Sol 6.1

  1. قضاءٌ من الرّحمنِ ليس لَهُ رَدُّ

    وسَكرةُ مَوتٍ ليس من وِردِها بُدُّ

    A decree from the All-Merciful that cannot be turned back,

    And a death-stupor whose draught cannot be avoided,

  2. وكأسٌ أدارتها يدُ العدلِ بَينَنا

    فيَشرَبُها المَولى كما يشرَبُ العَبدُ

    And a cup the hand of justice passed among us,

    Which the master drinks just as the slave drinks.

  3. سَقت أُمَّ عَمرٍ والّذين سقتهمُ

    دِراكاً وكانت لا يُنَهنِهُها الصَّدُّ

    It gave Umm 'Amr drink, and those it gave drink

    In quick succession; no resistance could restrain it.

  4. وما أخطأَت خيرَ الثلاثةِ عندَها

    ولا قصَّرت عن خيرِهم عندَنا بَعدُ

    It did not miss the best of the three in its eyes,

    Nor has it yet fallen short of their best in ours.

  5. وشبَّ عن الطَّوق المعارِ فَردَّهُ

    وما اعتاضَ منهُ مِن شبيبتِهِ رَدُّ

    He outgrew the borrowed collar and returned it,

    And no return of his youth compensated him for it.

  6. ومِن قَبلُ ما أردَت أَباهُ حياتُه

    وطوَّقَهُ من قبلِ تَطويقِهِ الحَدُّ

    Before him, his father's own life had destroyed him,

    And the blade collared him before his collaring.

  7. وأمثَلُ ما قالُوهُ فَرَّ لوجههِ

    وأَجفَلَ مذعوراً كما تجفلُ الرُّبدُ

    The likeliest thing they said was: he fled headlong,

    And bolted in terror as the dusky ostriches bolt.

  8. وعُزّزَ منه القارظانِ بثالثٍ

    فأصبَح رَهناً لا يَرُوحُ لا يَغدوُ

    Through him the two qaraz-gatherers gained a third,

    And he became a hostage, neither going at evening nor at dawn.

  9. وساءَتهُ من قبلِ المَسرّةِ نفسُه

    به وَهوَ لغوٌ لا خَطاءٌ ولا عَمدُ

    His own soul brought him sorrow before joy,

    Through it—an empty act, neither error nor intent.

  10. وما كانَ إلّا نَصلَ أَروعَ ماجدٍ

    تَجلّى لوقتٍ عن مضاربهِ الغِمدُ

    He was only the blade of a splendid, noble man,

    Whose scabbard briefly withdrew from its striking edges.

  11. وعمرو بن هند غالَه نَفثُ أرقمٍ

    بكفّ ابن ليلى وَعدُه بالرّدى نَقدُ

    And 'Amr ibn Hind was destroyed by a speckled serpent's venom,

    In the hand of Ibn Layla, whose promise of death was paid at once.

  12. وجَرَّ على هندٍ عُقوقاً بِبِرِّهِ

    فيا ليتَ لم تَرُم قتوَها هندُ

    Through his filial devotion he brought disobedience upon Hind;

    Would that Hind had never sought her service!

  13. فأُمِّنَ منه كلُّ شيءٍ يخافهُ

    وكم ذُعِرَت منهُ المُلَملمَةُ الصُّلدُ

    Then everything that feared him was safe from him,

    And how often the rounded, hard rocks had trembled before him!

  14. وكرَّت على الزَّباءِ إِثرَ جذيمةٍ

    وحُمَّ لها من مثل ما جَرَّعت وِردُ

    It returned upon al-Zabba after Jadhima,

    And a draught like the one she made others swallow was decreed for her.

  15. ولو ملّكتهُ رأيَهُ يومَ بَقّةٍ

    لما فاتَهُ من يومِ مكروهِها وَعدُ

    Had she let him follow his own counsel on the day at Baqqa,

    He would not have missed the appointed day of her calamity.

  16. وَما بلغ الثأرُ المنيمُ قتيلَها

    وهل تَبلغُ الأنباءُ مَن دُونَهُ اللَّحدُ

    The vengeance that brings repose never reached her slain victim;

    Can tidings reach someone behind the grave?

