Sol 6.1

  1. إنّ المتيّم حين شابَ قَذالُه

    سَئَم الصِّبا وتكَاثَرَت عُذّالُهُ

    Indeed, the love-stricken man, when the back of his head turned gray,

    Grew weary of youthful passion, and his reproachers multiplied.

  2. وتبدّل الخَلطاء وانصَدع الهَوى

    وتصرَّمت بعد الوصال حبالُهُ

    His companions changed, and love was sundered,

    And after union its bonds were severed.

  3. وأرى الّذي وَعدَ الزيّارةَ مُولَعَا

    بالهجر حتّى مايُطيفُ خيالُهُ

    I see the one who promised a visit infatuated

    With estrangement, so that not even his phantom visits.

  4. ولقد يجَدّدُ لي أَحاديثَ الصّبا

    رَسْمُ الحمى وتَشوقني أطلالُهُ

    Indeed, tales of youth are renewed for me

    By the traces of the protected pasture; its ruins stir my longing.

  5. ولقد أميلُ إلى التّصابي بعدمَا

    نَزَلَ المشيبُ وَبرَّحتْ أَشغالُهُ

    Indeed, I incline to youthful dalliance, even after

    Gray hair has descended and its cares have tormented me.

  6. وبرزت أصطادُ الظباء فعنَّ لي

    سربٌ تصيّدني وفات غزالُهُ

    I went out to hunt gazelles, and there appeared to me

    A herd that hunted me, while its gazelle escaped.

  7. ولقد أُقاسمهُ الهَوى لو كان لي

    ريعانُهُ وفتورُهُ ودَلالُهُ

    I would share love with him, if I possessed

    His youthful bloom, his languor, and his coquetry.

  8. فيم التّصابي والتّعَلّلُ بعدما

    ذَهب الشّبابٌ وهل يحور ظلالُهُ

    Why youthful dalliance and self-consolation, now that

    Youth has gone? Can its shadows return?

  9. وعمار دار لا يطول مقامها

    وهوى حبيب لا يدوم وصالُهُ

    And why dwell in an abode that does not long endure,

    And love a beloved whose union does not last?

  10. وجب اعتبارُ المرءِ واستعداده

    للقاءِ محتومٍ إِليه مآلُهُ

    A man must take heed and prepare himself

    To meet an inevitable fate toward which he is bound,

  11. وتفكّر الإنسان أين مَصيره

    لغدٍ وكيف مقامه ومقالُهُ

    And ponder where he is destined

    Tomorrow, how he will stand, and what he will say.

  12. وليحْصّيَنْ عمَلُ الفتَى أو قولُهُ

    وَليُعْرِضَنَّ صَحيحُهُ وَمُحالُهُ

    A young man's deed or word shall surely be counted,

    And their soundness and falsehood shall surely be laid bare.

  13. إنّ السّعيد هو الموفق للهدى

    والمخلصاتُ لربه أعمالُهُ

    The fortunate man is he who is guided to the right path,

    And whose deeds are devoted sincerely to his Lord.

  14. والحائز المجد المؤئل مَن زَكَتْ

    آباؤه وسَمَتْ بهِ أفضالُهُ

    The winner of enduring glory is he whose

    Forefathers were pure and whose virtues raised him high.

  15. كأبي المعالي طابَ أصلُ جدوده

    وَصفت خلائقه وفاض نوالُهُ

    Like Abu al-Maʿali: pure was the stock of his forefathers,

    His character was unblemished, and his bounty overflowed.

  16. كهلان سيد قومه بن محمّد

    الطَّاهر الشيم الجمييل فَعالُهُ

    Kahlan, chief of his people, son of Muhammad,

    Pure in character, beautiful in his deeds,

  17. والفارس المقدام يورد نفسه

    ضنكَ المقام إذا استضيق مقالُهُ

    The bold horseman who leads himself

    Into perilous straits when his speech is constrained.

  18. موجودةٌ حسناتُه وهباتُه

    محمودةٌ عاداتْه وخلالُهُ

    His good deeds and gifts are ever present;

    His habits and traits are praised.

  19. ماضي العزيمة في الخطوب مصمّم

    كالسيف أطلق شفرتيه صِقالُهُ

    Resolute in calamities, unwavering,

    Like a sword whose polishing has unleashed its two edges.

