Sol 6.1

  1. على غيرك البهتان والزور ينفق

    وما ينقل الواشي افتراء ويخلق

    Slander and falsehood find a market with someone other than you,

    as does whatever the talebearer falsely reports and invents.

  2. ومن يضع للواشي بأذني فؤاده

    يميز قولي من يمين ويصدق

    Whoever lends the talebearer the ears of his heart

    distinguishes my words from an oath and believes.

  3. ولم يمش تمويه يموهة الفتى

    عليه ولا قول المحال الملفق

    No deception a young man concocts has ever worked

    on him, nor any fabricated, absurd assertion.

  4. وإن امرءاً يرمى برياً بذنبه

    ليوقعه فيه وينجو الأَحمق

    A man who accuses an innocent of his own sin,

    to ensnare him in it and escape himself, is the fool.

  5. فما الله ظلاّمٌ لعبدِ وإِنه

    ليحكم حكما بالعجائب يطرق

    For God wrongs no servant; indeed,

    He decrees a judgment that comes with wonders.

  6. لقد كادني من لم يوفق لممكن

    من القول يرميني به فيصدق

    One has plotted against me who found nothing plausible

    to say against me and thereby be believed.

  7. وأهون من يرميك بالإِفك كائدٌ

    بما ليس يصغي نحوه السمع ينطق

    The least formidable of those who assail you with lies is a schemer

    who says what no ear will heed.

  8. وما لُمتهم إِ كذبوا بل أَلومهم

    على أَنهم قالوا به ليصدّقوا

    I did not blame them when they lied; rather, I blame them

    for saying it in order to be believed.

  9. لقد أَكثروا في القولِ مدخلهم به

    وسيعٌ ولكن مخرج منه ضيّق

    They have said much; their entrance into such speech

    is wide, but their exit from it is narrow.

  10. فأَما الذي قد قال منها بزعمهِ

    ومنها ومنها وهو للعرض يخرق

    As for the one who said, 'From it,' as he alleges,

    'and from it, and from it,' while tearing at my honor—

  11. ففي قوله منها ومنها دلالة

    على أَن ما يرويه فيها مفرق

    his saying 'from it' and 'from it' is evidence

    that what he relates within it is scattered.

  12. ووالله ما فيها لما قال موضعٌ

    يدسَ به بيتاً له ويلفّقُ

    By God, it has no place for what he says,

    where he might slip in a verse of his own and patch it together.

  13. وأما الذي قد قال إن انسلاخكم

    عن البين مهما أشكل الأمر موبق

    As for the one who said that your disavowal

    of the oath [reading uncertain], whenever the matter is obscure, is ruinous—

  14. فلو كان ذا فقه نجا من فضيحة

    تضاحك منها العارفون وأطرقوا

    had he possessed understanding, he would have escaped a disgrace

    at which the learned laughed and lowered their heads.

  15. دليل على تقوى التقي انسلاخه

    من اليني فيما لم يكن يتحقق

    A sign of a pious man's piety is his abstaining

    from an oath concerning what he had not verified.

  16. أظن انسلاخ البين مما اخترعته

    وأن لست في هذى العبارة أسبق

    Did he think 'disavowing the oath' was something I invented,

    and that no one had used this expression before me?

  17. وهذا اصطلاح الشافي وصحبه

    كما ذكروه في القراض وحققوا

    This is al-Shafi's terminology, and that of his companions,

    as they stated and established in discussing profit-sharing investment.

  18. فمن شاء فليسئله من كل طالب

    ليعلم ما جهلا به يتشدق

    Let any student who wishes question him,

    to learn what he mouths so grandly in ignorance,

  19. ويعلم ما أخطا على ملك الورى

    بتحريف ما يرضى لما منه تعلق

    and learn how he has wronged the king of men,

    by twisting what he approves to suit what he seized upon.

  20. وناقل سب الغير ثانيه في الاذى

    فدع ناقلا للغير ما هو يخلق

    The bearer of another's abuse is his partner in harm;

    let alone one who carries to others what he himself invents.

