Sol 6.1

  1. لستَ الملومَ بما تَجْني علَي بَصَري

    أَدميتَ بالدَّمع من أَدماكَ بِالنَّظَرِ

    You are not to blame, my sight, for what you inflict on me;

    with tears you have bloodied the one who bloodied you by gazing.

  2. دعْ منهُ قبلَ بلوغِ البينِ غَايَتَه

    إِمَّا طريقَ البُكا أَو منزلَ السَّهَر

    Abandon one of these before separation reaches its utmost:

    either the path of weeping or the dwelling of sleeplessness.

  3. واتْرك لِيَ العينَ إِنَّ جَدّ الرَّحيلُ بكُم

    فالعَيْنُ تَقْنَع بَعْدَ الْعَينِ بِالأَثَرِ

    And leave me my eye if departure bears you away in earnest;

    for the eye, once the person is gone, is content with a trace.

  4. قَلْبي وعَقْلي وطيبُ العيشِ بَعْدهُما

    ثلاثةٌ بِكَ قد أَضْحَوْا عَلى سَفرِ

    My heart, my reason, and, after those two, life's delight—

    three who, because of you, have now set out on a journey.

  5. أَجْفَانُ عَيْنَيَّ مَا خِيطتْ عَلى سنةٍ

    هذا وقَدْ غَدت الأَهدابُ كَالإِبَر

    My eyelids have never been stitched shut over slumber,

    though the lashes have become like needles.

  6. أَخذتُ شَيْئَين من شَيئَيْن مُقْتَسِماً

    فالثَّغْر لِلصُّبحِ والأَنْفَاسُ للسَّحَر

    I took two things from two things, dividing their shares:

    the mouth is morning's, and the breath is daybreak's.

  7. إِذا ذكرتُ ثَنايَا من كلفت به

    نعمت بالذكر بين الطيب والحفر

    Whenever I recall the front teeth of the one I adore,

    I delight in remembrance, amid fragrance and the teeth's hollows.

  8. كم كدت ألثم ذاك الثغر من عطش

    لولا فوارس طاعنون في الثغر

    How often thirst nearly made me kiss that mouth,

    were it not for horsemen thrusting at the frontier.

  9. حفت به مَنْ عَوالِيهم أَسنُتَّها

    كأَنَّها الشُّهبُ إِذْ يَحْفُفْنَ بِالقَمر

    The spearheads of their tall lances clustered around him,

    like stars clustering around the moon.

  10. مَدُّوا سُرادقَ ليلٍ مِن عَجَاجَتِهمْ

    فصرتَ تَقْصِدُهُمْ للسُّمْر كالسَّمَر

    They spread a canopy of night from their dust-cloud,

    so you came seeking them for brown spears as for evening talk.

  11. يحمون منكسِرَ الأَجْفانِ هِمْتُ بِه

    ولا أَهِيمُ بِجَفْنٍ غيرِ مُنْكَسِر

    They guard a drooping-eyed one with whom I am infatuated,

    and I am never infatuated with an eyelid that does not droop.

  12. حالى الجفونِ بِحَليٍ لاَ شَبيهَ لهُ

    وهَلْ سَمِعْتُم بِحَليٍ صِيغَ مِنْ حَورِ

    His eyelids are adorned with a jewel beyond compare;

    have you heard of jewelry fashioned from eyes' black-and-white beauty?

  13. أَلْقَى حَبائِلَ صيدٍ مِنْ ذَوَائِبِه

    فصادَ قَلْبي بِأَشْراكٍ مِنَ الشَّعَرِ

    He cast hunting snares from his tresses,

    and caught my heart in traps of hair.

  14. وشبتُ مِنْه وإِنَّ الشَّيبَ أَكْثَره

    يَبْدو مِن الْهَمِّ لا يَبْدو مِنَ الكِبَر

    Because of him I grew gray; most gray hair

    comes from sorrow, not from old age.

  15. ثُم التفتُّ إلى عَيْشِي فَقُلْتُ لَهُ

    يا آخِرَ الصَّفْوِ هَذَا أَوَّلُ الكَدَرِ

    Then I turned to my life and said to it,

    'O end of serenity, this is the beginning of distress.'

