1. وَأَديبَةٍ إِختَرتُها عَرَبِيَّةً

    تُعزى إِلى الجَدِّ الكَريمِ وَتَنتَمي

    And I chose a cultivated woman, an Arab,

    her ancestry traced to noble stock, from which she descends;

  2. مَحجوبَةٌ لَم تَبتَذِل أَمّارَةٌ

    لَم تَأتَمِر مَخدومَةٌ لَم تَخدِمِ

    secluded, never making common property of her secrets,

    taking no orders—waited upon, she never served.

  3. لَو لَم يَكُن لي فيكِ إِلّا أَنَّني

    بِكِ قَد غُنيتِ عَنِ اِرتِكابِ المَحرَمِ

    If I had nothing in you but this alone—that I,

    through you, have been spared committing the forbidden—

  4. وَلَقَد نَزَلتِ فَلا تَظُنّي غَيرَهُ

    مِنّي بِمَنزِلَةِ المُحِبِّ المُكرَمِ

    you have indeed taken—think nothing otherwise—

    with me the place of a lover held in honor.