1. فَرَحٌ يَزيدُ بِقَولِهَا لاَ تَبعُدِ

    أوَ مَا تَرَاهُ طَلِيعَةً لِلمَوعِدِ

    Joy grows when she says, “Do not go far away.”

    And do you not see it as a forerunner of the promised meeting?

  2. سَمَحَتْ بِهِ لأياً وأثقَلْ مَا هُنا

    قَولُ المَلِيّ لِمُرْتَجيهِ إلىغد

    She granted it with difficulty; the most burdensome thing here

    Is the wealthy man's telling his petitioner, “Until tomorrow.”

  3. لاَ لاَ أذُمُّ مِنَ المَلِيحَةِ مَطلَهَا

    فَنِكايَةُالعُشَّاقِ شأنُ الخُرَّدِ

    No, no—I do not blame the beauty for her delay,

    For tormenting lovers is the way of shy maidens.

  4. لَيتَ التِي مِنْهُنَّ كُنتُ أسِيرَهَا

    قَسَمَتْ كُراعَا لِي بِكُلّ تَوَدُّدِ

    Would that the one among them whose captive I was

    Had allotted me a shank with every show of affection;

  5. أوْ أنَّهَا عَلِمَتْ بِأنِّي خَاطِبٌ

    في حُبِّها حَتَّى حَطَمْتُ مُفَنِّدِي

    Or that she knew I was a suitor

    In my love for her, until I crushed my reprover.

  6. يا أختَ ماء المُزنِ فيكِ تَمَثَّلَتْ

    للعينِ أوصَافُ الرَّدي والجَيِّدِ

    O sister of rainwater, in you are embodied

    For the eye, the qualities of the bad and the good.

  7. مَا بَعدَ عِلمِكَ بالخصُومَةِ فَيصَلٌ

    إنْ خِيفَ في الإشْهادِ زُورُ المُشْهَدِ

    Once you know the dispute, no further judgment remains,

    If falsehood is feared from the witness when testimony is sought.

  8. فَلِتَعلَمي عَمَلَ السَّدِيد ِبِعلمِهِ

    فَمُجَانِبُ الإنصَافِ غَيرُ مُسَدَّدِ

    Then learn how the judicious acts upon his knowledge:

    For whoever shuns fairness is not rightly guided.

  9. ولِتَنْظُري عَرضاً يَحُولُ بِعارِضي

    نَظَرَ البَصِيرِ بِيومِهِ ما فِي الغَدِ

    And regard a passing change that comes over my sideburns

    With the gaze of one who sees in today what tomorrow holds.

  10. فَلَعَلَّ أبيَضَهُ لِقَلبٍ أبيَضٍ

    ولَعَلَّ أسوَدَهُ لِقَلبٍ أسوَدِ

    For perhaps its whiteness belongs to a white heart,

    And perhaps its blackness belongs to a black heart.

  11. قَالُوا البَياضُ يَشِينُهُ وسَوادُهُ

    لَو دامَ أشْهَى لِلغَزَالِ الأغْيَدِ

    They said, “Whiteness mars him, while his blackness,

    Were it to last, would better please the supple gazelle.”

  12. ما أنصَفُوا بَلْ كُلَّ شَيءٍ كائِنٌ

    في وقتِهِ يَرضَاهُ غَيرُ الأنْكَدِ

    They were unfair; rather, everything that exists

    In its proper time pleases all but the churlish.

  13. لاَ حُسنَ في صَلَعٍ يَدومُ لأمرَدِ

    كُلاَّ ولاَ مَهنَا بِلَيلٍ سَرمَدِ

    There is no beauty in baldness lasting in a beardless youth,

    No indeed, nor any delight in an everlasting night.

  14. هَذا وَلَوْ أثبَتِّ صِدقِي في الهَوى

    لَفَرِحتُ أنِّي نِلْتُ أقصَى مَقصَدِ

    This said, if you affirmed my sincerity in love,

    I would surely rejoice that I had reached my utmost aim.

  15. فَرِحَ الزَّمَانُ وقَدْ أهَلَّ هِلالُهُ

    حَمودَةُ البَاشَا بِدَرسِ المُسْنَدِ

    Time rejoiced when its crescent had risen:

    Hammuda Pasha, through studying the Musnad.