  16. لم أَدْر أَنِّيَ والآمَالُ كَاذِبَةٌ

    في أَوَّلِ العُمر أَلْقَى أَرْذَلَ العُمرِ

    I did not know—with hopes proving false—

    that in life's beginning I would meet its most decrepit stage.

  17. تملَّكَ الشَّيبُ فَوْدي والفؤادَ معاً

    كَمِلْك عزْمَةِ سَيْفِ الدِّين للظَّفَرِ

    Gray hair possessed my temples and my heart together,

    as Sayf al-Din's resolve possesses victory.

  18. وحَدُّ عَزْمَةِ سيف الدِّين إِنَّ لها

    وجْهاً يؤنِّث حَدَّ الصَّارِم الذكرِ

    And the edge of Sayf al-Din's resolve indeed has

    an aspect that makes the manly sword's edge feminine.

  19. مَلِكٌ وما الحَقُّ إِلاَّ أَنَّه مَلَكٌ

    فَقَدْ عَلاَ بمَعَالِيه عَنِ الْبَشَرِ

    A king—yet the truth is simply that he is an angel;

    his lofty deeds have raised him above humankind.

  20. ومَا مَعالِي أَبي بَكْرٍ بِحَاكِيَة

    إِلاَّ مَنَاقِبَ في عَمْرو وَفي عُمَرِ

    Abu Bakr's lofty deeds resemble nothing

    but the noble qualities of Amr and Umar.

  21. هو المُمَدَّحُ في قيسٍ وفي يَمَنٍ

    وهو المُعَظَّمُ في تُرك وفي خَزَرِ

    He is extolled among Qays and Yemen,

    and honored among Turks and Khazars.

  22. ملكُ الملوكِ ومَوْلاَها الَّذي شَفَعت

    جَلالَةُ القدْر فيه طَاعَةَ القَدَرِ

    King of kings and their lord, in whom

    majesty of rank has reinforced the obedience of fate.

  23. إِنْ رَامَ أَمْراً عظِيماً سَاقَه قدرٌ

    إِلَيْه أَو جَاءَهُ يَسْعى عَلى قَدَرِ

    If he seeks a mighty thing, destiny drives it

    to him, or it comes hastening to him by decree.

  24. مكمَّلٌ وسِولهُ نَاقِصٌ أَبَدا

    كَأَنَّه إِن قَدْ جَاءَتْ بِلاَ خَبَرِ

    He is perfect, yet his desire is forever incomplete,

    as though it were 'inna' that had come without a predicate.

  25. تكلَّفُوا وأَتَتْ طَبْعاً مَواهِبُه

    وفي البَدَاوَةِ حُسْنٌ لَيْسَ في الْحَضَرِ

    They labored at artifice, while his gifts came naturally;

    and desert life has a beauty absent from the towns.

  26. يَلْقَى السُّراةَ إِلَى نَادِيه مُبْتَدِراً

    بالبدرِ مِنْه ويَلْقَى الوفْدَ بِالبِدَرِ

    He hastens to meet the nobles coming to his assembly

    with the full moon of his face, and greets the delegation with money-bags.

  27. يا مُجدِبَ الْحَالِ زُرْ نَادِيه مُعْتَفِياً

    واسْأَلْ نَدَاهُ ولاَ تَسْأَلْ عَنِ المَطَرِ

    O you of barren fortunes, visit his assembly seeking bounty,

    and ask for his bounty; do not ask about rain.

  28. ويا أَعَادِيه لاَ يَغْرُرْكُمُ مَهَلٌ

    مِنه فإِنَّكُمُ مِنْه عَلَى غرَر

    And you, his enemies, do not be deceived by any respite

    from him, for you are in peril from him.

  29. أَلم تَدَعْكُمْ عَلَى رَغْمٍ بَواتِرُهُ

    وَكُلُّ دِرْعٍ عَلَيْكُمْ قُدَّ مِنْ دُبُرِ

    Have his cleaving swords not left you humiliated,

    with every coat of mail upon you slit from behind?

  30. وسرَّه أَنْ فَرَرْتُم مِنْ أَسِنَّتِه

    والطَّعْنُ في الظَّهْرِ لاَ في البَطْنِ كالسُّرَرِ

    He rejoiced that you fled from his spearpoints,

    with thrusts in backs, not in bellies as navels are.

