1. للّه اشكو ما اصاب فؤادي

    يوم التفرق من غزال الوادي

    To God I complain of what has befallen my heart,

    on the day of parting from the valley's gazelle.

  2. رشق الفؤاد بسهم بين صائب

    ادمى سويدائي وقد سوادي

    He pierced the heart with an unerring arrow of separation;

    it bloodied my heart's black core and cleft my very being.

  3. ريم ولعت به ففرق هجره

    ما بين عيني في الدجى ورقادي

    A white gazelle I adored—his desertion sundered

    my eyes in the darkness from my slumber.

  4. نسي العهود وخان احكام الوفا

    ان الخيانة حيلة الاوغاد

    He forgot the pledges and betrayed the laws of fidelity;

    betrayal is indeed the stratagem of scoundrels.

  5. ولرب وقت رحت فيه مصاحبا

    فرسي ويطربني طويل نجاد

    And many a time I went forth accompanied by

    my horse, while a long sword-baldric delighted me.

  6. مزقت غلغال العجاج بهمة

    دهشت قروم حواضر وبوادي

    I tore through the dense battle-dust with resolve;

    the chieftains of towns and deserts stood astonished.

  7. وجلبتها شعث النواصي هزها

    طرب النزال لغارة وطراد

    And I brought them with disheveled forelocks, stirred

    by the thrill of combat, for a raid and pursuit.

  8. والخصم بالرحضاء يقطر وجهه

    رهبا وفيّ جلادة الاساد

    And the foe's face dripped with profuse sweat

    in terror, while I possessed the fortitude of lions.

  9. والواخدات تدوس هامات العدى

    حولي وقد نشبوا صفوف جواد

    And the swift-striding mounts trampled the enemies' heads

    around me, as they became entangled in ranks of steeds.

  10. وهناك ما خنت العهود ولم أضع

    لضعاف احبابي حقوق وداد

    And there I never betrayed my pledges, nor neglected

    the rights of affection owed to my frail loved ones.

  11. لاتعجبي يا هندان صدت العلا

    قسراً فاني بضعة الصياد

    Do not marvel, O Hind, if I have captured lofty rank

    by force, for I am of al-Sayyad's flesh.

  12. مولاي عز الدين ذو النسب الذي

    يزهو بزهر بني النبي الهادي

    My lord Izz al-Din bears the lineage that

    glories in the blossoms of the guiding Prophet's sons.

  13. سجدت جباه المكرمات جلالة

    يوم الفخار لجدي السجاد

    The brows of noble deeds bowed down in reverence

    on the day of glory, before my forefather al-Sajjad.

  14. فالفضل اثوابي ورثت قديمها

    وشمائل الآناء في الاولاد

    So excellence is my raiment; I inherited its ancient robes,

    and the [fathers'] traits live on in their children.

  15. للمرتضى فحل الرجال تسلقت

    بي نسبة علوبة الاسناد

    To al-Murtada, champion of men, I was borne aloft

    by a lineage with an [Alid] chain of descent.

  16. نظمت انابيب الرماح فمنبع

    احفادها الامجاد بالاجداد

    The segments of spears were strung together; the wellspring

    of their glorious descendants lies in their forefathers.

  17. أيروم كلب السوق جحد مناقبي

    والشمس ضاحية بكل بلاد

    Does the market's dog seek to deny my merits,

    while the sun shines openly in every land?

  18. والصبح اذ يبدو فجحد ضياءه

    هو عن عمى لاولي البصائر بادي

    And when dawn appears, denial of its radiance

    plainly springs from blindness, to those with insight.

  19. وانا ابن ذي المجد المؤثل احمد ال

    غوث الرفاعي الرفيع النادي

    And I am a son of deep-rooted glory's bearer, Ahmad al-

    Ghawth al-Rifa'i, whose assembly is exalted.

  20. صدر الاعاظم في ذؤابة حيدر

    ليث الكريهة ندبة القصاد

    Foremost among the great in the crest of Haydar's line,

    the lion of battle, invoked by those who seek his aid.