  16. بَاكُورَةُ المُلك ِالتي افْتُتِحَتْ بِهَا

    فَينَانَةُ الأيَّامِ بَعدَ تَلَدُّدِ

    The first fruit of kingship, through which opened

    The leafy bough of days, after hesitation.

  17. أخَذَ الكِتابَ فَكَانَ أوَّلَ سَطرِهِ

    بَابٌ فَقَالَ السَعْدُ مِنِّي فَابتَدِ

    He took the book, and its first line was

    “A chapter”—a door—and Fortune said, “Begin with me.”

  18. جَعَلَ النِّهَايَةَ في الصَّلاحِ بِدايَةً

    أو عَن سِوى بَل حِكمَةٍ لَمْ تُعهَدِ

    He made the end of righteousness a beginning;

    Or from something else—rather, wisdom never known before.

  19. مَن نالَ أعْلَى الغُصنِ عِنْدَ جِنَايةٍ

    وَجَدَ اجتِناءَ السُّفلِ أسهَلَ لِليَدِ

    Whoever reaches the highest branch when picking fruit

    Finds gathering the lower growth easier for the hand.

  20. ثُمَّ استَمَرَّ فَحَدّثنَ ما شئتَ عَنْ

    سهمِ النَّفاذ وجُذوةَ المستجمد

    Then he continued; speak as much as you wish of

    The arrow of penetration and the ember of what is frozen.

  21. يَقِظُ الجنَانِ لِمَا يُقَالُ وَسَمْعُهُ

    واعٍ وطَرفُ العَينِ منهُ بِمِرصَدِ

    His heart is alert to what is said, his hearing

    Attentive, and his eye's gaze keeps watch.

  22. لا يَستَبِدُّ إذا تَبَيَّنَ نَبوةً

    في أصلِهِ عن أصلْه بَلْ يَقتَدِي

    He does not act independently if he detects a discrepancy

    In his copy from its original; rather, he follows it.

  23. وإذَا تَكَلَّمَ كَانَ جُلُّ كَلاَمِهِ

    هَمْساً وَإنْ أصغَى فَغَيْرُ مُبَلَّدِ

    And when he speaks, most of his speech is

    A whisper; and if he listens, he is not dull-witted.

  24. وَلَهُ عَلَى فَرْطِ الذَّكَاءِ شَوَاهِدٌ

    صِفَةُ الحَيَا ونَحَافَةُ المُتَجَرّدِ

    And he has signs of exceptional intelligence:

    His modest manner and the slenderness of his unclothed frame.

  25. وَاسْتَفْتِ عَمَّا غَابَ عَنْكَ لحاظَهُ

    فاللَّحْظُ يعرِفُ منه هَدْيَ المُهْتَدِي

    And consult his glances about what is hidden from you,

    For a glance recognizes in him the bearing of the rightly guided.

  26. إنْ كان شَخصُ الرُّوح يَظهرُ مَرَّةً

    فَلَهُوَّ ذَا وَبِهِ حَيَاةُ السُّؤدَدِ

    If the spirit's form were ever to appear,

    Then surely this is he; through him nobility lives.

  27. فَسَيَحْمَدُ المَسعَى إذَا مَا سَارَ مَا

    بَينَ البُنُودِ عَلَى الجِيادِ المُيَّدِ

    So he will find the endeavor praiseworthy whenever he rides

    Among the banners, upon swaying steeds.

  28. وتَقَرَّ عَينُ المُلكِ مِنهُ بِناصِرٍ

    مَنصُورِ ما تَحْتَ اللِّواءِ مُؤيَّدِ

    And kingship's eye will be gladdened by him as a helper,

    Victorious, with all beneath the banner supported.

  29. حَتَّى تَدِينَ لَهُ المُلُوكُ جَميِعُهَا

    وتعده مولى لها وكأن قد

    Until all kings submit to him

    And reckon him their lord—as though it were already so.

  30. فلعلهُ المسعُودُ حيثُ أقامهُ

    وَتَعُدُهُ مَولَى في هَذا المَقامِ الأسْعَدِ

    Perhaps he is the fortunate one, where he has been placed;

    And he is reckoned a lord in this most fortunate station.

