1. ما قَضَيْنا حَقًّا لرسْمٍ محيل

    ببكاءٍ على الدْيار طويلِ

    We have not paid a weathered ruin its due

    with long weeping over the dwellings.

  2. يا رفيقي وصاحبي وخليلي

    قفْ بنا بين دارساتِ الطلول

    O my companion, my friend, my intimate,

    halt with us among the fading ruins;

  3. نَقْضِ حقّ البُكا لها والعويل

    فالمطايا وَهَتْ وأَنْتَ تراها

    let us pay them their due of weeping and lamentation.

    For the riding camels have weakened, as you see;

  4. يأكلُ السَّيْرُ ما ترى من ذراها

    قفْ بها كي ترتاحَ ممّا اعتراها

    travel consumes what you see of their humps.

    Halt them so they may rest from what has befallen them,

  5. وأنخها قلائصاً قد عراها

    ما عرانا من الضنى والنحولِ

    and make them kneel, young she-camels afflicted

    by the exhaustion and wasting that have afflicted us.

  6. إنَّ غِبَّ الغرام منذ امتطاها

    أطلقَ الوَخدُ والذميلُ خطاها

    Indeed, since passion's aftermath took them as mounts,

    long strides and brisk trotting have unleashed their steps.

  7. خلّها من لغويها أنْ يطاها

    وأرِحها سُوَيْعَةً فمطاها

    Leave them free of their reckless rider's treading upon them [wording uncertain].

    Rest them a little while, for their backs

  8. قد دهى من وجيفها والذميلِ

    أصْبَحتْ بعدَ ريّها تتولّى

    have been sorely afflicted by their galloping and trotting.

    After their former fullness of drink, they now bear

  9. كبدا من غليلها النار تصلى

    علّها ما وَرَدَتْ ماءك عَلاّ

    a liver burning in the fire of their thirst.

    Give them another draught whenever they reach your water,

  10. واسقها من مَعين وجرةَ نهلا

    فعَساها تطفي لهيب الغليل

    and give them a first draught from Wajra's flowing spring;

    perhaps they may quench the blaze of thirst.

  11. خَلّها لا عدمتَ ذا اليوم خلاّ

    إن تحاولْ بقطعك البيد وصلا

    Let them be—may you not lack a friend this day—

    if by crossing the deserts you seek reunion.

  12. وإذا سرتَ بالمطيِّ فمهلاّ

    وتَرَفَّقْ بها فيما هي إلاَّ

    When you travel with the riding camels, go gently;

    treat them kindly, for they are only

  13. عُدَّةً قد أعدَدْتُها للوصولِ

    فَسقى مربع الحِسان وجادَتْ

    a means I have prepared for arrival.

    May the beauties' spring abode be watered, and may rain pour

  14. مُزُنٌ أحْسَنَتْ به وأجادَتْ

    تبلُغ النفسُ عنده ما أرادَتْ

    from clouds that favor it and give generously.

    There the soul attains what it desires.

  15. يا لمغنًى به الغواني تهادَتْ

    وخَلَتْ من مؤنّبٍ وعذولِ

    Oh, what an abode, where lovely women swayed gracefully

    and were free of reprovers and faultfinders!

  16. كم لَهَوْنا بكلّ ظبي غريرِ

    وشَرِبْنا في كلّ رَوضٍ نضيرِ

    How often we played with every innocent gazelle,

    and drank in every verdant garden

  17. شمسَ راحٍ من كفّ بدرٍ منير

    وأُديرَتْ لنا كؤوسُ سرورِ

    the sun of wine from a radiant moon's hand!

    Cups of joy were passed around for us

  18. من ثغورٍ رضابها من شمولِ

    حبّذا أوْجُهٌ تروقُك وَصْفا

    from mouths whose saliva was heady wine.

    How lovely the faces whose description enchants you,

  19. وثغورٌ تحكي المدامةَ صِرْفا

    فالثنايا العِذاب تمنح رشفا

    and mouths that resemble undiluted wine!

