1. صحَتِ العَواذلُ والمُتيَّمُ ما صحا

    وازْداد شوقُ المُستهام فَبَرَّحا

    The reproaching women sobered, but the love-stricken man did not.

    And the distraught lover's longing increased, tormenting him severely.

  2. وبَدَتْ خَفيّاتُ الهَوى ثم اغْتَدَت

    حِزَقُ الظَّعائنِ كالسَّفائنِ جُمَحَّا

    Love's hidden secrets appeared; then at dawn set out

    Bands of women's litters, like ships rushing headlong.

  3. رُفعَتْ بموّشِي الخدورِ وأَودعت

    بيضاً ربائبَ كالأهلّةِ وضُحَّا

    Raised with embroidered chamber-curtains, they housed

    Fair, pampered maidens, radiant as crescent moons.

  4. من كلِّ فاتِرَة الجُفونِ عزيزةٍ

    أحلى من الرّشأ الأَغَنّ وامْلحا

    Each a cherished woman with languid eyelids,

    Sweeter and lovelier than the fawn with its soft nasal cry.

  5. منعَ الوشُاةُ بنا الوداعَ وأَوشكت

    عَبراتُ عينك أنْ تفيض فَتَسْفَحا

    The tale-bearers denied us farewell, and on the brink

    Of overflowing and streaming down were your eyes' tears.

  6. نحْن الفداءُ لهنَّ من ظُعُنٍ إذا

    راح المطيُّ بها تجُوب الصَّحصَحا

    We are their ransom—those women in litters—when

    The camels set off with them, crossing the open, level desert.

  7. قَضَتَ النَّوى بالبين واتَّخَذَ الهوى

    للبيضِ مأوىً في القُلوبِ ومَسرحا

    Distance decreed separation, and love made

    For fair women a refuge in hearts and a place to roam.

  8. كيفَ القَرارُ وما اصطبارُ متيّمٍ

    قلقٍ إذا أَمْسى الأحبَّةُ نُزَّحا

    What rest is there, and what patience for a love-stricken man,

    Restless when his loved ones have become far distant?

  9. ما كانَ أَحسَن عيشَنا والبينُ لم

    يَطْرَح بنا وبآلِ عمْرَة مَطْرَحا

    How lovely our life was, before separation had

    Cast us and Amra's family far apart.

  10. ومسارح الغزلان من بُرْق الحمى

    تلْقى الظباءَ بها رباربَ سُخَّا

    And the gazelles' pastures on the reserve's stony sands—

    There you meet gazelles in herds, free-ranging [reading uncertain].

  11. من كلِّ عاطِلَةٍ بجبيدٍ جَدايةٍ

    أَدْماءَ مُزْجِيّةٍ أَغنَّ موشَّحا

    Each unadorned, with the neck of a young gazelle,

    A pale doe gently driving a soft-voiced, band-marked fawn.

  12. يا صاحبَيَّ تَمنيَّا فلَعلَّني

    أَجِدُ التَعَلُّلَ بالتَّمَني أَرْوّحا

    O my two companions, wish—for perhaps I

    May find it more soothing to console myself with wishes.

  13. وأَنا المُوكَّلُ بالصَّبابةِ كُلَّما

    دَعَتِ الحَمائم في الأصائلِ نُوَّحا

    And I am bound to passionate longing whenever

    The doves call in lamentation in the late afternoons.

  14. والرّيحُ شَجْوي أَن يَهُبَّ نسيمُها

    والبَرْقُ دائي أَن يَلوحَ فيُلْمَحا

    And the wind brings me grief when its breeze blows,

    And lightning is my affliction when it flashes and is glimpsed.

  15. نأتِ المسافةُ بيننا فَلوْ انَّني

    غَيلانُ كلَّفَها لَمِيَّةَ صَيْدَحا

    The distance between us has widened; if only I were

    Ghaylan, who charged Saydah with crossing it for Mayya.

