Sol 6.1

  1. غاداكِ مِن بَحرِ الرَواعِدِ مُسبِلُ

    وَسَقَتكِ أَخلافُ الغُيومِ الحُفَّلُ

    May a pouring cloud from the sea of thunder greet you at dawn,

    And the swollen udders of clouds give you drink.

  2. وَجَرَت بَليلَ الذَيلِ وانِيَةَ الخُطا

    مِسكِيَّةَ النَفَحاتِ فيكِ الشَمأَلُ

    And may there drift, with moist hem and languid steps,

    Through you the north wind, breathing musk.

  3. لِلَّهِ ما حُمِّلتُ مِن ثِقَلِ الهَوى

    يَومَ اِستَقَلَّ قَطينُكِ المُتَحَمِّلُ

    By God, what weight of love I was made to bear

    The day your departing people set forth!

  4. وَلَطالَما قَضى الشَبابُ مَآرِبي

    فيكِ اِختِلاساً وَالحَوادِثُ غُفَّلُ

    How often youth fulfilled my desires

    Within you, furtively, while misfortunes were heedless!

  5. أَيّامَ لا تُعصى الغَوايَةُ في هَوى ال

    غيدِ الحِسانِ وَلا تُطاعُ العُذَّلُ

    In days when wayward passion went unopposed in love of

    Beautiful, supple women, and reprovers went unheeded.

  6. وَالبيضُ تَسفِرُ لي فَأَصدِفُ مُعرِضاً

    عَنها وَتُنجِزُني الوُعودَ فَأَمطُلُ

    Fair women unveiled for me, yet I turned aside,

    Away from them; they kept their promises, while I delayed.

  7. ما خِلتُ أَنَّ جَديدَ أَيّامِ الصِبى

    يَبلى وَلا أَنَّ الشَبيبَةَ تَنصُلُ

    I never thought the freshness of youthful days

    Would wear out, nor that youth would lose its hue.

  8. أَتَغَزُّلاً بَعدَ المَشيبِ وَصَبوَةً

    سَفَهاً لِرإيِكَ شائِباً يَتَغَزَّلُ

    Love poetry after gray hairs, and youthful infatuation?

    What folly in your judgment—a graybeard singing love!

  9. هَيهاتَ ما لِلبيضِ في وَدِّ اِمرِىءٍ

    إِربٌ وَقَد وَلّى الشَبابُ المُقبِلُ

    Far from it! Fair women have no desire for a man's love

    Once his formerly flourishing youth has departed.

  10. أَعرَضنَ لَمّا أَن رَأَينَ بِلِمَّتي

    أَمثالَهُنَّ وَقُلنَ داءٌ مُعضِلُ

    They turned away when they saw among my locks

    Their own white likenesses, and said, “An incurable disease!”

  11. وَلَرُبَّ مَعسولِ المَراشِفِ وَاللِمى

    مِن دونِهِ سُمرُ الذَوابِلِ تَعسِلُ

    And many a one with honey-sweet lips, dusky-hued,

    Before whom slender brown spears quiver,

  12. مُتَقَلِّدٍ عَضبَ المَضارِبِ خَصرُهُ

    مِن حَدِّ مَضرِبِهِ أَرَقُّ وَأَنحَلُ

    Girded with a keen-edged sword, his waist

    More delicate and slender than its cutting edge.

  13. كَالظَبيِ يَومَ السِلمِ وَهوَ لِفَتكِهِ

    يَومَ الوَغى لَيثُ العَرينِ المُشبِلُ

    Like a gazelle in peace, yet in his deadly assault

    On battle-day, a lion with cubs in his lair.

  14. نادَمتُهُ وَالصُبحُ ما ذَعَرَ الدُجا

    وَاللَيلُ في ثَوبِ الشَبيبَةِ يَرفُلُ

    I drank in his company before dawn had startled the darkness,

    While night swept along in youth's flowing robe.

  15. وَكَأَنَّ أَفرادَ النُجومِ خَوامِسٌ

    تَدنو لِوِردٍ وَالمَجَرَّةَ مَنهَلُ

    The scattered stars seemed camels thirsty for their fifth-day drink,

    Approaching water, with the Milky Way their watering place.

  16. فَأَدارَ خَمرَ مَراشِفٍ ما زِلتُ بِال

    صَهباءِ عَن رَشَفاتِها أَتَعَلَّلُ

    Then he passed me the wine of lips; I had long used

    Amber wine as solace instead of sipping them.

