Sol 6.1

  1. إِعتِرافي بِعِظَم فَضلِكَ فَضلُ

    وَعُدولي عَن كُنهِ وَصفِكَ عَدلُ

    My acknowledgment of your great merit is itself a merit;

    and my refraining from fully describing you is justice.

  2. كلما رُمت وصف قدرك أَلفيت

    صِفاتي تَدنو وَقدرك يَعلو

    Whenever I seek to describe your rank, I find

    my descriptions fall short, while your rank soars

  3. فَوق طِرفٍ مِنَ العَلاءِ لَهُ

    الزُهر مَسامير والأَهِلةُ نَعلُ

    upon a noble steed of eminence, whose

    shoe-nails are bright stars and whose horseshoes are crescents.

  4. قَد حَلا الدَهر مِن حُلولك فيهِ

    وَلَقَد يُمزَج الذُعاف فَيَحلو

    Time has grown sweet through your dwelling in it;

    and even deadly poison, when blended, can turn sweet.

  5. فَظَلام الزَمان نورٌ وَبؤس

    الدَهر نُعمى وَحَرُّهُ منك ظِلُّ

    So time's darkness is light, and the misery

    of the age is bliss; through you, its heat is shade.

  6. وَإِذا هَزَّكَ الإِمام لِحَربٍ

    أَو لِسلمٍ فَأَنتَ نَصرٌ وَنَصلُ

    And when the imam brandishes you for war

    or for peace, you are victory and a blade.

  7. تخمد الحَرب حين تَغمِد بأساً

    وَتُسيل الدِماء حينَ تَسُلُّ

    You quench war when you sheathe your might,

    and make blood flow when you draw it.

  8. ثابَت الجأشِ طائِشَ الجودِ داني

    العَفوِ نائي المَدى مُعِزٌّ مُذِلُّ

    Steadfast of heart, unbridled in bounty, near

    in pardon, far in reach, exalting and humbling.

  9. قوله حِكمَةُ وأَفعاله عَدلٌ

    وآراؤُهُ السَديدَةُ فَصلُ

    His speech is wisdom, and his deeds are justice;

    and his sound judgments are conclusive.

  10. هوَ بَعضُ الأَنام في روية العَين

    وَإِن عُدَّ فاضِل فَهوَ كلُ

    To the eye, he is but one among mankind,

    but when men of merit are counted, he is them all.

  11. لا يَشين النَوال منه بِمُطلٍ

    إِنَّ طوق العَطاء بِالمُطلِ غُلُّ

    He never mars his giving with delay;

    for delay makes giving's necklace a shackle.

  12. يَهزِمُ الجَيش بِالكِتابِ كَأَنَّ

    الكُتُبَ مِنهُ كَتائِبُ ما تُفَلُّ

    He routs an army with a letter, as though

    his letters were battalions that cannot be routed.

  13. وَكأَنَّ السُطورَ فيها صُفوف

    وَكأَنَّ الحُروفَ خيل ورجلُ

    And as though their lines were ranks,

    and as though their letters were cavalry and infantry.

  14. كل فَصل فيهِ من القطع وَالوَصل

    كَهام العِداةِ قطع وَوَصلُ

    Every passage therein, with its severing and joining,

    is like the heads of foes, severed and joined.

  15. فيهِ مَحيا قَومٍ وَمَهلِكَ قَومٍ

    أَسِجال مِنَ القَنا أَم سِجِلُّ

    Within it is life for some and death for others:

    is it a downpour of spears, or a scroll?

  16. وَإِذا راشَ بِالأَنامِلِ أَنبوب

    يَراعٍ كَأَنَّما هوَ نَبلُ

    And when he feathers with his fingers the shaft

    of a reed-pen, it is like a flight of arrows.

  17. قَلَمٌ دَبَّر الأَقاليمَ حَتّى

    ظَلَّ فيهِ داعي التَناسُخِ يَغلو

    A pen that governed the provinces, until

    the advocate of transmigration kept making extravagant claims about it.

  18. قَلمٌ صَدره سِنانٌ وأُخراهُ

    حُسام وَبينَ ذَلِكَ صِلُّ

    A pen whose point is a spearhead, whose other end

    is a sword, and between the two a viper.

  19. يا أَبا غانِمٍ أَرى الغَانِمَ

    السالِمَ من في يَمينه منكَ حَبلُ

    O Abu Ghanim, I count as fortunate

    and safe whoever holds a cord from you in his right hand.

  20. مدحتك العَلياء من قبل مَدحي

    وَهوَ مَدحٌ بِنَفسِهِ مستَقِلُّ

    Glory praised you before I did,

    and that is praise sufficient in itself.

  21. لا أَهنِّيك إِذ وليت لِعِلمي

    أَنَّ ما ازددتَ فيهِ عَنكَ يَقِلُّ

    I do not congratulate you on your appointment, knowing

    that what you have gained in it falls short of your worth.

  22. وَلوَ أَنَّ الإِمامَ وَلّاكَ أَمرَ الشَرقِ

    وَالغَربِ كُنت عنه تَجِلُّ

    Even if the imam entrusted you with the rule of the East

    and the West, you would still be too exalted for it.

  23. قَد تَهَيَّأتُ لِلرَّحيل إِلى الأَهلِ

    فَجُد لي بِمالَهُ أَنتَ أَهلُ

    I have made ready to depart for my family;

    so give me what is worthy of you.

  24. أَينَما كُنتُ في البِلادِ بِنَفسي

    فَثَنائي يَحُلُّ حيث تَحُلُّ

    Wherever in the lands I may be in person,

    my praise dwells wherever you dwell.

  25. قَد تملكتَ بِالمَكارِم حُرّاً

    وَهوَ رِقٌّ مُحَرَّمُ ما يَحِلُّ

    Through noble deeds you have taken possession of a free man,

    and that is forbidden bondage, never lawful.

  26. لا أَذُمُّ الزَمانَ إِذ كنت منه

    ما بِدَهرٍ سَخا بِمثلك بُخلُ

    I do not blame the age, since you belong to it;

    no age that bestowed your like can be miserly.