Sol 6.1

  1. سئِمتُ حياتي من كُرورِ المصائِبِ

    وهِمتُ إلى حتفي لمُرّ النوائِبِ

    I have wearied of my life through recurring calamities,

    And yearned for my death, so bitter were misfortunes.

  2. غَدَوتُ بقلبٍ كالأَثافيّ مُوقَدٍ

    ورُحتُ بجسمٍ ناحلِ العِطفِ شازبِ

    I rise with a heart burning like hearthstones,

    And reach evening with a lean-flanked, wasted body.

  3. تفاجيهِ نَكباءُ البلايا بعاصفٍ

    وتَلقاهُ أَرواحُ الرزايا بحاصبِ

    The crosswind of affliction assails it with a gale,

    And disaster's winds meet it with a hail of stones.

  4. وتَعصَفُ فيهِ النائباتُ رياحُها

    فتسمعُ منها رِعدةً في الرواجبِ

    Misfortunes unleash their winds within it,

    Till you hear their trembling in the finger joints.

  5. تنكَّبتُ عن ذا الدهرِ خوفَ نكوبهِ

    فنكباهُ قد أَنضَت وأَضنَت مَناكبي

    I shunned this age for fear of its misfortunes,

    For its blows have worn and wasted my shoulders.

  6. وأَخنَى عليَّ الدهرُ من ثِقل وقرِهِ

    وأَخنَى بِلاهُ كاهلي ثُمَّ غاربي

    Time has crushed me beneath its heavy burden,

    And its ravages have worn my shoulders, then my back.

  7. لقد علَّني عَلَّ المُحالِ لِأَنَّني

    أُعلّل قلبي بالأَماني الكواذبِ

    It has plied me with draughts of the impossible, because I

    Soothe my heart with lying hopes.

  8. فما من أَخي وُدٍ مُقيمٍ على الوَلا

    ولا حافظٍ للعهدِ أو غيرِ عائبِ

    There is no loving friend steadfast in loyalty,

    Nor keeper of pledges, nor anyone free of faultfinding.

  9. وَدِدتُ نَوَى دهري الخَوُونِ لأَنَّهُ

    أقلُّ وفاءً من ذوات النقائبِ

    I wished to leave my treacherous age, because it is

    Less faithful than women wearing veils.

  10. ونزَّهتُ قلبي عن وِدادِ مَراغِبٍ

    رغائبِ قلبٍ في انتهاز الرغائبِ

    I kept my heart from affection for alluring women,

    Desirous at heart of snatching what they covet.

  11. كأَنَّ بِهِنَّ النَكثَ امرةُ لازمٍ

    وفي فَمِهِنَّ الحِنثَ ضَربةُ لازبِ

    As though oathbreaking were a binding command for them,

    And perjury in their mouths an inescapable necessity.

  12. يَعِزُّ عليهِنَّ الوَفاءُ كأَنَّهُ

    تمنَّعَ في مَتنِ النُجومِ الثواقبِ

    Faithfulness is difficult for them, as though it

    Had taken refuge upon the backs of the piercing stars.

  13. ويأبين درك الحق حتى تخاله

    من الأسد في أظفارها والمخالب

    They refuse to grasp the truth until you imagine it

    Held by lions in their claws and talons.

  14. فإِن قُلتَ أينَ المكرُ يَسرَحُ طِرفُهُ

    ففي شَوطِ مَن تغزو النُهَى بالمَداعِبِ

    If you ask where guile lets its steed roam,

    It is on the course of her who assails reason with flirtation.

  15. وإن قُلتَ اينَ الفتكُ من غيرِ صارمٍ

    فعندَ التي تُردي بسيفِ المثالبِ

    And if you ask where slaughter needs no blade,

    It is with her who slays with the sword of disparagement.

