Sol 6.1

  1. نعم أذكْرتني حين هبّت صبا نجدِ

    بسالفِ عيش مرَّ أحلى من الشهدِ

    Yes, when Najd's east wind blew, it reminded me

    Of a bygone life that passed, sweeter than honey.

  2. فياليتَ شعري كيف حال مهاتِهِ

    ويا ليتَ شعري هل تغيّر من بَعدي

    Oh, would that I knew how its white antelopes fare,

    And would that I knew whether it has changed since I left,

  3. ويا ليت شعري هل يعود زمانهُ

    ويرتاحُ قلب الصبِ من لوعةِ البُعدِ

    And would that I knew whether its days will return,

    And the lovesick heart find relief from separation's anguish.

  4. سقى اللهُ حياً إن حللت بقاعِهِ

    حللتَ وأيم الله في جنةِ الخلدِ

    May God water a settlement: if you enter its grounds,

    You have entered, by God, the Garden of Eternity.

  5. أليس به الحور الحسانُ كما بها

    وفي ثغرهن الكوثر العذبِ ذو البردِ

    Are not the lovely houris there, as in that garden,

    And in their mouths al-Kawthar, sweet and cool?

  6. وقاماتها الأغصانُ والعينُ نرجسٌ

    وفي صدرها الرمان والورد في الخد

    And their figures are branches, and each eye a narcissus;

    And in their bosoms are pomegranates, and on their cheeks roses.

  7. وحلْيتها الأثمارُ والخمر ريقها

    وأنفاسها كالطيبِ والمسكِ والندِ

    And their ornaments are fruits, and their saliva wine;

    And their breaths are like perfume, musk, and blended incense.

  8. فما الحورُ إلاّ هن لولا نفارها

    وما الخلدُ إلاّ هن لولا لظى الصدِ

    For the houris are none other than they, but for their shying away;

    And Paradise is none other than they, but for rejection's blaze.

  9. يملن إلى الهجرانِ والبعدِ والنوى

    ولا الميل إلاّ عادة الأغصُنِ الملدِ

    They incline toward abandonment, distance, and separation,

    And leaning is only the habit of supple branches.

  10. ويجرحن قلبي بالظبا وهي أعين

    ويقتلنَ بالمرّانِ وهي من القدِ

    And they wound my heart with sword blades that are eyes,

    And slay with ashwood spears made of their slender forms.

  11. وقيّدن أحشائي وارسلنَ أدمعي

    وأشعلنَ في قلبي لظى الشوقِ والوجدِ

    And they bound my innermost heart and released my tears,

    And kindled in my heart the blaze of yearning and passion.

  12. فيا قلبُ ما هذا التذلل في الهوى

    وكيفَ بِهونِ الحبِ ترضى وبالكدِ

    So, O heart, what is this abasement in love?

    And how can you accept love's humiliation and toil?

  13. وحتامَ تمسي في سعادٍ متيماً

    وتصبح مشغولاً بليلى وفي هندِ

    And how long will you spend your evenings infatuated with Su'ad,

    And wake preoccupied with Layla and Hind?

  14. فلا تُذهبنَّ العمرَ من غير طائلٍ

    ولا تشغلنَ الفكر في غير ما يجدي

    So do not waste your life to no purpose,

    Nor occupy your mind with what brings no benefit.

  15. ولا ترخِصنَّ الشعرَ لهواً ولا تُضع

    نفيسَ القوافي في سُليَمى وفي دعدِ

    Nor cheapen poetry as idle amusement, nor squander

    Precious rhymes on Sulayma and Da'd.

  16. ودونكَ مولانا فقل فيه ما تشا

    ثناءً فهذا موضعُ المدحِ والحمدش

    And here before you is our master: say of him whatever you wish

    In praise, for he is the proper object of praise and thanks.

  17. ولُذْ بحِماهُ وانتبذ عنكَ غيرهُ

    ولا ترْجُ من عمرو فتيلاً ولا زيدِ

    And seek refuge in his protection, and cast all others aside,

    Nor hope for even a thread from 'Amr or Zayd.