  21. لقد حفروا بيراً فلو جعلوا بها

    وقد وقعوا فيها مراق ليرتقوا

    They dug a well—if only they had put within it,

    now that they have fallen in, steps by which to climb out!

  22. وما فهمت بالعورآء فيمن يسؤني

    فدع من اياديه علي تدفق

    I have never uttered a foul word against one who wrongs me,

    let alone one whose favors pour down upon me,

  23. ومن لم يزل في كل يوم يجد لي

    ملابس من نعمائه ليس تخلق

    and who, day after day, keeps renewing for me

    garments of his favors that never wear out.

  24. لقد علموا أني وفيَّ لمحسن

    عفيفِ لسان عن مسيىءٍ يلقلق

    They know that I am loyal to a benefactor,

    and guard my tongue even against a babbling wrongdoer.

  25. ولكنها الأّقدار يحرم ما جد

    يجود بما أعطى وذو اللؤم يرزق

    Yet such are the fates: a noble man is deprived,

    unstinting in his gifts, while the base man is provided for.

  26. ووالله ما فارقتكم عن ملالةٍ

    ولا باختياري كان هذا التفرق

    By God, I did not leave you out of weariness,

    nor did this separation come by my choice.

  27. ولا في مدى عمري اتساع لنأيه

    وبعدٌ له أطوى الفيافي وأعنق

    Nor is there room in my lifetime for its remoteness,

    or such distance, for which I cross deserts and hasten.

  28. ولكن رأيت القوم للشر أجمعوا

    عليَّ وسدّوا كلَّ باب وأَغَلقوا

    But I saw the people united in malice

    against me; they blocked every door and shut it.

  29. وشاعت جوابات على الله تفترى

    بأني ممن لا يجار ويرفق

    Replies spread abroad, falsely attributed to God,

    declaring me one to be granted neither refuge nor kindness.

  30. ولو كان نصفين الكلام لأفحموا

    بحق به تلك الأباطيل تزهق

    Had speech been shared equally, they would have been silenced

    by truth that would make those falsehoods vanish.

  31. سينبيك عني البعد أني والوفا

    رضيعا لبانٍ فيك لا تتفرّقُ

    Distance will tell you of me: that I and fidelity

    are sucklings of one milk in devotion to you, never to part.

  32. وإِني لا أنسا صنعائك التي

    ملكن ومن يملكنه ليس يعتق

    I do not forget those kindnesses of yours

    that enslaved me; whoever they enslave is never freed.

  33. عليَّ بها شكر تؤدى فروضه

    ثناه يفوح المسك مني فيعبق

    For them I owe gratitude whose duties are fulfilled,

    its praise wafting musk from me and spreading fragrance.

  34. تناقله الركبان مني على النوى

    وكلُّ لسان بالذي فيه ينطقُ

    Riders have carried it from me across the distance,

    and every tongue speaks what lies within it.

  35. وفي الحر عند الامتحان جلادة

    تزحزح عن زلاته وتعوق

    A noble man, when tested, has fortitude

    that keeps him from stumbling and restrains him.

  36. وغيظ العدى أضن يصلح المرءُ نفسه

    وأن لا يَرى فيه للوم تطرق

    What enrages enemies is a man's reforming himself,

    and leaving no opening in him for reproach.

  37. فان زوروا في الغيب عني قالةً

    فقد زوروها في حضوري ورّوقوا

    If they fabricate a tale about me in my absence,

    they have already fabricated it in my presence and embellished it.

  38. فما هتكوا إلاَّ ستورَ نفوسِهم

    ولا نقلوا زوراً عليَّ فصُدّقوا

    They have torn away only the veils of their own souls,

    and never spread a lie against me and been believed.

  39. وفيك حمياتي وفي الله أَن طغوا

    ودونكما عِرضي وقاً فيمزقوا

    My protective zeal is for you and for God, should they transgress,

    and my honor is a shield before you both: let them tear it.

  40. فحسبي ما يهدون من حسناتهم

    وما حملوه من ذنوبي وطوّقوا

    Enough for me are the good deeds they give me,

    and the sins of mine they bear, hung about their necks.