Sol 6.1

  1. كانَت وَصاةٌ وَحاجاتٌ لَنا كَفَفُ

    لَو أَنَّ صَحبَكَ إِذ نادَيتَهُم وَقَفوا

    We had a parting message and wishes close at hand,

    if only your companions had stopped when you called them,

  2. عَلى هُرَيرَةَ إِذ قامَت تُوَدِّعُنا

    وَقَد أَتى مِن إِطارٍ دونَها شَرَفُ

    beside Hurayra as she rose to bid us farewell.

    And a ridge from Itar had already come between us and her.

  3. أَحبِب بِها خُلَّةً لَو أَنَّها وَقَفَت

    وَقَد تُزيلُ الحَبيبَ النِيَّةُ القَذَفُ

    How dear a beloved companion she is—if only she had stayed!

    Yet a far-off destination may carry the beloved away.

  4. إِنَّ الأَعَزَّ أَبانا كانَ قالَ لَنا

    أوصيكُمُ بِثَلاثٍ إِنَّني تَلِفُ

    Indeed, al-Aʿazz, our father, had said to us:

    "I charge you with three things, for I am dying.

  5. الضَيفُ أوصيكُمُ بِالضَيفِ إِنَّ لَهُ

    حَقّاً عَلَيَّ فَأُعطيهِ وَأَعتَرِفُ

    The guest—I charge you to care for the guest, for he has

    a right upon me; I give him his due and acknowledge it.

  6. وَالجارُ أوصيكُمُ بِالجارِ إِنَّ لَهُ

    يَوماً مِنَ الدَهرِ يَثنيهِ فَيَنصَرِفُ

    And the neighbor—I charge you to care for the neighbor, for he has

    a day in time that will turn him away, and he will depart.

  7. وَقاتِلوا القَومَ إِنَّ القَتلَ مَكرُمَةٌ

    إِذا تَلَوّى بِكَفِّ المُعصِمِ العُرُفُ

    And fight the enemy, for slaying is a noble deed

    when the mane twists in the hand of the rider holding fast."

  8. إِنَّ الرَبابَ وَحَيّاً مِن بَني أَسَدٍ

    مِنهُم بَقيرٌ وَمِنهُم سارِبٌ سَلَفُ

    Indeed, al-Rabab and a clan of Banu Asad,

    some a gathered band, some a troop that had gone ahead,

  9. قَد صادَفوا عُصبَةً مِنّا وَسَيِّدَنا

    كُلٌّ يُؤَمِّلُ قُنياناً وَيَطَّرِفُ

    had encountered a band of us and our chief,

    each hoping for possessions and seeking fresh gains.

  10. قُلنا الصَلاحَ فَقالوا لا نُصالِحُكُم

    أَهلُ النُبوكِ وَعيرٌ فَوقَها الخَصَفُ

    We said, "Peace!" They said, "We will not make peace with you—

    people of the sand-hills, and a caravan topped with palm-leaf mats!"

  11. لَسنا بِعيرٍ وَبَيتِ اللَهِ مائِرَةٍ

    إِلّا عَلَيها دُروعُ القَومِ وَالزَغَفُ

    We are no provision-bearing caravan, by the House of God,

    save one bearing the warriors' armor and fine-ringed mail.

  12. لَمّا اِلتَقَينا كَشَفنا عَن جَماجِمِنا

    لِيَعلَموا أَنَّنا بَكرٌ فَيَنصَرِفوا

    When we met, we bared our heads,

    so they would know that we were Bakr and withdraw.

  13. قالوا البَقِيَّةَ وَالهِندِيُّ يَحصُدُهُم

    وَلا بَقِيَّةَ إِلّا النارُ فَاِنكَشَفوا

    They cried, "Mercy!" while the Indian sword mowed them down.

    And no mercy—only fire; so they fled.

  14. هَل سَرَّ حِنقِطَ أَنَّ القَومَ صالَحَهُم

    أَبو شُرَيحٍ وَلَم يوجَد لَهُ خَلَفُ

    Did it please Hinqit that peace was made with the people by

    Abu Shurayh, and no replacement was found for him?

  15. قَد آبَ جارَتَها الحَسناءَ قَيَّمُها

    رَكضاً وَآبَ إِلَيها الثَكلُ وَالتَلَفُ

    Her lovely neighbor's husband had returned to her,

    at a gallop; and to her came bereavement and ruin.

  16. وَجُندُ كِسرى غَداةَ الحِنوِ صَبَّحَهُم

    مِنّا كَتائِبُ تُزجي المَوتَ فَاِنصَرَفوا

    And Kisra's troops, on the morning at al-Hinw, were assailed

    by battalions of ours driving death onward; so they withdrew.

  17. جَحاجِحٌ وَبَنو مُلكٍ غَطارِفَةٌ

    مِنَ الأَعاجِمِ في آذانِها النُطَفُ

    Great chieftains and sons of royalty, highborn nobles,

    from among the non-Arabs, with earrings in their ears.

  18. إِذا أَمالوا إِلى النُشّابِ أَيدِيَهُم

    مِلنا بِبيضٍ فَظَلَّ الهامُ يُختَطَفُ

    When they turned their hands toward the arrows,

    we turned on them with bright swords, and heads kept being snatched away.

  19. وَخَيلُ بَكرٍ فَما تَنفَكُّ تَطحَنُهُم

    حَتّى تَوَلّوا وَكادَ اليَومُ يَنتَصِفُ

    And Bakr's horses never ceased grinding them down,

    until they fled, with the day nearly half gone.

  20. لَو أَنَّ كُلَّ مَعَدٍّ كانَ شارَكَنا

    في يَومِ ذي قارَ ما أَخطاهُمُ الشَرَفُ

    Had all of Maʿadd joined us

    on the day of Dhu Qar, glory would not have passed them by.

  21. لَمّا أَتَونا كَأَنَّ اللَيلَ يَقدُمُهُم

    مُطَبِّقَ الأَرضَ يَغشاها بِهِم سَدَفُ

    When they came upon us, it was as though night went before them,

    blanketing the earth, darkness veiling it with them.

  22. وَظُعنُنا خَلفَنا كُحلاً مَدامِعُها

    أَكبادُها وُجُفٌ مِمّا تَرى تَجِفُ

    And behind us were our women in litters, their tear-ducts dark with kohl,

    their livers throbbing, quivering at what they saw.

  23. حَواسِرٌ عَن خُدودٍ عايَنَت عِبَراً

    وَلاحَها وَعَلاها غُبرَةٌ كُسُفُ

    With cheeks unveiled, they had witnessed sobering lessons,

    and dark dust had discolored them and covered them,

  24. مِن كُلِّ مَرجانَةٍ في البَحرِ أَخرَجَها

    غَوّاصُها وَوَقاها طينَها الصَدَفُ

    each a pearl in the sea, brought out by

    its diver, while its shell had protected it from the mud around it.