Sol 6.1

  1. لها في حمىً منّي وراء التّرائب

    مَنازلُ لا تُغشَى بأيدي الرّكائبِ

    For her, in a sanctuary within me, behind my breastbones,

    are dwellings untouched by the forelegs of mounts.

  2. تُراحُ بأنفاسي إذا ما ذكَرتُها

    وتُمطَرُ وَجْداً بالدُموعِ السّواكب

    They are refreshed by my breaths whenever I recall her,

    and watered, through longing, with pouring tears.

  3. وليس دَمٌ يَجرِي من العينِ بعدكم

    بشيءٍ سوى قلبٍ من الشّوقِ ذائب

    The blood that flows from my eyes after you

    is nothing but a heart melted by longing.

  4. فوالله ما أدريِ إذا ما نَزفْتُه

    وأذْهَبْتُه هل حُبُّ لَيلَى بذاهب

    By God, I do not know, when I have drained it

    and exhausted it, whether love of Layla will depart.

  5. وما القلبُ محبوباً إليَّ لخَلةٍ

    سوى أنه منّي مكَانُ الحبائب

    My heart is dear to me for no quality

    except that it houses my beloved ones.

  6. وقَفْنا لتسليمٍ على الدّارِ غُدوةً

    ولا رَدَّ إلا من صداها المُجاوب

    We stopped to greet the dwelling in the morning,

    but no reply came except its answering echo.

  7. ولم تَخْلُ عَيْني من ظباء عِراضِها

    ولكنْ أرتْنا الوحشَ بعد الرَّبائب

    My eyes did not lack gazelles in its open grounds,

    but it showed us wild ones instead of tame gazelles.

  8. ولمّا عَرضْنا للحُمولِ وأعرضَتْ

    كُعوبُ قناً يُحطمنَ دونَ كواعب

    When we approached the laden camels, there stood across our way

    knotted spears, shattering in defense of full-breasted maidens—

  9. غواربُ أقمارٍ جوانحُ للنَّوى

    وقد حَمَلتْها العيسُ فوق غَوارب

    setting moons, inclining toward departure,

    carried by pale she-camels upon their humps.

  10. كأنّ على الأهداب من قَطْرِ دمْعِها

    لآليُّ تُلقَى من أكُفِّ ثواقب

    The drops of tears upon their lashes seemed

    pearls falling from the hands of pearl-piercers.

  11. تُعرضُه فوق الكثيبِ فوارسٌ

    وهم عارَضُوا الأرماحَ فوق الكَواثب

    Riders display it atop the dune,

    having laid their lances crosswise above the withers.

  12. سَلَلْنَ سيوفاً من جفونٍ وِجئنَنا

    يُحَيَّينَ بالألحاظِ خوفَ المُراقِب

    They drew swords from eyelid-sheaths and came to us,

    greeting us with glances, fearful of the watcher.

  13. فلم أر كاليوم اجتلاءَ مُسالمٍ

    مع الأمْنِ يُبْدي عن سلاحِ مُحارب

    Never have I seen, as today, a peaceful one's unveiling,

    secure, yet revealing a warrior's weapon.

  14. ويومَ النَّوى لمّا أظلّتْ جُنودُه

    حمىً كان من قلبي منيعَ الجوانب

    On the day of separation, when its armies overshadowed

    a sanctuary of my heart whose sides had been impregnable,

  15. أَذمَّتْ لنا سَلمى عشّيةَ سلَّمتْ

    علينا لتوديعٍ بإيماء حاجب

    Salma pledged us protection that evening when she greeted

    us in farewell with the motion of an eyebrow.

  16. فما شَبَّهتْ عيني لها قوسَ حاجبٍ

    أشارَتْ به نحوي سوى قوسِ حاجب

    My eye could liken the bow of her eyebrow,

    with which she signaled toward me, only to Hajib's bow.

  17. فحتامَ أستشِفْي ضلالاً بقاتلٍ

    وحتّام أستَجْدي نوالاً لناهب

    How long shall I misguidedly seek healing from a killer,

    and how long beg the bounty of a plunderer?

  18. ولا سِيَّما من بَعدِ ما شَقَّ ليلتي

    من الشّيبِ فَجْر صادِقٌ بعد كاذب

    Especially now that my night has been cleft

    by the true dawn of gray hair after a false one.

  19. فمَن مُبلغٌ سكانَ بابلَ قولةً

    وليس المَّدى إن قلتُ بالمُتقَارب

    Who will convey a message to the people of Babylon?

    The distance, if I speak, is far from short.