  16. وإِن قُلتَ من مأوَى الخِيانةِ والخَنا

    فذاتُ لِسانٍ يبدِعُ الغِشَّ كاذبِ

    And if you ask who shelters treachery and obscenity,

    It is she with a lying tongue that devises deceit.

  17. وإِن قُلتَ اينَ الغدرُ فاضت بِحارُهُ

    ففي قلبِ من فاضت خِداعُ الثعالبِ

    And if you ask where treachery's seas have overflowed,

    It is in the heart of one overflowing with foxes' wiles.

  18. وإِن قُلتَ مَن بالشر ليتٌ غضنفرٌ

    فَمَن عزمُها في الخيرِ عزمُ الأَرانبِ

    And if you ask who is a mighty lion in wickedness,

    It is she whose resolve for good is a rabbit's resolve.

  19. فسقياً لناءٍ عن حِماهُنَّ هاربٍ

    ورعياً لخاشٍ من رِضاهُنَّ راهبِ

    May rain refresh one who flees far from their domain,

    And protection attend one fearful and wary of their favor.

  20. كِبارُ نُفوسٍ رافعاتُ لواحظٍ

    صِغارُ نُهىً مُستَرفِعاتُ الحواجبِ

    Proud of soul, lifting their glances,

    Small of mind, raising their eyebrows.

  21. فلَستَ تَرَى فيهِنَّ إلَّا غيَّبةً

    كأَنَّ لَدَيها الخيرَ شَرُّ المَعايِبِ

    You see among them only a backbiter,

    To whom goodness seems the worst of faults.

  22. بها شَبَهُ التَقَوى بغيرِ حقيقةٍ

    تَرُدُّ العَوارِي من حُلِّيِ المناقبِ

    She has a semblance of piety without its substance,

    Returning the borrowed jewels of virtue.

  23. فعاريةٌ من حَليِ كُلِّ أَمانةٍ

    وإِن لُبِست باللُبسِ لُبسَ التوائِبِ

    She is bare of every ornament of trustworthiness,

    Even when deceit dresses her in penitents' attire.

  24. كأَنَّ غِواياتِ الصِبَا غايةُ التُقَى

    فتَغنَمُها بالأكلِ ثُمَّ المشاربِ

    As though youth's seductions were piety's highest goal,

    She seizes them through eating, then drinking.

  25. فما مَلَكُوتُ اللَهِ أُكلاً ومشرباً

    ولا النُسكُ خَوضٌ في بِحارِ الملاعبِ

    For God's kingdom is not eating and drinking,

    Nor is devotion a plunge into seas of amusement.

  26. ومن ينَثُرِ الساعاتِ باللَهوِ إِنَّما

    بها يَنظِمُ التِبعاتِ نظمَ السخائبِ

    Whoever scatters hours in diversion merely

    Strings liabilities together with them like necklaces.

  27. أَبا لسُرُعِ الهَوجاءِ عزمُ مُحاربِ

    وبالضُلُع العَوجاءِ حَزمُ مُغالبِ

    Does headlong haste hold a warrior's resolve,

    And a crooked rib the prudence of one who prevails?

  28. فزهوٌ ولهوٌ وازدِهاءٌ وصَبوةٌ

    وطيشٌ وإِعجابٌ بطبعٍ مُجاذبِ

    Pride, diversion, vanity, and passion;

    Recklessness, self-admiration, and a contentious nature;

  29. وفخرٌ وذُلٌ مع دَلالٍ وراحةٍ

    وزَهوٌ وتنعيمٌ ورَيعُ الشبائبِ

    Boasting and abasement, with coquetry and ease;

    Conceit, pampering, and the bloom of youth;

  30. وطَلقُ عِنانِ النفسِ من غيرِ ضابطٍ

    ورَحبةُ عيشٍ طَيبِ العيشِ سائبِ

    Giving the soul free rein, with no restraint,

    And an ample life, pleasant and unrestrained;