  31. بَل هُو عَينُ السَّعدِ أجمَعُ لم يَفُتْ

    مَنْ حَازَهُ ما فَاتَهُ مِنْ مَقْصَدِ

    Rather, it is the very essence of all good fortune; nothing eludes

    Its possessor among the goals that once escaped him.

  32. ومَنْ الذِي أهْلٌ لَهُ ويَحُوزُهُ

    ولَهُ يَقُولُ البَخْتُ حَسْبُكَ وازدَدِ

    And who is worthy of it, and possesses it,

    And to whom Fortune says, “Enough for you—yet gain more!”

  33. غَيرُ الأميِرِ أبُو الأمير وَصِنْوُهُ

    صهْرُ الأمِيرِ ابْنُ الأميِرِ الأرْشَدِ

    Other than the emir, the emir's father and his brother,

    The emir's son-in-law, son of the most rightly guided emir:

  34. ابنُ الحسينِ عَليٌ البَاشَا الذي

    خَضَعَتْ لَهُ الدُّنْيَا خُضُوعَ مُقَلِّدِ

    Ali Pasha, son of al-Husayn, before whom

    The world bowed in a follower's submission.

  35. دَرَجَ الملوكَ فَكانَ فَذَلَكَةً لَهُمْ

    فِيمَا يَزِينُ وَطَرْحِ ما لَم يُحْمَدِ

    He summed up the kings, becoming their epitome,

    In what adorns, discarding what won no praise.

  36. كَلِفٌ بِأنْ لاَ يَكْتَفِي مِن سَعيِهِ

    إلاَّ بِأنفَسَ في النُّفُوسِ مُخَلَّدِ

    He is intent on accepting from his efforts nothing

    But the most precious, immortal in people's souls.

  37. لَو كَانَ مُمتَنِعَ اللِّقاءِ لَكَانَ في

    قَلبِ الذي يَدريهِ نارَ المَوقِدِ

    Were he inaccessible, he would be, within

    The heart of one who knows him, a kindler's fire.

  38. أفَلاَ تَطِيرُ لَهُ القُلُوبُ وإنَّهَا

    لَتَرَاهُ حَقاً في الحُضُور الشُّهُدِ

    Then do hearts not fly to him, even though they

    Truly behold him among the assembled witnesses?

  39. لَكِنَّ مِن شِيَمِ الطِّباعِ مَلاَلَهَا

    مَا لاَ يَغِيبُ وَعِشقُ مَا لاَ يُوجَدِ

    But a trait of human nature is its weariness of

    What never disappears, and its love for what cannot be found.

  40. كَالمَالِ يَظهَرُ فِي المَنَامِ لِيائِسٍ

    فَإذَا حَوَاهُ حَواهُ كَالمُتَزَهِّدِ

    Like wealth appearing in a despairing man's dream:

    Once he possesses it, he holds it like an ascetic.

  41. يَا أيُهَا المَولَى الذِي قَذَفَتْ بِهِ

    أيدِي الصَّلاحِ عَلَى زَمَانٍ مُفسِدِ

    O lord, who was hurled forth

    By the hands of righteousness upon a corrupting age!

  42. مِنْ أينَ جِئْتَ فَإنْ تَكُنْ أقبَلْتَ منْ

    جِهَةِ السَّماءِ فَلَيسَ بِالمُستَبْعَدِ

    Where did you come from? For if you came from

    The direction of heaven, that is not far-fetched.

  43. أمَّا الصَّعيِدُ الآن فَهوَ ونَاسُهُ

    بِالاعْتِبارِ حُثالَةٌ في مِزوَدِ

    As for the earth now, it and its people

    Are, on reflection, dregs in a provision-bag.

  44. حَشَا بَنِي خَاقَانَ إنَّ رِضاهُمُ

    سِرُّ الفَلاَحِ وَعُمْدَةُ المُتَعَمِّدِ

    Except the sons of Khaqan: their approval is

    The secret of success and the mainstay of the purposeful seeker.

  45. أوتَادُ هَذا الدّينِ غَيرَ مُدافِعٍ

    وبَنُوُ الشَّهامَةِ والغَنَاءِ الأتْلَدِ

    The pillars of this faith, beyond dispute,

    And sons of chivalry and long-inherited merit.