    The sweet front teeth offer sips,

  20. ومياهُ الجمالِ تقطرُ لُطفا

    فوقَ خدٍّ من الشباب أسيلِ

    and beauty's waters drip delicately

    over a cheek made smooth by youth.

  21. قد رَعَينا لذاذةَ العيشِ رغدا

    وطرِبْنا به مَراحاً ومَغْدى

    We grazed on life's sweetness in abundance,

    and rejoiced in it at evening's return and morning's departure,

  22. في رياضٍ من المحاسن تندى

    وطيورُ الهَنا تغرِّدُ وَجْدا

    in gardens of beauty glistening with dew,

    while birds of happiness sang in rapture

  23. بهديرٍ مستعذبٍ وهديلِ

    يا لعيشٍ ما كانَ أمرى وأحلى

    with sweet, deep cooing and gentle calls.

    Oh, that life—how pleasant and sweet it was!

  24. وزمانٍ من جوهر الرُّوحِ أغلى

    فالشبابُ الَّذي قَلَّص ظِلاّ

    And a time more precious than the soul's essence!

    For youth, which withdrew its shade,

  25. قد مضى وانقضى وفاتَ وَوَلّى

    كشموسٍ قد آذَنَتْ للأفولِ

    has passed, ended, slipped away, and departed,

    like suns announcing their setting.

  26. أينَ قومي لهم على النَّاس فخرُ

    وإباءٌ بأنْفِهِ مشمخرُّ

    Where are my people, with pride above all others,

    and proud defiance, its nose held high?

  27. قد دَهاهم من المنيّة أمرُ

    وتمطّى بساعدِ الغَدْرِ دهرُ

    A calamity from death has befallen them,

    and time stretched itself out with treachery's arm,

  28. غالَ أهلَ النهى بأنياب غولِ

    كم كريمٍ لدى عذابٍ أليمِ

    slaying the people of reason with a ghoul's fangs.

    How many a noble person suffers painful torment,

  29. ولئيمٍ من دهره في نعيمِ

    إنَّ دهراً عَدوَّ كلِّ كريم

    while a base person finds comfort in his days!

    Indeed, time is the enemy of every noble person;

  30. فهوَ سلمٌ لكلِّ فدمٍ لئيم

    وهو حربٌ لكلِّ حرِّ نبيلِ

    it is at peace with every base dullard,

    and at war with every free and noble soul.

  31. ساءنا الدهرُ مأخذاً ونزاعا

    واتّصالاً وفرقةً واجتماعا

    Time has wronged us in taking and wrenching away,

    in union, separation, and gathering.

  32. غادرٌ باسطٌ لغَدرٍ ذراعا

    ولَكَمْ مَدَّ للخيانةِ باعا

    Treacherous, it stretches out an arm for betrayal;

    how often it has extended its reach for treachery,

  33. رَدَّ عنها الحجى بطرف كليلِ

    عَمَّ سوحي حال الزمان وخصّا

    sending reason back from it with a weary eye.

    Time's condition pervaded my courtyards and singled me out;

  34. وأرى فيه كلّما زِدْتُ نَقْصا

    لا تظنَّن أنّها تُستقصى

    in it I see loss whenever I gain.

    Do not suppose they can be exhaustively recounted,

  35. فأحاديثُ دهرِنا ليسَ تُحصى

    خلّ عن شرحها العريضِ الطويلِ

    for the tales of our time cannot be counted.

    Leave aside their sprawling, lengthy explanation.

  36. كمْ أمورٍ لدَهْرِنا مهلكاتِ

    لاحقاتِ أبناءه مدركات

    How many destructive affairs our time brings,

    pursuing its children and overtaking them!

  37. زَمَنٌ ظلّ أهلُه في شكاةِ

    كم له في الكرام من فتكاتِ

    An age whose people remain in lamentation;

    how many deadly attacks it makes upon the noble!

