Sol 6.1

  1. زُهرُ الدراري أَم نظامُ الجوهر

    وَشَذا السُلافَة أَم شَميمُ العَبهرِ

    Radiant stars, or a string of jewels?

    And the scent of choice wine, or the fragrance of narcissus?

  2. أَم زَهر روضٍ قد تبسَّم ضاحِكاً

    إِذ جادَه صوبُ الغمام المُمطرِ

    Or a garden's blossoms, smiling and laughing,

    When the downpour of rain-bearing clouds drenched it?

  3. وَشُذورُ تبرٍ أَم جمانُ قَلائِدٍ

    تَزهو وَتزهرُ في مقلَّد جؤذرِ

    And fragments of raw gold, or pearls in necklaces

    Shining proudly and sparkling on a young oryx's neck?

  4. أَم هذه أَلفاظُ مولىً ماجِدٍ

    وَرِث البلاغةَ أَكبراً عن أَكبرِ

    Or are these the words of an illustrious lord,

    Who inherited eloquence, one great man from another?

  5. يُزري بنظَمِ الدُرِّ باهرُ نظمه

    وَيَفوقُ مسكره مُذابَ السُكَّرِ

    The brilliance of his verse puts strings of pearls to shame,

    And his intoxicating verse surpasses melted sugar.

  6. فلِشعرِه الشِعري العَبورُ تَضاءَلت

    كَرهاً وودَّت أَنَّه لم يشعُرِ

    So before his verse Sirius, the Crossing Star, dwindled

    Against her will, and wished he had never composed verse.

  7. وَالنَثرةُ العَليا هوت من نَثره

    خَجَلاً وَقالَت ليتَه لم ينثرُ

    And lofty al-Nathrah fell because of his prose,

    In shame, and said, 'If only he had never written prose!'

  8. قد أَعجز البلغاءَ مُعجزُ أَحمَدٍ

    فأقرَّ كلُّهمُ بعجزِ مُقصِّرِ

    Ahmad's miracle has indeed baffled the eloquent,

    So all confessed their inability to measure up.

  9. يا مُهدياً لي من سَنيِّ نظامِه

    وَنثارِه دُرّاً بهيَّ المَنظَرِ

    O you who gave me, from your splendid verse

    And prose, pearls magnificent to behold,

  10. شُكراً لفضلكَ شكر مَمنونٍ فقد

    حَلَّيت جيدي من عقودِ الجَوهرِ

    Thanks for your kindness—the thanks of one indebted—for you have

    Adorned my neck with necklaces of jewels.