Sol 6.1

  1. أبى رقَّ الحياةِ فماتَ حرّا

    وَأبلغَ نفسَه في ذاك عذرا

    He refused life's bondage, so he died free,

    And in that gave himself full justification.

  2. أَبيٌّ ساغ كأسَ الموتِ صِرْفاً

    دهاقاً حين طعم العيشِ مرّا

    Unbowed, he drank death's cup unmixed,

    Brimming, when he tasted life as bitter.

  3. وَتامَتْ قَلْبَه بكرُ المعالي

    فقدَّم نفسَه في الحبِّ مهرا

    And the maiden of lofty ideals enthralled his heart,

    So he offered himself as love's bridal dower.

  4. وَأقسمَ لا يكون حماه نهباً

    مباحاً أو يموت طوىً فبرّا

    He swore his homeland would not become plunder

    Free for the taking—or he would die starving; he kept his oath.

  5. قضى جوعاً وَربّ ممضِ جوعٍ

    يكون عَلى حياةِ القوم أمرا

    He died of hunger; and many an agonizing hunger

    May prove more nourishing to a people's life.

  6. وما يدريك أنَّ طواه يوماً

    يكون لقومِه بعثاً وَنشرا

    And who knows? His hunger may one day

    Become rebirth and resurrection for his people.

  7. بميتته رأى إحياء شعبٍ

    فأيقن أنَّ بعد العسرِ يسرا

    In his death he saw a people's revival,

    So he knew with certainty that after hardship comes ease.

  8. فلو في كلِّ شعبٍ مثل (ماكٍ)

    لما كانتْ خطوبُ القومِ تترى

    So if every people had someone like Mac,

    The people's calamities would not come one after another.

  9. عجبتُ له جليداً ذا اختيارٍ

    يعاني نزْعَهُ شهراً فشهرا

    I marveled at him, steadfast and choosing freely,

    Enduring his death throes month after month.

  10. إذا كَلَحَتْ به زرقُ المنايا

    تهلّلَ وَجهُه وازداد بشرا

    When the blue-eyed fates bared their teeth at him,

    His face beamed, and his cheerfulness grew.

  11. كأنَّ له عَلى الأنفاس وِتْراً

    فأدرك من إِفاظتهنَّ وترا

    As though he had a blood-feud with his breaths,

    So he exacted vengeance by making them expire.

  12. كأْنَّ حياتَه أصرٌ عليه

    فخفَّفَ عنه عند الموت أصرا

    As though his life were a burden upon him,

    So at death he lifted a burden from himself.

  13. فيالك سكرة غشيْتهُ لكنْ

    لقد كشفتْ عن الأقوام ضرّا

    What a death-swoon it was that overcame him—yet

    It surely lifted affliction from the peoples.

  14. ويا لك ميتاً أحيا شعوباً

    وَشادَ لها عَلى الأيامِ ذكرا

    And what a dead man you are, who gave life to peoples,

    And built them a renown enduring through the ages.

  15. فديتك هل نذرتَ النفسَ يوماً

    على منعِ الحمى فوفيتَ نذرا

    May I be your ransom! Did you once pledge your life

    To defend your homeland, and so fulfill your vow?

  16. بنفسي أنت من هادٍ إمام

    أنارَ لمدْلجِ الأقوامِ فجرا

    My life for you—what a guide and leader,

    Who lit a dawn for peoples traveling by night.

  17. عظامُك وهي جوفٌ بالياتٌ

    رفعتَ بها بناءً مشمخرا

    Your bones, though hollow and crumbling—

    With them you raised a towering edifice.

  18. ونفسُك وهي ذاهبةٌ شعاعاً

    أظلَّته رواقاً مسيطرا

    And your soul, though scattering as it departed,

    Shaded it as a commanding canopy.

  19. إلى الأخرى عهدتَ الصومَ ذخراً

    وصومُك كان في الدارين ذخرا

    For the next life you laid up fasting as a treasure,

    And your fasting was a treasure in both worlds.

  20. ليهنك أنَّ أهلَ الأرضِ إلبٌ

    عَلى أن يدركوا لذويك ثأرا

    May it gladden you that earth's people stand united

    To exact vengeance for your kin.

  21. كأنك من ذوي قربايَ لَمَّا

    رثيتُك باكياً نظماً ونثرا

    As though you were among my own kin, when

    I mourned you, weeping, in verse and prose.

  22. ولم تك ذا ولاءٍ في مَعَدٍ

    ولم تبلغْ بك الأجدادُ (فِهرا)

    And you had no bond of clientage among Maʿadd,

    Nor did your ancestors trace your lineage to Fihr.

  23. ولكني بكلِّ فتى كريمٍ

    أخي ثقةٍ غزيزِ النفس مغرى

    But I, by every noble young man,

    Trustworthy and proud of soul, am captivated.

  24. فنبئني أعَيْشُ المرءِ خيرٌ

    بذلٍ أم رداه فأنت أدرى

    So tell me: is a man's life better

    In humiliation, or his death? You know better.

  25. إذا كانت حياةُ المرء أسراً

    فإنَّ الموتَ بالأحرار أحرى

    If a man's life is captivity,

    Then death is more fitting for the free.

  26. فأفٍ للجبان وكل نذلٍ

    يُقاد إلى حياضِ الذلِّ قسرا

    So fie on the coward and every wretch

    Driven by force to humiliation's watering pools!

  27. وأُفٍ للأولى ظلموا وجاروا

    وآلوا أن يسودوا الناسَ قهرا

    And fie on those who oppressed and tyrannized,

    And swore to rule people by force!

  28. فلولا الظلمُ والأطماعُ كنا

    لآخرِ دهرنا ماءً وخمرا

    Were it not for oppression and greed, we would be

    Water and wine until the end of our days.