  20. متجنب شينَ المثالب عرضُهُ

    متقسِّم بين المطالب مالُهُ

    His honor shuns the disgrace of faults;

    His wealth is apportioned among the claims upon it.

  21. غيث إذا استسقيتَ صوبَ يمينه

    أروَتك من جزل النوال سِجالُهُ

    Life-giving rain: if you ask the downpour of his right hand,

    His brimming buckets quench you with lavish bounty.

  22. وإِذا تضايق مطلبٌ لمهمة

    وسألتَه يوماً كفاك سؤالُه

    And if the way to an urgent need grows narrow,

    And you ask him one day, your request alone suffices.

  23. من آل نبهانَ الذي ترك العُلى

    إرثاً فآل إلى المكارم آلُهُ

    Of the house of Nabhan, who left eminence

    As an inheritance, so his house attained noble deeds;

  24. من آل قحطانَ الذين سمَا بهم

    بيتٌ بناه الله جلَّ جلالُهُ

    Of the house of Qahtan, raised high

    By a house God built—exalted be His majesty.

  25. بيتُ الملوك من العتيك عزيزة

    أركانه وعماده وقلالُهُ

    A royal house of al-ʿAtik, mighty are

    Its pillars, its mainstay, and its summits.

  26. ربعٌ يغيث المعتفين رياضُه

    وحمى يجير الخائفين حبالُهُ

    A dwelling whose meadows succor supplicants,

    A sanctuary whose bonds shelter the fearful,

  27. مثل العرين تزّأرت آسادهُ

    وتمنعت في غابها أشبالُهُ

    Like a lion's den whose lions have roared,

    And whose cubs are unassailable in their thicket.

  28. بيت بنو نبهان أنجم جوّهِ

    سُمْحاؤهُ فُصحاؤهُ أبطالُهُ

    A house in whose sky the sons of Nabhan are stars:

    Its generous men, its eloquent men, its heroes.

  29. تعلوعلى رتب العُلي أشياخهُ

    وتَشبُّ في مهد العُلى أطفالُهُ

    Its elders rise above the ranks of eminence,

    And its children grow up in the cradle of eminence.

  30. وتخالُ بشرى النَاس عن مولودِهمُ

    بشراهُم بالعيد هَلَّ هلالُهُ

    You would think the people's glad news of their newborn

    Was their glad news of a feast whose crescent has appeared.

  31. لا زالت الأيام ضامنةً لهم

    بقدوم مولودٍ سيحسُنُ حالُهُ

    The days never ceased to promise them

    The arrival of a newborn whose lot would be good,

  32. حتى أتى الولدُ المبارك بعدما

    بخل الزَّمانُ به وطال جدالُهُ

    Until the blessed child arrived, after

    Time had begrudged him and long persisted in dispute.

  33. وافى أبوعبد الإله بطالعٍ

    سعد وجاءَ على الميامن فالُهُ

    Abu ʿAbd al-Ilah arrived with a rising star

    Of fortune, and his omen came with auspicious signs.

  34. ولدٌ له عين الفَخار وانفهُ

    ومن العَلاء يمينه وشمالُهُ

    A child who has glory's eye and nose,

    And whose right and left hands are of eminence;

  35. ولدٌ أبوه أبوالمعالي حقَّ أنْ

    يُنمى إليه جميلُهُ وجمالُهُ

    A child whose father is Abu al-Maʿali; rightly should

    His goodness and beauty be traced to him.

  36. ومحمّد ابن أَبي المغيرة جدُّه

    ومحمّد ابن أبي حَسينٍ خالُهُ

    Muhammad ibn Abi al-Mughira is his grandfather,

    And Muhammad ibn Abi Husayn his maternal uncle.

  37. هذا هو الحسبُ الصّريح تناسبت

    جَنَباتُه وتماثلَت أشكالُهُ

    This is pure lineage, whose

    Sides accord and whose forms resemble one another.

  38. وتظلُ تستشفي القُلوبُ بِذكره

    ويلذَّ كحلاءَ العيون ئمالُهُ

    Hearts continue to seek healing in his mention,

    And his [beauty] delights kohl-dark eyes.