  17. ولم تُحصِنِ الزبّاء قُنّةُ شاهقٍ

    تُساميهِ أَوهامُ الخطوبِ فيرتَدُّ

    No lofty summit protected al-Zabba,

    Though the imagination of calamity strives to reach it, then falls back.

  18. ولا نَفقٌ يستبطِنُ الأرضَ غامضٌ

    طَوتهُ كما يُطوى الضَّميرُ فما يبدو

    Nor did a hidden tunnel burrowing into the earth,

    Which she concealed as a secret thought is folded away, unseen.

  19. وجَرَّت على مَغنى قصير ذيولَها

    ولم تُنجِهِ منها العَصا وهيَ تَشتَدُّ

    It dragged its skirts across Qasir's dwelling,

    And al-'Asa could not save him from it, though she raced hard.

  20. وإن خالَهُ من شدَّةِ الركضِ ناجِياً

    فَما كانَ إِلَّا بَينَ أَنيابها يَعدُو

    Even if he thought him safe through the fierceness of the gallop,

    He was only running between its fangs.

  21. وأَينَ من الجعديّ آلُ محرّقٍ

    تولُّوا فلا سِبطٌ يُعَدّ ولا جَعدُ

    Where, for al-Ja'di, are the house of Muharriq?

    They departed; neither straight-haired nor curly-haired man remains to count.

  22. تذكّرَهُم والأَرضُ منهم بَلاقِعٌ

    فلم يتمالَك دمعهُ وهُوَ الجَلدُ

    He remembered them, while the earth lay empty of them,

    And could not master his tears, though he was steadfast.

  23. ولم ينسَ حسّانٌ لأَولادِ جَفنةٍ

    أَواصِرَ إِحسانٍ على الدَّهرِ تَمتَدُّ

    Hassan did not forget, for the sons of Jafna,

    The bonds of kindness stretching across time.

  24. ولم ينسَهُ ابنُ الأيهم النَّدبُ بالنّدى

    وَلِلأَرضِ والإسلامِ بينَهُما بُعدُ

    Nor did the generous Ibn al-Ayham forget him in his bounty,

    Though land and Islam set distance between the two.

  25. ولم يبكِهِ إلّا الوفاءُ ومَعشرٌ

    كرامٌ على آثارهم ينبتُ الحَمدُ

    Only loyalty wept for him, and a company

    Of noble men in whose footsteps praise springs up.

  26. وما أوحشَ الدُّنيا بِمَن أَنِسَت بهِ

    ومن حَيثُ يأتي الأُنس يُستشعَرُ الوَجدُ

    How desolate the world becomes through losing one whose presence cheered it!

    From the very place where comfort comes, grief is felt.

  27. وكم بينَ أطباقِ الثَّرى من موسَّدٍ

    له المُقرَبان المُهرُ والسّابحُ النّهدُ

    How many lie pillowed between the layers of earth,

    Who had two favored steeds: the colt and the powerful coursing horse!

  28. ومنظورِ أَوباتِ السِّفار كأنَّما

    هلالٌ على فِطرٍ أهَلَّ به السَّعدُ

    And men whose returns from journeys were awaited, as though

    They were a crescent at Eid al-Fitr, risen with good fortune.

  29. رَقيقِ حَواشي الحِلمِ والعِلمِ والنُّهى

    ولكنُّهُ في كلِّ حادثةٍ صَلدُ

    Gentle in the fine qualities of forbearance, knowledge, and understanding,

    Yet hard as stone in every calamity.

  30. أَخي عَزماتٍ لو طُبِعنَ صَوارماً

    لقَصَّر عنها كلُّ ما طبَعَ الهِندُ

    Possessed of resolves which, if forged into swords,

    Would surpass everything India has forged.

  31. تألَّفَ من سِرِّ المكارمِ شَخصُه

    فلا نظرةٌ فيهِ لعينٍ ولا نَقدُ

    His person was formed from the innermost essence of noble virtues;

    No eye could find a flaw in him, nor any critic.

  32. وأَبلَج يَلهُو بالمَعالِي برَاعَةً

    فَتَدرِي المَعالي أَنَّ شِيمَتَهُ جدُّ

    And a radiant man who plays with high achievements so skillfully

    That those achievements know his disposition is earnest.

  33. حُلىً لم تَكُن لُبساً لغير ابنِ مالِكٍ

    وهَيهاتَ يَأبى اللَهُ ذلكَ والمَجدُ

    Adornments that none but Ibn Malik could wear—

    Far be it! God and glory forbid otherwise.

