Sol 6.1

  1. حَلَّت صُبَيرَةُ أَمواهَ العِدادِ وَقَد

    كانَت تَحُلُّ وَأَدنى دارِها تُكُدُ

    Subayra settled at the waters of al-‘Idad, though once

    she used to camp with Tukud the nearest of her abodes.

  2. وَأَقفَرَ اليَومَ مِمَّن حَلَّهُ الثَمَدُ

    فَالشُعبَتانِ فَذاكَ الأَبرَقُ الفَرَدُ

    Today al-Thamad stands deserted of those who dwelt there,

    then al-Shu‘batan, then that solitary al-Abraq.

  3. وَبِالصَريمَةِ مِنها مَنزِلٌ خَلَقٌ

    عافٍ تَغَيَّرَ إِلّا النُؤيُ وَالوَتِدُ

    At al-Sarima, a worn-out dwelling of hers remains,

    effaced and altered, save the encircling ditch and tent-peg.

  4. دارٌ لِبَهنانَةٍ شَطَّ المَزارُ بِها

    وَحالَ مِن دونِها الأَعداءُ وَالرَصَدُ

    A home of a charming woman, far distant to visit,

    with enemies and watchers standing between us and her.

  5. بَكرِيَّةٍ لَم تَكُن داري لَها أَمَماً

    وَلا صُبَيرَةُ مِمَّن تَيَّمَت صَدَدُ

    A woman of Bakr, my home was not near hers,

    nor does Subayra shun those whose hearts she has enthralled.

  6. يا لَيتَ أُختَ بَني دُبٍّ يَريعُ بِها

    صَرفُ النَوى فَيَنامَ العائِرُ السَهِدُ

    Would that the sister of Banu Dubb were brought back by

    the turns of separation, so the sore, sleepless eye might sleep.

  7. أَمسَت مَناها بِأَرضٍ ما يُبَلِّغُها

    بِصاحِبِ الهَمِّ إِلّا الجَسرَةُ الأُجُدُ

    Her fate now lies in a land that nothing can reach,

    bearing the sorrowful man, except a sturdy, firm-built she-camel.

  8. إِذا اليَعافيرُ في أَظلالِها لَجَأَت

    لَم تَستَطِع شَأوَها المَقصوصَةُ الحُرُدُ

    When gazelles seek shelter in their own shadows,

    the short-winged, crooked-legged ostriches cannot match her pace.

  9. كَأَنَّها واضِحُ الأَقرابِ أَفزَعَهُ

    غُضفٌ نَواحِلُ في أَعناقِها القِدَدُ

    As though she were a white-flanked wild bull, frightened

    by lean, droop-eared hounds with leather straps around their necks.

  10. ذادَ الضِراءَ بِرَوقَيهِ وَكَرَّ كَما

    ذادَ الكَتيبَةَ عَنهُ الرامِحُ النَجِدُ

    He drove the hunting hounds off with his two horns and charged back, as

    a valiant spearman drives a battalion away from him.

  11. أَو قارِبٌ بِالعُرى هاجَت مَراتِعُهُ

    وَخانَهُ موثِقُ الغُدرانِ وَالثَمَدُ

    Or a water-seeking wild ass at al-‘Ura, whose pastures withered,

    and whose trusted pools and scant waters betrayed him.

  12. رَعى عُنازَةَ حَتّى صَرَّ جُندَبُها

    وَذَعذَعَ الماءَ يَومٌ صاخِدٌ يَقِدُ

    He grazed at ‘Unaza until its grasshopper shrilled,

    and a scorching, blazing day dissipated the water.

  13. في ذُبَّلٍ كَقِداحِ النَبعِ يَعذِمُها

    حَتّى تُنوسِيَتِ الأَضغانُ وَاللَدَدُ

    Amid lean she-asses like nab‘-wood arrow shafts, he bites them,

    until grudges and quarrels are forgotten.