  39. فنَما وطابَ محمّد وتكَرّمَت

    أَخلاقه وتزَيّنت أَفعالُهُ

    May Muhammad grow and flourish, and may

    His character be ennobled and his deeds adorned,

  40. حتى يطولَ على المُلوك محلُّهُ

    ويتمَّ في فضل الأمور كمَالُهُ

    Until his station rises above kings,

    And his perfection is complete in the noblest affairs.

  41. يسمو أَبوه به ويكثر أُنسه

    ويقر ناظره وينعُم بالُهُ

    His father rises through him and his joy increases,

    His eye is gladdened and his mind at ease.

  42. ويري بنو عمر بن نبهان لهمْ

    أمثالَهُ وعزيزةٌ أمثالُهُ

    And may the sons of ʿUmar ibn Nabhan see among them

    Others like him—though his like are rare—

  43. حتّى يُنيف على البلاد لبيتهمْ

    شجرٌ تطيب ثمارهُ وظلالُهُ

    Until their house has, towering above the lands,

    Trees whose fruit and shade are sweet.

  44. ويكون بينهم الأعزُّ المنتقَى

    والمرتَجى أطفاله ورجالُهُ

    And may he be the mightiest among them, the chosen one,

    Whose children and men are looked to with hope.

  45. وبقيتَ ياكهلانُ يابنَ محمّد

    تسمو إلى شرف العُلى فتنالُهُ

    May you endure, Kahlan, son of Muhammad,

    Rising to the honor of eminence and attaining it.

  46. وسلمتُم طول المدى تعتادكم

    أعيادُكم وتسرُّكم أحوالهُ

    And may you all remain safe through time, revisited

    By your feasts, as its fortunes bring you joy.

  47. في كلِّ عام لا يزال يزوركم

    رمضانُ أو أضحاهُ أو شوّالهُ

    Each year, may there never cease to visit you

    Ramadan, or its Adha feast, or its Shawwal.

  48. وبقي أبو عبد الإله وعاشَ في

    عزّ مجرّرة لنا أذيالهُ

    May Abu ʿAbd al-Ilah endure and live in

    Glory, with its skirts trailing for us,

  49. حتي يحوز بلاده وملوكُها

    خَوَلٌ لهُ والعالمون عيالُهُ

    Until he possesses his lands, their kings

    His servants, and all the world his dependents.

  50. طَوعْ العَصيّ وعَصيُ لومَ العاذلِ

    حقٌ علينا للحبيب الواصلِ

    Obeying the defiant beloved and defying the reproacher's blame

    Are duties we owe the beloved who grants union.

  51. أوما جزيتك إذ خصصتك في الهوى

    بصبابتي وزيارتي ووسائلي

    Have I not repaid you, when I singled you out in love

    With my yearning, my visits, and my entreaties?

  52. وصَفت علانيتي لكم وسريرتي

    وتبعت حقّي في رضاك وباطلي

    My open conduct and secret heart were pure toward you,

    And in seeking your pleasure I followed my right and my wrong,

  53. كتصرّفي مابين أحكام الهوى

    من جائر فيه عليّ وعادلِ

    As I ranged among love's judgments,

    Some unjust to me therein, and some just,

  54. وسلوك ميدان الصِّبا ولطالما

    أجريت أَفراسي به وروَاحلى

    And traversed the field of youth—how often

    I set my horses and riding camels racing there!

  55. وقضيتُ أوطار الهَوى بأوائسٍ

    خُردُ أَوانسَ كالظّباء بهاكلِ

    And I fulfilled love's desires with maidens [reading uncertain],

    Shy and companionable, like gazelles, full-figured,

  56. يختلنَ بين مجاسد ومطارف

    وأَساور ودمالج وخلاخلِ

    Swaying among saffron-dyed gowns and bordered cloaks,

    And bracelets, armlets, and anklets.

  57. يُحدثن لي في كلّ حين صبوةً

    عن سلوة مثل الخضاب الناصلِ

    They rekindle in me at every moment a youthful passion,

    After a forgetfulness like fading dye.

  58. ولَطالما عَلّلتُ نفسي نَاعماً

    بالي بصافٍ من سُلافةِ بابلِ

    How often I solaced myself, at ease

    In mind, with clear wine from Babylon's first pressing.

