1. شابَ رأسي ولات حينَ مَشيبِ

    وعجيبُ الزمان غَيْرُ عَجِيبِ

    My head turned gray before the time for graying;

    Yet time's strangeness is nothing strange.

  2. فاجعلي موضعَ التعجُّب من شَيْ

    بِيَ عُجباً بفَرْعك الغِرْبيبِ

    So turn your wonder at my graying

    Into admiration for your raven-black tresses.

  3. قد يشيبُ الفتى وليس عجيباً

    أن يُرى النورُ في القضيب الرطيبِ

    A young man may turn gray; it is no marvel

    That blossoms appear upon a tender branch.

  4. ساءها أنْ رأتْ حبيباً إليها

    ضاحكَ الرأسِ عن مفَارقَ شِيبِ

    It distressed her to see one dear to her

    His head smiling through white-haired partings.

  5. فدَعَتْهُ إلى الخُضاب وقالت

    إنَّ دفنَ المَعيبِ غيرُ معيبِ

    She urged him to dye it, saying:

    "Burying a blemish is no blemish."

  6. خَضَبت رأسَهُ فبات بتَبْري

    حٍ وأضحى فظلَّ في تأنيبِ

    She dyed his head; he spent the night in torment,

    And morning came: he spent the day reproached.

  7. ليس ينفكُّ من مَلامة زارٍ

    قائلٍ بعد نظرتَيْ مُستريبِ

    He is never free from a fault-finder's blame,

    Who says, after two suspicious glances:

  8. ضلّةً ضلّةً لمن وعَظَتْهُ

    غِيَرُ الدهر وهْو غيرُ مُنيبِ

    "Perdition, perdition to one admonished

    By time's reversals, yet unrepentant!

  9. يدَّري غِرَّةَ الظباء مُريغاً

    صَيْدَ وحْشيِّها وصَيْدَ الرَّبيبِ

    He stalks unsuspecting gazelles, seeking

    To catch both their wild ones and the tame.

  10. مُولَعاً موزَعاً بها الدهر يرْمي

    ها بسهم الخضاب غيرَ مصيبِ

    Infatuated, obsessed with them forever, he shoots

    At them with hair dye's arrow, never hitting.

  11. عاجزٌ واهنُ القُوى يتعاطى

    صبغةَ اللَّه في قناع المشيبِـ

    Helpless, feeble in strength, he attempts

    God's coloring upon the covering of gray hair.

  12. ـرامَ إعجابَ كل بيضاءَ خود

    بسواد الخضاب ذي التعجيبِ

    He sought the admiration of every fair young beauty

    With hair dye's astonishing blackness.

  13. فتضاحكْنَ هازئاتٍ وماذا

    يُونِقُ البِيضَ من سوادٍ جَليبِ

    They laughed in mockery; and what

    In borrowed blackness pleases fair women?

  14. يا حليفَ الخضاب لا تخدع النف

    س فما أنت للصِّبا بنسيبِ

    O ally of hair dye, do not deceive

    Yourself: you have no kinship with youth.

  15. ليس يجدي الخضابُ شيئاً من النفـ

    ـع سوى أنه حِدادُ كئيبِ

    Hair dye brings not the least

    Benefit, save a sorrowful man's mourning.

  16. فاتَّخذْهُ على الشباب حداداً

    وابكِ فيه بعَبْرة ونَحيبِ

    Then wear it as mourning for youth,

    And weep in it with tears and sobbing."

  17. وفتاةٍ رأت خضابي فقالت

    عَزَّ دَاءُ المشيب طِبَّ الطبيبِ

    A maiden saw my dyed hair and said:

    "The disease of graying has defied the physician's art."

  18. خاضبُ الشيب في بياض مُبينٍ

    حين يبدو وفي سوادٍ مريبِ

    The dyer of gray hair is in revealing whiteness

    When it shows, and in suspicious blackness otherwise.

  19. يالها من غَريرة ذاتِ عينٍ

    غيرِ مغرورة بشيبٍ خَضيبِ

    What an innocent maiden, possessing an eye

    Not deceived by dyed gray hair!

