Sol 6.1

  1. بَعَثَت إِلَيكَ بِطَيفها تَعليلا

    وَخضابُ لَيلك قَد أَراد نُصولا

    She sent you her phantom to console you,

    while the dye of your night was beginning to fade.

  2. فَأَتاكَ وَهناً وَالظَلامُ كَأَنَّما

    نظم النَجوم لِرأسه إِكليلا

    It came to you late at night, while darkness seemed

    to have strung the stars into a crown for its head.

  3. وَإِذا تَأَمَّلت الكَواكب خلتها

    زَهراً تفتَّح أَو عُيوناً حولا

    When you contemplated the stars, you fancied them

    opening blossoms, or cross-eyed eyes.

  4. أَهدَت لنا مِن خَدِّها وَرُضابِها

    وَرداً تُحَيِّينا بِهِ وَشمولا

    She gave us, from her cheek and her saliva,

    roses to greet us with, and wine:

  5. وَرداً إِذا ما شُمَّ زادَ غَضاضَةً

    وَلَو أَنَّهُ كالوَردِ زاد ذبولا

    roses that grow fresher whenever they are smelled;

    had they been like other roses, they would have withered more.

  6. وَجَلَت لنا بَرداً يُشَهّي بَرده

    نفس الحصور العابِدِ التَقبيلا

    She bared for us hailstones whose coolness makes

    even the chaste worshipper's soul crave kisses:

  7. بَرداً يُذيب وَلا يَذوب وَكُلَّما

    شَرِبَ المُتَيَّمُ مِنهُ زادَ غَليلا

    hail that melts others but never melts; whenever

    the love-stricken drinks from it, his burning thirst increases.

  8. لَم أَنسها تَشكو الفِراقَ بِأَدمُعٍ

    ما اعتَدنَ في الخَدِّ الأَسيلِ مَسيلا

    I have not forgotten her lamenting separation with tears

    unused to flowing down her smooth cheek.

  9. فَرأَيتُ سَيفَ اللَحظِ لَيسَ بِمُغمدٍ

    من تحت أَدمُعِها وَلا مَسلولا

    I saw the sword of her glance neither sheathed

    beneath her tears nor drawn.

  10. إِن دامَ دَمعكِ فاحذَري غرقاً به

    وَإِذا تَوالى القَطرُ كان سُيولا

    If your tears persist, beware of drowning in them:

    when raindrops follow one another, they become torrents.

  11. حُطّي النِقابَ لَعَلَّ سرحَ لحاظِنا

    في رَوضِ وجهك يرتعنَّ قَليلا

    Lower the veil, that perhaps the flock of our glances

    may graze a little in the meadow of your face.

  12. لَمّا انتقبتِ حَسِبتُ وَجهَكِ شعلة

    خلَلَ النِقاب وَخِلته قِنديلا

    When you veiled yourself, I thought your face a flame

    through the veil's openings, and imagined it a lamp.

  13. هامَ الفؤاد بِأَنجُمٍ مِن حَيث ما

    أَبصَرتهنَّ رأَيتهنَّ أَفولا

    My heart was crazed with stars: wherever

    I beheld them, I saw them setting.

  14. رَحَلوا ولون اللَيل أَدهم مُصمَتٍ

    فامتار مِنهُم غُرَّة وَحُجولا

    They departed when night's hue was an unmarked black steed's;

    it acquired from them a white blaze and white stockings.

  15. يَنحون حيث تَرى المَوارِدَ طُفَّحاً

    وَالرَوض غَضٌّ وَالنَسيم عَليلا

    They head where you see the watering places brimming,

    the meadow fresh, and the breeze gentle.

  16. فالأقحوانَةُ ثَمَّ تلقى أُختَها

    كَفَمٍ يُحاوِل مِن فَمٍ تَقبيلا

    There the daisy meets its sister

    like a mouth seeking a kiss from another mouth.

  17. كلف الفراق بمن هويت فَكُلَّما

    دانيته شِبراً تأخَّرَ ميلا

    Parting is enamored of the one I love; whenever

    I approach him a handspan, he withdraws a mile.

  18. قتلتني الأَيام حينَ قتلتها

    عِلماً فأبصر قاتِلاً مَقتولا

    The days slew me when I had mastered them

    in knowledge—behold a slayer slain.

  19. مالَت عَليَّ فَقَد جعلت مَطيَّتي

    ما بين أَجفان الدياجيَ ميلاد

    They turned against me, so I made my mount

    a 'birth' between the eyelids of dark nights [text unclear].

  20. حَمَلت جَميلاً من ثَناء مُحمَدٍ

    لِتَزور وَجهاً كالثَناءِ جَميلا

    It carried lovely praise of Muhammad

    to visit a face as lovely as the praise.

  21. ملك يروقك منظَراً وَمقالة

    كالسَيف يَحسُن رؤيَة وَصَقيلا

    A king who delights you in appearance and speech,

    like a sword, beautiful to behold and finely polished.

  22. أَضحى السَخاء مُخَيِّماً في كَفِّهِ

    حَمِدَ المحَل فَما يُريد رَحيلا

    Generosity has pitched its camp in his palm;

    it praised the lodging and desires no departure.