  21. وابى ابو البركات ضيغم غابة

    فيها لحزب الحق اخصب وادي

    And my father, Abu al-Barakat, is a lion of a forest

    where the company of truth finds the most fertile valley.

  22. قوم لعمر الحق هم اهل الوحا

    عز الصحاب وحيرة الحساد

    A people who, by the life of Truth, are people of [revelation],

    the pride of companions and the bewilderment of the envious.

  23. يستغذبون الموت في طرق العلى

    والدين لا لتفخم وفساد

    They find death sweet on the paths of eminence

    and faith, not for pomp and corruption.

  24. ومن المصائب والمصائب جمة

    جعل الزنوج السود كالاسياد

    And among the calamities—and calamities are many—

    is making Black Africans the equals of lords.

  25. يا من يظن بنا القبيح اصبر فقد

    لعبت بعقلك خمرة الاحقاد

    O you who think ill of us, be patient, for

    the wine of rancor has toyed with your reason.

  26. شرف مقامك ان تقاد لفرية

    قد لفقت بلسان باغ عاد

    Hold your station too high to be led into a slander

    concocted by the tongue of an oppressive transgressor.

  27. واحمل على الزهر الكرام خصالهم

    وافطن فان الله بالمرصاد

    And credit the noble blossoms with their own virtues,

    and take heed, for God lies in wait.

  28. وانظر لمن كنزوا النضار بخدعة

    جمعوه ان تفقه دماء عباد

    And look at those who hoarded pure gold through deception:

    what they amassed, if you understand, was the blood of God's servants.

  29. سلبوا حياة الناس وارتفعوا بها

    بغيا على الفضلاء والنقاد

    They robbed people of life and rose by its means,

    oppressing the virtuous and the discerning critics.

  30. والناس لم تشعر ومما سامها

    رصت اياديها على الاكباد

    And the people were unaware; from what they had been made to suffer,

    their hands were pressed against their livers.

  31. وبغوا على الدين المبين فحربوا

    احكامه بجهالة وعناد

    And they assailed the manifest faith, ravaging

    its laws through ignorance and obstinacy.

  32. تعساً لوقت لم تفرق عينه ال

    حولاء بين البيض والاغماد

    Woe to an age whose eye could not distinguish—the

    cross-eyed one—between bright swords and scabbards.

  33. واليك يا هذا الحبيب فانت قد

    قست الحضيض يا شمخ الاطواد

    And to you, O beloved one: you have indeed

    measured the lowlands, O lofty mountain peaks.

  34. نازعت فيّ المجد عن خطاء ولم

    تسلك طريق السادة الامجاد

    You disputed my glory in error, and did not

    follow the path of the illustrious masters.

  35. وانا امروءٌ قد لازمتني شيمتي

    كتلازم الارواح للاجساد

    And I am a man whose character has clung to me

    as souls cling to bodies.

  36. هون عليك فان مأسور الهوى

    غيري ومجدي قاهر لمرادي

    Be at ease, for the captive of passion

    is not I; my glory overpowers my desire.

  37. شيم ابو الحسنين قلد آله

    افلاذها ممتدة الامداد

    Virtues—Abu al-Hasanayn adorned his family

    with portions of them, their bounty ever extending.

  38. ولنحن منه عصائب ما سلسلت

    الا جوادا جاء بعد جواد

    And indeed we are bands sprung from him, with none linked in our chain

    save a generous man coming after a generous man.

  39. كشفوا ظلام الكون مذ سطعوا به

    فكأنهم وفدوا على ميعاد

    They dispelled the world's darkness when they shone within it,

    as though they arrived as a delegation at an appointed hour.

  40. ومن الوفاء أردد الشكوى الي

    ك وانها لتلذ بالترداد

    And out of fidelity I repeat my complaint to

    you; indeed, it is sweet in its repetition.

  41. سل حب عن مرضبي لاجلك واكفني

    بحياة عينك رقة العواد

    Ask, beloved, about my [illness] for your sake, and spare me—

    by the life of your eye—the pity of sickbed visitors.