  20. أأحبابَنا جادتْ معاهدُ أُنسها

    بقُربكُمُ غُرُّ السَّحابِ الهواضب

    O our beloved ones, may those haunts, made sweet

    by your nearness, be drenched by bright, downpouring clouds!

  21. وما كنتُ إلا والمهامهُ بيننا

    أُجانبكُم والقلبُ غيرُ مُجانب

    Only with trackless wastes between us did I

    keep away from you, while my heart never kept away.

  22. غَوالبُ أشواقٍ أُتيحتْ حوادثٌ

    غوالبُ من دهري لتلك الغوالب

    Longings conquered me; then misfortunes were sent,

    conquerors from my time, against those conquerors.

  23. وما السّيفُ إلا من كُلولٍ بمَضْربٍ

    إذا مانبا أو مِن كُلولٍ بضارب

    A sword's failure comes only from bluntness at its edge,

    when it recoils, or from weakness in its wielder.

  24. كفى حَزَناً أن يُقْرِنِ الدهر الدونكم

    عداً بعوادٍ أو نوىً بنوائب

    It is grief enough that time, apart from you, should couple

    enemies with assailing woes, or separation with calamities.

  25. فلا وصْلَ إلا أن تُقِصّرَ دونه

    طِوالُ اللّيالي والقنا والسباسب

    There is no reunion unless, on the way, one shortens

    long nights, spears, and stretches of wilderness,

  26. بجَوّالةِ الأنساعِ جوّابةِ الفَلا

    يِسرْنَ بنا في البيدِ سَيْرَ المُواظب

    on girth-swaying she-camels, traversers of the wastes,

    carrying us through deserts with unflagging persistence.

  27. طوارِدِ أيدٍ في الظلامِ بأرجلٍ

    سَوارٍ على طُولِ الفلاةِ سَوارب

    Their hindlegs pursue their forelegs in the darkness,

    night-travelers ranging the wilderness's length.

  28. إذا هي أضحَتْ بالظَّلالِ متالياً

    رجَعْن لدى التّهجيرِ مثْلَ السّلائب

    At morning, with their shadows, they are dams followed by young;

    at noonday heat, they become like mothers bereft.

  29. أقولُ لأدنَى صاحبَي مُسايراً

    ومن شيمتي نُصْحُ الخليلِ المُصاحب

    I say to the nearer of my two companions, riding alongside—

    counseling a traveling friend is my habit—

  30. وفي شُعبِ الأكوارِ ميلاً من الكرَى

    عصائبُ ألوْى لوْنُهُم بالعصائب

    while in the forks of the camel-saddles, drooping with sleep,

    are companies whose complexions eclipse their turbans,

  31. وقد ماجَ للأبصارِ بحرُ صبيحةٍ

    به الشُّهْبُ دُرٌّ بين طافٍ وراسب

    and the sea of morning surges before our eyes,

    its stars like pearls, some floating, some sinking,

  32. وأهْوَى الثريّا للأُفولِ بسُدْفةٍ

    كما قُرّبَتْ كأسٌ إلى فَمِ شارب

    and the Pleiades dip toward setting in the twilight,

    like a cup brought close to a drinker's mouth,

  33. وغَنّى وراء الرّكبِ حادٍ مُطَرّبٌ

    يُزعزِعُ من أعطافِ نُوقٍ مَطارب

    and behind the caravan a melodious camel-driver sings,

    shaking the flanks of music-stirred she-camels:

  34. أزوّارَ زوراء العراقِ تَبادَروا

    وما عُذْرُ نُجْبٍ في مُتونِ نَجائب

    O visitors to Iraq's Zawra, make haste!

    What excuse have noble men astride noble she-camels?

  35. لها بعد خِمْسٍ فَيْضُ خمسةِ أبحُرٍ

    إذا وردَتْ أو فَيض خَمْسِ سَحائب

    After five days' thirst, theirs is the outpouring of five seas,

    when they come to water, or of five rainclouds,

  36. لكفَّىْ عليٍّ ذي المعالي التي سَمَتْ

    وهل فوقه من مُستَزادٍ لراغب

    from Ali's two hands—his noble glories soar—

    and what further bounty beyond him could a seeker desire?

  37. رِدُوا يا بني الآمالِ جَمّةَ جُودِه

    فما البحرُ من غَرفِ الأكُفِّ بناضب

    Come, sons of hope, to the full pool of his generosity:

    the sea is not drained by hands scooping from it.

  38. وسيروا إلى ظلٍّ من العَدْلِ سابغٍ

    وميلوا إلى نجْمٍ من الفضلِ ثاقب

    Journey toward the ample shade of justice,

    and turn toward a brightly piercing star of excellence,

  39. إلى بيتِ جُودٍ ما يزالُ حَجيجه

    يُوافُونَ مِلْءَ الطُّرقِ من كُلّ جانب

    toward a house of generosity whose pilgrims never cease

    arriving, filling the roads from every direction.

