Sol 6.1

  1. قَضى النحب مَن لَولاه ما عرفَ النحب

    وَماتَ الَّذي في مَوتِهِ نزل الخَطب

    He has met his end—he but for whom death would never have been known.

    He has died whose death brought calamity down.

  2. قَضى من بِهِ عمر الكَمال قَد اِنقَضى

    وَغارَت عُيون المَجد وَانصدع القَلب

    He has died, and with him perfection's lifetime has ended.

    Glory's eyes have sunk, and the heart has split.

  3. قَضى وَرَمى في العَين وَالقَلب لَوعة

    فَلا دَمعها يرقا وَلا ناره تَخبو

    He died, casting burning grief into eye and heart:

    the eye's tears never cease, nor does the heart's fire die down.

  4. فَقُل أَي هضب قَبله ساخ في الثَرى

    وَأَي عباب قَبله ضمه الترب

    Say: what mountain before him sank into the earth?

    And what surging sea before him did the dust enfold?

  5. ولَما مَضَت أَقرانه ظَل مُفرداً

    لِناديه أَقوام وَلَيسَ لَهُ ذَنب

    When his peers passed away, he remained alone;

    there were men in his assembly, yet he was without blame.

  6. حَكى يوسفاً إِذ راحَ يَرتع بَينَهُم

    فَعاثوا بِهِ وَاغتال مهجته الذئب

    He resembled Joseph when he went to frolic among them;

    they did him violence, and the wolf treacherously took his life.

  7. تَلاطم بَحر الجور بَعد اغتياله

    وَضاقَ بِنا مِن بَعدِهِ المَنزل الرحب

    The sea of injustice surged after his murder,

    and after him, our spacious dwelling grew cramped.

  8. عُيون المَعالي قَد عَمت بَعد بعده

    فَلا مورد حلو وَلا مشرع عَذب

    The eyes of greatness have gone blind since his departure:

    there is no sweet water source, no fresh watering place.

  9. إِذا الأسد الوَردي أَصبَح هالِكاً

    لعَمرك فليحكُم بِما شاءه الكَلب

    If the tawny lion has perished,

    by your life, let the dog rule as it pleases.

  10. وَلا بدع في نَشر الظَلام سدوله

    إِذا اِنكَسَفَ البدران وَانقضَت الشُهب

    Nor is it strange for darkness to spread its veils

    when the two full moons are eclipsed and the shooting stars fall.

  11. وَإِن قلص الغَيث المُغيث عَن الوَرى

    تَحَقق أن الأَرض قَد عَمها الجدب

    And if the succoring rain withdraws from humankind,

    know for certain that drought has overtaken all the earth.

  12. نَعم كانَ لَيثاً كُلَما هرَ نابح

    هَوَت كَفه فَاغتالهُ الخَوف وَالرُعب

    Yes, he was a lion: whenever a barker growled,

    his paw swept down, and fear and terror slew it.

  13. وَإِن عاثَ بِالأكناف جَيش زَعانف

    بَدَت مِنهُ أَشبال غَطارفة غلب

    And if an army of riffraff ravaged the surrounding lands,

    from him came lion cubs, noble and mighty.

  14. وَقَد كانَ بَدراً يُستَضاء بِنوره

    إِذا اِشتَدَت الظَلماء أَو نَزَلَ الكرب

    He was a full moon whose light gave illumination

    when darkness deepened or distress descended.

  15. وَقَد كانَ غَيثاً كُلَما انهَل قطره

    زَها مِنهُ روض الجود وَانتعش العشب

    He was rain: whenever its drops poured down,

    the garden of generosity flourished through it, and the grass revived.

  16. فَيا أَيُّها الشَهم الَّذي فل سَيفه

    وَكانَ بِهِ عَن نَفسه الكَف وَالذب

    O valiant man, whose sword has been blunted,

    with which you warded off harm and defended yourself:

  17. مَضى صنوك الماضي إِلى جَنة العُلى

    دَعاه لَها رضوان وَاختاره الرَب

    your resolute brother has gone to the garden on high;

    Ridwan called him there, and the Lord chose him.

  18. لَقَد كانَ في الجَلى لِكفك صارِماً

    وَسوراً مِن الأَعداء إِن دهم الحَرب

    Indeed, in dire calamity he was a keen sword in your hand,

    and a rampart against enemies when war descended.

  19. أَصَبنا بِهِ بَل أَنتَ أَعظمنا أَسى

    عَلَيهِ لأَن الصَدر يفقده القَلب

    We were stricken by his loss; yet yours is the deepest grief

    for him, since the heart feels the loss of the breast.

  20. أَصَبت بِهِ جوزيت أَجر مصابه

    فَأَيسر ما تَلقاه مِن بَعدِهِ صَعب

    You were stricken by his loss—may you be granted its reward;

    even the easiest thing you face after him is hard.

  21. وَلَكن للأَعمار حَداً وَغاية

    هُنالك تَنبو عَن مضارِبِها القضب

    But lifetimes have a limit and an end;

    there, keen swords glance off their targets.

