1. عدِّ عن دارٍ وعن جارٍ ظَعَنْ

    وادعُ للجُلَّى كريمَ المُمْتَحَنْ

    Turn away from a dwelling and a neighbor who has departed,

    and in the great calamity call upon one noble when tested:

  2. يا أبا عبدِ الإله المرتجَى

    للمعالي يا حسينَ بن الحَسَنْ

    O Abu Abd al-Ilah, looked to

    for lofty deeds, O Husayn ibn al-Hasan,

  3. وارثَ النجدةِ عن ذي نجدةٍ

    عُبِدَ اللَّهُ بها دون الوثن

    heir to valor from a valiant man,

    through whose valor God was worshipped, not the idol;

  4. عن أمير المؤمنين المرتضى

    لكتاب اللَّه حقّاً والسُّنن

    from the Commander of the Faithful, the chosen one,

    for God's Book and the traditions, in truth;

  5. مُرتضىً أوصى إليه مصطفىً

    وأمينٍ لم يخالف مؤتَمن

    a chosen one to whom the Chosen One entrusted his testament,

    and a faithful man who never opposed a trusted one.

  6. لك من ميراثِه نجدتُه

    وتقاهُ وهُداه في المحن

    Yours, from his inheritance, is his valor,

    and his piety and guidance through trials:

  7. نجدةٌ يوجدُ فيما دونها

    مَنعةُ الجار وإدراك الإحن

    a valor in whose lesser measure are found

    protection for a neighbor and the settling of grudges.

  8. ليس لي دونك وُدٌّ يُقتَنى

    لا ولا دونك شكرٌ يُحتَجن

    I have no affection to cherish apart from you,

    nor, apart from you, any gratitude to store.

  9. أنت من أصبحتُ في ذِمَّتِهِ

    لا أبالي بمعاداة الزمن

    You are the one under whose protection I have come;

    I care nothing for time's hostility.

  10. أنت لي في الجانب الجدب حَياً

    أنت لي في الجانب القفر سكن

    You are life-giving rain for me in barren country;

    you are shelter for me in deserted country.

  11. كلَّ يوم لك عندي نائلٌ

    لي به عندك شكرٌ مرتَهن

    Each day I receive a bounty from you,

    for which my gratitude stands pledged to you.

  12. وقليلٌ كلُّ شكر حسن

    في الذي تُسديه من فعل حسن

    And little is every gracious thanks

    beside the good deeds you bestow.

  13. لا تُكاتم بالذي أوليتني

    إنَّ ما أسررت منه قد علن

    Do not keep secret what you have bestowed on me:

    what you concealed of it has become known.

  14. لو وزنّا بالذي أوليتنا

    شُكر أهل الأرض طُرّاً ما اتَّزن

    If we weighed against what you have bestowed on us

    the thanks of all earth's people, it would not balance.

  15. لك عرفٌ لم يُحِط شكري به

    جَلَّ ركناً حَضَنٌ أن يُحتَضن

    Your kindness exceeds the compass of my gratitude;

    Hadan is too mighty in bulk to be embraced.

  16. كيف لا يُسدي الذي أسديتَه

    حاملٌ في المجد أثقالَ المُؤن

    How could one not bestow what you have bestowed—

    one bearing the weighty obligations of glory,

  17. من أبوه لأخي الوحي أخٌ

    وابنُ عم ووصيٌّ وخَتَنْ

    whose father is brother to revelation's companion,

    his cousin, testamentary trustee, and son-in-law?

  18. يا بني عمِّ النبي المصطفى

    حبكم ينفي عن المرء الظَّنن

    O sons of the chosen Prophet's uncle,

    love of you dispels suspicion from a man.

  19. سلم المَوْلِدُ والدين معاً

    لمُواليكم ولو خاض الفتن

    Both birth and faith remain untainted

    for your loyal follower, even should he plunge into turmoil.

  20. إن للَّه علينا مِنناً

    حُبكم شكر لهاتيك المِنن

    God has bestowed favors upon us;

    love of you is gratitude for those favors.