  40. إذا مَدَّتِ الأعناقَ أجمالُ سائرٍ

    إليه تَلقّتْهُنّ أجمالُ آئب

    When a traveler's camels stretch their necks

    toward him, a returning traveler's camels meet them.

  41. فلم نَدْرِ ماذا منه نَقْضِي تَعجُّباً

    سُؤالُ المطايا أم جوابُ الحقائب

    We could not decide which most amazed us:

    the mounts' question or the saddlebags' answer.

  42. من القوم مَغْشيُّ الرِواقِ يُؤُمُّه

    بنو الدهرِ من ناءٍ ودانٍ مُصاقِب

    One of those whose pavilion is thronged, sought out

    by time's children, both far away and close neighbors.

  43. تَسيحُ مياهُ الجودِ من بطْنِ كفّهِ

    لكلّ أُناسٍ فهْي شَتّى المَشارب

    The waters of generosity flow from the hollow of his palm

    for every people, through diverse watering places.

  44. وتَحسَبُ ما يَبْدو به من خُطوطِه

    أساريرَ كَفّ وهْي طُرْقُ المَواهب

    You suppose the lines appearing upon it

    are palm-creases, yet they are pathways of gifts.

  45. أخو مَنصبٍ في الدّهرِ لمّا سَما به

    تَجاوزَ في العلياء كُلَّ المَناصب

    A man of rank who, when he rose through it,

    surpassed all ranks in lofty glory.

  46. فلم يَحكهِ أبناءُ عصرٍ مُباعدٍ

    ولم يَحْكه أبناءُ عَصْرٍ مُقارب

    The men of a distant age have not equaled him,

    nor have those of a nearer age equaled him.

  47. وما ألْفُ ألْفٍ عُدِّدَتْ غيرُ واحدٍ

    وقد خَطّها مَعْ نَقْصها كَفُّ حاسب

    A million counted with one missing,

    as an accountant's hand has written it, incomplete,

  48. فأقبلَ ذاك الواحدُ الفَردُ آخراً

    وصيرَ أصفاراً جميعُ المَراتب

    with that single, solitary one then coming last

    and turning every place-value into a zero,

  49. بمُشْبِهةٍ قبل الكَمالِ وبعدَه

    وما كلُ تَشبيهٍ سَمِعْتَ بصائب

    has no likeness, before completion or after—

    not every comparison you hear is apt—

  50. سوى وزراءِ الدَّهرِ لمّا انتهى المَدى

    إلى الصّاحبِ المُوفي على كلّ صاحب

    save the age's viziers, when their succession culminated

    in the Sahib, who surpasses every sahib.

  51. وفَى بالنّدى فيهم وأَوفَى عليهمُ

    وأَغنَى حُضورٌ منه عن كُلِّ غائب

    He gave generosity its due among them and surpassed them;

    his presence made every absent one unnecessary.

  52. وقد كان مثْلَ البدرِ بين كواكبٍ

    فأصبح وهْو الشّمسُ بعد الكواكب

    He was once like the full moon among stars;

    now he is the sun after the stars.

  53. ولا عَيْبَ فيه غيرَ أنَّ كمالَه

    إلى عُوذةٍ يَحتاجُ من قولِ عائب

    There is no fault in him except that his perfection

    needs a detractor's words as a protective charm.

  54. وما روضةٌ بات النّسيمُ مُجَرِّراً

    عليها ذُيولاً عاطِراتِ المَساحب

    No garden over which the breeze spent the night trailing

    skirts whose tracks were fragrant,

  55. كأنَّ يدَ البَرّاضِ حَلّتْ بأرضها

    لطائمَ كسرى للأكفِّ النَواهب

    as though al-Barrad's hand had opened on its ground

    Khosrow's perfume caravans to plundering hands,

  56. بأعبقَ نَشْراً من شمائله ولا

    لَه من ضريبٍ في حَميدِ الضّرائب

    is sweeter in fragrance than his character; nor

    has he a peer in praiseworthy dispositions.

  57. يَفُلُّ العِدا بالكُتْبِ من لُطْفِ رأيهِ

    فإن لم يُطيعوا فَلّهم بالكتائب

    Through subtle judgment he routs enemies with letters;

    if they will not obey, he routs them with battalions.