  17. مَشمولَةً ما فَضَّ طينَ خِتامِها

    ساقٍ وَلا أَنحى عَليها مِبزَلُ

    A north-wind-cooled wine, whose clay seal no

    Cupbearer had broken, nor any wine-tap touched.

  18. وَلَرُبَّ أَبيَضَ صارِمٍ مِن لَحظِهِ

    يُحمى بِهِ ثَغرٌ لَهُ وَمُقَبَّلُ

    And many a gleaming sword from his glance

    Guards his mouth and his kissing-place.

  19. يُذكي عَلى قَلبِ المُحِبِّ رُضابُهُ

    جَمرَ الغَضا وَهُوَ البُرودُ السَلسَلُ

    His lip-moisture kindles in the lover's heart

    Ghada-wood embers, though itself cool and sweet-flowing.

  20. لَقَدِ اِستَرَقَّ لَهُ القُلوبَ مُهَفهَفٌ

    مِن قَدِّهِ لَدنٌ وَطَرفٌ أَكحَلُ

    Indeed, hearts are enslaved to him by the slender grace

    Of his supple stature, and by his kohl-dark eye.

  21. يا شاكِيَ اللَحَظاتِ شَكوى مُغرَمٍ

    يَلقاكَ وَهوَ مِنَ التَجَلُّدِ أَعزَلُ

    O you whose glances are armed, hear a lover's complaint:

    He meets you defenseless, stripped of fortitude.

  22. أَصمَت لَواحِظُكَ المَقاتِلَ رامِياً

    أَفَما يَدِقُّ عَلى سِهامِكَ مَقتَلُ

    Your shooting glances have struck the vital spots;

    Is no vital point too small for your arrows?

  23. أَغنَتكَ عَن حَملِ السِلاحِ وَنَقلِهِ

    نَجلاءُ أَمضى مِن ظُباكَ وَأَقتَلُ

    You are spared bearing weapons and carrying them about

    By a wide eye, keener and deadlier than your blades.

  24. لَولا نُصولُ ذَوائِبي لَم تَلقَني

    مِن غَيرِ جُرمٍ في الهَوى أَتَنَصَّلُ

    Had my locks not lost their color, you would not have found me

    Pleading innocence in love, though guilty of no crime.

  25. أَمسَت تَلومُ عَلى القَناعَةِ جارَةٌ

    سَمعي بِوَقعِ مَلامِها لا يَحفِلُ

    A woman neighbor began to chide my contentment;

    My ears heed nothing of her reproaches.

  26. عابَت عَلَيَّ خَصاصَتي فَأَجَبتُها

    مِنَنُ الرِجالِ مِنَ الخَصاصَةِ أَثقَلُ

    She blamed me for my poverty, and I answered her:

    “Men's favors weigh heavier than poverty.”

  27. قالَت تَنَقَّل في البِلادِ فَقَلَّما

    فاتَ الغِنى وَالحَظُّ مَن يَتَنَقَّلُ

    She said, “Travel through the lands, for seldom

    Do wealth and fortune elude those who travel.

  28. فَالمَرءُ تَحقُرُهُ العُيونُ إِذا بَدا

    إِعسارُهُ وَيُهابُ وَهوَ مُمَوَّلُ

    Eyes despise a man when they see

    His poverty, but hold him in awe when wealthy.”

  29. يا هَذِهِ إِنَّ السُؤالَ مَذَلَّةٌ

    وَوُلوجُ أَبوابِ المُلوكِ تَبَذَّلُ

    Woman, begging is humiliation,

    And entering kings' doors is self-abasement.

  30. كُفِّ المَلامَ فَكُلُّ حَظٍّ مُعرِضٍ

    عَنّي بِإِقبالِ الخَليفَةِ مُقبِلُ

    Cease your reproaches: every fortune turned

    Away from me returns with the caliph's favor.