  23. أَوَ هَل يُريد الجود بَعدَ يَمينِهِ

    وَهوَ النِهايَة في العُلوِّ نزولا

    Or would bounty, after his right hand—

    the summit of all heights—wish to descend?

  24. لا أَستَزيد الدَهر بَعدَ لِقائِهِ

    حَبي بِرؤيَتِهِ البَهيَّة سولا

    I ask no more of fate after meeting him:

    the gift of his splendid sight is all I desire.

  25. عَمَّ الرَعية وَالرعاة نواله

    وَالفاضل المأمول وَالمَفضولا

    His largesse embraces subjects and rulers,

    the worthy, looked to with hope, and the less worthy.

  26. كالغَيث إِن جادَت يَداهُ بديمَةٍ

    أَغنى بِها المَعروف وَالمَجهولا

    Like rain: when his hands lavish a steady downpour,

    he enriches with it the known and the unknown.

  27. يَرتَدُّ فِكرُكَ بِالفَضائل حاسِراً

    عنه وطرفك بِالضِياء كَليلا

    Your thought retreats, exhausted by his virtues,

    from him, and your gaze, wearied by his radiance.

  28. وَتَحوز مِن إِحسانِهِ وَعَيانه

    وَبيانِهِ وَبنانِهِ المأمولا

    You obtain from his kindness and the sight of him,

    his eloquence and his fingers, all you hope for.

  29. زاد العفاة عَلى الديات وَلَم يَكُن

    أَردى سِوى فقر العُفاةِ قَتيلا

    He gave supplicants more than blood-money, though he had not

    slain any victim but the supplicants' poverty.

  30. وَدَعا لِسائِله وَأَعلَن شُكره

    حَتّى حَسِبنا السائِل المَسؤولا

    He prayed for his petitioner and proclaimed his thanks,

    until we thought the asker was the one being asked.

  31. أَتَراهُ يَحسَبُ وَفدَهُ شُركاءَهُ

    وَيَرى التَفرد بِالثَراء عَليلا

    Do you think he counts his visitors as his partners,

    and regards sole possession of wealth as unsound?

  32. يا مَن يفنِّده عَلى صِلَة النَدى

    أَتلوم في صِلَة الخَليل خَليلا

    O you who reproach him for fellowship with bounty,

    do you blame a friend for keeping faith with a friend?

  33. اللَهُ صَوَّرَهُ جَواداً خَلَقَهُ

    وَتُريدُ منه أَن يَكون بَخيلا

    God fashioned him generous when He created him,

    yet you want him to be a miser.

  34. خُلِقَ ابن إِبراهيم جوداً كُله

    فَمَتى تطيق لِخَلقِهِ تَبديلا

    Ibrahim's son was created wholly of generosity;

    so when can you manage to change his nature?

  35. لَو ذُقتَ مِن طَعمِ النَدى ما ذاقه

    لَعَصَيتَ فيهِ لائِماً وَعذولا

    Had you tasted of generosity what he has tasted,

    you would defy both critic and reproacher over it.

  36. أُهرب بِنَفسِك لا يهبك فَرُبَّما

    أَعطى العذول الرِفد وَالمَعذولا

    Flee with your life, lest he give you away, for sometimes

    he gives the reproacher both the gift and the man reproached.

  37. وَلرُبَّما فتَّشت بعض عَطائِهِ

    فَوجدتَ فيهِ السَيد البَهلولا

    And sometimes, if you searched among his gifts,

    you would find among them the noble, generous lord himself.

  38. قَتَل العداة بِجوده وَبِسَيفِهِ

    وَالسَيفُ يسهل عندهم تَقتيلا

    He killed his enemies with his bounty and his sword,

    and death by the sword is easier for them.

  39. فانصاعَ قَد ملئت مَضارِب جوده

    شكراً ومضرب سَيفِهِ تَفليلا

    He turned away, the camps of his bounty filled

    with thanks, and his sword's edge with notches.

  40. يَلقى العِدى من كُتُبِهِ بِكتائِبٍ

    يَجررن من زرد الحُروف ذُيولا

    He meets his foes with battalions from his letters,

    trailing trains of the letters' chainmail.

  41. وَتَرى الصَحيفَة حلبةَ وَجِيادها

    أَقلامُها وَصَريرُهُنَّ صَهيلا

    You see the page as a racecourse, its steeds

    its pens, and their scratching as neighing.

  42. في كَفِّهِ قَلَم أَتَمُّ من القَنا

    طولاً وَهُنَّ أَتَمُّ منه طولا

    In his palm is a pen that surpasses lances

    in reach, though they surpass it in length.

  43. قَلَمٌ يقلِّم ظُفرَ كُلَّ ساعة يَكتَسي

    وَيَرُدُّ حَدَّ شباتها مَغلولا

    A pen that clips a claw, each hour it is clothed [text unclear],

    and sends back the edge of their spear-points shackled.