  58. إذا استنطقَ الخطبُ الرجالَ جلالةً

    ففي كفِّه العلياءِ أَبلغُ خاطب

    When a mighty crisis calls upon men to speak,

    in his exalted hand is the most eloquent speaker:

  59. خطيبُ له يعلو ذؤابةَ مِنْبَرٍ

    رفيعٍ مَراقيهِ عُقودُ الرواجب

    a preacher of his, ascending the summit of a pulpit,

    lofty, whose steps are the joints of fingers.

  60. يُريكَ اعتِماماً بالسّوادِ يُديمُه

    وليس يُبالي باختلافِ الجَلابِب

    It shows you a black turban, worn continually,

    yet cares nothing for changes of robes.

  61. بكَفِّ هُمامٍ كلّما طاعَن العِدا

    بما خَطَّ جَلّى عن نُفوسٍ عَواطب

    In the hand of a valiant man who, whenever he attacks enemies

    with what he writes, rescues doomed souls.

  62. فهُنّ قنا خَطٍّ قنا الخَطِّ عنده

    كليلٌ شَباها في الأمورِ الحَوازب

    These are spears of script; beside him the spears of al-Khatt

    have blunted points in grievous affairs.

  63. إذا استخدمَتْها منه كفٌ مشَت له

    بأرْؤسِها يَسحَبْنَ فَضْل الذَوائب

    When his hand employs them, they walk for him

    upon their heads, trailing their long tresses.

  64. بشيِبٍ إذا صافَحْن يُمناه ما عَدتْ

    من اليُمْنِ أن عادَتْ ذواتِ شبَائب

    Gray-haired, when they clasp his right hand, they never fail,

    through its blessing, to return endowed with youth.

  65. ولمّا أطالَ الدّهرُ أيّامَ فتْنةٍ

    وصُمَّ فلم يسمَعْ مَقال المُعاتِب

    When time prolonged the days of strife

    and grew deaf, hearing no reprover's words,

  66. وظَلَّ رداء المُلكِ من عِطْفِ ربِّه

    تُجاذبِهُ ظُلْماً يدا كلِّ جاذبِ

    and the mantle of kingship, from its master's shoulder,

    was unjustly tugged by every snatcher's hands,

  67. أعَدْتَ إليه نظرةً فتَبَرَّجَتْ

    مَحاسنُ للأيّامِ بعد مَعايب

    you renewed your regard for it, and there appeared

    beauties in the days after their blemishes.

  68. فجاد علينا مُغْدِقٌ بعد مُعْرِقٍ

    وهَبَّ علينا ناسِمٌ بعد حاصب

    A copious raincloud poured on us after a rainless one,

    and a gentle breeze blew on us after a gravel-laden wind.

  69. دعاك أميرُ المؤمنين صَفِيه

    فأولاك وَدّاً صافياً من شَوائب

    The Commander of the Faithful called you his chosen friend

    and bestowed affection upon you, pure of impurities.

  70. وأرْعاك سلطانُ الورى أمْرَ مُلْكه

    فناصَحْتَهُ والنُّصْحُ سِلْكَ المَناقب

    The sovereign of mankind entrusted his kingdom's affairs to you;

    you counseled him loyally, and counsel is the thread of virtues.

  71. فأنقذْتَ دينَ اللهِ من كفِّ مارِقٍ

    وكان كسِلْوٍ بين نابَيْهِ ناشب

    You rescued God's religion from a renegade's grasp,

    where it lay like a premature camel-calf lodged between his fangs.

  72. رأى اللّيثُ فَرّاسَ اللُّيوثِ أمامَه

    فراغَ عن الهيجاء روْغَ الثعالب

    The lion saw the slayer of lions before him

    and slunk from battle as foxes slink away.

  73. وخافَ افتِراساتِ الهِزَبْر الّذي له

    من القَصَب المَبْريّ بَعْضُ المَخالب

    He feared the maulings of the mighty lion who has

    some of his claws made from sharpened reeds.

  74. وَثوبٌ إلى الأقرانِ سَطْواً وكَيْدُه

    أدقُ لظَهر القِرْن إن لم يُواثِب

    He springs upon his peers in might; and his stratagem

    crushes a rival's back more surely, should he not spring.

  75. له طَرْفُ رأْيٍ لم تَزل تَجْتلِي بهِ

    وُجوهُ المَساعي في مَرايا العَجائب

    He has a discerning eye through which there ever appear

    the faces of endeavors in mirrors of wonders.

  76. وإن يَهْرُبِ الباغي فكم من مُهالكٍ

    مَصائدُها مَنصوبةٌ في المَهارِب

    If the rebel flees, how many deadly places have

    their traps set along the escape routes!

  77. كمَنْ قد نجا من أصفهانَ وما نجا

    فلاقَى بخُوزِستان شَر المَعاطب

    Like one who escaped from Isfahan, yet did not escape,

    and met the worst of fatal perils in Khuzistan.

