Sol 6.1

  1. أَهَذِهِ سِيَرٌ في المَجدِ أَم سُوَرُ

    وَهَذِهِ أَنجُمٌ في السَعدِ أَم غُرَرُ

    Are these deeds of glory, or chapters of scripture?

    And are these stars of good fortune, or radiant blazes?

  2. وَأَنمُلٌ أَم بِحارٌ وَالسُيوفُ لَها

    مَوجٌ وَإِفرِندُها في لِجِّها دُرَرُ

    And are these fingertips or seas, whose swords are

    Waves, their damask patterns pearls within their depths?

  3. وَأَنتَ في الأَرضِ أَم فَوقَ السَماءِ فَفي

    يَمينِكَ البَحرُ أَم في وَجهِكَ القَمَرُ

    And are you on earth, or above heaven? For in

    Your right hand—is that the sea? Or in your face—the moon?

  4. يُقَبِّلُ البَدرُ تُرباً أَنتَ واطِئُهُ

    فَلِلتُرابِ عَلَيهِ ذَلِكَ الأَثَرُ

    The full moon kisses dust that you have trodden;

    So that trace upon it belongs to the dust.

  5. نَأى بِهِ المُلكُ حَتّى قيلَ ذا مَلَكٌ

    دَنا بِهِ الجودُ حَتّى قيلَ ذا بَشَرُ

    Kingship set him far apart, until they said, 'This is an angel.'

    Generosity brought him near, until they said, 'This is a mortal.'

  6. في كُلِّ يَومٍ لَنا مِن مَجدِهِ عَجَبٌ

    وَكُلِّ لَيلٍ لَنا مِن ذِكرِهِ سَمَرُ

    Each day brings us a marvel of his glory;

    And every night, his mention gives us evening conversation.

  7. نَظَرتُ في نَجمِهِ فَالسَعدُ طالِعُهُ

    لا يَنقَضي وَعَلى أَموالِهِ سَفَرُ

    I studied his star: good fortune is his ascendant,

    Never-ending, while his riches are ever on the road.

  8. أَبا الفَوارِسِ وَالآباءُ مُشفِقَةٌ

    وَهُم بَنوك وَما تُبقي وَلا تَذَرُ

    O Abu al-Fawaris—though fathers are tender-hearted—

    And they are your sons, yet you spare none and leave none.

  9. تَلقى عَروسَ المَنايا وَهيَ حاسِرَةٌ

    وَخدُّها فيهِ مِن فَيضِ الدِما خَفَرُ

    You face the bride of death, unveiled,

    And her cheek, flooded with blood, wears a modest blush.

  10. وَالضَربُ بِالبيضِ مِن آثارِهِ عُكَنٌ

    وَالطَعنُ بِالسمُرِ مِن آثارِهِ سُرَرُ

    And blows with gleaming swords leave folds of flesh;

    And thrusts with brown spears leave navels.

  11. وَرُبَّ لَيلَةِ خَطبٍ قَد سَرَيتَ بِها

    وَما سَرى كَوكَبٌ فيها وَلا قَمَرُ

    And many a night of peril you have journeyed through,

    When neither star nor moon traveled within it.

  12. سُمتَ العَويصَ بِعَزمٍ ما لَهُ ضَجَرٌ

    أَو البَعيدَ بِباعٍ ما بِهِ قِصَرُ

    You tackled the intractable with resolve that never wearies,

    Or the far-off with a reach that never falls short.

  13. وَأَنتَ في جَيشِ رَأي لا غُبارَ لَهُ

    تَرمي العُداةَ بِقَوسٍ ما لَها وَتَرُ

    And you are amid an army of counsel that raises no dust,

    Shooting at your foes with a bow that has no string.

  14. هِيَ الحُروبُ الَّتي لا السَيفُ مُنثَلِمٌ

    فيها وَلا الذابِلُ الخَطِيُّ مُنأَطِرُ

    These are the wars: no sword is notched

    In them, nor is the slender Khatti lance bent.

  15. سِرنا وَسارَ شُجاعٌ وَهوَ يَقدُمُنا

    وَعَزمُنا آمِرٌ وَالدَهرُ مُؤتَمِرُ

    We marched, and Shujaʿ marched, leading us;

    And our resolve commanded, while Time obeyed.