  44. وَيُضيءُ منه الطَرس ساعَة يَكتَسي

    صَدأ المِداد وَلا يُضيء صَقيلا

    The parchment shines from it whenever it is clothed

    in the rust of ink, but does not shine when polished.

  45. ما قَطَّ قَطُّ لكتبه أَقلامه

    إِلّا نقمن عَلى العداة ذُحولا

    He has never trimmed his pens for his letters

    without their avenging blood-feuds upon his foes.

  46. نِبَلٌ حَباها من رؤوسِ بَنانِهِ

    ريشاً ومن حلك المِداد نُصولا

    Arrows he endowed, from his fingertips,

    with feathers, and from the ink's blackness with arrowheads.

  47. فقرت شَواكل كُلُّ أَمرٍ مُشكِلٍ

    ورددن مفصل ماله مَفصولا

    They pierced the flanks of every difficult matter

    and left his wealth's joint severed [wording unclear].

  48. يَدعو النَبيَّ مِنَ الجُدودِ وَحَيدراً

    ومن العُمومةِ جَعفَراً وَعَقيلا

    He names the Prophet and Haydar among his ancestors,

    and Ja'far and Aqil among his paternal uncles.

  49. نَسَباً تَرى عنوانه في وَجهِهِ

    لا شبهة فيهِ وَلا تأويلا

    A lineage whose sign you see in his face,

    with neither doubt in it nor need of interpretation.

  50. تغنى بِهِ عَن حُجَّةٍ وَدَلالَةٍ

    من ذا يُريد عَلى النَهار دَليلا

    Through it you need no argument or evidence:

    who seeks proof of daylight?

  51. يَحكي النَبيَّ شَمائِلاً وَفَضائِلاً

    مَن لَم يَكُن كأَبيه كانَ دَخيلا

    He resembles the Prophet in character and virtues;

    whoever is unlike his father is an outsider.

  52. لَولا الرِسالَة بَعدَ جَدِّكَ أَحمَد

    خُتِمَت لقُلنا قَد بُعثتَ رَسولا

    Had messengership not, after your grandfather Ahmad,

    been sealed, we would have said you were sent as a messenger.

  53. أَشبَهتَه خَلقاً وَأَخلاقاً وَما

    خالَفته جُمَلاً وَلا تَفصيلا

    You resemble him in form and character, and

    differ from him neither in broad outline nor in detail.

  54. لَولا أَبوك لما امتلا سَمعُ امرىءٍ

    في الأَرضِ تَكبيراً وَلا تَهليلا

    Were it not for your father, no person's ears would have been filled

    on earth with 'God is greatest' or 'There is no god but God.'

  55. يا ابنَ الَّذينَ إِذا اعتَراهم طارِق

    تَرَكوا بُيوت المالِ منه طُلولا

    O son of those who, when a night visitor came upon them,

    left the treasuries desolate ruins on his account.

  56. يا ابنَ الكِرامِ الأَكرَمينَ مغارِساً

    وَالطاهِرينَ مشائخاً وَكهولا

    O son of the noble, noblest in their stock,

    and the pure, as elders and as mature men,

  57. الطَيِّبينَ مَناقِباً وَمَآرِباً

    وَمَراتِباً وَمَكاسِباً وَأُصولا

    pure in their virtues and aims,

    their ranks, their earnings, and their origins;

  58. وَالمُسرعين إِلى المَكارِمِ كُلَّما

    وَجَدوا إِلى إِتيانِهِنَّ سَبيلا

    who hasten to noble deeds whenever

    they find a way to perform them.

  59. إِن حارَبوا ملأوا القلوب أَسِنَّة

    أَو كاتَبوا ملأوا الطروس فصولا

    If they wage war, they fill hearts with spearheads;

    if they write letters, they fill pages with passages.

  60. كَم جِبتُ أَرضاً مثل صدرك في النَدى

    عَرضاً وَأخرى مثل باعك طولا

    How many a land have I crossed, like your generous breast

    in breadth, and another like your armspan in length,

  61. حَتّى وصلت إِلَيكَ يا بَدرُ العُلى

    بِمَطيَّةِ مثل الهِلال نُحولا

    until I reached you, O full moon of the heights,

    on a mount as slender as the crescent.

  62. جَعلت رَجاءَكَ حادِياً مِن خَلفِها

    وَضياء وَجهك هادِياً وَدَليلا

    I made hope in you a camel-driver behind it,

    and your face's radiance a guide and pathfinder.

  63. إِنّي جَدير بِالنَجاحِ لأَنَّني

    أَمَّلت لِلأَمرِ الجَليل جَليلا

    I am worthy of success, because

    for a great undertaking I placed my hope in a great man.

  64. لا زالَ فِعلِكَ بِالمَقال مُرصَّعاً

    أَبَداً وَعِرضُك بِالعَفافِ صَقيلا

    May your deeds never cease to be adorned with words,

    forever, and your honor polished with chastity,

  65. ما غَرَّدَت ورقُ الحَمائِمِ في ذُرى

    فَنَنِ الأَراكَةِ بُكرَةً وَأَصيلا

    as long as gray doves coo on the tips

    of the arak tree's bough, morning and evening.