ بَعدَ نَأيٍ مُصارِحِ

    They tell us that the clan will gather

    There, at the heart of a home, after stark separation.

  3. فَقُلتُ وَهَشَّ القَلبُ لِلطَيرِ إِذ جَرَت

    عَسى اللَهُ إِنَّ اللَهَ جَمُّ الفَواتِحِ

    I said, my heart gladdened by the birds as they passed,

    May God grant it! God is lavish in deliverance.

  4. وَهَيَّجَ أَحزاناً عَلَيَّ وَعبرَةً

    مَغاني دِيارٍ مِن جَديدٍ وَماصِحِ

    And sorrows and a tear were stirred in me

    By the dwelling-sites at Jadid and Masih,

  5. لِقَومِيَ إِذ قَومي جَميعٌ نَواهُمُ

    وَإِذ أَنا في حَيٍّ كَثيرِ الوَضائِحِ

    Belonging to my people, when their abodes lay together,

    And when I lived in a clan rich in white camels.

  6. عَفَت مرُّ مِن أَحياءِ سَعدٍ فَأَصبَحت

    بَسابِسَ لا نارٌ وَلا نَبحُ نابِحِ

    Marr lay waste, abandoned by Sa'd's clans, and became

    Desert wastes, with neither fire nor the bark of a dog.

  7. فَأَجراعُ أَوسافٍ فَالاِعوَصُ كُلُّهُ

    فَبيشَةُ فَالرَوضاتُ حَتّى المَقازِحِ

    And the sandy flats of Awsaf, and all of al-I'was,

    And Bishah, and al-Rawdat, as far as al-Maqazih.

  8. كَأَن لَم يَكُن بَينَ الثَنِيَّةِ مِنهُمُ

    وَتَقتد حَزمٍ مِن غَريبٍ وَرائِحِ

    As though none of them had ever been between al-Thaniyyah

    And upland Taqtad, whether stranger or evening returner,

  9. فَبَحرَةُ مَسحومائِهِ فَضُفاضِغٌ

    فَصُوَّتُهُ ذاتُ الرّباد المَنادِحِ

    And the basin of Mashuma'ih, and Dufadigh,

    And its cairn, with the broad expanses of al-Ribad.

  10. إِذِ الحَيُّ وَالحومُ المُيسّرُ وَسطَنا

    وَإِذ نَحنُ في حالٍ مِنَ العَيشِ صالِحِ

    When the clan and the herd apportioned by lot were in our midst,

    And when we enjoyed a prosperous state of life,

  11. وَذو حَلقٍ تُقضَى العَواذيرُ بَينَهُ

    يَلوحُ بِأَخطارٍ عِظامِ اللَقائِحِ

    And a gathering in circles, where pleas were settled,

    Shone with stakes of great milch camels.

  12. وَإِذْ خَطْرَتانا وَالعِلاطانِ حِليَةٌ

    عَلى الهَجمَةِ الغُلبِ الطِوالِ السَرادِحِ

    And when our two thigh-brands and the two neck-brands were adornments

    On the herd of thick-necked, tall, long-bodied camels,

  13. أَناعيمُ مَحمودٌ قَراها وَقَيلُها

    وَصابِحُها أَيّامَ لا رِفدَ صابِحِ

    Camel herds praised for their guest-fare and midday draught,

    And their morning draught, in days with no gift for a morning guest.

  14. نَكُبُّ الأَكامِيَّ البَوائِكَ وَسطَنا

    إِذا كَثُرَت في الناسِ دَعوى الوَحاوِحِ

    We laid the mound-like, fat camels low among us,

    When the cries of hungry shiverers grew many among the people.

  15. فَلَم أَرَ قَوماً مِثلَ قَومِيَ إِذْ هُمُ

    بِأَوطانِهِم أَعطى وَأَغلى المرابِحِ

    I have never seen a people like my own, when they were

    In their homelands—more giving, offering costlier winnings,

  16. وَأَعبطَ لِلكَوماءِ يَرغَو حُرارُها

    وَأَندى أَكُفّاً بَينَ مُعطٍ وَمانِحِ

    More ready to slaughter the high-humped camel as her offspring bellows,

    Or more open-handed, whether giving or lending.

  17. وَأَكثَرَ مِنهُم قائِماً بِمَقالَةٍ

    تُفَرِّجُ بَينَ العَسكَرِ المُتَطاوِحِ

    Or with more men standing up to speak

    Words that bring relief amid the clashing host.

  18. كَأَن لَم يَكُن عَوفُ بنُ سَعدٍ وَلَم تَكُن

    بَنو الحَشرِ أَبناءَ الطِوالِ الشَرامِحِ

    As though 'Awf son of Sa'd had never been, nor

    Banu al-Hashr, sons of tall, towering men,

  19. وَحَيٌّ حِلالٍ مِن غُوَيثٍ كَأَنَّهُم

    أُسودُ الشَرى في غيلِهِ المُتَناوِحِ

    Nor a settled clan of Ghuwayth, as though they were

    Lions of al-Shara within its interlacing thicket.

