Max Liberman
Ṣāḥib al-Faṭāna
For my friend and colleague John Falchetta on his birthday,
This approximate translation should give a rough sense of the poem’s meaning, but cannot replicate its rhythm, rhyme and wordplay. It is not authoritative; the actual poem is the Arabic original.
Ṣāḥibu l-faṭānati
amīru l-ḥadhāqati
bi-wafri th-thaqāfati
Ṣāḥibu t-taraffuqi
ṣadīqun bi-ṭībati
wa-ʻuẓmi ẓ-ẓarāfati
Ṣāḥibu t-tawāḍuʻi
ʻadīmu t-taṣallufi
bi-kuthri l-ḥaṣāfati
Ṣāḥibu t-tabaḥḥuri
wa-raḥbu t-taʻallumi
wa-dhū l-iʻtikāfati
Ṣāḥibu l-karāmati
faḍīlun wa-amjadu
ghazīru sh-sharāfati
Kullu ʻāmin wa-antum bi-khayrin yā ṣāḥibī!
A man of intelligence,
a prince of sagacity,
richly cultured.
A man of kindness,
a friend of geniality
and great charm.
A man of modesty,
lacking in arrogance,
most sound of judgement.
A man of deep thought
and breadth of learning,
endowed with assiduity.
A man of generosity,
distinguished and admirable,
abounding in nobility.
Many happy returns of this day, my friend!