  59. إن كنت مُستكراً فلست بجالب

    شراً على صحبي ولست بواغلِ

    If I was intoxicated, I was no bringer of

    Harm to my companions, nor an uninvited drinker.

  60. والله ماعرف النّديمُ نَدامةً

    عندي ولا ثنتِ الشَّمول شَمَائلي

    By God, no drinking companion ever knew regret

    With me, nor did wine alter my character.

  61. ثم ارعويتُ وقد نويتُ تواضعاً

    لصروف أَيّام وشيبٍ شاملِ

    Then I came to my senses, resolved to submit

    To the turns of days and all-encompassing gray hair.

  62. ووقيت أّدناس العيوب خلائقي

    بإخاءَ ذي كرمٍ وصحبةِ عاقلِ

    And I guarded my character from the stains of faults

    Through brotherhood with a noble man and the company of a wise one.

  63. وعرفت دهري بعد طول تجاربي

    للنّاس بينَ حليمهم والجاهلِ

    I came to know my age after long experience

    Of people, both their forbearing and their ignorant,

  64. صبراً على زمنٍ أَراه موالياً

    للناقصين معادياً للفاضلِ

    With patience toward an age I see as loyal

    To the deficient, hostile to the worthy,

  65. وتغاضياً عن بغض كل منافق

    وتجملاً لوداد كل مجاملِ

    And overlooking every hypocrite's hatred,

    And graciousness toward every courteous man's affection,

  66. وغنىً يفيض ندى بني نبهانَ عن

    مَدحِ اللئيم وعن سؤآل الباخلِ

    And wealth poured forth by the bounty of Nabhan's sons, freeing me from

    Praising the base and asking the miser,

  67. بندى أبي الحسن الجواد المرتجى

    وجَدَى بي العرب الكريم الكاملِ

    Through the bounty of Abu al-Hasan, the generous, looked to with hope,

    And the gifts of Abu al-ʿArab, the noble, the perfect.

  68. علَمان بين العالمين تكرماً

    بمناقبٍ ومحاسنٍ وفضائلِ

    Two banners amid mankind in generosity,

    In noble traits, merits, and virtues;

  69. غصنان في جرثومة عتكيّة

    بَسَقا بحسن ذُرىً وطيب أسافلِ

    Two branches upon a stock of al-ʿAtik,

    Grown tall, with fair crowns and wholesome roots;

  70. بدران يبتدران في اُفق العُلى

    بطوالع بالسعد غير أوافلِ

    Two full moons racing across the horizon of eminence,

    Rising with good fortune, never setting;

  71. أسدان مختدران في غابين بَيْ

    نَ صواهل وصوارم وذوابلِ

    Two lions ensconced in two thickets, amid

    Neighing steeds, keen swords, and slender spears;

  72. جبلان عزّا واشمخرّا في العلا

    لذراء عانِ قامعان العَائلِ

    Two mountains, mighty and towering in the heights,

    Sheltering a captive and subduing the oppressor;

  73. بحران عذبُ الّلج يقذف منهما

    بالدّر آذيُّ باطيب ساحلِ

    Two seas of sweet depths, from which are cast

    Pearls by the surf upon the finest shore;

  74. وغمامتان من الربيع كِلاهما

    يتباريان بديمة أو وابلِ

    And two spring clouds, both

    Vying in steady rain or heavy showers;

  75. ويدان قابضتان أرسان العُلى

    طوراً وباسطتان فضل النّائِلِ

    And two hands grasping the reins of eminence

    At times, and at others outstretched with bounteous gifts.

  76. سامى أبو حسن بأحسن شيمة

    ماذُهلُ عن كرم الفعال بذاهلِ

    Abu Hasan rose high through the finest character;

    Dhuhl is not heedless of noble deeds.

  77. والدّهر يُعرب عن فضائل يعربٍ

    بل ما أَبو العرب الأَجل بخاملِ

    And time proclaims the virtues of Yaʿrub;

    Indeed, the illustrious Abu al-ʿArab is not obscure.

  78. فليبقيا وليغنَما وليسلَما

    للمعتفي والمجتدي والآملِ

    May both endure, prosper, and remain safe

    For the supplicant, the seeker of gifts, and the hopeful.