1. The clouds rained down on the pastures of Najd and gave it life
So the caravans are guided only by its downpour

2. None of their guides went astray but it guided them to it
Breezes perfumed the surroundings with its fragrance

3. Its youth blew with its first rain, bringing good news
So every heart was filled with passion at the mention of it

4. It was a memory they turned aside for atop their mounts, so
None turned aside with them but its greetings

5. Hearts find peace in its proximity and obey
Its passion from afar is their complaint

6. Many a charmer has seduced me with her glances
I'd not have known the meaning of love were it not for her

7. When she smiles and flashes her beauty
Nothing is more just than her stature and slimness

8. Whoever contemplates her with discerning eyes will see her
And in his dreams will speak to her imaginatively

9. These are the covenants of those whose hearts are consumed by her
By God, we have covenants with her that we've grown used to

10. We speak as youths, so O breeze of youth convey to her
But do not respond, for the breezes only brought what we recognized

11. The dawn was delightful only from its horizons
And its breezes delicate only from its greetings

12. For flowers is its splendor, for flowers its fragrance
For the moon its rising, for sorcery its illusion

13. For pearls its words, for lightning its smile
For branches its inclination, for gazelles her eyes

14. The full moon rose only from its horizon
And dawn was known only from its greetings

15. If only, when it reveals the dawn of its charm,
It would guide its youths, for they are lost in the night of passion,

16. A critic blames me for spending the night anxious,
Questioning the meteors about Layla and her gathering

17. He said "What business have you with the meteors you watch for?"
I said "In them I see a semblance of her likeness"

18. He said "You've been ruined by the sorrow of parting from her"
I said "If it ruined me, then such is its abode"

19. He said "What business have you with ruins you lament?"
I said "I intended by their tunes to give meaning to them"

20. He said "You've been tempted after long avoidance of her"
I said "Only her ways tempted me"

21. He said "Do you have no sweeter bliss and tryst?"
I said "Let be, you have removed its furthest aim"

22. He said "A maiden will make you forget her rapture"
I said "Wait, I'll not forget her"

23. He said "Another beauty has come of age"
I said "How much the thirsty need her drink!"

24. He said "She was gifted to you by one whose likeness is mighty"
I said "God is the guide through whom she was guided"

25. He said "From his sea he cast to her pearls"
I said "He perfected her construction and manifested her"

26. He said "My covenant with refinement is worn out"
I said "The son of Hatim is her intimate friend"

27. He said "Refinement had been suspended"
I said "He is the one whose sorcery adorned it"

28. Just so, how many treasures are in the wing of night!
And Ibn Jala came not but to prepare it

29. These are rhymed prose for the ear of nobility
Leading to the speech of Ulya that I constructed

30. I say: O rider of the saddled camel, where will you hide
Seeking from hopes their furthest extent?

31. If you love the highest refinement
In rank, state, and companions

32. Aim for the abode of Ibn Hatim's love
You will attain its sweetest rose and sweet basil

33. Those who live for its blossoms when it blooms
Will find Zuhair's rhymes and pleasures

34. Ask its heights and you will attain its ready pools
Surely gallantry is but some of its traits

35. These caravans come for its rhymes, the sweetest
In eloquence, loveliness, and clarity

36. Their riders set out from it, and it came
To pastures of its gifts, mounts of its gifts

37. Revealing beauty and granting us beauty, so none
More deserving of sublime truth and loftiness

38. Take it, Abu Qasim, a beauty matchless
But one whose palm her beauty made worthy

39. Revealing an answer, though we're melting with love
Were it not for the wellspring of courtesy that sustained us

40. Overlook generously, for the excuse is clearer than
The fire of tent poles the companions follow for their rapture

41. Praise is but words, and none reached the hearing
Unless you were their meaning

42. And praising our lord and serving him
Could preoccupy thought, unless you undertake it

43. How could each moment not undertake
What earns the loyal money and status?

44. The defender of the faith, his virtues are probed,
And none surpasses his rank in highness

45. The sweetest guiding king, the most generous
In dew, the highest in rank and loftiness

46. Thus I fell short of answering the poetry
Whose excellence the excellent poet adorned with his splendor

47. For his beauty and kindness, how much
Fine favor its intent the most noble!

48. May its composer continue to attain
The highest ranks, their marks and qualities

49. And remain guiding people with his guidance, so
Long life, we beseech God for him