  31. المُستَضيءُ المُستَضاءُ بِهَديِهِ

    وَالساجِدُ المُتَهَجِّدُ المُتَبَتِّلُ

    Al-Mustadi, whose guidance lights the way,

    The prostrating worshipper, wakeful at prayer, wholly devoted;

  32. المُستَجابُ دُعاؤُهُ فَالغَيثُ ما

    قَنِطَ الثَرى بِدُعائِهِ يَتَنَزَّلُ

    Whose prayer is answered: rain, whenever

    The earth despairs, descends in answer to his prayer;

  33. المُستَقِرُّ مِنَ الخِلافَةِ في ذُرىً

    شَمّاءَ لا يَسطيعُها المُتَرَقِّلُ

    Established on the caliphate's lofty summits,

    So towering no nimble climber can attain them;

  34. الثابِتُ العَزَماتِ في دَحضٍ وَأَق

    دَامُ الأَعادي رَحبَةً تَتَزَلزَلُ

    Steadfast in resolve on slippery ground, while the feet

    Of his enemies tremble even on open ground;

  35. المُسمِحُ الصَعبُ العَبوسُ الباسِمُ اليَ

    قِظُ الجَوادُ القُلَّبِيُّ الحُوَّلُ

    Openhanded yet unyielding, stern yet smiling,

    Watchful, generous, versatile, resourceful.

  36. قَرمٌ إِذا غَشِيَ الوَغى فَعِتادُهُ

    مَدروبَةٌ زُرقٌ وَسُمرٌ ذُبَّلُ

    A noble champion: when he enters battle, his equipment is

    Battle-tested blue steel and slender brown lances,

  37. وَمُطَهَّمٌ في السَرجِ مِنهُ هَضبَةٌ

    وَمُهَنَّدٌ في الغِمدِ مِنهُ جَدوَلُ

    And a full-bodied steed, mountain-like beneath its saddle,

    And an Indian blade, river-like within its sheath.

  38. ما رَدَّ يَوماً سائِلاً وَلَهُ سُطا

    بَأسٍ يُرَدُّ بِها الخَميسُ الجَحفَلُ

    He never once turned a petitioner away, yet his onslaughts

    Of might turn back a vast and mighty host.

  39. جَذلانُ يَكثُرُ في النَدى عُذّالُهُ

    إِنَّ الكَريمَ عَلى السَماحِ مُعَذَّلُ

    Joyful, though his generosity brings many reprovers:

    The noble man is ever blamed for openhandedness.

  40. يَعفو عَنِ الجاني فَيوسِعُ ذَنبَهُ

    عَفواً وَيُعطي سائِليهِ فَيُجزِلُ

    He pardons the offender, enveloping his sin

    In forgiveness; he gives his petitioners, and gives lavishly.

  41. جارٍ عَلى سُنَنِ النَبِيِّ وَسُنَّةِ ال

    خُلَفاءِ مِن آبائِهِ تُتَقَبَّلُ

    Following the Prophet's paths and the practice of

    His forefathers, the caliphs—a practice accepted.

  42. قَومٌ بِحَبلِ وَلائِهِم يَتَمَس

    سَكُ الجاني غَداً وَبِحُبِّهِم يَتَوَسَّلُ

    A people whose cord of allegiance

    The sinner clings to tomorrow, seeking intercession through love of them.

  43. عَن جودِهِم رُوِيَت أَحاديثُ النَدى

    وَبِفَضلِهِم نَطَقَ الكِتابُ المُنزَلُ

    Traditions of bounty are told of their generosity,

    And the revealed Book has spoken of their excellence.

  44. لا يُرتَضى عَمَلٌ بِغَيرِ وَلائِهِم

    فيهِم تَتِمُّ الصالِحاتُ وَتَكمَلُ

    No deed is accepted without allegiance to them;

    Through them good works reach fulfillment and perfection.

  45. إِن كُنتَ تُنكِرُ مَأثُراتِ قَديمِهِم

    فَاِسأَل بِها يا أَيُّها المُزَّمِّلُ

    If you deny the glorious deeds of their ancestors,

    Then ask about them, O you wrapped in your cloak.

  46. شَرَفاً بَني العَبّاسِ شادَ بِناءَهُ

    لَكُمُ فَأَعلاهُ النَبِيُّ المُرسَلُ

    What honor, sons of al-Abbas! Its edifice

    The Prophet, sent as messenger, built for you and raised high.

  47. ما طاوَلَتكُم في الفِخارِ قَبيلَةٌ

    إِلّا وَمَجدُكُمُ أَتَمُّ وَأَطوَلُ

    No tribe has vied with you in pride

    But your glory has proved fuller and loftier.