  20. وحقيقٌ لعورة الشيب أن تبـ

    ـدُوَ للغِرِّ غيرِ ذي التدريبِ

    Indeed, the blemish of gray hair deserves to appear

    Even to the naive and inexperienced.

  21. لهفَ نفسي على القناع الذي مَحـ

    ـحَ وأُعقِبْتُ منه شرَّ عَقيبِ

    Alas for my covering, which wore

    Away, leaving me the worst replacement!

  22. مَنَعَ العينَ أن تَقرَّ وقرَّت

    عينُ واشٍ بنا وعينُ رقيبِ

    It kept my eye from joy, while delighted

    Were the eyes of our talebearer and watcher.

  23. شانَ ديباجةَ الشبابِ وأزرى

    بقوامٍ له ولينِ عسيبِ

    It marred youth's brocade and disparaged

    Its stature and palm-stalk suppleness.

  24. نفَّر الحِلْمَ ثم ثنَّى فأمسى

    خَبَّبَ العِرْسَ أيَّما تخبيبِ

    It drove away composure, then struck again,

    Utterly turning the wife against her husband.

  25. شَعَرٌ ميتٌ لذي وَطَرٍ حيـ

    ـيٍ كنارِ الحريق ذات اللهيبِـ

    Dead hair on one whose longing is alive,

    Like a raging fire full of flame;

  26. في قناعٍ من المشيبِ لَبيسٍ

    ـورداءٍ من الشباب قشيبِ

    In a worn covering of gray hair,

    And a fresh robe of youth.

  27. وأخو الشيب واللُّبانة في البِيـ

    ـض بحالٍ كقَتْلة التغبيبِ

    The gray-haired man who longs for fair women

    Is like one killed by watering only at intervals.

  28. مَعهُ صبوةُ الفتى وعليه

    صَرفة الشيخ فهْو في تعذيبِ

    Youth's passion is with him, while upon him

    Lies an old man's rejection: he is tormented.

  29. يُطَّبَى للصِّبا فيُدْعى مجيباً

    وهو يدعو وما لَه من مجيبِ

    He is lured to youthful passion and answers when called,

    Yet when he calls, no one answers.

  30. ليس تنقادُ غادةٌ لهواهُ

    وهو ينقادُ كانقيادِ الجَنيبِ

    No lovely maiden yields to his desire,

    Yet he follows like a horse led alongside.

  31. ظلمتني الخطوبُ حتى كأني

    ليس بيني وبينها من حَسيبِ

    Calamities wronged me until it seemed

    There was no arbiter between them and me.

  32. سلبتْني سوادَ رأسِي ولكن

    عوّضتْني رياشَ كلِّ سليبِ

    They robbed me of my head's blackness, but

    Repaid me with the finery of all the despoiled.

  33. عوّضتني أخا المعالي عليّاً

    عِوَضٌ فيه سلوة للحَريبِ

    They gave me Ali, brother to lofty virtues,

    A recompense that consoles the dispossessed.

  34. خُرَّهِيٌّ من الملوك أديبٌ

    لم يزل ملجأً لكل أديبِ

    A Khurrahi of royal stock, a man of letters,

    Always a refuge for every man of letters.

  35. يستغيثُ اللهيفُ منه بمدعوْ

    وٍ لدى كل كَربةٍ مستجيبِ

    The distressed man calls upon him for help,

    Finding an answerer in every affliction.

  36. أَرْيَحيٌّ له إذا جَمَدَ الكز

    زُ بَنانٌ تذوبُ للمستذيبِ

    Openhanded: when the miser freezes,

    He has fingers that melt for those asking them to.

  37. يتلقَّى المُدفَّعينَ عن الأبـ

    ـواب بالبشر منه والترحيبِ

    He greets those driven away from doors

    With a cheerful face and welcome.

  38. لو أبى الراغبون يوماً نداهُ

    لدعاهُمْ إليه بالترهيبِ

    If seekers ever refused his generosity,

    He would summon them to it with threats.

  39. رُبَّ أُكرومةٍ له لم تَخَلْها

    قبلَهُ في الطباع والتركيبِ

    Many a noble quality he has, unimagined

    Before him in anyone's nature or constitution.

