1. مقادير من جفنيك حوّلن حاليا

    فذقت الهوى من بعد ما كنت خاليا

    Fates from your eyelids transformed my state,

    so I tasted love after I had been free of it.

  2. نفذن علىّ اللب بالسهم مرسلا

    وبالسحر مقضيا وبالسيف قاضيا

    They pierced my inmost mind with an arrow loosed,

    with sorcery wrought, and with a sword passing judgment.

  3. وألبستني ثوب الضنى فلبسته

    فأحبِب به ثوبا وإن ضم باليا

    And you clothed me in the garment of wasting sickness, and I wore it.

    How dear a garment it is, though it enfolds one wasting away!

  4. وما الحب إلا طاعة وتجاوز

    وإن اكثروا اوصافه والمعانيا

    Love is nothing but obedience and forbearance,

    however much they multiply its descriptions and meanings.

  5. وما هو إلا العين بالعين تلتقى

    وإن نوّعوا اسبابه والدواعيا

    It is nothing but eye meeting eye,

    however they vary its causes and motives.

  6. وعند الهوى موصفه لا صفاته

    إذا سالوني ما الهوى قلت مابيا

    In love, it is the thing described, not its attributes;

    when they ask me what love is, I say, "What is in me."

  7. وبي رشا قد كان دنياى حاضرا

    فغادرني اشتاق دنياى نائيا

    Within me is a young gazelle who, when present, was my world;

    then went far away, leaving me yearning for my world.

  8. سمحت بروحي في هواه رخيصة

    ومن يهو لا يؤثر على الحب غاليا

    I freely gave my soul for love of him, counting it cheap;

    whoever loves puts nothing precious above love.

  9. ولم تجر الفاظ الواشة برية

    كهذى التي يجرى بها الدمع واشيا

    No telltale's words ever flowed so innocently

    as these with which tears flow, betraying my secret.

  10. اقول لمن ودعت والركب سائر

    برغم فؤادي سائر بفؤاديا

    I say to the one I bade farewell, as the caravan departs,

    departing against my heart's will, bearing my heart away:

  11. امانا لقلبي من جفونك في الهوى

    كفى بالهوى كاسا وراحا وساقيا

    Grant my heart safety from your eyelids in love!

    Love suffices as cup, wine, and cupbearer.

  12. ولا تجعليه بين خديك والنوى

    من الظلم ان يغدو لنارَيك صاليا

    Do not place it between your cheeks and separation;

    it is unjust that it should be scorched by your two fires.

  13. ولي ملك ملء الفؤاد محبب

    جمعت الهوى في مدحه والقوافيا

    And I have a dearly beloved king who fills my heart;

    I joined love and rhymes in praising him.

  14. وما الشعر إلا خطرة او سريرة

    تصوغهما لفظا إلى النفس ساريا

    Poetry is only a passing thought or an inward secret,

    which you shape into words that flow into the soul.

  15. فتى الشرق فت العالمين مكارما

    ومن قبل فت النيران معاليا

    Youth of the East, you surpassed all mankind in noble deeds,

    and long before, you surpassed the heavenly luminaries in lofty rank.

  16. سموت فلم تستبق للمجد غاية

    تسوم السها هذى الخطى والمساعيا

    You rose so high that you left no summit of glory unreached;

    these strides and endeavors aspire to al-Suha.

  17. واطيبُ من قرب الحبيب على رضى

    مقامك في دار السعادة راضيا

    And sweeter than nearness to the beloved in contentment

    is your contented stay in the Abode of Felicity.

  18. وما زلت في ملك الخليفة اولا

    وإن كنت في نادى الخليفة ثانيا

    You have ever been foremost in the caliph's realm,

    though second in the caliph's assembly.

  19. ولو سئل الإسلام ماذا يريده

    لما اختار إلا ان تديما التلاقيا

    Were Islam asked what it wishes,

    it would choose only that you two keep meeting.

  20. فبينكما في الدين ودّ ورحمة

    وفي الملك عهد الله ان لا تجافيا

    For between you two, in religion, lie affection and mercy;

    and in sovereignty, God's covenant that you not grow estranged.

  21. وللودّ دل لا يكدِّر صفوه

    ولكن كثيرا ما يغر الأعاديا

    Affection has its coyness, which does not cloud its clarity,

    but often deceives enemies.

  22. تقبل عزيز المالكين تحية

    تقدّمها مصر وتهدى التهانيا

    Accept, honored one among rulers, a greeting

    that Egypt presents, offering congratulations.

  23. طلعت عليها والضحى في ربوعها

    فيا حسنه يوما بشمسيه زاهيا

    You rose upon her, with morning light in her lands;

    how beautiful a day, radiant with its two suns!

  24. عروس سماء الشرق انت جمالها

    إذا زُيّنت كنت الحلى والمجاليا

    You are the beauty of the bride of the eastern sky;

    when she is adorned, you are her ornaments and splendor.

  25. تغيّب حينا حسنها وشبابها

    وقد ملات منها الغداة النواحيا

    Her beauty and youth were absent for a while,

    and this morning you have filled her every region.

  26. نشرت جلال الملك فيها وعزه

    واعلامه موسومة والعواليا

    You spread royal majesty and might throughout her,

    and its emblazoned banners and tall lances.

  27. واقبلتَ كالدنيا إذا هي اقبلت

    وكالدهر حال الصفو لو دام صافيا

    You came like the world when it turns toward us,

    and like time in its serenity—if only it stayed serene.

  28. تشير بوجه ذى جلال وراحة

    يفيضان في الناس الهدى والأياديا

    You gesture with a majestic face and a palm,

    both pouring guidance and benefactions among the people.

  29. فهذا هو البدر استقرّ به السرى

    وهذا سحاب الجود القى المراسيا

    Here is the full moon with which the night journey has come to rest,

    and here is the cloud of generosity, which has dropped its anchors.