1. أَسْلِمي مُقْلَتيْكِ قَبْلَ الفراقِ

    في الذي جرَّتا على العُشَّاقِ

    Surrender your two eyes before parting,

    for what they have inflicted upon lovers.

  2. قبلَ أنْ يُطْلِعَ الوَدَاعُ بدوراً

    يَقْتَضيها السّرارُ قبلَ المُحَاقِ

    Before farewell brings full moons forth,

    which the moon's dark nights claim before their complete waning.

  3. قبل أنْ تُصْغِيَ القلوبُ لداعي

    البَيءنِ حتى تكونَ فوق التراقي

    Before hearts heed the caller

    of parting, until they rise above the collarbones.

  4. آهِ ممّا لقيتُ من طرفك الشا

    ئق أو من فُؤَادي المشتاق

    Ah, what I have suffered from your captivating glance,

    or from my longing heart.

  5. نَفَثَتْ مُقْلَتَاكِ في عُقَدِ السَّحْ

    رِ فلم أنتفِعْ بِنَفْثِ الراقي

    Your two eyes breathed into the knots of sorcery,

    so I gained no benefit from the charm-reciter's breath.

  6. عَجِبَ الغانياتُ من شَيْبِ رأسي

    وتناسْينَ هَوْلض يوم الفراق

    The beautiful women marveled at my gray hair,

    and pretended to forget the terror of the day of parting.

  7. وتساءَلْنَ عن شبابي وقد

    قسَّمْتُهُ في الشُّعُورِ والأحداق

    And they asked one another about my youth, though

    I have divided it among tresses and eyes.

  8. خُذْنَ بي مأخذاَ من الموت حلواً

    إن موتَ الصدود مُرُّ المذاق

    Lead me along a sweet path to death,

    for the death of rejection is bitter to taste.

  9. وتعجَّبْنَ كيف لا يَنْفَدُ الدمعُ

    وقد أَحْرَقَتْهُ نارُ اشتياقي

    And marvel at how the tears do not run out,

    though the fire of my longing has burned them.

  10. ثم لا تَسْتَرِبْنَ منْ سوءِ ظنّي

    بعهودٍ منكنَّ غيرِ بَوَاقِ

    Then do not take amiss my mistrust

    of pledges from you that do not endure.

  11. وَتَعَوَّدْنَ أَنَّ عادةَ سوءِ

    الظنِّ مَحْسُوبةٌ على الإشفاقِ

    And grow used to this: habitual mistrust

    is reckoned a mark of anxious care.

  12. أَدْرَكَ اللهُ عند أعينكنَّ الن

    جلِ ثاراتِ هذه الأَرْمَاقِ

    May God exact, from your wide eyes,

    vengeance for these last breaths.

  13. وقضى لي على الزمانِ فلم

    يَسْمَحْ بِوَصْلٍ ولا قضى بفراق

    And may He rule for me against Time, which has not

    allowed reunion, nor decreed parting.

  14. حَسَدَتْني صروفُهُ هَمَماً

    زَعْزَعْنَ زُهْرَ النجوم في الآفاق

    Its vicissitudes envied me my ambitions

    that shook the bright stars on the horizons,

  15. وهموم ليس الرَّدَى بكَفيلٍ

    بانْبِعَاثٍ لها ولا إطلاق

    and cares for which death is no guarantor

    of their breaking free or being released.

  16. ومكاني من ابنِ حمدينَ أَرقا

    ني من المجدِ فوق سَبْعٍ طباق

    And my standing with Ibn Hamdin has raised

    me in glory above seven layered heavens.

  17. المُعلَّى منَ القِداح وذو الأَثْر

    المُحَلَّى بين المواضي الرقاق

    The highest-valued of the lottery arrows, and the patterned sword,

    adorned among slender, keen-edged blades.

  18. وقريعُ الأيام ذو نجدة تمضي

    وشمس النهار في الإشراق

    And the champion of the days, with valor that prevails,

    and the daylight sun in radiance.

  19. أَسدٌ يملأُ العرينَ من البأ

    سِ وَطَوْدٌ يحمي من الإملاق

    A lion who fills his lair with might,

    and a mountain that shields against poverty.

  20. وفتىً مِثْلَما يشقُّ على الحُسَّا

    دِ ماضٍ يومَ الكريهةِ واق

    And a young man, as hard upon enviers

    as he is keen and protective on the day of battle.

  21. أريحيٌّ تراه يهتزُّ للبذْ

    ل اهتزازَ القضيبِ للإبراق

    Openhanded: you see him stir to give,

    as a twig quivers at lightning's flash.

  22. راكدٌ مثلُ صفحةِ الماءِ أوْرَى

    عن ذَكاءٍ كالنارِ في الإبراق

    Still as the water's surface, yet striking sparks

    from an intelligence like fire in its flashing.

  23. مُسْتَبدٌّ بالمجدِ هَشٌّ إلى الجو

    دِ مُطِيقٌ للأمرِ غيرَ مطاق

    Sole master of glory, eager for generosity,

    equal to the task, yet impossible to withstand.