  34. سَيُعرِبُ عنكَ الدَّهرُ أَنّكَ فَردُهُ

    وأَنَّكَ لِلعليَا ومُدّتها حَدُّ

    Time will declare that you are its peerless one,

    And that you are the limit of eminence and its reach.

  35. وتَبكيكَ عَينٌ لم تَنل منكَ نَظرَةً

    وتُوحِشُ أَرضٌ ما رماكَ بها عَهدُ

    An eye that never received a glance from you weeps for you,

    And a land where no past acquaintance brought you grows desolate.

  36. ويَفقِدُكَ الإسلامُ والبِرُّ والتُّقى

    وهذا الكلام النَّثرُ والنَّائلُ السَّردُ

    Islam, goodness, and piety feel your loss,

    As do this prose discourse and your unbroken giving.

  37. أَلستَ من الأَقيَالِ أَقيالِ حِميَرٍ

    إلى كُلّ فَيَّاضِ النَّدى سَيبهُ عِدُّ

    Are you not of the princes, the princes of Himyar,

    Linked to every lavish giver whose bounty is a perennial spring?

  38. ومُنتَجع الأَكنافِ مُرتَبع الذرا

    بِمالِكهم يَحدُو الرَّكائِبَ من يحدُو

    A refuge sought on every side, with heights lush as spring pasture,

    Of whose Malik every camel-chanter chants as he drives the mounts.

  39. لَعَمري لَقد أَدّى نُعيمٌ وعُقبةٌ

    إليكَ العُلا كفّاً يَصُولُ بها زَندُ

    By my life, Nu'aym and 'Uqba indeed handed down

    Glory to you—a hand with which an arm strikes.

  40. إذا صدَرت عن ماجِدٍ عَنَّ ماجِدٌ

    مَحاسِنُه شَتّى وسُؤددهُ فَردُ

    Whenever it departed from one noble man, another noble man appeared,

    His merits manifold, his lordship peerless.

  41. تَسَلَّمتَها لَمّا دنَت عن مُحَمَّدٍ

    أَبيكَ أَبٌ لم يُخزِهِ الأَبُ والجَدُّ

    You received it, when it drew near, from Muhammad,

    Your father—a father shamed by neither father nor grandfather.

  42. إذا حَلَّت الأنسابُ غَوراً فَإِنّما

    مَحلُّك مِن أَعلى ذَوائِبها نجدُ

    When lineages settle in lowlands,

    Your place is highland among their loftiest crests.

  43. وما المَجدُ إلّا كَوكَبٌ كُلّما سَرى

    فمصعَدُهُ سَهلٌ ومَسلَكَهُ قَصدُ

    Glory is only a star that, whenever it travels,

    Finds its ascent easy and its path straight.

  44. فَيا قَمر العليا ويا رائدَ الحَيَا

    ويا جَبَل الدُّنيا أَمثلك يَنهدُّ

    O moon of eminence, O seeker of life-giving rain,

    O mountain of the world, can one like you collapse?

  45. عَزيزٌ عَلَينا أَن تَحُلَّ بِوَهدَةٍ

    وما كانَ حقّاً من منازِلكَ الوَهدُ

    It pains us that you should dwell in a hollow,

    When low ground was never rightly among your dwelling places.

  46. وأَنَّكَ مَهما نَوَّهَ القَومُ للِقرى

    تُنادي فلا بِشرٌّ لَدَيكَ ولا رِفدُ

    And that, whenever people proclaim a call to hospitality,

    You are called, yet offer neither a smile nor a gift.

  47. بعيدٌ على أَن الديارَ قريبةٌ

    مقيمٌ وكم تاهت بكَ الضُمرُ الجُردُ

    Far away, although the dwellings are near,

    Stationary, though how often the lean, sleek steeds ranged proudly with you!

  48. وما كُنتَ إلا الغَيثَ طَبّقَ نَفعُهُ

    وسَدّ خَصاصَ الأَرضِ من وَبلِهِ سَدُّ

    You were only rain whose benefit spread everywhere,

    Whose downpour filled the earth's gaps completely.

  49. كذلك ما اختَصَّت بفقدكَ بُقعَةٌ

    وصَوبُ الحَيا في كلّ أرضٍ لهُ فَقدُ

    Thus no single place has been singled out by your loss;

    The fall of life-giving rain is missed in every land.