  14. يَشُلُّهُنَّ بِشَدٍّ ما يَقومُ لَهُ

    مِنها مَتابيعُ أَفلاءٍ وَلا جُدَدُ

    He drives them at a pace that none can withstand,

    neither mothers followed by foals nor barren females among them.

  15. كَأَنَّهُ بَعدَ طولِ الشَدِّ إِذ لَحِقَت

    جِحشانُها وَاِنطَوَت أَمعاؤُهُ مَسَدُ

    As though, after the long run, when they caught up—

    their foals—and his guts drew taut, he were a twisted rope.

  16. حَتّى تَأَوَّبَ عَيناً ما يَزالُ بِها

    مِنَ الأَخاضِرِ أَو مِن راسِبٍ رَصَدُ

    Until he reached at evening a spring where always waited

    watchmen from al-Akhadir or from Rasib.

  17. دُسمُ العَمائِمِ مُسحٌ لا لَحومَ لَهُم

    إِذا أَحَسّوا بِشَخصٍ نابِئٍ لَبَدوا

    Greasy-turbaned and gaunt, with no flesh on them,

    when they sense a figure appearing, they crouch low.

  18. عَلى شَرائِعِها غَرثانُ مُرتَقِبٌ

    إِبصارَها خائِفٌ إِدبارَها كَمِدُ

    At its watering places, a hungry man waits for

    a sight of them, fearing their retreat, heartsick.

  19. حَتّى إِذا أَمكَنَتهُ مِن مَقاتِلِها

    وَهوَ بِنَبعِيَّةٍ زَوراءَ مُتَّئِدِ

    Until, when they gave him a clear shot at their vital parts,

    while he stood deliberate with a curved nab‘-wood bow,

  20. أَهوى لَها مِعبَلاً مِثلَ الشِهابِ وَلَم

    يُقصِد وَقَد كادَ يَلقى حَتفَهُ العَضِدُ

    he loosed at them a broad-headed arrow like a meteor, but did not

    kill outright, though the stout wild ass nearly met its death.

  21. أَدبَرنَ مِنهُ عِجالاً وَقعُ أَكرُعِها

    كَما تَساقَطَ تَحتَ الغَبيَةِ البَرَدُ

    They turned away from him in haste, the beat of their legs

    like hail falling beneath a sudden shower.

  22. يا اِبنَ القَريعَينِ لَولا أَنَّ سَيبَكُمُ

    قَد عَمَّني لَم يُجِبني داعِياً أَحَدُ

    O son of the two chiefs, had your bounty not

    already embraced me, no one would have answered me when I called.

  23. أَنتُم تَدارَكتُموني بَعدَما زَلِقَت

    نَعلي وَأَخرَجَ عَن أَنيابِهِ الأَسَدُ

    You came to my rescue after it slipped—

    my sandal—and the lion had bared his fangs.

  24. وَمِن مُوَدِّئَةٍ أُخرى تَدارَكَني

    مِثلُ الرُدَينِيِّ لا واهٍ وَلا أَوِدُ

    And from another deadly ordeal there rescued me

    one like a Rudayni spear, neither weak nor crooked.

  25. نِعمَ الخُؤولَةُ مِن كَلبٍ خُؤولَتُهُ

    وَنِعمَ ما وَلَدَ الأَقوامُ إِذ وَلَدوا

    Splendid are his mother's kin, his mother's kin of Kalb,

    and splendid what peoples begot when they begot him.

  26. بازٌ تَظَلُّ عِتاقُ الطَيرُ خاشِعَةً

    مِنهُ وَتَمتَصِعُ الكِروانُ وَاللُبَدُ

    A hawk: the noblest birds remain humbled

    before him, while curlews and ground-hugging birds flutter.

  27. تَرى الوُفودَ إِلى جَزلٍ مَواهِبُهُ

    إِذا اِبتَغَوهُ لِأَمرٍ صالِحٍ وَجَدوا

    You see delegations seeking a man whose gifts are lavish;

    when they seek him for a worthy purpose, they find what they need.

