1. قَضَى عمرَهُ في الهجرِ شوقاً إلى الوصلِ

    وأَبلاهُ من ذكرى الأَحبَّةِ ما يبلي

    He spent his life in estrangement, longing for union.

    And remembrance of loved ones wore him down with its wasting power.

  2. وكان خلِّي القلبِ من لوعةِ الهوى

    فأَصبحَ من بَرْحِ الصّبابةِ في شغلِ

    His heart had once been free of love's anguish,

    But the torment of longing left him preoccupied.

  3. وأَطربَهُ اللاحي بذكرِ حبيبهِ

    فآلى عليهِ أَن يَزيدَ من العذلِ

    The reproacher stirred him by mentioning his beloved,

    So he adjured him to add yet more reproach.

  4. وإنّ مريرَ العيشِ يحلو بذكركمْ

    وهل لمريرِ العيشِ غيريَ مُسْتَحْلِ

    Indeed, life's bitterness grows sweet at your remembrance,

    And who but I finds life's bitterness sweet?

  5. وصالكم الدُّنيا وهجركم الرَّدى

    وقربكُمُ عزِّي وبُعدكمُ ذُلِّي

    Union with you is all the world; estrangement from you is death.

    Your nearness is my honor; your distance, my humiliation.

  6. ومستحسنٌ حفظ الودادِ فراقبوا

    لأَجلِ اقتناء الحمدِ عهديَ لا أَجْلي

    Preserving affection is praiseworthy, so honor

    My covenant to earn praise, not for my sake.

  7. نَفى الصَّبرَ من قلبِ المتيَّمِ خبلُهُ

    وكيف ثباتُ القلبِ في مسكنِ الخبلِ

    His madness drove patience from the love-stricken heart.

    How can a heart remain steadfast in madness's dwelling?

  8. فقلبيَ بينَ الشّوقِ والصبرِ واقفٌ

    على جَدَدٍ بينَ الولايةِ والعزلِ

    My heart stands between longing and patience,

    On firm ground between investiture and dismissal.

  9. إذا ما بقاءٌ المرءِ كان بوصلِ مَنْ

    يحبُّ فإنَّ الهجرَ نوعٌ من القتلِ

    If a man's survival depends on union with the one

    He loves, then estrangement is a kind of killing.

  10. وهل نافعي عذلٌ ونصحٌ على الهوى

    وعذليَ يُغري بي ونصحيَ لا يسلي

    Can reproach or counsel help me against passion,

    When reproaching me incites it against me, and advising me brings no solace?

  11. وما كنتُ مفتونَ الفؤادِ وإنَّما

    عليَّ فتوني دلَّه فاتنُ اللِ

    My heart had not been bewitched; rather,

    My infatuation came upon me through a maddening beguiler of [unclear].

  12. نحولي ممَّن شدَّ عَقْدَ نطاقهِ

    على ناحلٍ واهٍ من الخصر منحل

    My wasting comes from one who tightened his sash's knot

    Around a slender, feeble, yielding waist.

  13. إذا رامَ للصدِّ القيامَ أَبتْ له

    روادفه إلاَّ القيامَ على وصلي

    When he seeks to rise and turn away,

    His full buttocks allow only standing by our union.

  14. وكيف تجلّى في هَزيعٍ من الدُّجى

    وغصنٍ تثنّى فوق حقْفٍ من الرَّمل

    And how he shone forth in a watch of darkness,

    A branch swaying above a dune of sand!

  15. وناظرُهُ نشوانُ لا من سلافةٍ

    سقيمٌ بلا سقمٍ كحيلُ بلا كحلِ

    His eye is intoxicated, though not with choice wine,

    Sick without sickness, dark-lined without kohl.

  16. وأَشهدُ أنَّ الحسنَ ما خطَّ خطّهُ

    بعارضهِ والسِّحرُ ما طرفه يُملي

    I testify that beauty is the writing traced

    Upon his cheek, and magic is what his glance dictates.

  17. وما لحظُهُ إلاّ عُقارٌ فإنَّني

    وجدتُ هوى عينيهِ يذهبُ بالعقلِ

    His glance is nothing but potent wine, for I

    Found that love of his eyes carries reason away.

  18. سقى اللّهُ بالزَّوراءِ قصرَ استقامتي

    لإنجازهِ الوعدَ المصونَ من المَطلِ

    May God water the palace where I dwelt in al-Zawra,

    For fulfilling its promise, kept free of delay,

  19. غداةَ نضوتُ الجد أَبلى جديده

    ولا عيشَ إلا هزَّ عطفي إلى الهزلِ

    On the morning I cast off seriousness, its newness worn away;

    And life was only what swayed my side toward mirth.

  20. أُنامُ غرَّاً من أَفاضلِ أَهلها

    كراماً وكلُّ حليةُ الزَّمنِ العطلِ

    I am lulled to sleep, unsuspecting, among its finest inhabitants,

    Noble men, each an ornament to an unadorned age;

  21. وإخوانُ صدقٍ للصداقةِ بيننا

    صفاءُ صدورٍ طهَّروها من الغلِّ

    And true brothers: our friendship

    Rests on pure hearts they have cleansed of rancor.