  31. وقلبٌ يَرَى اللَذَّاتِ من غير ناظرٍ

    وعينٌ تَرَى بالذاتِ من غيرِ حاجبِ

    A heart that sees pleasures without a watcher,

    An eye that sees directly without a screen;

  32. وجسمٌ جَمُوحُ الطِرفِ من غير كابحٍ

    ونفسٌ طَمُوح الطَرفِ من غيرِ راقبِ

    A body whose steed bolts without a curb,

    A soul whose gaze roams without a watcher;

  33. وتسويغُ ما مِن دُونهِ غُصَصُ المَنا

    وتصويغُ غَيٍ من غويٍّ مُناصِبِ

    Making palatable what death's choking pangs bar,

    And fashioning error through a hostile wrongdoer;

  34. وتمهيدُ وَعثٍ لم يُدَمِّثهُ سالكٌ

    ولا سَلَكَت فيهِ خِفاقُ ركائِبِ

    Smoothing rugged ground no traveler has softened,

    Nor swift riding camels ever traversed.

  35. مسالكُ عذراءُ استُهِيمَ بفَرعِها

    كما افترعَ العَذراءَ أَغصَبُ غاصبِ

    Virgin paths whose heights have stirred passion,

    As the most violent ravisher deflowers a virgin.

  36. فأينَ الهُدَى والرُشدُ يا خيرَ مُرشدٍ

    أَفي عُنُق العَنقاءِ أم في الكواكبِ

    Where are guidance and rectitude, O best of guides?

    On the phoenix's neck, or among the stars?

  37. لقد رابَني ما قد رأَيتُ بمُدَّتي

    وحِرتُ بنفسي في اختِيار المذاهبِ

    What I have seen in my lifetime has troubled me,

    And I was bewildered in choosing my paths.

  38. ونازَعَني عقلي بما قد بدا لَهُ

    فأَشغَلَني بالحِرص من كل صاحبِ

    My reason contended with me over what appeared to it,

    And kept me intent on guarding against every companion.

  39. طرحتُ بعهدِ الغانياتِ تَصَوُّناً

    إِذِا انجابَ مَعناهُنَّ لي في التواربِ

    I cast aside my bond with beauties to preserve my honor,

    When their true nature was revealed to me in their evasions.

  40. إذا السادِجاتِ البُكمُ كُنَّ افاعياً

    فماذا تُرَى في الدارساتِ الكواتب

    If simple, speechless women are vipers,

    What do you suppose of women who study and write?

  41. دُهِيتُ بحُسنِ الظَنّ والسهمُ تارةً

    مُصِيبٌ وطوراً مخطئٌ غيرُ صائبِ

    I was undone by thinking well of them; an arrow sometimes

    Strikes true, and sometimes misses, failing its mark.

  42. تجاهلتُ عِرفاني بفعلِ غريزةٍ

    فبالطبعِ مغروزٌ عَضاضُ اللواسبِ

    I feigned ignorance of what I knew of instinct's workings,

    For biting is ingrained in stinging creatures' nature.

  43. ومَن أَمِنَ الحَيَّاتِ أَرداهُ سُمُّها

    كذاكَ الذي أَمسَى سميرَ العقاربِ

    Whoever trusts snakes is killed by their venom;

    Likewise one who passes the evening companioning scorpions.

  44. هِيَ الأُفعُوان الأَرقَشُ النافثُ الرَدَى

    هِيَ العقربُ اللدغاءُ سِرّاً لصاحبِ

    She is the mottled viper, breathing death;

    She is the scorpion, secretly stinging a companion.

  45. هِيَ الذِئبةُ المَعطاءُ نَهشاً ومَنظراً

    هِيَ الحيَّةُ الرَقطاءُ ذاتُ الذوائِبِ

    She is the she-wolf, lavish in bites and looks;

    She is the speckled serpent with flowing locks.