  40. غَرَّبتهُ الخلائقُ الزُّهْرُ في النا

    س وما أوحشتْهُ بالتغريبِ

    His radiant qualities made him a stranger among men,

    Yet that estrangement never made him lonely.

  41. يَهَبُ النائلَ الجزيلَ مُعيراً

    طَرفَهُ الأرضَ ناكتاً بالقضيبِ

    He bestows abundant gifts, lending

    His gaze to the ground and tapping it with a stick.

  42. يتَّقي نظرة المُدلِّ بجدوا

    هُ ويَعْتَدُّها من التثريبِ

    He shuns the look of one vaunting his generosity,

    And counts such a look as reproach,

  43. بعد بشرٍ مُبَشِّرٍ سائليه

    بأمان لهم من التخييبِ

    After a bright face has promised his petitioners

    Assurance that they will not be disappointed.

  44. حَبّبَتْ كفُّه السؤالَ إلى النا

    س جميعاً وكان غير حبيبِ

    His hand made asking dear to people

    All alike, though once it was unloved.

  45. ما سعى والسعاةُ للمجد إلا

    سبقَ المُحْضِرينَ بالتقريبِ

    Whenever he walks with those seeking glory,

    He beats the gallopers at a canter.

  46. لو جرى والرياحُ شأْواً لأَضحى

    جريُها عند جريه كالدَّبيبِ

    Were he to race the winds over a course,

    Their running beside his would seem a crawl.

  47. من رآه رأى شواهد تُغْني

    عن سماعِ الثناء والتجريبِ

    Whoever sees him sees evidence dispensing

    With hearing praise or putting him to the test.

  48. فيه من وجهه دليلٌ عليه

    مُخبِرٌ عن ضَريبةٍ ذات طيبِ

    His face itself bears testimony to him,

    Telling of a nature filled with goodness.

  49. حَكم اللَّهُ بالعلا لعَليٍّ

    وبحق النجيب وابن النجيبِ

    God decreed exaltation for Ali,

    And rightly: a noble man, son of a noble man.

  50. فَلْيَمُتْ حاسدوه همّاً وغمّاً

    ما لحُكْم الإله منْ تعقيبِ

    Let his enviers die of worry and sorrow:

    God's judgment admits no overturning.

  51. جِذْلُ سلطانِه المحكَّك في الخَطْـ

    ـب وعَذْقُ الجُناة ذو الترجيبِ

    His sovereign's well-worn rubbing-post in crisis,

    The fruit-gatherers' palm, carefully propped;

  52. والنصيحُ الصريحُ نُصحاً إذا ما

    جمعوا بين رائبٍ وحليبِ

    The counselor whose counsel is pure when others

    Mix curdled milk with fresh.

  53. والذي رأيُهُ لأسلحة الأب

    طالِ مثلُ الصِّقال والتذريبِ

    His judgment serves the weapons of heroes

    Like polishing and sharpening.

  54. عنه تمضي ولو تعدّته أضحت

    من كليلٍ مُفَلَّلٍ وخَشيبِ

    Through him they pierce; were they to bypass him,

    They would be blunt, notched, and unpolished.

  55. مِدْرَهُ الدين والخلافة ذو النص

    ح عن الحَوْزتين والتذبيبِ

    Champion of religion and the caliphate, devoted

    To counseling and defending both domains.

  56. فَلَّ بالحجة الخُصومَ وبالكي

    د زُحوفَ العِدا ذوي التأليبِ

    With argument he routed adversaries, and with stratagem

    The armies of enemies who rallied against him.

  57. رُبَّ مَغنىً لحزب إبليسَ أخلا

    هُ فأمسى وما به مِنْ عَريبِ

    Many a dwelling of Iblis's faction he emptied,

    Leaving not a single soul within.

  58. دَمَّرتْ أهلَهُ مكائدُ كانت

    لأسودِ الطغاةِ كالتقشيبِـ

    Stratagems destroyed its people, proving

    Like poison to the lions among tyrants.