  22. ندارسُ آي العقلِ من سورةِ الهوى

    ونفهمُ معنى العلمِ من صورةِ الجهلِ

    We study the verses of reason in the chapter of love,

    And understand the meaning of knowledge in the image of ignorance.

  23. وها أنَا قد أًصبحتُ بالشّامِ شائماً

    سنا بارقٍ من غيرِ وَبْلٍ ولا كلِّ

    And here I am now in al-Sham, watching

    A lightning flash's radiance, with neither downpour nor weariness.

  24. يُؤهِّلُني للبعدِ من كلِّ حظوة

    ويحرمني اللذاتِ بُعدي من الأَهلِ

    It destines me to be far from every favor,

    And my distance from my family denies me pleasures.

  25. ولا صاحبٌ عندي أُحاولُ نصرَهُ

    بتخفيفِ ما يعروهُ من فادح الثُّقلِ

    Nor have I a companion I might try to help

    By easing the crushing burden that afflicts him.

  26. وإنِّي أَرى عينَ الخصاصةِ ثروتي

    إذا عجزتْ عن سَدِّها خَلّةُ الخلِّ

    I regard my wealth as poverty itself

    If my friend's need is beyond its power to fill.

  27. أُلاينُ حُسّادي الأَشدّاءَ رقبةً

    لهم وأُعاني الصّعبَ بالخُلُقِ السّهلِ

    I placate my fierce enviers out of apprehension

    Of them, and meet harshness with an easy temper.

  28. وأُبقي مداراةَ اللئيمِ لعلّهُ

    يبيتُ ولا يطوي الضَّميرَ على دغلِ

    I continue appeasing the base man, hoping

    He passes the night without concealing malice in his heart.

  29. سوى السُّوءِ لا تجدي مداراة حاسدي

    كما يستفادُ السُّمُّ من صلةِ الصِّلِّ

    Appeasing my envier yields nothing but evil,

    As poison is obtained through contact with a serpent.

  30. ومن نقصِ هري قصد فضلي بصرفهِ

    ليرخصَ منه ما من الحقِّ أَن يغلي

    And a failing of [unclear] is its assault on my worth through its reversals,

    To cheapen what rightly ought to be prized.

  31. وإنّي من العلياءِ في الكنفِ الذي

    به حظُّ فضلي كلَّما انحطَّ يستعلي

    I dwell in a shelter of lofty eminence

    Where my merit's share rises higher whenever it sinks.

  32. وماذا بأَرضِ الشّامِ أَبغي تَعسفاً

    ولا ناقتي فيها تُرامُ ولا رحلي

    And why should I seek hardship in the land of al-Sham,

    When neither my camel nor my saddle is targeted there?

  33. ولي حرمٌ منه الأَفاضلُ في حمى

    من الصّونِ بالمعروفِ بالبذلِ في حِلِّ

    I have a sanctuary from him, where the worthy find refuge

    In protective kindness, while giving remains unrestricted.

  34. أَبى الفضلَ فيه أَن يكونَ كمالُهُ

    لغيرِ كمال الدِّينِ أَعني أَبا الفضلِ

    Excellence refused to let its perfection in him belong

    To anyone but Kamal al-Din—I mean Abu al-Fadl.

  35. رحيبُ النّوادي والنّدى واسعُ الذَّرا

    رفيعُ الذُّرا عالي السّنا وافرُ الظِّلِّ

    His assemblies and bounty are ample, his shelter broad,

    His summits lofty, his radiance high, his shade abundant.

  36. نداه حيا المعروف قد شمل الورى

    عموماً وغيثُ الخصبِ شُرِّدَ بالمحلِ

    His bounty, the life-giving rain of kindness, has embraced all creation

    Universally, while fertility's rain is driven away by drought.

  37. إذا خفيت سُبْلُ الكرام فإنّه

    كريمُ المساعي بينهم واضحُ السُّبلِ

    When the paths of generous men are hidden,

    His endeavors are noble among them, his paths clear.

  38. وفي الجدب إنْ جادتْ سماهُ سماحةً

    بدا زَهَرُ الإسعافِ في الأَمل العقلِ

    In drought, if his sky showers generosity,

    Flowers of succor bloom amid fettered hopes.

  39. تساوى له الإعلانُ والسرُّ في العلى

    فخلوتُهُ ملء المهابةِ كالحفلِ

    In nobility, his public and private lives are alike;

    His solitude is filled with awe, like an assembly.

  40. فتى السنّ إلاّ أَنَّ للملكِ قوةً

    بما هو يستهديهِ من رأْيهِ الكهلِ

    A youth in years, yet kingship gains strength

    From the guidance it seeks in his mature judgment.