  46. وَمِنَ العِيانَةِ أنْ كَسَوكَ وَإنَّمَا

    أغْلَوا لِبَاسَهُمُ بِأنْجَدَ أمْجَدِ

    And it is plain to see that they clothed you; in truth,

    They enhanced their garment's worth with one more valiant and glorious.

  47. كَذَبَ اللِّباس سَوى لباسك وَالمنى

    غَضٌّ وَعَيْنُ الشَّمْلِ غَيرُ مُبَدَّدِ

    All clothing lies except your clothing, while hopes

    Are fresh, and the very bond of union remains unscattered.

  48. أيَّامَ كُنتَ عَلَى زَمَانِكَ رَاضِياً

    وَالكَونُ بَينَ مُوسَّدٍ وَمُمَهَّدِ

    In the days when you were content with your age,

    And existence lay between what was cushioned and what was made smooth,

  49. تَتَرَصَّدُ الأرضَ وأينَ تَظُنَّهُ

    حَتَّى ظفرت بِمطْمَح المُتَرَصّدِ

    You watched the earth—where did you think it lay?

    Until you gained what the watcher aspired to.

  50. نَسْجٌ زَمَتْهُ صَنَاعُ أهلِكَ مفرداً

    بَلْ ما سَخَتْ بِأخٍ بِذَاكَ المُفْرَدِ

    A weave bound by your household's craftswoman, unique;

    Rather, she gave that unique one no brother.

  51. فَلَبِسَتْ مِنهُ حُلَّةً مَا شَامَهَا

    طَرفٌ ولاَ انْبسَطَتْ لغيرِكَ في يَدٍ

    So she donned from it a robe that no

    Eye had glimpsed, nor had any hand spread it for anyone but you.

  52. عَذُبَتْ فلم تَنْضحْ بِمُلحَةِ لُجةٍ

    وَصَفَتْ فَلَمْ تَلْفَحْ بِغَبْرَةِ فَدْفَدِ

    She was sweet, exuding none of a deep sea's brine;

    And clear, unscorched by the dust of a barren plain.

  53. نُسِبَتْ لِجِيلِ التُّرْكِ إلاَّ أنَّهَا

    مِنْ عَالَمِ ثَوبِ الثَّناءِ الأجْودِ

    She was ascribed to the Turkish people, yet she

    Is from the realm of the finest robe of praise.

  54. وَكَنَيْتُ عَنْهَا بِاللِّباسِ وإنَّهَا

    لَيَّاشَةٌ قَالَ الحَكِيمُ مُجُرَّدِ

    And I alluded to her as clothing, though she is

    A “layyasha” [unclear term]—the sage said—unadorned.

  55. تَزْهُو عَلَى جَارَاتِهَا بِصَبَاحِهَا

    إذْ هوَ طالعُ سَعْدِ جَدّكَ من بَدِ

    She outshines her neighbors with her morning light,

    For it is the rising sign of your fortunate destiny from the beginning.

  56. وَعَلَتْ لَدَيْكَ على المِلاحِ بِحُرمَةِ

    حقٍ لكونْك كفأها في المْحَتِدِ

    And she rose in your esteem above beauties, by the sanctity

    Of a right, since you are her equal in lineage.

  57. أمُّ البَنِينَ مَعَ البَنَاتِ ولَمْ تَلِدُ

    بل أنْتَجَتْ من كفِّها الرَّحبِ النَّدي

    Mother of sons and daughters, though she never gave birth;

    Rather, she brought them forth from her broad, dew-moist palm.

  58. ولِقَصرِها فيك المحبَّة لم تَكُنْ

    تَلقَاكَ بَعْدُ بِشِركَةِ المُتوَلِّدِ

    And because she confined her love to you, she did not

    Afterwards meet you with offspring sharing in it.

  59. وَرَعَتْ ذِمامَكَ والمَخَاوِفُ حَولَهَا

    وَمَنَاطُ رَحلِكَ بِالقّصِيّ الأبْعَدِ

    And she guarded your bond, with fears all around her,

    While your saddle was fastened in the farthest distance.

  60. فَهَلِ اكْتَفَيتَ مِنْ الكَمَالِ بِقِصَةِ

    رَسَخَتْ بِذِكْرِكَ مِن حدْيثِ مُهَنَدِ

    So have you been content, from all perfection, with a tale

    Made firm by your mention, from the story of an Indian-forged sword?