  59. ـرتّبتهُ الملوكُ مرتبةَ المِدْ

    رَهِ لا مُخطئين في الترتيبِ

    Kings assigned him the champion's station,

    Making no mistake in that appointment.

  60. قَيِّمٌ قوَّمَ الأمورَ فعادتْ

    قيِّماتٍ به من التحنيبِ

    A steward who straightened affairs, restoring them

    Through him to uprightness from their crooked state.

  61. واستناب الخطوب حتى أنابت

    ربَّما لا تُنيبُ للمستنيبِ

    He called calamities to obedience until they obeyed,

    Though sometimes they obey no such caller.

  62. عندَهُ للثَّأَي طِبابٌ من التد

    بير يَعْيا به ذوو التطبيبِ

    For every rent he has patches of management

    That leave other healers at a loss.

  63. لَوْذعيٌّ له فؤادٌ ذكيٌّ

    ماله في ذكائه من ضَريبِ

    Quick-witted, possessing a keen heart,

    With no equal in its intelligence.

  64. يَقظٌ في الهَناتِ ذو حركات

    لسكون القلوب ذاتِ الوجيبِ

    Alert to little troubles, he moves

    To still the hearts that throb.

  65. ألمَعِيٌّ يرى بأولِ ظنٍّ

    آخرَ الأمر من وراء المغيبِ

    Perceptive, he sees at the first surmise

    An affair's outcome beyond the unseen.

  66. لا يُرَوِّي لا يُقَلِّبُ كفّاً

    وأكُفُّ الرجالِ في تقليبِ

    He does not ponder or turn his hand,

    While other men's hands turn in perplexity.

  67. يُدرِكُ الطِّلْبَ بالبديهة دون ال

    عَقْبِ قبل التصعيد والتصويبِ

    He grasps the goal at once, without later review,

    Before looking upward and downward.

  68. حازمُ الرأي ليس عن طول تجريـ

    ـبٍ لبيبٌ وليس عن تلبيبِ

    Firm in judgment, not through long experience;

    Wise, not through being taught wisdom.

  69. وأريبٌ فإنْ مُريغو نَداه

    خادَعُوه رأيتَ غيرَ أريبِ

    And shrewd; yet if seekers of his bounty

    Trick him, you see a man who seems unshrewd.

  70. يتغابَى لهم وليس لمُوقٍ

    بل لِلُبٍّ يفوقُ لبَّ اللبيبِ

    He feigns ignorance for them, not from stupidity,

    But from an intellect surpassing the wise man's.

  71. ثابتُ الحالِ في الزلازل مُنْها

    لٌ لسُؤّالهِ انهيالَ الكثيبِ

    Steady amid upheavals, yet pouring forth

    For his petitioners like a cascading dune.

  72. ليِّنٌ عِطفُه فإنْ رِيمَ منه

    مَكْسرَ العود كان جِدَّ صليبِ

    His side is gentle; but if anyone seeks

    To break that wood, it proves exceedingly hard.

  73. مَفْزعٌ للرُّعاةِ مرعىً خصيبٌ

    لرعاياهُمُ وفوق الخصيبِ

    A refuge for shepherds, a fertile pasture

    For their flocks—and more than fertile.

  74. في حِجاهُ وفي نداهُ أمانَا

    نِ من الخوف والزمانِ الجديبِ

    In his wisdom and generosity lie two safeguards

    Against fear and barren times.

  75. أحسنتْ وصفَهُ مساعيهِ حتى

    أفحمتْ كلَّ شاعرٍ وخطيبِ

    His deeds described him so well that

    They silenced every poet and orator.

  76. بل حَذَوا حَذْوَها فراحوا يريحو

    ن من القولِ كلَّ معنى غريبِ

    Rather, they followed their lead and brought forth

    Every rare meaning from speech.

  77. قد بلونا خلاله فَحمِدْنا

    غَيْبَها حمدَ ذائقٍ مُستطيبِ

    We have tested his qualities and praised

    Their hidden depths like a taster savoring sweetness.

  78. فانتجعنا به الحيا غيرَ ذي الإقْ

    لاعِ والبحرَ غيرَ ذي التنضيبِ

    We sought in him rain that never

    Ceases, and an ocean never drained.

