1. Does the one I love overcome my patience?
Then I am most deserving of contentment and tranquility.
١. أَتَغلِبُني ذاتُ الدَلالِ عَلى صَبري
إِذَن أَنا أَولى بِالقِناعِ وَبِالخِدرِ
2. I wander lost, though I have patience when I ride it,
I can use it to return the matter of passion to my command.
٢. تَتيهُ وَلي حِلمٌ إِذا ما رَكِبتُهُ
رَدَدتُ بِهِ أَمرَ الغَرامِ إِلى أَمري
3. It is not boredom that drove me to blame her,
But a free spirit is more apt to blame the free.
٣. وَما دَفعِيَ اللُوّامَ فيها سَآمَةٌ
وَلَكِنَّ نَفسَ الحُرِّ أَزجَرُ لِلحُرِّ
4. On a night as if the dawn of the Resurrection has risen,
My tears raced ahead of dawn.
٤. وَلَيلٍ كَأَنَّ الحَشرَ مَطلَعُ فَجرِهِ
تَراءَت دُموعي فيهِ سابِقَةَ الفَجرِ
5. I walked like a specter to the one I love,
What of my suspicion in the garb of sickness?
٥. سَرَيتُ بِهِ طَيفاً إِلى مَن أُحِبُّها
وَهَل بِالسُها في حُلَّةِ السُقمِ مِن نُكرِ
6. I approached her tent after her people had departed,
Navigating the sea of speculation and piercing gaze.
٦. طَرَقتُ حِماها بَعدَ ما هَبَّ أَهلُها
أَخوضُ غِمارَ الظَنِّ وَالنَظَرِ الشَزرِ
7. None reproached me except for women who met me,
Excessively chiding me and exaggerating in their prohibition.
٧. فَما راعَني إِلّا نِساءٌ لَقَينَني
يُبالِغنَ في زَجري وَيُسرِفنَ في نَهري
8. To the one I love and felt intimacy they said in suspicion:
"We see a state between youthfulness and sorcery."
٨. يَقُلنَ لِمَن أَهوى وَآنَسنَ ريبَةً
نَرى حالَةً بَينَ الصَبابَةِ وَالسِحرِ
9. Leave off blaming me, O neighbors of the camp,
And let the decree of God in His creation take its course.
٩. إِلَيكُنَّ جاراتِ الحِمى عَن مَلامَتي
وَذَرنَ قَضاءَ اللَهِ في خَلقِهِ يَجري
10. My tears embarrassed me, so when I chided them,
I returned the hearts of the blamers to excuse.
١٠. وَأَحرَجَني دَمعي فَلَمّا زَجَرتُهُ
رَدَدتُ قُلوبَ العاذِلاتِ إِلى العُذرِ
11. They asked her my name so she told them, and they came to me
Saying: "Poetry is a safety for virgins from men."
١١. فَساءَلنَها ما اِسمي فَسَمَّت فَجِئنَني
يَقُلنَ أَماناً لِلعَذارى مِنَ الشِعرِ
12. I said: "I fear God regarding you, I have found
The speech of estrangement becomes slight when slighted."
١٢. فَقُلتُ أَخافُ اللَهَ فيكُنَّ إِنَّني
وَجَدتُ مَقالَ الهُجرِ يُزرى بِأَن يُزري
13. I took my share of the one who loves her and is estranged,
Who loves is fair in union and in separation.
١٣. أَخَذتُ بِحَظِّ مَن هَواها وَبَينِها
وَمَن يَهوَ يَعدِل في الوِصالِ وَفي الهَجرِ
14. When one has no independence from livelihood,
He must have ease as well as hardship.
١٤. إِذا لَم يَكُن لِلمَرءِ عَن عيشَةٍ غِنىً
فَلا بُدَّ مِن يُسرٍ وَلا بُدَّ مِن عُسرِ
15. Whoever experiences the world and drinks from its cup
Finds its bitterness in the sweetness and the sweetness in the bitter.
١٥. وَمَن يَخبُرِ الدُنيا وَيَشرَب بِكَأسِها
يَجِد مُرَّها في الحُلوِ وَالحُلوَ في المُرِّ
16. Whoever wages war on poverty with pretentiousness,
I have found that toil is most deadly to poverty.
١٦. وَمَن كانَ يَغزو بِالتَعِلّاتِ فَقرَهُ
فَإِنّي وَجَدتُ الكَدَّ أَقتَلَ لِلفَقرِ
17. Whoever seeks the aid of other than himself for his affairs,
Will be betrayed by the companion and aide on the rugged path.
١٧. وَمَن يَستَعِن في أَمرِهِ غَيرَ نَفسِهِ
يَخُنهُ الرَفيقُ العَون في المَسلَكِ الوَعرِ
18. Whoever does not maintain a veil over the fault of another
Lives with his honor violated and veil torn.
١٨. وَمَن لَم يُقِم سِتراً عَلى عَيبِ غَيرِهِ
يَعِش مُستَباحَ العِرضِ مُنهَتِكَ السِترِ
19. Whoever does not adorn his merit with humility,
His merit becomes evident and deprived of boasting.
١٩. وَمَن لَم يُجَمِّل بِالتَواضُعِ فَضلَهُ
يَبِن فَضلُهُ عَنهُ وَيَعطَل مِنَ الفَخرِ