  16. فأكونَ ليْلي بالدَّجى متلفّعاً

    وأَرى نَهاراً بالسُّموم مُلَوّحا

    Then I would spend my night wrapped in darkness,

    And appear by day scorched by the burning wind,

  17. مثلَ اْمرىءٍ سَلَّى هُموم فؤادِه

    وقَضى اللبُّانَةَ واغْتدى وتَرَوّحا

    Like a man who eased his heart's cares,

    Fulfilled his cherished desire, and traveled morning and evening,

  18. وأَفاده من سُبُلَ القَنا مُتَطَلَّباً

    وأَصابَ في طُرقِ الفَتى متَندَّحا

    And gained him an object of pursuit along the paths of spears,

    And found room to roam along the young man's paths.

  19. لكنّني قلِقُ العَزيمةِ لم تَجد

    نفْسي إلى جهَة التَغرُّب مَطْمَحا

    Yet I am wavering in resolve; never has

    My soul found a prospect toward wandering abroad.

  20. وأَقْمتُ مُرْتضِعاً مَطالبَ من بني

    نَبْهانَ مُنْتَجةً وأُخرى لُقَّحا

    And I remained, suckling sought-for boons from Banu

    Nabhan—some already calved, and others pregnant.

  21. وحَلَلْتُ بينَهُم معاقلَ بُذَّخاً

    قد أَنشأو فيها غمائمَ دُلَّحا

    And settled among them in towering strongholds,

    Within which they had raised rain-laden clouds.

  22. أَمحمّدُ بنَ أَبي الحُسَين بَدَا لنا

    مُتَبَلِّجا في الدَّستِ أَم شَمْسُ الضُّحى

    Is it Muhammad ibn Abi al-Husayn who has appeared to us,

    Radiant in the seat of honor, or the forenoon sun?

  23. هذا أَبو عَبْدِ الاله وحَالُهُ

    مثل الغمامةِ بل أَراه أَسْمَحا

    This is Abu Abd al-Ilah, and his manner

    Is like a cloud's—rather, I find him more generous.

  24. عايَنْتُ ابيَضَ بالبهاءِ مُتّوَّجا

    ومُطَوّقاً ومُنَطَّقاً ومُوشّحاً

    I beheld a fair man crowned with splendor,

    And collared, girdled, and sashed.

  25. جادتْ سَحائبُ راحتتْه بوابلٍ

    ملأَ المسايلَ سيُلهُ والأَبطحَا

    The clouds of his palm poured down heavy rain;

    Its torrent filled the watercourses and the gravelly valley.

  26. ولَدَيه مُنْتَجعُ المُطالبِ يُرتْعى

    كلأً إذا نبَت المَراعي صَوّحا

    And with him lies the petitioner's pasture, where one grazes

    On herbage when the pastures' growth has withered.

  27. وإِذا امروءٌ حُرم النَّجاحَ لِحَاجَةٍ

    أَزْجى حوائِجَهُ إليه فأنْجَحا

    And when a man is denied success in a need,

    He sends his requests to him and finds success.

  28. تَجدُ الوفودُ لدَيهِ وجْهاً مشرقاً

    ويداً مُنْوَّلَةً وصَدراً أَفْيَحا

    Delegations find with him a radiant face,

    And a gift-bestowing hand and a spacious breast.

  29. لمحمد بن أَبي الحسَين مَحَاسنٌ

    كالنُّور بلّلَهُ النَّدى فَتَفتّحا

    Muhammad ibn Abi al-Husayn has virtues

    Like blossoms moistened by dew, which then unfold.

  30. وعوائدٌ عَتكِيّة وخَلائق

    كالمسك شيبت بالمحامد نُفَّحا

    And Atiki customs, and qualities

    Like musk, blended with praiseworthy qualities, wafting fragrance.

  31. شَرَفاً بني نبهانَ بالحَسب الذي

    أَمسى لكم في العالمين وأَصْبحا

    Honor to you, Banu Nabhan, for the ancestral distinction that

    Is yours among all peoples, evening and morning.

  32. شَهِدَت سعاداتُ البلاد بفَضْلكم

    وبمجدكم نَطق الزَّمان فأفصَحا

    The lands' good fortunes bear witness to your excellence,

    And time proclaimed your glory eloquently.

