1. كُفِّي الدموع وإن كان الفِراقُ غَدَا

    فرِحْلتي لتعيشي عيشةً رَغَدَا

    Hold back your tears, though parting comes tomorrow.

    For my journey is so you may live a life of ease.

  2. قالت أَتَرحلُ والمَشْتاةُ قد حَضَرتْ

    فقلتُ مِثْليَ في أمثالها انْجَرَدَا

    She said, 'Will you leave, now winter has arrived?'

    I said, 'A man like me sets forth in such times.'

  3. بُنيَّ قد قعد الدهر الخؤون بنا

    وليس مثليَ في أمثاله قَعَدا

    My son, treacherous Time has brought us low;

    Yet a man like me does not sit idle in such times.

  4. قالت أَتَنْتَجِع العباس قلتُ لها

    بل الطليقَ مُحيَّاً والجَوادَ يدا

    She said, 'Do you seek bounty from Abbas?' I told her,

    'Rather, from one open of face and generous of hand.'

  5. ذاك اسمُه وله معنىً يخالِفُه

    إلا إذا هو سيمَ الضَّيم والضَّمَدا

    That is his name, but his nature contradicts it,

    Except when he is subjected to wrong and provoked to anger.

  6. هناك سَمِّيهِ عباساً إذا حَميتْ

    منه الحُميَّا وكنِّيهِ إذا رفدا

    Then call him Abbas, 'the frowning one,' when there blazes

    His fiery ardor; use his byname when he gives.

  7. ما زال لِلْفضلِ بَذَّالا كَكُنيتِهِ

    لا يَرحمُ المال حتى يَبلغَ النَّقَدَا

    He has ever lavished bounty, true to his byname;

    He spares no wealth, down to the ready cash.

  8. وبالمُعادين صَوَّالا يغادرهمْ

    صَرْعى وإن هو لاقَى جَمْعَهم وَحَدا

    And fiercely assails his enemies, leaving them

    Fallen, even when he faces their whole host alone.

  9. مما تراه لعافيهِ وشانئهِ

    يروحُ غَيْثاً ويغدو تارة أسدا

    Such is what you see of him toward his petitioner and his hater:

    He goes forth as rain at dusk, and sometimes as a lion at dawn.

  10. كم من أناسٍ رَجَوا مَسْعَاته ركضوا

    ثم انثنوا قد وَنَوا واستَبْعدوا الأمدا

    How many men raced, hoping to match his noble striving,

    Then turned back, exhausted, and deemed the goal too far!

  11. قالت أليس الفتى القاشيّ قلتُ لها

    بل الفتى الواضحُ المحمودُ منتقَدا

    She said, 'Is he not the young al-Qashi?' I told her,

    'Rather, the radiant youth, praised on close inspection.'

  12. قالت صَدَقتَ ولكن هذه سمةٌ

    مثل المَعاذةِ تَثْنِي عينَ من حسدا

    She said, 'You speak truly, but this is a mark

    Like an amulet, turning aside the eye of the envious.'

  13. معاذةُ اللّه ألقاها على رجلٍ

    حفظاً له ودفاعاً عنه مُعْتَمدا

    A talisman from God, which He cast upon a man,

    To protect him and give him a defense he could rely on.

  14. واللَّه حلّاه إياها ليحْمِيَهُ

    عيناً تصيب وكفّاً تعقد العُقدا

    God adorned him with it to protect him

    From an eye that afflicts and a hand that ties knots.

  15. يا من غدا مالُه في الناس مُشتَركاً

    ومن توحَّد بالمعروفِ وانفردا

    O you whose wealth has become shared among the people,

    And who stands alone and unrivaled in kindness;

  16. ومن تحلّى من الآداب أحسنها

    فما يرى أحدٌ في ظَرفِهِ أحدا

    And who has adorned himself with the finest manners,

    So none sees anyone his equal in refinement:

  17. أشكو إليك خطوباً قد بَعِلْتُ بها

    لم تَتَّركْ سَبَداً عندي ولا لَبَدا

    I complain to you of calamities that have left me bewildered,

    Leaving me neither hair nor wool.

  18. بيني وبينَك أسبابٌ أَمُتُّ بها

    لو رُمت إحصاءها لم أحْصها عددا

    Between you and me are ties through which I claim closeness;

    Were I to try to count them, I could not number them.

  19. وأنت أذْكَرْتنيها حين أذهلني

    دهرٌ أكابدُ منه صاحباً نَكِدا

    And you yourself reminded me of them when I was distracted by

    Time, which I endure as a spiteful companion.