  16. وَكانَ ذِكرُ اِسمِهِ فيهِ الحَياةُ لَنا

    وَالذُخرُ إِنَّ الشُجاعَ الحَيَّةَ الذَكَرُ

    And the mention of his name held life for us,

    And treasure in reserve—for 'shujaʿ' is the male serpent.

  17. كانَ الحُسامُ يَمانِيَّ الهَوى مَعَنا

    فَما أَضَرَّ بِنا أَن أَصفَقَت مُضَرُ

    The keen sword was with us, Yemeni in allegiance;

    So it did us no harm that Mudar joined forces.

  18. وَبِتَّ وَالمَوتُ طَيفٌ قَد أَلَمَّ بِنا

    فَما ثَنى الطَيفَ إِلّا ذَلِكَ السَهَرُ

    And you kept vigil as death, a phantom, visited us;

    Nothing drove the phantom back but that wakefulness.

  19. سَقى بِكَ اللَهُ دُنيانا فَأَخصَبَها

    وَالعَدلُ يَفعَلُ مالا يَفعَلُ المَطَرُ

    Through you God watered our world and made it fertile;

    And justice does what rain does not.

  20. لَمّا اِستَقَلَّت سُتورُ المُلكِ لاحَ لَنا

    مُلكٌ بِهِ الجودُ عَينٌ وَالثَنا أَثَرُ

    When the curtains of kingship rose, there appeared to us

    A realm where generosity is substance and praise its trace.

  21. في كَعبَةٍ لِلنَدى لَو حَلَّها مَلِكٌ

    تَهَيَّبَ النُطقَ حَتّى قيلَ ذا حَجَرُ

    In a Kaaba of bounty: were a king to enter it,

    He would fear to speak, until they said, 'This is a stone.'

  22. وَسائِلٍ لِيَ ما العَلياءُ قُلتُ لَهُ

    في فِعلِهِ الخُبرُ أَو في قَولِهِ الخَبَرُ

    And to one asking me, 'What is greatness?' I said,

    'In his deeds lies firsthand knowledge, or in his words the account.'

  23. ما أَنصَفَت مَجدَهُ نُظّامُ سيرَتِهِ

    إِنَّ الَّذي سَتَروا فَوقَ الَّذي سَطَروا

    Those who set his life in verse did not do his glory justice;

    Indeed, what they concealed surpasses what they inscribed.

  24. نالَ السَماءَ بِأَطرافِ القَنا فَبَدَت

    مِنَ النُصولِ عَلَيها أَنجُمٌ زُهُرُ

    He reached heaven with the tips of lances, and there appeared

    From the spearheads, bright stars upon it.

  25. لا يُحدِثُ النَصرُ في أَعطافِهِم مَرَحاً

    حَتّى كَأَنَّهُمُ بِالنَصرِ ما شَعَروا

    Victory puts no swagger in their shoulders,

    As though they had not even noticed victory.

  26. أَجرَو دِماءَ العِدا بَينَ الرِماحِ فَما

    يُقالُ عِندَهُمُ ماءٌ وَلا شَجَرُ

    They made their foes' blood flow between the spears, so

    Among them there is no talk of water or trees.

  27. تَرى غَرائِبَ مِن أَفعالِ مَجدِهِمُ

    يَرُدُّها الفِكرُ لَو لَم يَشهَدِ النَظَرُ

    You see such marvels in the deeds of their glory

    That the mind would reject them, had sight not borne witness.

  28. خَلائِقٌ في سَمَواتِ العُلا زُهُرٌ

    مِنها تُنيرُ وَفي رَوضِ الثَنا زَهَرُ

    Virtues: in the heavens of eminence, bright stars

    Shine from them, and in praise's garden they are flowers.

  29. الناسُ أَضيافُكُم وَالأَرضُ دارُكُمُ

    فَهوَ المُقامُ فَلِم قالوا هُوَ السَفَرُ

    People are your guests, and the earth is your home;

    So this is staying home—why do they call it travel?

  30. ما أَنصَفَ الشُكرُ لَولا أَن تُسامِحَنا

    فَأَنتَ تطنبُ جوداً وَهوَ يَختَصِرُ

    Gratitude would do you no justice, were you not to pardon us;

    For you are expansive in giving, while thanks are brief.