  38. كلَّ آن يسطو بأمرٍ مهولِ

    إنَّ هذي الأيام منذ ابتداها

    At every moment it attacks with something dreadful.

    Indeed, these days, from their very beginning,

  39. قَلَّ ما تَمْنَحُ الكرامَ نداها

    ما استَقَرَّتْ بريّها وصداها

    seldom bestow their bounty on the noble.

    They never remain constant in their quenching and thirst,

  40. والليالي لا تستقرُّ مداها

    كلَّ يوم تأتي بحال محلولِ

    and the nights never stay settled throughout their course.

    Each day they bring a condition that unravels.

  41. نرتجي الفوزَ في بلوغ أمانِ

    بزمانٍ يَعِزُّ كلَّ مُهانِ

    We hope for success in attaining our wishes

    in an age that honors every despised person,

  42. ما ثنى عِطفَه لحرٍّ مُصانِ

    ليتَ شعري ما يرتجى من زمان

    yet never bends its side toward a free person held in honor.

    Would that I knew what can be hoped for from an age

  43. عَطفُه للكرامِ كالمستحيلِ

    كيف نلتذُّ في الحياة وُجودا

    whose kindness to the noble is all but impossible!

    How can we delight in being alive,

  44. إذ نرى حيثُما التَفَتْنا فقيدا

    لك يكنْ طيبُ عيشنا محمودا

    when wherever we turn we see someone departed?

    May the sweetness of our life be praiseworthy to you [wording uncertain].

  45. ومتى نستطيبُ عيشاً رغيدا

    والمنايا تحدو بنا للرحيلِ

    When can we enjoy a comfortable life,

    while deaths drive us onward to depart?

  46. إنَّما هذه الحياة ابتلاءُ

    ولغوبٌ وشِقْوَةٌ وعَناءُ

    This life is only an ordeal,

    weariness, misery, and toil.

  47. ثم قد يُعقِبُ الوجودَ فناءُ

    والرزايا مع المنايا بلاءُ

    Then extinction may follow existence;

    calamities together with deaths are an affliction.

  48. وعظيمُ البلاء رفع الرذيل

    فالبلاءُ الشديدُ أنْ يُستَعاذا

    A great affliction is the elevation of the base.

    The grievous ordeal is that refuge be sought

  49. بالذي لمْ يكنْ لعَمري مَعاذا

    أو يكونُ الدنيُّ فينا ملاذا

    in one who, by my life, was never a refuge,

    or that the lowly among us become a shelter.

  50. وبلاءٌ أشدُّ من ذا وهذا

    ذلُّ حُرٍّ إلى لئيمٍ بخيلِ

    Yet an ordeal worse than this and that

    is a free person's abasement before a miserly scoundrel.

  51. ما أراحَتْ يوماً من النَّاس حيًّا

    بلْ أساءتْ إليه مَوتاً ومحيا

    Never for a day has it eased any living person's lot;

    rather, it has wronged him in death and life.

  52. نحنُ نبغي في هذه الدَّار بُقيا

    ومضِرٌّ بنا البقاءُ بدنيا

    We seek lasting life in this abode,

    yet remaining in a world is harmful to us

  53. غَدَرَتْ قبلَنا بآل الرسولِ

    لأناسٍ عَلَوْا فخاراً ومجدا

    that betrayed the Messenger's family before us.

    For people who rose high in pride and glory,

  54. وأباً ماجداً كريماً وجدّا

    كيف كانت إذ ذاك خصماً ألدّا

    and in a glorious, noble father and grandfather—

    how was it then such a bitter foe?

  55. ما رَعَتْ فيهم ذماماً وعهدا

    وحمى المستجير والمستنيل

    It honored neither obligation nor covenant toward them,

    nor protection for seekers of refuge and seekers of gifts.

  56. يا نجوماً في كلِّ بَرّ وبحر

    هاديات الأنام في كلّ عَصْرِ

    O stars on every land and sea,

    guiding humankind in every age!