  79. ما زجرنا وقد صرفنا إليه

    أوجُهَ العِيسِ بارحاً ذا نعيبِ

    We scared off no bird as we turned toward him

    Our pale camels' faces—no ill-omened cawer.

  80. يَمَّمَتْه بنا المطايا فأفْضَتْ

    من فضاءٍ إلى فضاءٍ رحيبِ

    Our mounts carried us toward him, emerging

    From open space into a spacious expanse:

  81. خُلُقٌ منه واسعٌ وفِناءٌ

    لم يَرُعْها به هديرُ كليبِ

    His expansive character and courtyard,

    Where no little dog's growling frightened them.

  82. طاب لليَعْملاتِ إذ يَمَّمتْهُ

    وصْلُهُنَّ البكورَ بالتأويبِ

    The strong she-camels, heading toward him, enjoyed

    Joining early travel to evening travel.

  83. لم يكن خَفْضُها أحبَّ إليها

    من رسيم إليه بعد خبيبِ

    Their rest was no dearer to them

    Than a brisk trot toward him after an easy trot,

  84. ثِقةً أنَّهُنَّ يلقينَ مرعىً

    فيه نَيٌّ لكل نِضْوٍ شَزيبِ

    Confident they would find pasture

    To fatten every worn-out, lean camel.

  85. أيُّهذا المُهيبُ بي وبشعري

    لستُ ممن يُجيب كلَّ مُهيبِ

    You who summon me and my poetry,

    I am not one who answers every caller.

  86. رفعَ اللّه رغبتي عن عطايا

    كَ وما لِلعُقاب والعندليبِ

    God raised my desire above your gifts;

    What has the eagle to do with the nightingale?

  87. ثَوَّبَتْ بي إلى عليٍّ معالي

    هِ فلبَّيتُ أوّل التثويبِ

    Ali's lofty deeds called me to him,

    And I answered their first summons.

  88. مَاجِدٌ حاربَ الحوادثَ دوني

    بنَدى حاتمٍ وبأسِ شَبيبِ

    A glorious man who fought calamities for me

    With Hatim's generosity and Shabib's might.

  89. ليَ في جاههِ مآربُ كانت

    لابنِ عمرانَ في عصاهُ الشعيبِ

    In his standing I find uses such as

    The son of Imran found in his branching staff.

  90. وإذا حزَّ لي منَ المال عُضْواً

    أرَّب العضوَ أيَّما تأريبِ

    And when he carves me a limb from his wealth,

    He makes that limb abundantly complete.

  91. أصبح الباذلَ المسبِّبَ لا زا

    ل مَليَّاً بالبذلِ والتسبيبِ

    He became the giver and facilitator; may he ever

    Remain able to give and bring gifts about.

  92. ساجلَتْ جاهَهُ سحائبُ عُرفٍ

    من يَمينَيْهِ دائماتُ الصَّبيبِ

    Clouds of kindness vied with his standing,

    Pouring continually from his two right hands.

  93. قلت إذ جاد باللُّهى قبل سَعي

    صادقٍ منه غيرِ ذي تكذيبِ

    I said, when he gave riches before any endeavor,

    An endeavor of his, sincere and never belied:

  94. يا رِشاءً تَخْضَلُّ منه يد الما

    تحِ قبل انغماسِهِ في القليبِ

    "O well-rope that wets the drawer's hand

    Before it is plunged into the well!

  95. بَضَّ لي من نداكَ قبل استقائي

    بكَ ريِّي وفَضْلَةٌ للشريبِ

    Before I drew water, your bounty flowed to me:

    My fill through you, and a surplus for my fellow drinker.

  96. ذاك شيءٌ من الرِّشاءِ غريبٌ

    يا ابنَ يحيى ومنك غيرُ غريبِ

    That is something strange in a well-rope,

    O son of Yahya, but nothing strange in you.

  97. ما أُراني إذا خبطتُ بدَلْوي

    جُمَّةَ الماءِ بالقليل النصيبِ

    I do not think, when I strike with my bucket

    The gathered water, that my share will be small.