  41. من القوم أَمّا المالُ منهم فعرضةُ ال

    سّماحِ وأَمّا العِرضُ منهم فللبخلِ

    He is of a people whose wealth is exposed to

    Generosity, while their honor is jealously guarded.

  42. أَضاءَ زَمان المستضيء إمامنا

    بآرائهِ الميمونةِ العقدِ والحلِّ

    He lit up the age of al-Mustadi', our imam,

    With his auspicious counsel in binding and unbinding.

  43. فمن رأيه ما يطلعُ السعدُ من سنا

    ومن عزمهِ ما يطبعُ النّصر من نصلِ

    From his counsel comes the radiance that good fortune brings forth,

    And from his resolve, the blade that victory forges.

  44. وما روضةٌ غناء مرهوبة الثّرى

    مُضَوَّعة الأَسحارِ طَيِّبة الفصل

    No luxuriant garden, with awe-inspiring soil,

    Fragrant at dawn, delightful in season,

  45. شمائلُها طابتْ وطابَ شمالُها

    سقتها شَمُولاً عند مجتمعِ الشّملِ

    Its qualities lovely, and lovely its north wind,

    Which poured it wine when the company came together;

  46. تُردَّدُ أَنفاسَ النَّسيمِ عليلةً

    عليها فيشفي مرُّها كلَّ معتلِّ

    The breeze's frail breaths waft back and forth

    Across it, their passing curing everyone who ails;

  47. تهبُّ الصِّبا فيها بليلٍ بليلةً

    على زهر من عبرة الطلِّ مبتلِّ

    The east wind blows through it by night, moisture-laden,

    Over blossoms wet with dew's tears;

  48. لها من ثغورِ الأُقحوانِ تبسّمٌ

    وتنظرُ عن أَحداقِ نرجسها النُّجلِ

    It smiles with the mouths of daisies

    And gazes through the wide eyes of its narcissi;

  49. كأَنَّ نُعاماها تبلّغُ نحونا

    تحايا قرأَناها على أَلسنِ الرُّسلِ

    As though its south wind bore us

    Greetings we read upon the tongues of messengers,

  50. تُؤرِّجَ أَرجاءَ الرضاءِ كأَنّما

    تجاملُ في حملِ التّحيةِ عن جُمْلِ

    Perfuming the reaches of contentment, as though

    It graciously bore greetings on behalf of Juml;

  51. مرجعةٌ فوقَ الغصونِ حمامُها

    فنونَ هديلٍ بينَ أَفنانها الهُدلِ

    Its doves trill above the branches,

    Varied cooings amid its drooping boughs;

  52. تنوحُ بها الورقاءُ شجواً كأَنّها

    مفجَّعةٌ بينَ الحمائمِ بالشكلِ

    The gray dove laments there sorrowfully, as though

    Among the doves she were bereaved of a mate;

  53. مطوَّقةٌ أَبلتْ سوادَ حدادِها

    ففي الجيدِ باقٍ منه طوق له كُحْلي

    Collared, she has worn away her mourning's blackness,

    Yet a kohl-dark collar of it still remains upon her neck—

  54. بأحسنَ من أَخلاقكَ الزُّهرِ بهجة

    وأَذكى وأَزكى من سجيتك الرِّسلِ

    Is lovelier in splendor than your radiant virtues,

    Or more fragrant or purer than your gentle nature.

  55. إليكَ سرتْ منّي مطايا مدائحٍ

    من الشُّكرِ والإحمادِ موقرةَ الحملِ

    The mounts of my praises have traveled from me to you,

    Heavily laden with thanks and commendation.

  56. سوائرُ في الآفاقِ وهي مطيفةٌ

    ببابكَ دون الخلقِ مخلوفة العُقلِ

    Journeying through the horizons, yet circling

    Your gate alone among mankind, their hobbles fastened.

  57. تهذَّبَ معناها بصقليَ لفظَها

    كما بانَ إثر المشرفيِّ لدى الصقلِ

    Their meaning was refined by my polishing their wording,

    As a Mashrafi sword's pattern emerges under polishing.

  58. وإنْ يجل شعري في مديحك رونقاً

    وحسناً فإنَّ الشَّهدَ من نَحلِ النَّحلِ

    If my verse shines in your praise with luster

    And beauty, honey is, after all, the bees' gift.

  59. سلمتُ ولا لاقتْ عداكَ سلامةً

    ورهطكَ في كُثرٍ وشانيكَ في فَلِّ

    I have remained safe; may your enemies never find safety.

    May your clan abound and your hater be routed.

  60. ودمتَ ولا زالتْ بسطوكَ ديمةُ ال

    وبالِ على الأَعداءِ دائمةَ الوبل

    May you endure, and through your might may there always be a cloud of

    Calamity over your enemies, its downpour unceasing.

  61. ودرَّتْ لكَ النُّعمى على كلِّ آملٍ

    بقيتَ بقاءَ الذرِّ والحرثِ والنّسلِ

    May blessings flow for you upon every hopeful seeker;

    May you endure as long as tiny ants, crops, and offspring.