Sol 6.1

  1. رَثاكَ أَميرُ الشِعرِ في الشَرقِ وَاِنبَرى

    لِمَدحِكَ مِن كُتّابِ مِصرَ كَبيرُ

    The Prince of Poetry in the East elegized you, and forward came

    A great man among Egypt's writers to praise you.

  2. وَلَستُ أُبالي حينَ أَرثيكَ بَعدَهُ

    إِذا قيلَ عَنّي قَد رَثاهُ صَغيرُ

    And I do not care, when I elegize you after him,

    If they say of me, “A lesser man has elegized him.”

  3. فَقَد كُنتَ عَوناً لِلضَعيفِ وَإِنَّني

    ضَعيفٌ وَما لي في الحَياةِ نَصيرُ

    For you were a help to the weak, and I

    Am weak, and in life I have no champion.

  4. وَلَستُ أُبالي حينَ أَبكيكَ لِلوَرى

    حَوَتكَ جِنانٌ أَم حَواكَ سَعيرُ

    And I do not care, when I weep for you before mankind,

    Whether gardens of Paradise have enfolded you or a blazing fire has engulfed you.

  5. فَإِنّي أُحِبُّ النابِغينَ لِعِلمِهِم

    وَأَعشَقُ رَوضَ الفِكرِ وَهوَ نَضيرُ

    For I love the gifted for their learning,

    And I adore the garden of thought, verdant as it is.

  6. دَعَوتَ إِلى عيسى فَضَجَّت كَنائِسٌ

    وَهُزَّ لَها عَرشٌ وَمادَ سَريرُ

    You called people to Jesus, and churches clamored,

    And for them a throne was shaken, and a royal seat swayed.

  7. وَقالَ أُناسٌ إِنَّهُ قَولُ مُلحِدٍ

    وَقالَ أُناسٌ إِنَّهُ لَبَشيرُ

    And some people said, “It is an atheist's utterance,”

    And some people said, “He is surely a bearer of glad tidings.”

  8. وَلَولا حُطامٌ رَدَّ عَنكَ كِيادَهُم

    لَضِقتَ بِهِ ذَرعاً وَساءَ مَصيرُ

    And had worldly wealth not warded their plots away from you,

    You would have been overwhelmed by them, and your fate would have been grim.

  9. وَلَكِن حَماكَ العِلمُ وَالرَأيُ وَالحِجا

    وَمالٌ إِذا جَدَّ النِزالُ وَفيرُ

    But learning, judgment, and reason protected you,

    And wealth, abundant when the struggle grew serious.

  10. إِذا زُرتَ رَهنَ المَحبَسَينِ بِحُفرَةٍ

    بِها الزُهدُ ثاوٍ وَالذَكاءُ سَتيرُ

    If you visit the prisoner of the two prisons in a grave

    Where asceticism dwells and intelligence lies veiled,

  11. وَأَبصَرتَ أُنسَ الزُهدِ في وَحشَةِ البِلى

    وَشاهَدتَ وَجهَ الشَيخِ وَهوَ مُنيرُ

    And see the solace of asceticism amid decay's desolation,

    And behold the sheikh's face, radiant,

  12. وَأَيقَنتَ أَنَّ الدينَ لِلَّهِ وَحدَهُ

    وَأَنَّ قُبورَ الزاهِدينَ قُصورُ

    And become certain that religion belongs to God alone,

    And that the graves of ascetics are palaces,

  13. فَقِف ثُمَّ سَلِّم وَاِحتَشِم إِنَّ شَيخَنا

    مَهيبٌ عَلى رَغمِ الفَناءِ وَقورُ

    Then stop, then offer a greeting and show reverence: our sheikh

    Is awe-inspiring, dignified despite death.

  14. وَسائِلهُ عَمّا غابَ عَنكَ فَإِنَّهُ

    عَليمٌ بِأَسرارِ الحَياةِ بَصيرُ

    And ask him about what is hidden from you, for he

    Knows life's secrets well and is discerning.

  15. يُخَبِّرُكَ الأَعمى وَإِن كُنتَ مُبصِراً

    بِما لَم تُخَبِّر أَحرُفٌ وَسُطورُ

    The blind man will tell you, though you have sight,

    What letters and lines have never told.

  16. كَأَنّي بِسَمعِ الغَيبِ أَسمَعُ كُلَّ ما

    يُجيبُ بِهِ أُستاذُنا وَيُحيرُ

    It is as though, with the hearing of the unseen, I hear all that

    Our master offers in answer, leaving one bewildered.

  17. يُناديكَ أَهلاً بِالَّذي عاشَ عَيشَنا

    وَماتَ وَلَم يَدرُج إِلَيهِ غُرورُ

    He calls to you, “Welcome to one who lived our life

    And died without delusion ever creeping upon him.

  18. قَضَيتَ حَياةً مِلؤُها البِرُّ وَالتُقى

    فَأَنتَ بِأَجرِ المُتَّقينَ جَديرُ

    You spent a life filled with goodness and piety,

    So you deserve the reward of the God-fearing.