  20. وَلَم يَغنَ مِن حَيّانَ حَيٌّ وَجابِرٌ

    بِها لِيلُ أَمثالِ السُيوفِ الجَوارِحِ

    Nor had a clan of Hayyan, or Jabir, ever dwelt

    There—noble men like wounding swords,

  21. مَطاعيمُ ضَرّابونَ لِلهامِ قادَةٌ

    مَعاطٍ بِأَرسانِ الجِيادِ السَوابِحِ

    Generous feeders, strikers of heads, leaders,

    Lavish givers of the reins of swimming steeds.

  22. لَهُم حاضِرٌ لا يجهَلونَ وَصارِخٌ

    كَسَيلِ الغَوادي يَرتَمي بِالقَوازِحِ

    They have a settled host that acts not rashly, and a force answering distress,

    Like the torrent of morning rains, hurtling against high ridges.

  23. فَإِن كانَ قَومي أَصبَحوا حَوَّطَتهُمُ

    نَوىً ذاتُ أَشطانٍ لِبَعضِ المَطارِحِ

    If my people have now been hemmed in

    By separation with long cords, toward some far-flung places,

  24. فَما كانَ قَومي ضارِعينَ أَذِلَّةً

    وَلا خُذّلاً عِندَ الأُمورِ الجَوارِحِ

    My people were never submissive or abased,

    Nor deserters in the face of wounding affairs.

  25. وَقَد عَلِموا ما كُنتُ أَهدِمُ ما بَنَوا

    وَما أَنتَحي عيدانَهُم بِالقَوادِحِ

    They know I never tore down what they built,

    Nor attacked their timbers with borers.

  26. وَما كُنتُ أَسعى أَبتَغي عَثَراتِهِم

    وَما أَغتَدي فيها وَلَستُ بِرائِحِ

    I never went about seeking their stumbles,

    Nor pursued them at dawn, nor went after them at dusk.

  27. وَإِنِّي لَعَيّابٌ لِمَن قالَ عيبهُم

    وَإِنّي لِمَدّاحٌ لَهُم قَولَ مادِحِ

    Indeed, I find fault with anyone who speaks of their faults,

    And lavishly praise them in a praiser's words.

  28. فَبَلِّغ بَني سَعدِ بنِ بَكرٍ مُلِظَّةً

    رَسولَ اِمرئٍ بادي المَوَدَّةِ ناصِحِ

    Convey an insistent message to Banu Sa'd ibn Bakr,

    A message from a man openly affectionate and sincere:

  29. بِأَنَّ العَتيقَ البَيتَ أَمسى مَكانَهُ

    وَقَبرُ رَسولِ اللَهِ لَيسَ بِبارِحِ

    That the Ancient House remains in its place,

    And the grave of God's Messenger has not moved,

  30. مُقيمينَ حَتّى يُنفخَ الصورُ نَفخَةً

    وَأُخرى فَيُجزى كَدَحَهُ كُلُّ كادِحِ

    Both abiding until the trumpet is blown once

    And again, and every toiler is repaid for his toil.

  31. فَإِنّي لعَمري لا أَبيعُهُما غَداً

    بِشِعب وَلا شَيبانَ بَيعَ المُسامِحِ

    For, by my life, I will not trade those two tomorrow

    For Shi'b or Shayban, in a careless seller's bargain.

  32. وَلا أَشتَري يَوماً جوارَ قَبيلَةٍ

    بِجيرانِ صِدقٍ مِن قُرَيشِ الأَباطاحِ

    Nor will I ever buy a tribe's protection

    At the cost of loyal neighbors from Quraysh of the broad valleys.

  33. هَلُمَّ إِلى الأَثرَينِ قَيسٍ وَخِندفٍ

    وَساحَةِ نَجدٍ وَالصُدور الصَحائِحِ

    Come to the two ancestral legacies, Qays and Khindif,

    And Najd's open ground, and sound hearts.

  34. وَلا تَقذِفوني في قُضاعَةَ عاجَزَت

    قُضاعَةُ وَاِستَولَت حَطاطَ المَجامِحِ

    Do not cast me among Quda'ah; it strove to outstrip,

    Quda'ah, and claimed the finish of the headlong race.

  35. أَبَوا أَن يَكونوا مِن مَعَدٍّ قَريحَةً

    حَديثاً فَإِنّا عِلمُ تِلكَ القَرائِحِ

    They refused to belong to Ma'add, on an invented claim

    Only lately; we know such inventions.

  36. لَعَمري لَئِن كانَت قُضاعَةُ فارَقَت

    عَلى غَيرِ جُدّادٍ مِنَ القَولِ واضِحِ

    By my life, if Quda'ah has parted

    Without a clear, beaten path of argument,

  37. لَأغنى بِنا عَن صاحِبٍ مُتَقَلِّبٍ

    وَعَن كُلِّ ذَوّاقٍ وَمَلٍّ مُراوِحِ

    Our own surely suffice, without a fickle companion,

    Or any taster, easily bored and ever changing.

  38. فَإِنّا وَمَولانا رَبيعَة مَعشَرٌ

    نَعيشُ عَلى الشَحناءِ مِن كُلِّ كاشِحِ

    For we and our ally Rabi'ah are a people

    Who live despite the hatred of every hidden foe.

  39. بَنو علَّةٍ ما نَحنُ فينا جَلادَةٌ

    زَبَنُّونَ صَمّاحونَ رُكنَ المُصامِحِ

    Half-brothers through one father are we, with hardiness among us,

    Driving foes back, battering the challenger's pillar.