1. دون بَيضِ الخُدورِ سمرُ العَوالي

    فتوقّ الآجالَ في الآجالِ

    Before the fair women of the curtained chambers stand tawny lances;

    so beware of death among the herds of wild cattle.

  2. وارتجعْ سالماً عن الحدَقِ النُجْ

    لِ فحربُ العيونِ غيرُ سِجالِ

    And turn back unharmed from those wide eyes,

    for in the warfare of eyes, victory never changes sides.

  3. وعجيبٌ لولا الهَوى أن يُرى اللي

    ثُ على بطشِهِ أسيرَ الغَزالِ

    Were it not for love, it would be strange to see a lion,

    for all his fierce might, held captive by a gazelle.

  4. ويحَ صالٍ بحُبِّ سالٍ رماهُ

    بين ذُلِّ الهوى وعزِّ الجمالِ

    Woe to one burning with love for an indifferent one who cast him

    between love's abasement and beauty's pride.

  5. قادَهُ الحبُّ بين دمعٍ طليقٍ

    وفؤادٍ من الجوى في عِقالِ

    Love led him between freely flowing tears

    and a heart fettered by love's anguish.

  6. وثَناهُ الفراقُ يشدُّ قلباً

    ضلّ عن صدرهِ بذاتِ الضالِ

    Parting turned him back, holding fast a heart

    that had strayed from his breast at Dhat al-Dal.

  7. إن يكنْ في هجيرِ هجرٍ مقيماً

    فلقد كان في أصيلِ وصالِ

    If he dwells in the noon heat of estrangement,

    he surely once dwelt in the late afternoon of union.

  8. وإذا ما جرى القضاء بأمرٍ

    لم تعالبْهُ حيلةُ المُحتالِ

    And when fate decrees a thing,

    no schemer's stratagem can overcome it.

  9. وغزال لدنِ المعاطفِ كالخُو

    دِ رقيقِ الخدودِ كالجِريالِ

    And a gazelle, supple of limb like a young maiden,

    with tender cheeks red as wine,

  10. عسكريٌّ يصولُ في معرّكِ الحبّ

    بما فيه من سلاح الجمالِ

    a soldier charging on love's battlefield

    with the armament of beauty within him.

  11. أنا في حبّه مطيعاً غرامي

    كلّ وقتٍ مخالفاً عُذالي

    In loving him, I obey my passion,

    at every moment defying my reproachers.

  12. فاتّباع العَذولِ رُشدي ولكن

    أنا أهوى خلافَه وضَلالي

    Following the reproacher is my right course, but

    I love opposing him and my own waywardness.

  13. أصبحتْ مُهجتي لصارمِ عيني

    هِ كمال الأثير للسُؤالِ

    My life's blood is for the blade of his eyes,

    as al-Athir's wealth is for petitioners.

  14. ماجدٌ لا يزالُ يخطُرُ في الحم

    دِ بجدْواه خِطْرة المُخْتالِ

    A noble man, forever striding amid praise,

    through his bounty, with a proud man's gait.

  15. من بني الأغلب الذينَ استفادوا

    وأفادوا جمّ الثَنا والنّوالِ

    From the sons of al-Aghlab, who have received

    and given abundant praise and bounty.

  16. معشرٌ صُوِّروا من الكَرمِ المح

    ضِ ففاقوا مَنْ صيغ من صَلصالِ

    A people fashioned from pure generosity,

    surpassing those molded from dry clay.

  17. طالما قلتُ للمسائلِ عنهم

    واعتمادي هدايةُ الضِلالِ

    How often I have said to someone asking about them,

    my purpose being to guide the lost:

  18. إنْ تُرِدْ علمَ حالِهم عن يقينِ

    فالقِهم يومَ نائلٍ أو قِتالِ

    If you wish to know their nature with certainty,

    then meet them on a day of giving or battle.

  19. تلقَ بيضَ الوجوهِ سودَ مثار الن

    قْع خضر الأكناف حُمرَ النِّصالِ

    You will find them white of face, black in the dust they raise,

    green in their domains, red at the spear-points.

  20. فاسأل الكوم عنهُم في العَطايا

    واسألِ الجُرْدَ عنهم في النِزالِ

    Ask the high-humped camels about them in giving,

    and ask the sleek horses about them in combat.

  21. حكموا سائليهمُ في نَداهُم

    حُكْمَ أسيافِهم على الأقْيالِ

    They made their petitioners arbiters of their bounty,

    as their swords are arbiters over princes.

  22. وحَبَوْا واحتَبَوْا فقُلْ في الغوادي

    هاطلاتٍ وفي رواسي الجِبالِ

    They gave and sat clasping their knees: speak of morning clouds

    pouring rain, and of firmly rooted mountains.

  23. لبِسوا بالأثيرِ حلّةَ فضْلٍ

    طرّزتْها يَداهُ بالأفضالِ

    Through al-Athir they donned a robe of excellence,

    which his two hands embroidered with benefactions.

  24. فهو معنى لفظِ المكارمِ يُنمَوْ

    نَ إليها وروحُ جسمِ المَعالي

    He is the meaning of 'noble virtues,' to which they are ascribed,

    and the soul in the body of lofty attainments.

  25. شيمٌ رتّبوا بها رُتبةَ المج

    دِ فكانت لها عقودَ لآلِ

    Virtues by which they established the rank of glory,

    becoming necklaces of pearls upon it.

  26. فهي مثلُ المُدامِ تبعُدُ بالهمّ

    وتدنو بنازح الآمال

    They are like wine, carrying sorrow away

    and bringing far-off hopes close.

  27. صائلٌ في العِدى بسيفينِ هذا

    لجدالِ وذا لوَشْكِ قِتالِ

    He assails his foes with two swords: this one

    for disputation, that for swift combat.

  28. كلما جُرِّدا بمعركة لم

    يبقَ من باطلٍ ولا إبطالِ

    Whenever both are unsheathed in battle,

    neither falsehood nor refutation remains.

  29. ضحكتْ إذ سَطا ثغورُ المَواضي

    وبكتْ إذ عَفا عيونُ المالِ

    The mouths of keen swords laughed when he struck,

    and the eyes of wealth wept when he pardoned.

  30. ضمِنَتْ راحتاهُ في السِلْمِ والحر

    بِ صنوفَ الأرزاقِ والآجالِ

    His two palms guaranteed, in peace and war,

    varied provisions and appointed deaths.

  31. يا أبا القاسم المقسِّم للمج

    دِ وللسؤدد البعيدِ المنالِ

    O Abu al-Qasim, apportioner of glory

    and of lordly honor so hard to attain,

  32. أنتَ أُفْقٌ للمَكْرُماتِ عليٌّ

    لاحَ فيه محمّدٌ كالهِلالِ

    you are a lofty horizon for noble deeds,

    in which Muhammad shone like the crescent.

  33. حتّم الله أنّ ذكرَك يبقى

    في المعالي به ممرّ الليالي

    God has ordained that your renown endure

    in lofty deeds through him, throughout the passing nights.

  34. فابقيا في سعادةٍ تُخلِقُ الده

    رَ وتبقي جديدةَ السِرْبالِ

    So may you both endure in happiness that wears out time,

    yet remains freshly robed.