  78. فولّى برأْيٍ منه في الرشْد راجلٍ

    فعادَ برأسٍ منه للرُّ مْح راكب

    He fled with judgment that went on foot toward right guidance,

    then returned with his head riding a spear.

  79. وهل هارِبٌ يَنْجو إذا أنت للِعدا

    أبا طالبٍ أبدَيْتَ صفْحةَ طالب

    Can a fugitive escape when you, before your enemies,

    Abu Talib, show the face of a pursuer?

  80. فلا زال أسماعُ الملوكِ أوانِساً

    لديكَ بأخبار الفُتوح الغَرائب

    May the ears of kings never cease to delight

    in your news of extraordinary conquests.

  81. إذا قِيدَ قُرْجٌ من فُتوحٍ مَشارقٍ

    تلَتْهُنّ غرٌّ من فُتوح مَغارب

    When marked steeds of eastern conquests are led in,

    white-blazed ones from western conquests follow them.

  82. ودونكَها دَقّتْ معاني بُيوتها

    ورقّتْ حواشي لَفْظِها المُتَناسب

    Take this poem: subtle are the meanings of its verses,

    and delicate the fringes of its harmonious wording.

  83. وقالوا سهامُ المَدْح كانتْ خواطئاً

    فقلتُ لهم هذا أوانُ الصّوائب

    They said, 'The arrows of praise used to miss.'

    I told them, 'Now is the time for those that strike.'

  84. ولولا رجائي في عَليّ بْنِ أحمدٍ

    لقد كان نِضْوي للفلا غيرَ جائب

    Were it not for my hope in Ali ibn Ahmad,

    my emaciated mount would never have crossed the wilderness.

  85. ولا خابَتِ الآمالُ فيك بحالةٍ

    فما أمَلُ الأقوامِ فيك بخائب

    May hopes in you never fail in any circumstance:

    the peoples' hope in you is never disappointed.

  86. وهُنِّئْتَ شهرَ الصّومِ وَفْدَ سعادةٍ

    يُدِلُّ بحَقٍّ للعبادةِ واجب

    May you be congratulated on the fasting month, a delegation of good fortune,

    asserting its claim through worship's binding right.

  87. فزِدْهُ كما زِدْتَ الوفودَ كرامةً

    فأنت بحُسنِ الذِكْرِ أكرمُ حاسب

    Increase its honor as you have honored delegations,

    for in fair remembrance you are the noblest reckoner.

  88. فأكْرِمْه واكسِبْ حَمْدَه عند حَلّه

    وتَرحالِه في العِزِّ يا خيرَ كاسب

    Honor it and gain its praise upon its arrival

    and departure, in glory, O best of earners.

  89. لك العيدُ مثْلُ العَبْدِ سائقُ صِرْمةٍ

    ثلاثينَ بيضٍ جائياتٍ ذَواهب

    For you the festival is like a slave driving a herd

    of thirty white ones, coming and going.

  90. إذا عزَبتْ في كُلِّ عامٍ أراحَها

    إليك على يُمْنٍ مُراحُ العوازب

    When each year they stray afar, he brings them home

    to you auspiciously—the herder of the strays.

  91. فأجْزلِ قِراهُ من سرورٍ وبهْجةٍ

    وأثقِلْ قَراه باللُها والرَّغائب

    Make its welcome abundant with joy and delight,

    and load its back with gifts and precious boons.

  92. ودُمْ للعلا ما دام منه ترَدٌ

    على سَننٍ من مُدّةِ الدّهرِ لاحب

    Endure for high glory as long as its return continues

    upon the clear course of time's long span.

  93. وزِدْ في رياض المُلْكِ عزّاً ورِدْ بها

    من العِزّ عذْباً شُربُه غيرُ ناضب

    Increase in glory in the gardens of kingship, and drink there

    of honor's sweetness, whose draught is never exhausted.

  94. وتأتيك أعطالاً فيرجعن دائماً

    وهن حوال باللها والرغائب

    They come to you unadorned and always return

    adorned with gifts and precious boons.

  95. جعلْتَ العطايا منك مهراً لدولةٍ

    هداها إليكَ اللهُ يا خيرَ خاطب

    You made your gifts a dowry for a dynasty

    God presented to you as a bride, O best of suitors.

  96. فلا زال يُصفي غيْرةَ اللهِ دُونه

    لمُلكِكَ صَوْناً خلْفَ سِتْرِ العواقب

    May God's jealous care ever be devoted to its defense,

    protecting your kingdom behind the veil of things to come.