  50. وإن لحِمصٍ لو علمتَ عصابَةً

    حَيازِيمُهُم من حَرِّ ثُكلِك تَنقَدُّ

    In Hims, if you knew, there is a company

    Whose ribs split from the burning grief of losing you.

  51. وفي حضرَةَ المُلكِ استَهلَّت مدامِعٌ

    عَليكَ ولم تَظلِم كما انتثَر العِقدُ

    And in the royal court tears poured down

    For you, rightly, like a necklace scattering.

  52. فَمَن لِبَنِي الآمالِ أَنضَتهُم السُّرى

    ولَفّتهُم النّكباءُ والليلُ مُسوَدُّ

    Who will care for the children of hope, worn out by night journeys,

    Wrapped in the crosswind while the night is black?

  53. ومَن لليَتامى والأَرامِل أَصبَحُوا

    وقد مَسَّهُم ضرٌّ وقد شَفَّهُم جَهدُ

    And who for the orphans and widows, who have awakened

    Touched by affliction and worn thin by hardship?

  54. ومَن للعُنَاة البائسينَ يَفُكُّهُم

    وقَد ضَمّهُم سِجنٌ وأَوثَقُهُم قِدُّ

    And who will free the wretched captives,

    Enclosed in a prison and bound with leather thongs?

  55. ومَن لِسَبيلِ البِرِّ يُحيِي رُسُومَها

    وقد أَصبحَت سَحقاً كما أَخلقَ البُردُ

    And who will revive the traces of the path of goodness,

    Now worn to tatters as a mantle wears out?

  56. مَكارِمُ قد ضاعَت ثغورُ حُقُوقِها

    فليسَ لَها من بَعدِه أَبداً سَدُّ

    Noble deeds whose rightful defenses have been lost—

    After him, no barrier will ever protect them.

  57. وهَوَّن خَطبَ الشَّامَتينَ مصانِعٌ

    لها دونَ هذا الحُرّ أَلسِنَةٌ لُدُّ

    His monuments diminished the gloaters' triumph,

    With fiercely disputing tongues defending this noble man.

  58. وبيتٌ بنَاهُ فوقَ أَفئدةِ العِدا

    إذا حاوَلُوا أن يَظهَرُوا مَجدَهُ رُدُّوا

    And a house he built above his enemies' hearts:

    Whenever they tried to surmount its glory, they were repelled.

  59. أَساطِينُ خُرسٌ ناطقاتٌ بِفَضلهِ

    مُخَلَّدةٌ والفضلُ آيَتُهُ الخُلدُ

    Silent pillars speaking of his excellence,

    Made enduring; eternity is excellence's sign.

  60. أقامَت صُفوفاً أَو صُفوناً كَأنّها

    لِزُوَّار بيتِ اللَهِ تحرسُهم جُندُ

    They stood in ranks, or like steeds standing poised, as though

    They were troops guarding the visitors to God's House.

  61. وعَذبٌ إذا ما ذاقَهُ ذُو كشاحَةٍ

    تَجَرّعهُ حَرّاً ومَورِدُهُ بَردُ

    And sweet water which, when a resentful man tastes it,

    He gulps hot, though its source is cool.

  62. وإنّ الّذي سَقّى العبادَ لِوَجهِه

    مليٌّ بِسُقيَا من شرائعها الشَّهدُ

    Indeed, he who gave people water for His sake

    Deserves a draught from channels whose water is honey.

  63. لِتَشكُر دمشقٌ نِعمَةً يَمنِيَّةً

    إلى الصِّيدِ من حَيّ المَعافِر تعتَدُّ

    Let Damascus give thanks for a Yemeni blessing,

    Which it traces to the proud men of the Ma'afir tribe.

  64. وتندُب فتَاها النَّدبَ غَيرَ مُدافعٍ

    إذا ثَوَّبَ الداعُونَ أَو طلَعَ الرَّندُ

    And mourn its gallant young man, with no rival to his claim,

    Whenever callers repeat their summons or the laurel comes forth.

  65. وتعرف له معروفَهُ الشامُ كُلّها

    وإن جَحَدُوا فالشَّمسُ ليسَ لَها جَحدُ

    Let all Syria acknowledge his kindness;

    Even if they deny it, the sun cannot be denied.