  18. أضاءت طباقُ الأرضِ من نورِ عدلهِ

    وليس عجيباً إذ هو السيد المهدي

    The earth's layers shone with the light of his justice,

    And no wonder, since he is Sayyid al-Mahdi.

  19. إمام أولى الإسلام شرقاً ومغرباً

    وقدوةَ أهلِ العلمِ والحلمِ والرشدِ

    Leader of the people of Islam, in East and West,

    And exemplar of those possessed of knowledge, forbearance, and right guidance.

  20. تباهت به الأيامُ وابتهجت بهِ

    وأضحت لآياتِ التهاني به تبدي

    The days have gloried in him and rejoiced in him,

    And begun to display signs of congratulation because of him.

  21. إذا زلّت الأقدامُ في يومِ شدةٍ

    رأيتُ هماماً ثابت الجأشِ كالطودِ

    When feet slip on a day of hardship,

    I see a resolute man, steadfast of heart as a mountain.

  22. وإصلاح أمر المسلمينَ اهتمامهُ

    وأكثرُ همّ الناس في غادةِ خَوْدِ

    And setting the Muslims' affairs right is his concern,

    While most human concern is for a graceful, tender maiden.

  23. يحل عقودَ المشكلاتِ بعزمهِ

    ومَن غيرهُ يُختارُ للحلّ والعقدِ

    He unties the knots of difficulties with his resolve,

    And who but he is chosen to loosen and bind?

  24. سأشغل فكري ما حييتُ بمدحهِ

    وإني إذا ما متُّ أمدح في لحدي

    I shall devote my thoughts to praising him for as long as I live,

    And when I die, I shall praise him in my grave.

  25. وهيهاتَ أحصي عشرَ معشار وصفهِ

    فأوصافه واللهِ جلّت عن العدِّ

    And I could never enumerate a tenth of a tenth of his qualities;

    For his qualities, by God, are too great to be numbered.

  26. يقولُ لي الإخوان أمَّ رحابهُ

    فكم أمَهّ عانِ وأصبح في جَدِ

    My brethren say to me, 'Make for his spacious courts;

    For many a distressed man has sought him and become fortunate.'

  27. فيا ملجأ القصاد يا كعبة الندى

    ويا معدن الإسعادُ يا منبعَ الرفدِ

    So, O refuge of seekers, O Kaaba of generosity,

    And O mine of succor, O fountain of bounty,

  28. ومن كم عن العاني يفرّج شدة

    إذا قال يوم الروع يا أزمة اشتدي

    And you who so often relieve the afflicted of hardship,

    When, on the day of terror, he cries, 'O crisis, grow more severe!'

  29. لقد تمّ لي في الأزهر الآن عشرة

    أزوال فيه العلم في غاية الجِدِ

    I have now completed ten years at al-Azhar,

    Pursuing knowledge there with the utmost diligence.

  30. ولكن طلابَ الرزقِ عنه يصدني

    ولا جائزاً أن يلتقي الضد بالضدِ

    But the pursuit of livelihood draws me away from it,

    And opposites cannot come together.

  31. وغالب أمثالي عن العلم أعرضوا

    وقالوا رأينا السعد خيراً من السعدِ

    And most men like me have turned away from learning,

    And said, 'We found good fortune better than al-Sa'd.'

  32. وكم قد دعوني نحوهم فأجبتهم

    دعوني فبابُ الرزقِ ليس بمنسدِّ

    How often they have called me to join them, and I answered,

    'Leave me be: the gate of livelihood is not shut.'

  33. أأخشى صروف الدهر في عصرٍ ذي الندى

    وكيف أخاف الجورَ في زمن المهدي

    Should I fear the vicissitudes of time in the age of the generous one?

    And how could I fear injustice in the time of al-Mahdi?

  34. فلا زال للأيامِ عقداً يجيدها

    وليس يرى في الحلْي أبهى من العقدِ

    So may he ever be a necklace for the days, lending them splendor,

    And among ornaments none is seen as fairer than a necklace.

  35. وهذي عروس الفكر لكن صداقها

    قبولٌ وهذا غاية السؤلِ والقصدِ

    And this is the bride of thought, but her dowry

    Is acceptance, and this is the utmost of my wish and aim.