  21. أنتمُ من لم يرد مُعطى الهدى

    غيرَ وَدِّ الناس إياكم ثمن

    You are those for whom the one granted guidance sought

    no price but people's affection for you.

  22. وحقيقون بذاكم أنتمُ

    يا هُداة الناس قِدما للسّنن

    And you are worthy of that,

    O you who have long guided people to the paths.

  23. يا غُيوثَ الناس في المَحل إذا

    كلكلُ الأزمةِ أَرْسى وطحن

    O rain-clouds for the people in drought, when

    the breast of hardship bears down and crushes.

  24. إن سألناكم وسألنا بكم

    لم تكونوا مثل أطلال الدِّمن

    If we appeal to you and appeal through you,

    you are not like the ruins of deserted camps.

  25. بل جلا اللَّه بكم عنا العمى

    ونفى اللَّه بكم عنا الحزن

    Rather, through you God has cleared away our blindness,

    and through you God has banished our sorrow.

  26. يوجد العلم لديكم والهدى

    أبدَ الدهر جميعاً في قَرَن

    Knowledge and guidance are found with you,

    yoked together through all time.

  27. عندكم في كل همٍّ فرجٌ

    مُعقِبٌ من كل تسهيد وَسَن

    With you lies relief from every care,

    bringing drowsiness after every sleepless vigil.

  28. جمح الحمدُ إليكم إذ جرى

    ثم وافاكم فأضحى قد حَرَن

    Praise galloped headlong toward you as it ran,

    then reached you and refused to move again.

  29. رُبَّ فردٍ منكم في دهرِه

    قد كساه اللَّه أنواع الزِّين

    Many an exceptional man among you, in his time,

    God has clothed in every kind of adornment:

  30. شكِسٍ بالعِرض سمح باللُّهى

    ضيِّقٍ في دينه رحب العَطَن

    unyielding over honor, generous with gifts,

    strict in his faith, with a spacious watering-place,

  31. ذي وقارٍ في ذكاءٍ وحجىً

    في بهاءٍ وحياء في لَسَن

    possessed of dignity with keenness, and good sense

    with splendor, and modesty with eloquence;

  32. ثاقب الجمرة إن حرَّكته

    وترى الحلم عليه إن سكن

    a blazing ember if you rouse him,

    yet you see forbearance upon him when he is still.

  33. كالحسين المتناهي فضلُه

    وإن اغتاظ حسودٌ واضطغن

    Like Husayn, consummate in excellence,

    even if an envier rages and harbors spite.

  34. إن يُوالِ الدهرُ أعداءً لكم

    فهُم فيه كمينٌ قد كَمَن

    If time favors enemies of yours,

    they are an ambush lurking within it.

  35. خلعوا فيكم عِذار المُعْتدي

    وغَدوْا بين اعتراضٍ وأَرَن

    They have cast off the aggressor's bridle against you,

    and have taken to obstruction and wild exultation.

  36. فاصبروا يُهلكْهمُ اللَّه لكم

    مثل ما أهلك أذواء اليمن

    So be patient; God will destroy them for you,

    as He destroyed Yemen's Dhu-titled rulers:

  37. ذا رُعين ثم أردى بعده

    ذا نواسٍ ثم أردى ذا يَزَن

    Dhu Ru'ayn, then after him He brought down

    Dhu Nuwas, then brought down Dhu Yazan.

  38. كم أرى اللَّه بقوم عِبرة

    عند إجرارهمُ فضلَ الرسن

    How often God has shown a warning through a people,

    when letting them trail the slack of the halter.

  39. قَرُبَ النصرُ فلا تستبطئوا

    قَرُبَ النصر يقيناً غير ظن

    Victory has drawn near; do not deem it slow.

    Victory has drawn near—certainly, not conjecturally.

  40. ومن التقصير صَوْني مُهجتي

    فِعلَ من أضحى إلى الدنيا رَكَن

    It is a shortcoming that I preserve my lifeblood,

    like one who has grown attached to this world.