  28. إِذا عَثَرتُ أَتاني مِن فَواضِلُهُ

    سَيبٌ تُسَنّى بِهِ الأَغلالُ وَالعُقَدُ

    When I stumble, there comes to me from his generous gifts

    a bounty by which fetters and knots are loosened.

  29. لا يُسمَعُ الجَهلُ يَجري في نَدِيِّهِمِ

    وَلا أُمَيَّةُ مِن أَخلاقِها الفَنَدُ

    No foolish talk is heard circulating in their assembly,

    nor is folly among Umayya's qualities.

  30. تَمَّت جُدودُهُمُ وَاللَهُ فَضَّلَهُم

    وَجَدُّ قَومٍ سِواهُم خامِلٌ نَكِدُ

    Their fortunes are perfected, and God has favored them,

    while the fortune of other people is lowly and ill-starred.

  31. هُمُ الَّذينَ أَجابَ اللَهُ دَعوَتَهُم

    لَمّا تَلاقَت نَواصي الخَيلِ فَاِجتَلَدوا

    They are the ones whose prayer God answered

    when the horses' forelocks met and they clashed in battle.

  32. لَيسَت تَنالُ أَكُفُّ القَومِ بَسطَتَهُم

    وَلَيسَ يَنقُضُ مَكرُ الناسِ ما عَقَدوا

    Other people's hands cannot attain their munificence,

    nor can people's scheming undo what they have bound.

  33. قَومٌ إِذا أَنعَموا كانَت فَواضِلُهُم

    سَيباً مِنَ اللَهِ لا مَنٌّ وَلا حَسَدُ

    A people whose favors, whenever they bestow them, are

    a bounty from God, without boastful reminders or envy.

  34. لَقَد نَزَلتُ بِعَبدِ اللَهِ مَنزِلَةً

    فيها عَنِ الفَقرِ مَنجاةٌ وَمُنتَفَدُ

    I have indeed found a station with ‘Abd Allah

    where there is escape from poverty and a source of support.

  35. كَأَنَّهُ مُزبِدٌ رَيّانُ مُنتَجَعٌ

    يَعلو الجَزائِرَ في حافاتِهِ الزَبَدُ

    As though he were a foaming, brimming river, sought for sustenance,

    foam rising over the islands along its banks.

  36. حَتّى تَرى كُلَّ مُزوَرٍ أَضَرَّ بِهِ

    كَأَنَّما الشَجَرُ البالي بِهِ بُجُدُ

    Until you see every bend it has pressed against,

    as though the weathered trees there were striped rugs.

  37. تَظَلُّ فيهِ بَناتُ الماءِ أَنجِيَةً

    وَفي جَوانِبِهِ اليَنبوتُ وَالحَصَدُ

    The daughters of the water linger there in whispering groups,

    and along its sides grow yanbut and hasad plants.

  38. سَهلُ الشَرائِعِ تَروى الحائِماتُ بِهِ

    إِذا العِطاشُ رَأَوا أَوضاحَهُ وَرَدوا

    Its watering approaches are easy; the circling ones drink their fill there.

    When the thirsty see its gleaming waters, they come to drink.

  39. فَأَمتَعَ اللَهُ بِالقَومِ الَّذينَ هُمُ

    فَكّوا الأُسارى وَمِنهُم جاءَنا الصَفَدُ

    May God grant lasting benefit through those people who

    freed the captives, and from whom bounty came to us.

  40. وَيَومَ شُرطَةِ قَيسٍ إِذ مُنيتَ لَهُم

    حَنَّت مَثاكيلُ مِن إيقاعِكُم نُكُدُ

    And on the day of Qays's picked troop, when you were pitted against them,

    wretched mothers bereaved by your assault wailed.

  41. ظَلّوا وَظَلَّ سَحابُ المَوتِ يُمطِرُهُم

    حَتّى تَوَجَّهَ مِنهُم عارِضٌ بَرِدُ

    They stayed all day, while death's cloud kept raining upon them,

    until a cold cloud-bank moved away from them.