  19. وَسَمَّوكَ فيهِم فَيلَسوفاً وَأَمسَكوا

    وَما أَنتَ إِلّا مُحسِنٌ وَمُجيرُ

    And among them they called you a philosopher, and said no more,

    Yet you are only a benefactor and a giver of refuge.

  20. وَما أَنتَ إِلّا زاهِدٌ صاحَ صَيحَةً

    يَرِنُّ صَداها ساعَةً وَيَطيرُ

    And you are only an ascetic who uttered a cry

    Whose echo rings awhile and flies away.

  21. سَلَوتَ عَنِ الدُنيا وَلَكِنَّهُم صَبَوا

    إِلَيها بِما تُعطيهِمُ وَتَميرُ

    You turned away from the world, but they longed

    For it, for what it gives them and the sustenance it supplies.

  22. حَياةُ الوَرى حَربٌ وَأَنتَ تُريدُها

    سَلاماً وَأَسبابُ الكِفاحِ كَثيرُ

    Human life is war, yet you would have it

    Be peace, though the causes of struggle are many.

  23. أَبَت سُنَّةُ العُمرانِ إِلّا تَناحُراً

    وَكَدحاً وَلَو أَنَّ البَقاءَ يَسيرُ

    The law of civilization allows nothing but mutual strife

    And toil, even if survival were easy.

  24. تُحاوِلُ رَفعَ الشَرِّ وَالشَرُّ واقِعٌ

    وَتَطلُبُ مَحضَ الخَيرِ وَهوَ عَسيرُ

    You try to remove evil, though evil is a reality,

    And seek pure good, though it is hard to attain.

  25. وَلَولا اِمتِزاجُ الشَرِّ بِالخَيرِ لَم يَقُم

    دَليلٌ عَلى أَنَّ الإِلَهَ قَديرُ

    And without evil's mingling with good, there would be no

    Proof that God is all-powerful.

  26. وَلَم يَبعَثِ اللَهُ النَبِيّينَ لِلهُدى

    وَلَم يَتَطَلَّع لِلسَريرِ أَميرُ

    Nor would God have sent the prophets to guide,

    Nor would a prince have aspired to the throne.

  27. وَلَم يَعشَقِ العَلياءَ حُرٌّ وَلَم يَسُد

    كَريمٌ وَلَم يَرجُ الثَراءَ فَقيرُ

    Nor would a free man have loved the heights, nor would leadership have been gained

    By a noble man, nor would a poor man have hoped for wealth.

  28. وَلَو كانَ فينا الخَيرُ مَحضاً لَما دَعا

    إِلى اللَهِ داعٍ أَو تَبَلَّجَ نورُ

    And had goodness within us been pure, no call would have come

    To God from any caller, nor would any light have dawned.

  29. وَلا قيلَ هَذا فَيلَسوفٌ مُوَفَّقٌ

    وَلا قيلَ هَذا عالِمٌ وَخَبيرُ

    Nor would it have been said, ‘This is a rightly guided philosopher,’

    Nor would it have been said, ‘This is a learned man and an expert.’

  30. فَكَم في طَريقِ الشَرِّ خَيرٌ وَنِعمَةٌ

    وَكَم في طَريقِ الطَيِّباتِ شُرورُ

    How much good and blessing lie along the path of evil,

    And how many evils lie along the path of good things!

  31. أَلَم تَرَ أَنّي قُمتُ قَبلَكَ داعِياً

    إِلى الزُهدِ لا يَأوي إِلَيَّ ظَهيرُ

    Did you not see that before you I arose, calling

    To asceticism, with no supporter coming to my side?

  32. أَطاعوا أَبيقوراً وَسُقراطَ قَبلَهُ

    وَخولِفتُ فيما أَرتَئي وَأُشيرُ

    They obeyed Epicurus, and Socrates before him,

    And I was opposed in what I deemed right and advised.

  33. وَمِتُّ وَما ماتَت مَطامِعُ طامِعٍ

    عَلَيها وَلا أَلقى القِيادَ ضَميرُ

    And I died, yet no cravings died in one who hungered

    For it; nor did any conscience surrender the reins.

  34. إِذا هُدِمَت لِلظُلمِ دورٌ تَشَيَّدَت

    لَهُ فَوقَ أَكتافِ الكَواكِبِ دورُ

    If houses of tyranny are razed, there arise

    For it, above the shoulders of the stars, more houses.

  35. أَفاضَ كِلانا في النَصيحَةِ جاهِداً

    وَماتَ كِلانا وَالقُلوبُ صُخورُ

    Both of us poured forth counsel, striving hard,

    And both of us died, while hearts remained rocks.

  36. فَكَم قيلَ عَن كَهفِ المَساكينِ باطِلٌ

    وَكَم قيلَ عَن شَيخِ المَعَرَّةِ زورُ

    How much falsehood was told of the refuge of the poor,

    And how many lies were told of the Sheikh of Ma‘arra!

  37. وَما صَدَّ عَن فِعلِ الأَذى قَولُ مُرسَلٍ

    وَما راعَ مَفتونَ الحَياةِ نَذيرُ

    And no messenger's words ever deterred anyone from doing harm,

    And no warner ever alarmed one bewitched by life.”