  33. وَجَدَ الوفودُ الزائرونَ جَنابكم

    أَندى وأَجدى للْنُزولِ وافْسَحا

    Visiting delegations have found your court

    More generous, more rewarding to lodge in, and more spacious.

  34. وصفاتكم بالمكرماتِ وبالنَّدى

    تَركت ركابَ الوَفد حَسرى طُلّحا

    And accounts of your noble deeds and generosity

    Have left the delegations' mounts weary and exhausted.

  35. شَرِقَ العَدُّو وغَصَّ منْكُم بالشَّجا

    وأَطابّ برّكم الوَليُّ وأَفلحا

    The enemy choked and gagged on grief because of you,

    While your kindness gladdened the ally, and he prospered.

  36. أَحْرَزْتُم الشَرفَ الرّفيع مُسَلّماً

    وحويّتم الحَسَبَ الصَّريح مُصحَّحا

    You secured lofty honor, undisputed,

    And gained pure ancestral distinction, firmly established.

  37. وكرُمتُم وعُزَزْتم وَجَلّلْتُمُ

    من أَنْ يَعيبَ مُعارضٌ أَو يَقْدَحا

    And you are noble, mighty, and exalted

    Above an opponent's reproach or disparagement.

  38. وَحَمت عُلاكُم العَتيكُ بعزَّةٍ

    وشَكيمةٍ للْدَهر من أَنْ يجْمَحَا

    Al-Atik defended your eminence with might

    And a bit for time, to keep it from bolting.

  39. لحمايَةِ الأَزْدِ الغطارفِة الأُلى

    لنبيّهم كانوا أَعَزَّ وأَنصْحا

    Through the protection of the noble Azd, who

    Were their Prophet's strongest and most faithful supporters.

  40. مثل الأسُود على الصُقور تَرَاهُمُ

    شِيباً وقد ركبوا الجيادَ القُرَّحَا

    You see them like lions riding falcons,

    Gray-haired, already mounted on full-grown steeds.

  41. أَمحمد ابنَ أَبي الحسَين لقد أَتى

    عن فضْلكَ الحَقُّ المُبينَ مُصرّحا

    O Muhammad ibn Abi al-Husayn, there has indeed come

    About your excellence the plain truth, explicitly declared.

  42. أنت الحقيقُ بكُل ذكرٍ صالحٍ

    ويَحق أنْ يُثْنى عَلَيكَ وَتُمدَحا

    You are worthy of every favorable mention,

    And it is right that you be extolled and praised.

  43. أنت الذي في الجَد يُنفقُ مالَه

    وتَعدُّ نفسَكَ بالفَضيلةِ أريحَا

    You are the one who spends his wealth in earnest,

    And deem yourself open-handed in virtue.

  44. والصَّفْحُ دأْبُكَ للْجُناة كأنَّما

    تخْتارُ أنْ يُجنْى علَيكَ وتَصفَحا

    And pardoning offenders is your habit, as though

    You choose to be wronged and then forgive.

  45. وإِذا وَزَنتُكَ بالبريَّةِ في النَّدى

    وبَسالةً خَفّت وكُنْتَ الأَرْجَحَا

    And if I weigh you against mankind in generosity

    And courage, they prove light, and you outweigh them.

  46. ومُنافسٍ لكَ في المكارِم والعُلى

    لما رآكَ على السّماكِ تَزَحْزَحَا

    And a rival of yours in noble deeds and eminence,

    On seeing you upon al-Simak, drew back.

  47. ويَظَنّكَ القَمَرَ المُنير مُعاينٌ

    فإِذا تَبَيّنَ حُسنَ وجْهكَ سبّحَا

    And an onlooker takes you for the luminous moon;

    And when he discerns your face's beauty, he glorifies God.

  48. لا زالَ ربعُك بالسّلامة آمناً

    وذَراكَ مَعْمُوراً وحَوْضُكَ مُطْفَحَا

    May your dwelling always remain safe and secure,

    And your refuge remain peopled, and your pool overflowing.

  49. وبقيْتَ ممْنوحاً من الأشياء ما

    وافقْتَهُ اشْهى إِليكَ وأَصلحَا

    And may you always be granted, of all things, whatever

    You find most desirable to you and most beneficial.