  42. وَالمَشرَفِيَّةُ أَشباهُ البُروقِ لَها

    في كُلِّ جُمجُمَةٍ أَو بَيضَةٍ خُدَدُ

    And the Mashrafi swords, like lightning flashes, have

    furrows in every skull or helmet.

  43. وَيَومَ صِفّينَ وَالأَبصارُ خاشِعَةٌ

    أَمَدَّهُم إِذ دَعَوا مِن رَبِّهِم مَدَدُ

    And on the day of Siffin, with eyes downcast,

    aid from their Lord reinforced them when they prayed,

  44. عَلى الأُلى قَتَلوا عُثمانَ مَظلِمَةً

    لَم يَنهَهُم نَشَدٌ عَنهُ وَقَد نُشِدوا

    against those who unjustly killed ‘Uthman;

    no entreaty kept them from him, though they were implored.

  45. فَثَمَّ قَرَّت عُيونُ الثائِرينَ بِهِ

    وَأَدرَكوا كُلَّ تَبلٍ عِندَهُ قَوَدُ

    There the eyes of those avenging him were comforted,

    and they settled every blood-debt demanding retaliation.

  46. فَلَم تَزَل فَيلَقٌ خَضراءُ تَحطِمُهُم

    تَنعى اِبنَ عَفّانَ حَتّى أَفرَخَ الصَيدُ

    A dark-green battalion never ceased crushing them,

    lamenting Ibn ‘Affan, until the quarry became vulnerable.

  47. وَأَنتُمُ أَهلُ بَيتٍ لا يُوازِنُهُم

    بَيتٌ إِذا عُدَّتِ الأَحسابُ وَالعَدَدُ

    You are the people of a house no other

    house can rival when ancestral honors and numbers are counted.

  48. أَيديكُمُ فَوقَ أَيدي الناسِ فاضِلَةٌ

    وَلَن يُوازِنَكُم شيبٌ وَلا مُرُدُ

    Your hands rise above other people's hands in bounty,

    and neither graybeards nor beardless youths can match you.

  49. لا يَزمَهِرُّ غَداةَ الدَجنِ حاجِبُهُم

    وَلا أَضِنّاءُ بِالمِقرى وَإِن ثُمِدوا

    Their brows do not scowl on a cloud-dark morning,

    nor do they stint a guest's fare, even when their means are drained.

  50. قَومٌ إِذا ضَنَّ أَقوامٌ ذَوُو سَعَةٍ

    أَو حاذَروا حَضرَةَ العافينَ أَو جَحِدوا

    A people who, when wealthy peoples grow stingy,

    or dread the beggars' presence, or refuse them,

  51. باروا جُمادى بِشيزاهُم مُكَلَّلَةً

    فيها خَليطانِ واري الشَحمِ وَالكَبِدِ

    vie with Jumada with their heaped shiza-wood bowls,

    containing two mingled foods: rich fat and liver.

  52. المُطعِمونَ إِذا هَبَّت شَآمِيَةٌ

    غَبراءُ يَحجَرُ مِن شَفّانِها الصَرِدِ

    The givers of food when a wind from al-Sham blows,

    dust-gray, whose bitterly cold gusts make one seek shelter.

  53. وَإِن سَأَلتَ قُرَيشاً عَن أَوائِلِها

    فَهُم ذُؤابَتُها الأَعلَونَ وَالسَنَدُ

    And if you ask Quraysh about its foremost men,

    they are its crest, its highest men, and its support.

  54. وَلَو يُجَمَّعُ رِفدُ الناسِ كُلِّهِمِ

    لَم يَرفِدِ الناسُ إِلّا دونَ ما رَفَدوا

    Even if the bounty of all people were gathered,

    people's gifts would still fall short of what they have given.

  55. فَالمُسلِمونَ بِخَيرٍ ما بَقيتَ لَهُم

    وَلَيسَ بَعدَكَ خَيرٌ حينَ تُفتَقَدُ

    So the Muslims fare well as long as they have you,

    and there is no good after you, when you are gone.