  98. لا لَعَمْري وكيف ذاك وقبل الـ

    ـمتْحِ روَّيْتَني بسَجْلٍ رغيبِ

    No, by my life! How could it, when before drawing

    You quenched me with a capacious bucket?

  99. بل أُراني هناك لا شك أغدو

    ويَدي منكَ ذاتُ بطنٍ عشيبِ

    Rather, I see myself departing, beyond doubt,

    My hand through you a lush and grassy hollow."

  100. بأبي أنتَ من جليلٍ مَهيبٍ

    مَطْلِبُ العُرْفِ منه غيرُ مهيبِ

    May my father ransom you, a great and awe-inspiring man,

    From whom seeking kindness inspires no fear.

  101. طنَّبَ المجدَ بالمكارم والبيـ

    ـت بنصبِ العماد والتطنيبِ

    He pitched glory with noble deeds, and his tent

    By raising its pole and fastening its ropes.

  102. من يُلَقَّبْ فإن أسماءك الأس

    ماءُ يشغلنَ موضعَ التلقيبِ

    Let others bear titles: your names themselves

    Occupy the place of honorifics,

  103. من جوادٍ وماجدٍ وكريمٍ

    وزعيمٍ وسيِّدٍ ونقيبِ

    Such as generous, glorious, and noble,

    Leader, master, and chief.

  104. تَبَّ من يرتجي لَحَاقك في المجـ

    ـدِ وما مرتجيكَ في تتبيبِ

    Perish whoever hopes to catch you in glory;

    Yet whoever hopes in you meets no ruin.

  105. أعجز الطالبيكَ شأوٌ بعيدٌ

    لكَ أدركْتَهُ بعُرفٍ قريبِ

    Your distant course defeated those pursuing you;

    You attained it through kindness near at hand.

  106. هاكها مِدحةً يُغنِّي بها الرُّكْ

    بانُ ما أرزمَتْ روائمُ نيبِ

    Take this praise-song, which riders will sing

    As long as fond old she-camels low.

  107. نَظمَ الفكرُ دُرهَّا غير مثقو

    بٍ إذا الدُّر شِينَ بالتشعيبِ

    Thought strung its pearls without piercing them,

    For pearls are marred by drilling.

  108. لم يَعِبْها سوى قوافٍ تشاغل

    نَ عن المدح فيك بالتشبيبِ

    Nothing flawed it but rhymes that strayed

    From praising you into the love prelude.

  109. ولراجيكَ قبلها كلماتٌ

    هُذِّبتْ فيك أَيَّما تهذيبِ

    Your hopeful petitioner has earlier verses,

    Polished about you most thoroughly.

  110. يُطرِبُ السامعينَ أيسرُ ما في

    ها وإن أنشدت بلا تطريبِ

    Their simplest passages delight listeners,

    Even when recited without musical embellishment.

  111. سَوَّدتْ فيك كلَّ بيضاء تسوي

    داً تراه العقولُ كالتذهيبِ

    For you they blackened every white page,

    A blackening minds perceive as gilding.

  112. لو يُناغِي بَيانُها العُجْمَ يوماً

    عرَّبَ العُجمَ أيَّما تعريبِ

    Were their eloquence to speak one day to non-Arabs,

    It would make them thoroughly Arab in speech.

  113. وهْي مما أفاد تأديبُك الفا

    ضلُ واهاً لذاك من تأديبِ

    They are among the fruits of your excellent instruction;

    Ah, what instruction that was!

  114. كم ثواب أَثَبْتَنيه عليها

    كنتَ أولى به من المستثيبِ

    How many rewards you gave me for them,

    Though you deserved them more than the reward-seeker,

  115. مُنعِماً نُعْمَيَيْنِ نُعمى مفيدٍ

    أدباً نافعاً ونُعمى مثيبِ

    Bestowing two favors: the favor of teaching

    Useful literature, and the favor of rewarding.

  116. منك جاءت إليك يحدو بها الود

    دُ على رغبةٍ بلا ترغيبِ

    From you they came to you, driven by affection,

    With desire that needed no inducement.