  61. كَمْ تَحْتَهُ من نُكْتَةٍ إنْ لَم أكُنْ

    أخْرَجْتُهَا فَعَلَيَّ بِالمُتَعَوَّدِ

    How many subtleties lie beneath it! If I have not

    Brought them out, I must resort to what is customary.

  62. وَحَديثُ نَفْحِ الطِّيبِ عَنهَا مُسْنَدٌ

    بَلَغَ التَّواتُرَ عِندَ كُلّ مُوَحِّدِ

    And the account of perfume wafting from her has a chain of transmission;

    It has reached mass attestation among every monotheist.

  63. لَو لم تَطِب أنفاسُها لم يَنتَعِشْ

    مِنْ طِيبِها جِسمُ العَلِيلِ المُقعَدِ

    Had her breaths not been fragrant, there would not have revived

    From her fragrance the body of the bedridden invalid.

  64. غَمَرَتْكَ منهُ لَدى المُقامِ وإن تَسِرْ

    أهدَتهُ في طَيّ الكِتابِ المُغمِدِ

    She enveloped you in it during your stay; and if you travel,

    She sends it in the folds of the letter that sheathes it.

  65. وتصَرَّفَتْ في مَزجِهِ وكَأنَّهَا

    خَلَطَتهُ مِنْ عَرَقِ لَهَا بِمَوَّرَدِ

    And she worked skillfully at blending it, as though she

    Mixed it from her own sweat with rosewater.

  66. فأتتْ منَ التَّرتِيبِ ما أعيتْ بِهِ

    عند العبارَةِ ذاَ المَقال الأيّدِ

    Thus she achieved a composition that baffled

    The powerful speaker when he tried to put it into words.

  67. مَنْ كانَ يزعُمُ غَيرَ هذا فَليَقُلْ

    هّذا المُرَكَّبُ مِثلُ ذَاكَ المُفرَدِ

    Whoever claims otherwise, let him say:

    “This compound is like that unmixed substance.”

  68. هّذي التي هَا نِلْتَهَا بِعَزِيمَةٍ

    أمْ هِيَ دَعْوَةُ عابِدٍ مُتَهَجِّدِ

    Have you won this one—behold!—through resolve,

    Or is she the prayer of a worshipper keeping night vigil?

  69. مِا مِثلُهَا بَينَ المَلابسِ حُلَّةً

    عِندَ الملوك ولاَ كمثلِكَ مُرتَدِي

    Among garments there is no robe like her

    Among kings, nor any wearer like you.

  70. يَا أهلَ بَيتٍ شِختُ في أمدَاحِهِم

    وطَرَدْتُ عَنهَا كُلَّ ضَيفَنِ مُعتَدِ

    O people of a house, in whose praises I have grown old,

    And from which I drove every trespassing, uninvited guest:

  71. هَذا حَديِثي عَنكُمُ ولَعَلَّني

    أحظَى لَهُ بِالحُبّ إنْ لَمْ أُحسَدِ

    This is my account of you, and perhaps I

    Will win love for it, if I am not envied.

  72. أبْدَعتُ فِيهِ عَنِ الهِلالِ وبدْرِهِ

    والشَّمسِ أبدَعَ قَولَةٍ لِلمُنشِدِ

    In it I fashioned, of the crescent and its full moon,

    And the sun, the most original utterance for a reciter.

  73. لاَ زِلتُمُ في غِبطَةٍ ومَسَرَةٍ

    ولَذيذِ عَيشٍ بِالهَنا مُتَجَدّد

    May you ever remain in felicity and delight,

    And delightful living, renewed in happiness.

  74. وَعَمرتُمْ مَا شِئتُمْ حتَّى تَرَوا

    رؤيَا تَشَرُّفِكُمْ لأصْدَقَ مَقصَدِ

    And may you live as long as you wish, until you see

    A vision of your gaining honor, toward the truest goal,

  75. بِالآلِ وَالأصْحابِ وَالأتبَاعِ

    وَالمُتَصَرفِينَ وبِالنَّبيّ مُحَمَّدِ

    By the family, the companions, and the followers,

    And those who direct affairs, and by the Prophet Muhammad.