1. If a brother and intimate friend support me,
Their favor upon me is immense.

2. They are two caves I take refuge in during adversities,
And the oppressed relies on the helper.

3. They are two pillars of my back, if an accident bends
To make me, with them both, fall headlong.

4. Each has a noble lineage to which belongs
The utmost and core of glory.

5. This, Jahjaha brought from Quraish,
And that, the immaculate brought from pious Qura.

6. They are two valiant youths of Hashim, one an aider
And the beauty of the family of righteous Abraham.

7. They took to the means of generosity. If you say,
“This one is generous,” you say, “That one is noble.”

8. They equaled each other in munificence, so this is a rain, and that
A sea in which the ships of hope float.

9. They resembled each other in beauty, so this is a sun, and that
A moon that shone as the clouds uncovered it.

10. They approximated each other in age, so the day when
They were born, this day drew near that auspicious one.

11. They agreed in purpose, so each of them hovers
Behind virtues and perfection.

12. If I say this one is eloquent, then that one is articulate.
Or if I say this one is discerning, then that one is wise,

13. This one is unique in his writing, and that one
Is learned in the obscure intricacies of poetry.

14. Neither the pasture of hopes in their care is bitter,
Nor the meadow of expectation bleak in it.

15. A man who equated them with their likes
Is a blind brother or like the brutal beast.

16. Or one who is unaware, like my brother Hatim of generosity
Whose concern, by my father’s honor, is momentous!

17. They shepherded for me the neglected promises, while a man
Shepherded but did not shepherd the blemished blames.

18. They shared my benefit, so this one is a blissful garden
I take refuge in for its delight, and that one is bounty.

19. They characterized my life, so this one is a meadow
I flirt with, and that one is a breeze.

20. This one always stays with me, his voice being as if
He is with me wherever in the lands I dwelled.

21. And the beauty of that one does not abandon me, so his
Conversation of a feat and olden tie is mine.

22. And by my father, a saying of his saddens me as if
I am feverish from what I was healed by its fire.

23. He uncovered it when he heard of me, so here I am,
Having almost perished, now safe.

24. I am the eye of him whose mention the people utter,
So the traveler and resident spoke of that.

25. Until I saw the Arabs envy them through it
When excelling, the Persian and the Roman.

26. Or they wear some of what I wove, garments
Whose likes perish while they endure.

27. Of each standard, if raised, the ascetic and the devout
Disdainfully fold it.

28. No one puts it on but ruin befalls him,
And the wearer of its like is destined to remain.

29. The new life takes its renewal and its greatness
From the soil it long inhabited and cherished.

30. But if the likes of it are erected as high ceilings,
My dependence is on the aging stalwart stallion

31. Who scarcely reaches the mare, so she remains
Sitting below him and standing up.

32. The riding camels exhaust praise towards it,
For it has a presence they don’t and a pathfinder.

33. And if they continue bestowing favor upon me while the
Rewarding with gratitude for their gift is incumbent on me,

34. I will reward them for every ode
As rewarding the honorable alike is customary.

35. The free and noble glisten towards its like,
Or else the like of it is nonexistent.