  48. شَرَّفتُمُ بَطحاءَ مَكَّةَ فَاِغتَدَت

    بِكُمُ يُعَظَّمُ قَدرُها وَيُبَجَّلُ

    You ennobled the Batha of Mecca, so that

    Through you its standing is exalted and revered.

  49. أَنتُم مَصابيحُ الهُدى وَالناسُ في

    طُرُقِ الجَهالَةِ حائِرٌ وَمُضَلَّلُ

    You are lamps of guidance, while people on

    The paths of ignorance wander bewildered and misled.

  50. فَاسلَم أَميرَ المُسلِمينَ مُشَيِّداً

    ما شَيَّدوا وَمُؤَثِّلاً ما أَثَّلوا

    Live safe, Commander of the Muslims, building high

    What they built, and rooting firm what they established.

  51. يَلقى الأَمانَ عَلى حِياضِكَ وَالأَما

    ني في جَنابِكَ خائِفٌ وَمُؤَمِّلُ

    Safety is found at your pools, and wishes fulfilled

    In your precincts, by the fearful and the hopeful.

  52. إِن فاضَ سَيبُكَ فَالبُحورُ جَداوِلٌ

    أَو صابَ غَيثُكَ فَالغَمامُ مُبَخَّلُ

    If your bounty overflows, the seas are mere streams;

    If your rain pours down, the clouds are judged miserly.

  53. أَو راعَنا جَدبٌ فَجودُكَ مَورِدٌ

    أَو غالَنا خَطبٌ فَبَأسُكَ مَعقِلُ

    If drought alarms us, your generosity is a watering place;

    If calamity assails us, your valor is a stronghold.

  54. وَأَبوكَ سَيِّدُ هاشِمٍ طُرّاً وَخي

    رُ الناسِ مِن بَعدِ النَبِيِّ وَأَفضَلُ

    Your father is lord of all Hashim's clan, and the best

    Of men after the Prophet, the most excellent.

  55. سُستَ الأَنامَ بِسيرَةٍ ما سارَها

    في الناسِ إِلّا جَدُّكَ المُتَوَكِّلُ

    You have ruled mankind by a course none has followed

    Among men but your forefather al-Mutawakkil.

  56. لا حُرمَةُ الدينِ الحَنيفِ مُضاعَةٌ

    كَلّا وَلا حَقُّ الرَعايا مُهمَلُ

    Neither is the sanctity of the true faith squandered—

    No indeed—nor are the subjects' rights neglected.

  57. هَذَّبتَ أَخلاقَ الزَمانِ وَطالَما

    كانَت حَوادِثُهُ تُسيءُ وَتَجهَلُ

    You have refined the character of Time, though long

    Its happenings brought harm and acted foolishly.

  58. وَعَمَمتَ بِالخِصبِ البِلادَ فَأَورَقَ ال

    ذاوي وَرَقَّ بِكَ الجَديبُ المُمحِلُ

    You spread fertility throughout the lands, so the withered

    Put forth leaves, and through you the barren wasteland grew tender.

  59. ما ضَرَّها وَغَمامُ جودِكَ مُسبِلٌ

    أَن لا يَصوبَ بِها الغَمامُ المُسبِلُ

    What harm could they suffer, with your bounty's clouds pouring,

    If rain-bearing clouds did not shower upon them?

  60. يا مَن عَليهِ مُعَوَّلٌ في عاجِلِ ال

    دُنيا وَفي الأُخرى عَليهِ أُعَوِّلُ

    O you on whom reliance rests in this fleeting

    World, and on whom I rely in the next,

  61. وَبِمَدحِهِ ميزانُ أَعمالي إِذا

    خَفَّت مَوازينُ القِيامَةِ تَثقُلُ

    Through praising him, the scale of my deeds, when

    The scales of Resurrection are light, grows heavy.

  62. كُن لي بِطَرفِكَ راعِياً يا مَن لَهُ

    طَرفٌ بِرَعيِ العالَمينَ مُوَكَّلُ

    Watch over me with your eye, O you who have

    An eye entrusted with the care of all creation.

  63. فَاللَهُ ناصِرُ مَن نَصَرتَ وَذائِدٌ

    عَمَّن تَذودُ وَخاذِلٌ مَن تَخذُلُ

    God supports whomever you support, and defends

    Whomever you defend, abandoning whomever you abandon.

  64. حَلَّلتَني مِن جودِ كَفِّكَ أَنعُماً

    تَضفو مَلابِسُها عَلَيَّ وَتَفضُلُ

    You have robed me, through your hand's bounty, in blessings

    Whose garments drape me amply, with cloth to spare.