  22. وَكُل فَتى يَلقى الحمام وَلَو صَفَت

    مَوارده دَهراً وَطابَ لَهُ الشُرب

    And every youth meets death, though clear may have been

    his springs for ages, and sweet to him his drink.

  23. فَأَين مُلوك الأَرض وَالسادة الألى

    بذكرهم تَسري الكَتائب وَالكُتب

    Where are the kings of earth, and those great lords

    in whose names battalions marched and missives sped?

  24. وَأَينَ بَنو ساسان مِن آل فارس

    وَقَيصر بُصرى وَالتبابعة العرب

    And where are Sasan's sons, of Persia's house,

    and Bosra's Caesar, and the Arab Tubba' kings?

  25. طَوَتهُم يَد البين المشت فَأًصبَحوا

    رَهائن لا خَيل تُقاد وَلا نجب

    Separation's scattering hand folded them away, and they became

    captives, with neither horses led for them nor noble camels.

  26. وَكَم أُمة فاتَت وَقَد جاءَ مثلها

    إِذا ما مَضى سرب أَتى بَعدَهُ سرب

    How many a nation has passed, and another like it has come!

    Whenever one flock departs, another comes after it.

  27. ألا هَكَذا الدُنيا وَذا شَأن أَهلِها

    فَأَحوالها زور وَأَقوالها كذب

    Behold, such is the world, and such the way of its people:

    its changing fortunes are deceit, and its words are lies.

  28. تَعز فَإِن الصَبر أَجمَل حلة

    لِمَن ساءَهُ الدَهر الَّذي رَأيه الحَرب

    Find solace, for patience is the finest robe

    for one hurt by Time, whose counsel is war.

  29. فَأَنتَ فَتى لا يَنقض الكَرب حبلَه

    وَهَضبة حلم لا يُزلزلها الخَطب

    For you are a man whose cord distress cannot unravel,

    and a mountain of forbearance no calamity can shake.

  30. لَئن كانَ جسماً لِلمَكارم وَالعُلى

    وَكانَ لَها روحاً فَأَنتَ لَها قَلب

    If indeed he was a body for noble deeds and lofty rank,

    and was their spirit, you are their heart.

  31. وَإِن كانَ قُطباً لِلفَضائل وَالنُهى

    فَأَنتَ لَها مِن بَعد فُقدانِه قطب

    And if he was the axis of virtues and reason,

    you are their axis after his loss.

  32. تَشاركتما في بَث كُل فَضيلة

    فًذاكَ لَها رُمح وَأَنتَ لَها عضب

    You two shared in spreading every virtue:

    he was its spear, and you its keen-edged sword.

  33. فَكَم لَك من كَف بِها كَعب اِرتَقى

    لأَن لَها في كُل أَنملة كَعب

    How many a hand of yours has raised someone's standing,

    for in its every fingertip there is a Ka'b.

  34. وَما حاتم الطائي إِلا سَفينة

    بِبَحرك أَو طل جَرَت بَعده سحب

    And Hatim al-Ta'i is nothing but a ship

    upon your sea, or dew with clouds streaming after it.

  35. تَفَردت أَفضالاً فَكَم لَكَ قاصد

    أَفضَت عَلَيه الدُر فَامتَلأَ القعب

    You are unrivaled in bounty; how many a supplicant

    have you showered with pearls until his bowl was full!

  36. عيال وَأَطفال جَهلنا عدادهم

    بِأَفضالكم رَبوا وَفي ظلكُم شَبوا

    Dependents and children, whose number we never knew,

    grew through your bounty and came of age beneath your shade.

  37. فَإِنَّك سَيف يَقطَع الفَقر حَده

    وَإِن كُنت قَد عريت حاشاكَ لا تَنبو

    For you are a sword whose edge cuts through poverty,

    and even if you have been stripped bare—may you be spared!—you do not fail to bite.

  38. رَنَت نَحوَك الدُنيا بِعَين بَغيضة

    وَذاكَ مَع الحر الكَريم لَها دَأب

    The world gazed toward you with a spiteful eye,

    and that is its habit with the noble and generous.

  39. أَلَم تَرَها قَد أَغضبت آل أَحمَد

    وَأَرضَت يَزيداً وَاستَقَلت بِها الجرب

    Have you not seen how it angered Ahmad's family,

    and pleased Yazid, while the mangy held sway over it?

  40. كَفاها هَوانا أَن مثلك قَد غَدا

    لَها غَرضاً وَالباهلي بِها يَربو

    It is disgrace enough for it that one like you has become

    its target, while al-Bahili prospers in it.

  41. فَلا زِلت ذا فَضل مُنير وَسُؤدد

    تضيء لَهُ الأَكناف وَالشَرق وَالغَرب

    May you ever possess radiant bounty and high rank,

    lighting the surrounding lands, the East and the West.

  42. وَلا بَلغَت مِنكَ الحَواسد قَصدها

    مَدى الدهم وَالإعصار ما هَزت القَضب

    And may the envious never attain their designs against you,

    as long as dark clouds and whirlwinds shake the boughs.