1. ما اسم ثلاثي وفعل معا

    في حالةٍ تربيعُه ظاهِرُ

    What is a three-letter noun and a verb at once,

    Whose square form is plain in one state?

  2. ساءَ وسرَّ الناسَ في حكمه

    فهو لديهم عادِلٌ جائِرُ

    It has saddened and gladdened people in its judgment,

    So to them it is both just and unjust.

  3. تبدو نجومُ الأُفْقِ فيه لنا

    ويستبينُ الفَلَكُ الدائرُ

    The horizon’s stars appear to us within it,

    And the revolving celestial sphere becomes clear.

  4. أفعاله تحكي حظوظَ الورى

    فرائح هَذا وذا خاسرُ

    Its actions recount humankind’s fortunes:

    So this one departs, and that one loses.

  5. والكرّ والفرُّ له شيمة

    وماله ظلف ولا حافرُ

    Charge and retreat are its habit,

    Yet it has neither cloven hoof nor solid hoof.

  6. تراه مثنى وهو فرد غدا

    للفرس فيه العجب النادرُ

    You see it paired, though it has become single;

    For the Persians, it holds a rare wonder.

  7. بينا يرى بين بنان الورى

    إِذا به مطرح خائر

    While it is seen between people’s fingertips,

    Suddenly there it is, cast aside and feeble.

  8. ثلْثاه بعد القلب حرف بدا

    في طيّه جاء به الآخرُ

    Two-thirds of it, after reversal, appear as a letter;

    Within its folds, the other brought it.

  9. طرداً وعكساً أن غدا مهملاً

    أو معجماً يقرؤه الناظر

    Forward and backward, whether it has become undotted

    Or dotted, the observer reads it.

  10. إِن بان ثانيه فأمر لما

    يعصيك فيه الرشأ الهاجر

    If its second letter stands apart, it is a command concerning that

    In which the forsaking young gazelle disobeys you.

  11. فهاك ما حبرت في وصفه

    يعجَب منه الزَّكِنُ الماهر

    So take what I have composed to describe it:

    The keen-witted adept marvels at it.