  65. وَفَتَحتَ بابَ مَكارِمٍ أَلفَيتُهُ

    في عَصرِ غَيرِكَ وَهوَ دوني مُقفَلُ

    You opened a gate of generous favors that I found

    In another's reign barred against me.

  66. وَوَقَفتَ مِن شَرَفِ الخِلافَةِ مَوقِفاً

    مِن دونِهِ سِترُ النُبُوَّةِ مُسبَلُ

    You have taken a station in the honor of the caliphate

    Before which the veil of prophethood hangs down.

  67. وَرَأَيتُ مِن حُسنِ اِختِيارِكَ مَنظَراً

    عَجَباً تَحارُ لَهُ العُقولُ وَتَذهَلُ

    I have seen in the excellence of your choice a sight

    So wondrous that minds are bewildered and amazed:

  68. داراً رَفَعتَ بِناءَها وَوَضَعتَها

    لِلجودِ فَهيَ لَكُلِّ راجٍ مَوئِلُ

    A house whose structure you raised and set aside

    For generosity, a refuge for all who hope;

  69. داراً أَقامَ بِها السُرورُ فَما لَهُ

    عَن أَهلِها عُمرَ الزَمانِ تَرَحُّلُ

    A house where joy has settled, never

    To leave its people for all time.

  70. يُغضي لِعِزَّتِها النَواظِرَ هَيبَةً

    فَيَرُدُّ عَنها طَرفَهُ المُتَأَمِّلُ

    Eyes are lowered in awe of its grandeur,

    And the beholder turns his gaze away.

  71. حَسَدَت مَحَلَّتَها النُجومُ فَوَدَّ لَو

    أَمسى يُجاوِرُها السِماكُ الأَعزَلُ

    The stars envied its station; he wished

    To dwell beside it—al-Simak the Unarmed.

  72. وَرَفَعتَها عَن أَن تُقَبِّلَ مَن بِها

    شَفَةٌ فَأَضحَت بِالجِباهِ تُقَبَّلُ

    You exalted it above any lip's kissing those within it,

    So it came to be kissed with foreheads.

  73. هِيَ مَلجَأٌ لِلخائِفينَ وَعِصمَةٌ

    وَمُعَرَّسٌ لِلطالِبينَ وَمَنزِلُ

    It is a refuge and a safeguard for the fearful,

    A resting place and home for those who seek.

  74. غَنِيَت عَنِ الأَنواءِ أَن تَغشى لَها

    رَبعاً وَفيها العارِضُ المُتَهَلِّلُ

    It needs no rain-bringing stars to visit

    Its grounds, while within it is the smiling raincloud.

  75. فَإِلَيكَ رائِقَةَ المَعاني جَزلَةَ ال

    أَلفاظِ تُسهِلُ في عُلاكَ وَتُجبِلُ

    So take a poem, limpid in meaning and majestic in

    Diction, traversing plains and mountains in your praise.

  76. تُزهى عَلى أَخواتِها فَكأَنَّها

    أَدماءُ مِن ظَبَياتِ وَجرَةَ مُغزِلُ

    It preens above its sisters, as though it were

    A white doe among Wajra's gazelles, with her fawn.

  77. فاتَ الأَوائِلَ شَأوُها فَلو اِحتَبَت

    في آلِ حَربٍ لَاِدَّعاها الأَخطَلُ

    Its course outstrips the ancients; had it sat, knees drawn up,

    Among the house of Harb, al-Akhtal would have claimed it.

  78. تَمشي وَلِلأَغراضِ مِنها صارِمٌ

    عَضبٌ وَلِلأَحسابِ مِنها صَيقَلُ

    It strides along, a cutting sword against its targets,

    Keen-edged, and a polish for noble pedigrees.

  79. مِدَحاً يُخِيِّرُها لِعِزِّ جَلالِكُم

    عَبدٌ لَهُ حُرُّ الكَلامِ مُذَلَّلُ

    Praises chosen for the might of your majesty

    By a servant to whom freeborn speech submits.

  80. إِن كانَ لِلشُعَراءِ مِن تَيّارِها

    وَشَلٌ فَلي مِنها سَحائِبُ هُطَّلُ

    If poets have, from its rushing torrent,

    A trickle, I have from it clouds of pouring rain.