  31. ذاكَ الَّذِي عادَ مِنْه الكُفْرُ مُنْغَمِراً

    كأَنَّه الْقَلْبُ بَيْن الهَمِّ والْفِكَرِ

    He is the one from whom unbelief returned overwhelmed,

    like a heart caught between sorrow and thoughts.

  32. غَزَا وَطَالتْ مَغَازِيه وقَد غُزيتْ

    نِصَالهُ حِينَ طَالَ الْغَزْوُ بِالْقِصرِ

    He campaigned, and his campaigns grew long; yet invaded were

    his blades by shortness, as the warfare lengthened.

  33. ودَّ العِدَى أَنْ يكُونُوا مِنْ رَعِيَّتِه

    فَلْيأْخُذوا الأَمِنَ تَعويضاً مِن الْحَذَرِ

    His enemies wished to be among his subjects;

    so let them take safety in exchange for fear.

  34. فما لَه غَيْرُ ظَهرِ السَّرْجِ مِنْ وَطَنٍ

    ومَا لَه غَيرُ نهْبِ السَّرْج مِنْ وَطر

    He has no home but the saddle's back,

    and no desire but the saddle's plunder.

  35. كالغيثِ في السِّلمِ أَو كاللَّيث يَوْمَ وَغىً

    والرمح كالنَّاب والصَّمصَامُ كالظُّفر

    Like rain in peace, or a lion on a day of battle,

    the spear like a fang, and the keen sword like a claw.

  36. يرمي الشجاع وإن أضحى وبينهما

    نقع يفرق بين الشخص والبصر

    He shoots at the brave warrior, even when between them

    lies dust that divides the man from sight.

  37. ويَعشقُ الوِردَ والأَبْطالُ صادِرَةٌ

    والموتُ في الوِرْدِ والمَنْجاةُ في الصَّدَرِ

    He loves going to water while the champions turn away,

    though death is in approaching and deliverance in departure.

  38. تقلَّد الدينُ سيفاً مِنه مَا بَرِحَتْ

    سيوفُه البيضُ حُمْراً مِنْ دَمٍ هَدِر

    The Faith has girded on a sword from him; never have

    his white swords ceased to be red with blood shed unavenged.

  39. إِذا تبرَّجْن مِن أَغمادِهِنَّ بَدا

    بِهِنَّ للدَّمِ آثارٌ مِنَ الْخَفَرِ

    When they flaunt themselves from their scabbards, there appear

    upon them traces of the blood's bashful blush.

  40. لله مَوْقِفُ حَرْبٍ كُنْتَ قَائِمَه

    وقائِمٌ النَّصر فيه غَيْرُ مُنْتظر

    God be praised for the battle-stand you held,

    where victory stood present, not awaited.

  41. هَمَى النَّجيعُ فأَبْقَى الجُرْدَ عَاطِلةً

    بِرَغْمِها مِنْ حُلى التَّجميلِ والغُررِ

    Blood poured down, leaving the sleek horses stripped,

    despite themselves, of beauty's ornaments and white forehead blazes.

  42. هزمت فيها جموعَ الشِّرْكِ فانْفَطَروا

    إِنَّ الزُّجَاجَةَ لا تَقْوى عَلَى الحَجَر

    You routed there the hosts of polytheism, and they shattered;

    glass cannot withstand stone.

  43. نأَتْ جموعُك حَمْلاً عن صُفوفِهمُ

    مِثلُ الْبَراجِمِ إِذْ يَبْرزْن في الطُّرَرِ

    Your hosts stood apart from their ranks in the charge,

    like knuckles jutting out amid forelocks.

  44. يا مَنْ قضاياهُ في الأَيَّام عادلةٌ

    أَفْنَيْتَ بالعَدْلِ أَهْل الشِّركِ والأَشَرِ

    O you whose judgments through the days are just,

    with justice you destroyed the people of polytheism and insolence.

  45. كلُّ المدائِحِ إِلا فيكَ بَاطِلَةٌ

    إِنَّ البلاغَةَ في الأَحْبَابِ كَالحَصَر

    All praise is false unless it praises you;

    eloquence concerning loved ones is like speechlessness.

  46. بقيتَ حتى تقولَ النَّاسُ قاطبةً

    هَذا أَبُو إِلياسِ أَو هذا أَخُو الخِضَرِ

    May you live until all people say,

    'This is Abu Ilyas, or this is al-Khidr's brother.'