  46. هِيَ الحَرَب الوافي بكلِّ مُلمَّةٍ

    أَرُومةُ أشجارِ البِلَى والمعاطبِ

    She is ruin, bringing every affliction in full,

    The root of the trees of decay and destruction.

  47. هِيَ المُومِسُ الخَرقاءُ فاوحِش رُبُوعَها

    وآنِس بوحشٍ زائرٍ في السباسبِ

    She is the foolish harlot: abandon her dwellings,

    And seek company with a roaring beast on the barren plains.

  48. هِيَ القارُ مَن يَلمِسهُ يَلصَق بكفِّهِ

    هِيَ النارُ والإِحراقُ من كلِّ جانبِ

    She is pitch: whoever touches it finds it stuck to his palm.

    She is fire, and burning on every side.

  49. هِيَ الإِثمُ والعارُ الذي ليسَ يَمَّحِي

    على صَفَحاتِ الدهرِ من طِرسِ كاتبِ

    She is sin and shame that cannot be erased

    From a scribe's parchment upon the pages of time.

  50. إذا ظَفِرَت باهت وإِن غُلِبَت بَكَت

    وأَجهَدَتِ الأَيدِي بقرعِ الترائِبِ

    If she triumphs, she boasts; if defeated, she weeps,

    And exhausts her hands with beating her breast.

  51. وإِن كُوشِفَت عمَّا أَجنَّت وما جَنَت

    تَجَنَّت وفاهت في بديعِ المكاذبِ

    If confronted with what she concealed and what she committed,

    She makes false charges and utters ingenious lies.

  52. فلولاكِ حَوَّاءُ العَصِيَّةُ لم نَلِج

    بلُجَّةِ ذي الدُنيا ووادي المتاعبِ

    But for you, disobedient Eve, we would not have entered

    The depths of this world and the valley of troubles.

  53. ولولاكِ ما نِلنا هَلاكاً مُؤَّبَّداً

    قِصاصاً بعدلٍ بَينِ الحقِ واجبِ

    But for you, we would not have met eternal ruin,

    As rightful, binding punishment under manifest justice.

  54. ولولاكِ لم يُلفَ الإِلهُ معلَّقاً

    على العُودِ مصلوباً كلَصٍ وناهبِ

    But for you, God would not have been found hanging

    Crucified upon the wood like a thief and plunderer.

  55. إلهٌ فَدَى جِنسَ الأَنامِ بموتهِ

    وأَنقَذَهُم من شرِّكِ المُتَعاقبِ

    A God who ransomed humankind through his death,

    And saved them from your successive evils.

  56. ولو لم تَكُن من جِنسِكِ البِكرُ مريمُ ال

    بتولةُ مَن خُصَّت بأَسنى المواهبِ

    And had the virgin Mary not been of your kind—the

    Chaste one, singled out for the noblest gifts—

  57. لَمَا نَظَرَت عينٌ إليكِ ولا صَغَت

    لكِ الأُذنُ بل ما زِلتِ أَخيَبَ خائِبِ

    No eye would have looked toward you, nor would

    An ear have listened to you; you would remain the most forlorn of all.

  58. فأَنتِ لَقد سبَّبتِ موتاً ومَهبِطاً

    وتلكَ حيوةٌ في عُلُو المراتبِ

    For you brought death and a downfall,

    While she is life in the loftiest ranks.

  59. شفيعتُنا يومَ الزحامِ وذُخرُنا

    كُفينا بها شر الذُنوبِ الرواتبِ

    Our intercessor on the day of thronging, our treasure;

    Through her we are spared the evil of abiding sins.

  60. هِيَ البحرُ زُجَّت فيهِ أَوساقُ ذَنبِنا

    فسِرنا بأَمنٍ في أَمينِ المراكبِ

    She is the sea into which the cargoes of our sin were cast,

    So we sailed in safety aboard a trusty vessel.