  20. وقد وَعْدت بفكي من شدائده

    وعداً فأنْجَزَ حرُّ القوم ما وعدا

    You have promised to release me from its hardships,

    A promise—so may the noble man of his people fulfill what he promised.

  21. إن لا يكن بيننا قُرْبى فآصِرةٌ

    للدين يقطع فيها الوالدُ الولدا

    If no kinship binds us, there is still a bond

    Of faith, for whose sake a father cuts off his son.

  22. مقالةُ العدل والتوحيد تجمعنا

    دون المُضاهين من ثَنَّى ومن جحدا

    The doctrine of justice and divine oneness unites us,

    Apart from those who posit likenesses—those who profess duality and those who deny.

  23. وبين مُستطرِفَيْ غيٍّ مرافقةٌ

    ترعى فكيف اللذان استطرفا رشدا

    Even two who delight in error share a fellowship

    That is honored; how much more two who delight in right guidance?

  24. كن عند أخلاقك الزهر التي جُعلت

    عليك موقوفةً مقصورةً أبدا

    Live up to your radiant virtues, which have been made

    Reserved for you, confined to you forever.

  25. ما عذرُ مُعتزليٍّ مُوسِرٍ مَنَعتْ

    كفَّاهُ مُعتزليَّاً مُقتراً صَفدا

    What excuse has a wealthy Mu'tazilite when

    His two hands deny a poor Mu'tazilite a gift?

  26. أيزعمُ القَدرَ المحتومَ ثبّطه

    إن قال ذاك فقد حَلّ الذي عقدا

    Does he claim that inescapable fate held him back?

    If he says that, he has undone what he bound.

  27. أم ليس مستأهِلاً جدواه صاحِبُهُ

    أنَّى وما حاد عن قصدٍ ولا عَنَدا

    Or is his companion unworthy of his bounty?

    How so, when he has neither strayed from the right path nor been obstinate?

  28. أم ليس يُمْكِنُه ما يرتضيه له

    يكفي أخاً من أخٍ ميسورُ ما وَجدا

    Or can he not provide what he would wish for him?

    For a brother, whatever another brother can spare suffices.

  29. لا عُذرَ فيما يُريني الرأيَ أعلمُهُ

    للمرء مثلك أن لا يأتِيَ السدَدَا

    In what reason shows me, I know no excuse

    For a man like you to fail to do what is right.

  30. قد كنتُ مضطلعاً بالصيْف محتمِلاً

    تلك السَّمومَ وطوْراً ذلك الومدا

    I had coped with summer, enduring

    That scorching wind, and at times that muggy heat.

  31. ولا وربِّك مالي بالشتاء يدٌ

    وقد أتاني يسوق الصِّرَّ والجَمدا

    But no—by your Lord—I have no strength against winter,

    Which has come upon me, driving biting cold and ice.

  32. وخلْفَ ظهريَ من لا يرتجي أحداً

    سواك للدهر إلا الواحدَ الصمدا

    And behind me is one who looks to no one

    But you against Time, save the One, the Eternal Refuge.

  33. جاء الشتاء ولم يُعْدِدْ أخوك له

    يا ابن الأكارم إلا الشمس والرِعَدا

    Winter has come, and your brother has made no provision for it,

    O son of the noble, save sunshine and shivering.

  34. أستغفر اللّه من حُوبٍ نطقتُ به

    بل أنت لي عُدّةٌ تكفيني العُددا

    I ask God's forgiveness for the sin I have uttered;

    Rather, you are my provision, enough in place of all provisions.

  35. فاعطف علينا وألبسْنا معاً كنَفاً

    من ريشك الوَحْف تنفي البؤس والصَّردا

    So be kind to us, and clothe us together in shelter

    From your thick plumage, dispelling misery and cold.

  36. إني أنا المرءُ إن نفَّلتَه نَفَلاً

    فلست تعدم منه الشكرَ ما خلدا

    Indeed, I am the man: if you bestow a gift on him,

    You will never lack his thanks as long as he lives.

  37. وإن أثرتَ إلى تقليده عملاً

    يُعْيي الرجال بلوْتَ الحزْمَ والجلدا

    And if you choose to entrust him with a task

    That exhausts men, you will discover resolve and endurance.

  38. لا تحرمن امرءاً ساق الرجاءُ به

    وقد تَسلّف من جيرانه الحسدا

    Do not deprive a man whom hope has brought,

    And who has already taken his neighbors' envy on credit.

  39. وكنتَ قدْماً يرى الراؤون كلُّهُم

    رجاء راجيك مالاً حِيزَ مُنتقدا

    And long have all who look on you regarded

    Your petitioner's hope as wealth already secured in cash.