1. آنَ لي آنَ لي مَقامُ الصّلاح

    وفؤادي من نشوة الحبِّ صاحِ

    It is time for me, time for me, to dwell in righteousness.

    And my heart is sober from love’s intoxication.

  2. وطلابي رشدَ الهدى واعتباري

    واجتنابي غيَّ الصبا واطّراحيِ

    And my seeking right guidance, and my taking heed,

    And my shunning youth’s error and casting it aside,

  3. فادّراكي تَركَ الضَّلال بعَزْمٍ

    وفكَاكي من أُسْرَتي وسَراحيِ

    Then my success in forsaking error with resolve,

    And my release from my captivity, and my freedom,

  4. بعدَ ما طال في الهَوى جَولاني

    وغُدوّي مع الصِّبى ورَواحيِ

    After my roaming in passion had gone on so long,

    And my morning outings with youth, and my evening returns,

  5. واتّباعي مُسْتطرَفاتِ المَلاهي

    وانْقيادي للْغانياتِ الملاحِ

    And my pursuit of novel amusements,

    And my yielding to fair and lovely women,

  6. حينَ لا أَتَّقي مقالةَ واشٍ

    في هوانا ولا ملامة لاحِ

    When I feared no tale-bearer’s words

    About our love, nor any reproacher’s blame;

  7. في سَبيل الهوى صريعُ سِهامٍ

    للْدُّمى غيرِ دامياتِ الجِراحِ

    In love’s cause, felled by arrows

    From statue-like beauties, with wounds that draw no blood.

  8. بين سِربٍ من المَهى يَطَّبيني

    سِحْرُ أَجفانها المراضِ الصِّحاحِ

    Amid a herd of oryx, I am lured

    By the spell of their languid yet healthy eyelids.

  9. وحُلُولُ الرّياضِ بيْن النَّدامى

    واغْتباقي مدامَها واصطباحيِ

    And dwelling in gardens among drinking companions,

    And my drinking their wine at dusk and dawn,

  10. ومَبيتي ليلَ التمَامِ ضَجيعي

    كلُّ حسْناءِ كالغزالِ رَداحِ

    And my passing the longest night, my bedmate

    Every beauty, gazelle-like and full-hipped,

  11. من خِماصِ البطون مُلْسِ التَّراقي

    مبهَجاتٍ كمثل بَيض الأداحيِ

    Of slender bellies and smooth collarbones,

    Delightful women, like eggs in ostrich nests.

  12. هزهزْت غصنَ بانة يتثنّى

    في الدَّماليج والبُرى والوِشاحِ

    I shook a ban-tree bough that swayed

    Amid armlets, ornamental rings, and a sash.

  13. والتثام الإغريض أبيضّ غضّا

    وارتشاف النّدى خلال الأقاحِ

    And kissing the palm blossom, white and tender,

    And sipping dew among the daisies,

  14. شمَّ الوَرْدِ الجَنيَّ سُحَيْرا

    من لَدُنْها والعضِّ للتُفاحِ

    Smelling freshly gathered roses before dawn

    From her very presence, and biting apples,

  15. بعد شكوى صَبابة وعتابِ

    واعْتذارِ مُحمَّل بمزاحِ

    After complaints of longing and reproach,

    And an apology laden with joking.

  16. وضحَ الشيْبُ في سَواد عِذاري

    فثني سَوْرَتي وكفَّ جماحِيِ

    Gray hair shone through the blackness of my sideburns,

    So it checked my ardor and curbed my unruliness,

  17. غير باقي صَبابةٍ وادّكارٍ

    واشتياقٍ إلى الحمى وارتياحِ

    Save for a remnant of longing and remembrance,

    And yearning for the cherished grounds, and elation,

  18. عند لمعِ البُروقِ والليّلُ داجٍ

    ونسيمُ الصّبا أَوان الصبَّاحِ

    At lightning’s flashes, while the night is dark,

    And the east wind’s breeze at the hour of dawn.

  19. وإذا غرّدَ الحَمَامُ ضَحاءً

    خَفَقَ القلبُ كاختِفاقِ الجناحِ

    And when the doves sing in the forenoon,

    The heart flutters like the flutter of a wing.

  20. فتَرَنَّمت من بَديع القوافي

    بنسيبٍ مُحَبَّرٍ وامتِداحِ

    So I sang, from the finest rhymes,

    A finely wrought love song and praise.

  21. ولَعمري لقد جَنَحْتُ لقولِ

    ما على جانحٍ لهُ من جُناحِ

    And by my life, I have indeed inclined to words;

    No blame rests on anyone inclined to them:

  22. من صفاتي حُسنى أَبي الحَسن السَّيد

    م ذُهِل النَّدى وربَّ السَّماحِ

    From my descriptions of the excellence of Abu al-Hasan, the lord,

    [Unclear fragment] Dhuhl of bounty, and master of generosity,

  23. الجَوادِ المعتاد بذلَ الأيادي

    والمُفيدِ المعيدِ للْمُمْتاحِ

    The generous one, accustomed to bestowing favors,

    And the benefactor who gives again to the seeker of bounty.

  24. سيّد مُلْبَس الجَمال مَشوبٌ

    حبُّهُ بالقُلوبِ والأرواحِ

    A lord clothed in beauty; mingled

    With hearts and souls is love for him.

