Sol 6.1

  1. أَلَم يَبلُغكَ وَالأَنماءُ تَنمي

    بِما لاقَت لَبونُ بَني زِيادِ

    Has it not reached you, as reports spread,

    what befell the milk-camels of the sons of Ziyad,

  2. وَمَحبِسُها عَلى القُرَشِيِّ تُشرى

    بِأَدراعٍ وَأَسيافٍ حِدادِ

    and how they were held with the Qurayshite, exchanged

    for coats of mail and sharp swords?

  3. جزيتكَ يا ربيع جزاءَ سوءٍ

    وقد تجزى المقارض بالأيادي

    I repaid you, O Rabi', with an evil recompense,

    and one who requites may be repaid with favors.

  4. وما كانت بفعلةِ مثل قيسٍ

    وان تك قد غدرتَ ولم تُفادِ

    That was no deed for one like Qays,

    even though you betrayed and paid no ransom.

  5. أخذت الدرعَ من رجلٍ أبي

    ولم تخشى العقوبة في المعادِ

    You took the coat of mail from an unbowed man,

    and did not fear punishment in the hereafter.

  6. ولولا صهر معنى لكانت

    به العثراتُ في سوءِ المقادِ

    And but for kinship by marriage with Ma'na, there would have been

    stumbles for him under harsh handling,

  7. كَما لاقَيتُ مِن حَمَلِ بنِ بَدرٍ

    وَإِخوَتِهِ عَلى ذاتِ الإِصادِ

    such as I suffered from Hamal ibn Badr

    and his brothers at Dhat al-Isad.

  8. هُمُ فَخَروا عَلَيَّ بِغَيرِ فَخرٍ

    وَذادوا دونَ غايَتِهِ جَوادي

    They boasted over me with nothing to boast of,

    and drove my steed back short of its finish.

  9. وقالوا قد قمرناهُ خداعاً

    وأينَ الخدعُ من مائةِ الجيادِ

    And they said, 'We have beaten him by trickery!'

    And what is trickery beside a hundred steeds?

  10. كرهنا أن يُقر الخُسف فينا

    دفعنا بالمهندةِ الحدادِ

    We hated that humiliation should take hold among us;

    we repelled it with sharp Indian-forged swords.

  11. فمهلاً يا حذيفة عن بناتي

    فانَّ القولَ مقتصدٌ وعادي

    So hold back, O Hudhayfa, from my daughters,

    for speech can be measured or transgressive.

  12. وَكُنتُ إِذا مُنيتُ بِخَصمِ سوءٍ

    دَلَفتُ لَهُ بِداهِيَةٍ نَآدِ

    And whenever I was afflicted with an evil foe,

    I advanced against him with an overwhelming calamity,

  13. بِداهِيَةٍ تَدُقُّ الصُلبَ مِنهُ

    فَتَقصِمُ أَو تَجوبُ عَلى الفُؤادِ

    a calamity that pounds his spine,

    then shatters it, or cuts through to his heart.

  14. وقد دلفوا إليَّ بفعلِ سوءٍ

    فألفوني لهم صعب القيادِ

    And they advanced against me with an evil deed,

    so they found me hard for them to rein in.

  15. وَكُنتُ إِذا أَتاني الدَهرُ رِبقٌ

    بِداهِيَةٍ شَدَدتُ لَها نِجادي

    And whenever Time came to me as a snare,

    with a calamity, I tightened my sword-belt to face it.

  16. أَلَم تَعلَم بَنو الميقابِ أَنّي

    كَريمٌ غَيرَ مُغْتَلِثِ الزِنادِ

    Do the sons of al-Miqab not know that I

    am noble, no gatherer of untested firesticks?

  17. أُطَوِّفُ ما أُطَوِّفُ ثُمَّ آوي

    إِلى جارٍ كَجارِ أَبي دُؤادِ

    I roam as far as I roam, then take refuge

    with a protector like Abu Du'ad's protector:

  18. إِلَيكَ رَبيعَةَ الخَيرِ بنَ قُرطٍ

    وَهوباً لِلطَريفِ وَلِلتِلادِ

    with you, Rabi'a the Good, son of Qurt,

    lavish with wealth newly acquired and inherited.

  19. كَفاني ما أَخافُ أَبو هِلالٍ

    رَبيعَةُ فَاِنتَهَت عَنّي الأَعادي

    Abu Hilal shielded me from what I fear—

    Rabi'a—so my enemies withdrew from me.

  20. تَظَلُّ جِيادَهُ يَحدينَ حَولي

    بِذاتِ الرِمثِ كَالحَدَإِ الغَوادي

    His steeds keep coursing around me

    at Dhat al-Rimth, like kites going forth in the morning.

  21. كَأَنّي إِذ أَنَختُ إِلى اِبنِ قُرطٍ

    عُقِلتُ إِلى يَلَملَمَ أَو نِصادِ

    It was as though, when I made my camel kneel beside Ibn Qurt,

    I had been tethered to Yalamlam or Nisad.