  41. لا دمي يُسفك في نُصرتكم

    لا ولا عِرضي فيكم يُمتهَن

    My blood is not shed in your support,

    nor is my honor subjected to abuse for your sake.

  42. غير أني باذلٌ نفسي وإن

    حقن اللَّه دمي فيما حقن

    Yet I offer up my life, even though

    God has spared my blood among the blood He spared.

  43. ليت أني غَرَضٌ من دونكم

    ذاك أو درعٌ يقيكم أو مِجن

    Would that I were a target shielding you—

    that, or armor to protect you, or a shield.

  44. أتلقّى بجبيني من رَمَى

    وبنحري وبصدري من طَعن

    I would face the shooter with my forehead,

    and the stabber with my throat and breast.

  45. إن مُبتاع الرضا من ربهِ

    فيكُمُ بالنفس لا يخشى الغَبن

    For one who purchases his Lord's pleasure

    with his life for your sake fears no loss in the bargain.

  46. قلت للناهيَ عن حبكمُ

    إن حبي لهمُ أوفى الجُنن

    I said to the one forbidding love of you:

    'My love for them is the surest of shields.

  47. فانصرف عني حسيراً خاسئاً

    شجني فيهم وللناس شجن

    So turn away from me, weary and rebuffed;

    my heart's concern is with them; others have their concerns.

  48. والْهُ عن عذلك سمعاً قد مَرَنْ

    ودع العذلَ فسمعي قد مرن

    And spare your rebukes an ear already inured;

    leave off reproach, for my hearing has grown inured.'

  49. شهد اللَّه ومَيْلٌ خالص

    صدَّق الظاهرُ منه ما بطن

    God bears witness, and so does a pure affection,

    whose outward show confirms its inward truth,

  50. بموالاةٍ لكم صادقةٍ

    سلكت مسلك روح في بدن

    to a sincere allegiance to you

    that follows a spirit's path within a body.

  51. فهي لي ما دمتُ حيّاً مَلْبَسٌ

    ومتى ما مِتُّ كانت لي كفن

    It is my garment for as long as I live,

    and whenever I die, it will be my shroud.

  52. وأرى فقري وحُبِّيكم غِنىً

    وهُزالي مع وُدّيكم سِمَن

    I see my poverty, with love of you, as wealth,

    and my leanness, with affection for you, as stoutness.

  53. فِطَنٌ تُبصِرُ أسرارَ العلا

    حين لا تنفُذُ أبصارُ الفِطَن

    Keen insights perceive the secrets of eminence

    when the vision of keen minds cannot penetrate.

  54. بَرَّني معروفُكُم قبل أبي

    وغذاني بِرُّكم قبل اللبن

    Your kindness cherished me before my father did,

    and your goodness nourished me before milk.

  55. ومتى اختلَّ ابن روميِّكمُ

    فأَياديكم حَرىً منه قَمَن

    Whenever your Ibn Rumi falls into need,

    your favors are fitting for him, well deserved.

  56. وإذا أنتم وأنتم أنتمُ

    لم تُوَلُّوني وتُولُوني فَمَن

    And if you—you being who you are—

    do not take me into your care and bestow on me, then who will?

  57. أنا عبدُ الحق لا عبدُ الهوى

    لعن اللَّهُ الهوى فيما لعن

    I am a servant of truth, not a servant of desire;

    God has cursed desire among the things He cursed.

  58. أنا من أبناء أتباع الهُدَى

    لستُ من أبناء أتباع البِطَن

    I am of the sons of those who follow guidance,

    not of the sons of those who follow their bellies.

  59. دينيَ الحجَّة لا عاداتُهم

    واختيارُ الدار لا إلفُ الوطن

    My faith is proof, not their customary habits,

    and choosing an abode, not attachment to the homeland.

  60. والذي قد أوجبَ اللَّهُ لكم

    فوق ما أوجبتُ ما اخضرَّ فَنَن

    And what God has enjoined for you

    exceeds what I have pledged, as long as a bough grows green.