  25. يُشْرقُ الدّستُ في المجالسِ منهُ

    بِجَبين أَغْرَّ كالمصباحِ

    The seat of honor shines in gatherings through him,

    With a radiant brow, like a lamp.

  26. وَإذا زَارَهُ العُفاةُ أَراهُمْ

    بِشْر وَجهٍ مبشّرٍ بالنّجاحِ

    And when supplicants visit him, he shows them

    A cheerful face that promises success.

  27. وتَحُلُّ العُفاةُ وسَطَ ذَراهُ

    في رِحابٍ من الجَمالِ فِساحِ

    And supplicants settle within his shelter,

    In spacious precincts of beauty.

  28. وإذا طاولَ الملوكَ نماه

    شَرَفُ المنصِبِ اللُّبابِ الصُراحِ

    And when he vies with kings, he is exalted

    By the nobility of his choice, untainted lineage.

  29. ولهُ في المُلوكِ عِرضٌ مَصوٌن

    يتَّقى دونه بمالٍ مُباحِ

    And among kings his honor is safeguarded,

    Defended by wealth freely dispensed.

  30. الوُقاة الرُّقاةُ شُّم المعالي

    والكُماةُ الحُماةُ مدن النّواحيِ

    The protectors, climbers of lofty heights of glory,

    And armored champions, defenders of the regions’ towns,

  31. بالعتاقِ الجيادِ يعْدون قبَّا

    كالسَّراحينَ في ظلالِ الرِّماحِ

    They race on noble, swift, lean-flanked steeds,

    Like wolves in the shadows of spears,

  32. وارداتِ الوَغى بكلِّ وَلوجٍ

    بين سُمْرِ القَنا وبيض الصِّفاحِ

    Entering battle with every bold charger,

    Between brown spear-shafts and white sword-blades,

  33. من رجالٍ أَشَّحةٍ بعلاهُمْ

    وإِذا استُرْفدوا فغير شحاحِ

    From men jealous of their high standing,

    And when asked for aid, they are not stingy.

  34. فهمُ كالغيوثِ عند العطايا

    وهم كالليوث عند الكفاحِ

    So they are like rains when bestowing gifts,

    And they are like lions in combat.

  35. وهم المُطعمون في كل عامٍ

    مجدبٍ أُهُلهُ عَبيطَ اللِّقاحِ

    And they feed, in every year

    Of drought, its people fresh meat from milch camels.

  36. نزلوا مَقْصدَ الضيوف سَماحاً

    وأَحَلُّوا بيوتَهم بالبَراجِ

    They settled, generously, where guests could seek them,

    And set their dwellings on open ground [uncertain reading].

  37. إنّ ذُهلا وجدتُ للْفضلِ أَهْلاَ

    نَطَق الحقُّ عنْهُ بالإِفصاحِ

    Indeed, I found Dhuhl worthy of excellence;

    Truth spoke plainly of him.

  38. عرف النّاسُ فضْلَهُ وعُلاه

    وأَقرُّوا لحمدهِ باصطلاحِ

    People recognized his excellence and eminence,

    And agreed in acknowledging his praiseworthiness.

  39. بَيِّنُ الشُكْرِ في الرّخاء المُواتي

    حسَنُ الصَّبر للْقَضاء المُتاحِ

    Open in gratitude amid favorable prosperity,

    Admirable in patience before his allotted fate.

  40. طالَ ذُهلٌ على المُلوكِ جميعاً

    بعُلاهُ وحمدِهُ النّفاحِ

    Dhuhl has risen above all kings,

    Through his eminence and his fragrant praise.

  41. ولهُ الفَوزُ دونهم بالمُعَّلى

    حيثُ كانتْ إفاضَةٌ بالقِداحِ

    And victory with the Mu‘alla lot is his, not theirs,

    Whenever the lot-arrows are drawn.

  42. وإِذا حَلَّت العُفاةُ كفاهُمْ

    برُّ جذلان باسمٍ مُرْتاحِ

    And when supplicants arrive, their needs are met

    By the kindness of one joyful, smiling, and glad.

  43. وإِذا اسْودّت الخُطوبُ جلاها

    من سَنا رأْيه بكا لمصباحِ

    And when troubles darken, he dispels them

    With the radiance of his judgment, as with a lamp.

  44. شِيَمٌ من مُهَذَّب لُوْذَعّيٍ

    للْمغاليق بالحجى فَتَّاحِ

    Traits of a cultivated, keen-witted man,

    Who, through reason, opens what is locked.

  45. عشتَ يا ذَهلُ يا أَبا حَسنِ ما

    حَسُن العَيشُ في الغنى والفَلاحِ

    May you live, O Dhuhl, O Abu Hasan, as long as

    Life is good in wealth and prosperity.

  46. وأراكَ الرِّضى بَنوكَ جميعاً

    ممتَعاً بالسُرور والأفراحِ

    And may all your sons bring you contentment,

    Enjoying happiness and joys.

  47. واعادْ السُّرورَ في كل عام

    لك حُسْنى اعتيادِه والأَضاحيِ

    And may joy be restored every year

    To you by the beauty of its return and the sacrifices.

  48. واليك العُقودَ شَذَراً ودُرّاً

    فاغْتَنِمْها نفيسَةَ الأَرْباحِ

    And to you these necklaces, of gold beads and pearls;

    So seize them as precious gains.