  24. دَرِبٌ بالإحسانِ مُثْرٍ من الحُسْ

    نَى أَقامَ العُلا على كلِّ ساقِ

    Practiced in kindness, rich in good deeds,

    he has set glory upright on every leg.

  25. وكفيلٌ بالعدل والجودُ مشدو

    دُ الأواخي مُمَزِّقُ الإملاق

    And a guarantor of justice, with generosity securely

    tethered, a destroyer of poverty.

  26. زُهِيَتْ خُطَّةُ القضاءِ به زَهْ

    وَ حَمامِ الغُصُونِ بالأَطواق

    The office of judgment took pride in him,

    as doves on branches take pride in their neck-rings.

  27. وَسَمت رتبةُ الوزارة منه

    ببعيدِ المدى بعيدِ السّباق

    And the rank of the vizierate rose through him,

    a far-reaching man, far ahead in the race.

  28. وَسَطَتْ تغلبٌ به صارماً

    عَضْباً يلفُّ الأَقدامَ بالأَعْنَاق

    And Taghlib struck with him, a cutting sword,

    keen-edged, entwining feet with necks.

  29. وأقامَتْ دارُ الأَمانة من

    نعماهُ في صَوْبِ العارضِ الغَيْداقِ

    And the house of trust dwelt, through

    his bounty, in the downpour of a lavish cloud.

  30. واستظلَّت من بِرِّه في ظلالٍ

    لم يَعِبْها مُنَافقٌ بِنِفَاقِ

    And took shelter through his goodness beneath shades

    that no hypocrite has faulted with hypocrisy.

  31. واستجارَتْ مِنْ عَدْلِهِ بجمالٍ

    غير مَنْكُوثَةِ ولا أَخَلاقِ

    And sought refuge in the ropes of his justice,

    neither unraveled nor worn-out.

  32. شَمِلَتْ فيه المسلمينَ أَيادٍ

    همْ بها كالغُصُون في الأوراق

    Through him, favors encompassed the Muslims,

    who are with them like branches clothed in leaves.

  33. وأَحاطت بالمُجْرِمينَ غواديه

    إحاطةَ العقدِ بالأعناق

    And his morning visitations encircled the criminals,

    as a necklace encircles necks.

  34. لأبي القاسم بن حمدينَ نفسٌ

    خُلِقَتْ منْ مكارِمِ الأخْلاق

    Abu al-Qasim ibn Hamdin has a soul

    created from the noblest virtues,

  35. ويدانِ يراهما المجد حتى

    سَحَّتا بالآجالِ والأرزاق

    and two hands upon which glory gazes until

    they have rained down appointed deaths and livelihoods.

  36. يا أبا قاسمٍ دعاءَ امرىء وافا

    كَ سَبْقاً في أوَّلِ السُبَّاقِ

    O Abu Qasim, accept the prayer of a man who has come

    to you ahead of others, among the foremost racers.

  37. خذ إليكَ الثناءَ لا بل أدلَّ

    الشكرَ عرف المهبِّ حلْوَ المساق

    Take to yourself this praise—no, rather the most eloquent

    gratitude, fragrant in its breeze and sweet in its course.

  38. لكَ مجدٌ لو كان للنجمِ شملاً

    لم يَرُعْهُ صرْفُ الردى بفراق

    Yours is a glory that, were it the stars' bond,

    death's turns would not frighten it with parting.

  39. وَغناءٌ لو أَنْبَتَتْه الرُّبَى لم

    يُمْسِكِ الناسُ خَشْيَةَ الإنفاق

    And wealth that, were the hills to grow it,

    people would not hoard for fear of spending.

  40. فاتخذني مكافِحاً عَنْ معالِيكَ

    شديدَ القوى عنيفَ السّياقِ

    So take me as a champion defending your high honors,

    strong in power, forceful in driving onward.

  41. وَاصْطَنِعْنِي مُشَايعاً لك لا

    يَشْغَلُه عنك الصَّفْقُ في الأسواق

    And take me into your favor as your follower, one whom

    bargaining in the markets does not distract from you.

  42. لستُ ممن إذا هفا أنكرَ السَّطْ

    وَةَ لا بل أولى بما هو لاق

    I am not one who, when he errs, rejects chastisement;

    no, rather, I am all the more deserving of what awaits me.

  43. إن تعاقبْ فقد تركتَ عقاباً

    إن حزَّ الرءوس غيرُ الحِلاق

    If you punish, you have left punishment aside;

    nothing but shaving has cut heads.

  44. بك قامَ القسطاسُ وانتعشَ الحقُّ

    وَصِيْنَتْ مُذَالَةُ الأَعناق

    Through you the scales stand upright and truth revives,

    and humbled necks are protected.

  45. إن يَهِمْ نحوكَ القريضُ فقد نَفَّقْتَ

    منه ولاتَ حينَ نَفَاق

    If verse yearns toward you, you have given currency

    to some of it, when this is no time for circulation.

  46. أو أضيفتْ إليك غرُّ المعاني

    فَبِمِلْكٍ لهنَّ واسْتِحْقَاق

    Or if radiant meanings are ascribed to you,

    it is by your ownership of them and rightful claim.