  66. لقَد رَدّ صَرفَ الدَّهر عَنهُم مكانُه

    فَبينهُم منهُ وَبَين الرّدى سَدُّ

    His standing indeed repelled time's vicissitudes from them;

    Through him a barrier stood between them and destruction.

  67. فَقُل للذي يَبغي مساعِيَ مَجدِهِ

    عَجزتَ ولم يُبلَغ نَصِيفٌ ولا مَدُّ

    Say to whoever seeks to match the achievements of his glory:

    You have failed; neither half a measure nor a mudd has been reached.

  68. ويا حاسِديهِ قد قضى لِسَبيلِهِ

    فهل عِندَكُم في نَيلِ سؤدده عِندُ

    O you who envy him, he has gone his way;

    Have you any rival claim to attaining his lordship?

  69. أَفيقُوا من الدَّاءِ العُضَالِ وسَلِّمُوا

    فما نارُهُ إلا لكُم وله الزَّندُ

    Awaken from this incurable disease and concede:

    His fire is only for you, while the fire-striker is his.

  70. سَقى اللَه قَبراً ضَمَّهُ كُلّ ضاحِكٍ

    مِنَ المُزن يَحدُو عَينَ بارِقهِ الرَّعدُ

    May God water the grave that holds him with every smiling cloud,

    Whose flashing eye of lightning is urged onward by thunder.

  71. ولا بَرِحَتهُ رَوضَةٌ نَفَحَاتُها

    كَما فُتَّ مِسك أَو كما حُرِقَ النَّدُّ

    May a garden never leave it, its fragrances

    Like crumbled musk or burning aromatic wood.

  72. ولا زالَ في فَرحٍ ورَوحٍ ورَحمَةٍ

    ومنها لهُ عَرشٌ ومنها له مَهدُ

    May he remain in joy, repose, and mercy,

    With a throne of these, and a cradle of these.

  73. وشَبَّ على تِلكَ السِّيادَةِ أَحمَدٌ

    وإِن شبَّ في قَلبِ العَدُوّ له حِقدُ

    Ahmad grew to maturity in that lordship,

    Even as hatred for him grew in the enemy's heart.

  74. فصانَ الذي شادَتهُ آباؤُه له

    وأَغنى الذي أَغنَوا وسَدَّ الذي سَدُّوا

    He safeguarded what his fathers had built for him,

    Enriched those they enriched, and filled the gaps they filled.

  75. ودانَت له الدُّنيا ودامَت بهِ العُلا

    وساعفَهُ حَظٌّ وساعدَهُ جَدُّ

    The world submitted to him, and eminence endured through him;

    Fortune assisted him, and good luck supported him.

  76. ولاقاهُ ما أَولاهُ من كلِّ صالحٍ

    لأَمثالِهِ إِن أَنصَفوا يُوضَعُ الخَدُّ

    All the good he bestowed came back to meet him;

    Before men like him, the fair-minded lay their cheeks in humility.

  77. مآثِرُ فاتَت عَدَّ كلِّ مُحصِّلٍ

    وأَنَّى لها والرَّملُ من بعضها عَدُّ

    Achievements beyond the counting of every reckoner—

    How could they be counted, when the sand counts only some of them?

  78. ومنها جِبالٌ راسياتٌ مُنيفَةٌ

    ومنها بحورٌ زاخراتٌ لها مَدُّ

    Among them are firmly rooted, towering mountains,

    And among them are surging seas with swelling tides.

  79. سأبكيك لا أني قضيتُ مَذمَّةً

    فحقُّكَ لا يُقضى ولكنّهُ جُهدُ

    I shall weep for you, without claiming I have discharged my obligation;

    Your due cannot be discharged, but this is my effort.

  80. وما عَبرَتي من عبرةِ ابنِ مفرِّغٍ

    وقَد فَضَّها في غَيرِ مَحمدَةٍ بُردُ

    My tears are not like the tears of Ibn Mufarrigh,

    Which Burd drew forth in a matter earning no praise.

  81. ولكن كما تبكي لِصَخرٍ تُماضِرٌ

    مَدامِعُ تُجريها الأُخوَّةُ وَالودُّ

    Rather, as Tumadir weeps for Sakhr:

    Tears set flowing by kinship and love.