  57. يا بدوراً في حالكٍ مكفهرّ

    شَتَّتْ شملَهُم وكانوا حماة

    O full moons in gloomy, pitch-black darkness!

    It scattered their gathering, though they were protectors

  58. وهداةً إلى سواء السبيل

    خيرُ من حَلَّ بقعةً ووطاها

    and guides to the straight path.

    Best of those who ever settled a place and trod it,

  59. قد كشفْتُم عن العيون غطاها

    وحميْتُم ممَّا يروع سطاها

    you have lifted the covering from the eyes,

    and guarded against that whose onslaughts terrify.

  60. يا بني أحمدٍ ويا آل طه

    يا هداة الورى ومأوى الدخيل

    O sons of Ahmad, O family of Taha,

    O guides of humankind and shelter for those seeking protection!

  61. بولائي لكم قديماً وحبّي

    أنا أرجو النجاةَ من كلّ كربِ

    Through my longstanding allegiance to you and my love,

    I hope for deliverance from every distress.

  62. يا شفائي إذا اعتَلَلْتُ وطبّي

    ضِقْتُ ذَرعاً من عِلَّةٍ بَرَّحَتْ بي

    O my cure when I fall ill, and my medicine,

    I can no longer bear an illness that has tormented me;

  63. ودوائي أنتم وبرءُ العليل

    عن خلوصِ الولاءِ صِدقُ مقالي

    you are my remedy and the healing of the sick.

    My truthful words spring from sincere allegiance,

  64. في طفوليَّتي وحالِ اكتهالي

    لم تغيِّرْه حادثاتُ الليالي

    in my childhood and throughout my middle age.

    The happenings of the nights have not changed it;

  65. صرتُ شيخاً وما تَغَيَّر حالي

    عن ولائي لكم بِصدقِ المقولِ

    I have grown old, but my state has not changed

    from my allegiance to you, truthfully professed.

  66. تركَتْني الأيامُ من غير جِرم

    حاملاً عِبءَ كلّ همٍّ وغمِّ

    The days have left me, though guilty of no offense,

    carrying the burden of every worry and sorrow.

  67. حيث فَقْدُ الشبابِ انحل جسمي

    وأنا اليوم شابَ رأسي وعظمي

    With youth lost, my body has wasted away;

    today my head has turned gray, and my bones

  68. أوْهَنَتْه أثْقال وِزرٍ ثقيل

    إنَّ ضُعْفَ القُوى وفقدانَ عَوني

    have been weakened by the loads of a heavy burden.

    Indeed, weakness of strength and the loss of my support

  69. قد أحالا من بينَ قَصدي وبيني

    طَعَنَتْ في مضاضة العيش شنِّي

    have barred the way between my purpose and me.

    They have pierced my worn waterskin amid life's bitterness,

  70. وانقضى العمرُ كلُّه بالتمنِّي

    واتّباعِ الهوى بقالٍ وقيلِ

    and all my lifetime has passed in wishing

    and following desire amid talk and hearsay.

  71. أنْتُم مَطلَبي وأنْتم مرادي

    وعَليكم بَعدَ الإله اعتمادي

    You are my quest, and you are my desire;

    after God, it is on you that I rely.

  72. فإذا كانَ بَعْدَ بدئي معادي

    حبّكم يا بني الوصيّ عتادي

    When, after my beginning, my return comes,

    my love for you, O sons of the appointed successor, is my provision

  73. في معادي عند الإله الجليلِ

    قَرَّبَتْني منكُمْ دنوًّا بقربِ

    at my return before the majestic God.

    Drawing me nearer to you, in close affinity,

  74. نِسْبَةٌ في الجميل من فضل ربِّي

    حينَ أدعى ما بين قومي وصحبي

    is a connection in 'al-Jamil,' by my Lord's grace,

    when I am called among my people and companions.

  75. أنْتُمْ أَنْتُم الجميلُ وحَسْبي

    بينَ قومي أُدعى بابن الجميل

    You—you are the beautiful; and it suffices me

    to be called Ibn al-Jamil among my people.