  61. هِيَ الجَسرُ نحوَ اللَهِ فيهِ جَوازُنا

    ومَنجاتُنا من طَغي ماءِ التجاربِ

    She is the bridge toward God, over which we pass,

    Our deliverance from the surging waters of trials.

  62. هي العُروةُ الوَثقاءُ والجَنَّةُ التي

    بها رُدَّتِ الأعداءُ كُهمَ القواضبِ

    She is the firmest handhold and the shield by which

    Enemies are driven back, their blades blunted.

  63. هي اللأمةُ التَقياءُ والمِغفَرُ الذي

    يَطيِشُ بهِ قصدُ السِهام الصوائبِ

    She is protective armor and the helmet by which

    The aim of arrows that strike true is thrown astray.

  64. تميحُ بلا حَضٍّ ولا حَثِّ طالبٍ

    بها يَجِدُ الطُلَّابُ نُجحَ المَطالبِ

    She gives freely without prompting or a petitioner's urging;

    Through her seekers find their requests fulfilled.

  65. فما رَذَلَت مَن شاءَ منها انتِخابَهُ

    ولا طَرَدَت من مجدِها نفسَ آئبِ

    She has spurned no one who wished her to choose him,

    Nor driven a returning soul from her glory.

  66. تُسَرُّ بمَرآها القلوبُ وتختشي

    ومُجتَمَعُ الضِدَّينِ أَسنَى العجائبِ

    Hearts rejoice at her sight and feel awe,

    And the meeting of opposites is the most splendid wonder.

  67. فتُوضِحُ من عظم البَهاءِ بمَوكِبٍ

    ومن فَرطِ إِجلال السَنَى في كتائِبِ

    She reveals her great splendor in a procession,

    And her radiance's surpassing majesty amid battalions.

  68. اليكِ أُنادي يا بتولُ تشفَّعي

    إلى اللَهِ بي إذ لم تَرَي ردَّ طالبِ

    To you I cry, O Virgin: intercede

    For me with God, since you would not turn a petitioner away.

  69. قِفِي رَي أَأمَّ اللَهِ غِيثي تَلَطَّفي

    أَعيني انجِدي إِهدِي اشدُدي أَزرَ عاطبِ

    Stand, look, O Mother of God; bring aid, be gentle.

    Help, rescue, guide; strengthen the back of one perishing.

  70. أَسيرٌ كسيرٌ مُوجَعُ القلبِ بائِسٌ

    يَنُوحُ لَمِا أَبداهُ نَوحَ النوادبِ

    A captive, broken, sick at heart, wretched,

    He wails over what he has done with mourners' wailing.

  71. هَبِي سامحِي اعفي ارفُقي أَشفِقي اعطِفي

    أَمِيلي ارحَمِي أصغِي اسمعي صوتَ نادبِ

    Give, forgive, pardon, be gentle, have pity, show tenderness;

    Turn toward me, have mercy, attend, hear a mourner's voice.

  72. ذليلٌ كليلٌ مُثقَلُ الذَنبِ آئسٌ

    يَسُحُّ الدِما لا الدمعَ سَحَّ السحائبِ

    Abased, exhausted, burdened with sin, despairing,

    He pours forth blood, not tears, as clouds pour rain.

  73. أميحي امنحي وفي اكنفي حكمي ارفدي

    أنيلي اسمحي رقي اقبلي تحب نائب

    Give, grant, fulfill, shelter, judge, sustain;

    Bestow, be generous, be tender; accept a penitent's repentance.

  74. عليكِ سَلامُ اللَهِ ما دُمتِ مَلجَأً

    وظِلُّكِ مأمونٌ منيع الجوانبِ

    God's peace be upon you as long as you remain a refuge,

    Your shade secure, its sides impregnable.

  75. عليكِ سَلامُ اللَهِ ما ضاءَ كوكبٌ

    وما زَحزَحَت شمسٌ دُجونَ الغياهبِ

    God's peace be upon you as long as a star shines,

    And a sun dispels the gloom of darkness.