1. البحرُ أجمَعُ لو غدا أنقاسي

    والبَرُّ أجمَعُ لو غدا قِرطاسي

    If the whole sea became my ink,

    And all the land became my paper,

  2. وتَخُطُّ عُمْرَ الدَّهرِ لي أَيدي الورى

    ما بِتُّ من شَوقٍ إليك أُقاسي

    And humankind's hands wrote for me throughout eternity

    What I endure through nights of longing for you,

  3. فَنِيا ولم يَفِيا بذِكْرِ أقَلِّه

    فقياسُ وَجْدي فوقَ كُلِّ قِياس

    Both would perish without recounting its least part:

    The measure of my passion exceeds every measure.

  4. فارقْتَني فأَرقْتَني من مُقْلتي

    وتَقاذفَتْ مُقَلُ الوَرى إحساسي

    You parted from me and poured me out through my eye,

    And other people's eyes tossed my senses to and fro.

  5. وذهْبْتَ عن رَأْسي وسِرْتَ فلا تَسلْ

    ما مَرَّ بعدَك للفِراقِ براسي

    You left my head behind and journeyed on—do not ask

    What separation brought upon my head after you.

  6. ما رَوّضَتْ أرضاً بقُرْبي أدمُعي

    إلاّ وصوَّح نَبْتَها أنفاسي

    Never did my tears make ground near me green

    Without my breaths withering its growth.

  7. مُذْ لم يُنادِمْ نورَ وَجْهِك ناظِري

    ما باتَ مُغْتَبِقاً بكأْسِ نُعاس

    Since my gaze ceased carousing with your face's light,

    It has not spent a night drinking from sleep's cup.

  8. يا راحلاً والقلبُ من صَدْرِ امْرئٍ

    للعَهدِ لا ناسٍ ولا مُتَناس

    O departing one, taking the heart from a man's breast—

    One neither forgetful of the pledge nor feigning forgetfulness!

  9. لولاكَ أُصبحْ برامةَ ذاكراً

    دَرْسَ الجَوى لمنازلٍ أَدراس

    But for you, would I wake at Rama, reciting

    The lesson of heartache to dwellings worn away?

  10. دَرْسٌ حَمامُ الواديَيْنِ يُعيدُه

    بسُجوعِه فله يَقِلُّ النّاسي

    A lesson the doves of the two valleys repeat

    In their cooing, so few there are who forget it.

  11. وببَطْنِ وَجْرةَ والمَهامِهُ دونَه

    رَشأٌ يُصابِحُني هوىً ويُماسي

    Within Wajra's hollow, with trackless wastes before him,

    Is a fawn whose love greets me morning and evening.

  12. ظَبْيٌ يَروحُ ويغَتْدي مِن ناظري

    والقلبِ بينَ حُبالةٍ وكِناس

    A gazelle that goes at dusk and dawn, finding in my eye

    And heart a snare and a sheltered lair.

  13. أنا والنّسيمُ ومُقلتاهُ بَيْننا

    في طُولِ سُقْمٍ لا يُعادُ تَآس

    The breeze, his two eyes, and I share

    Consolation in a long sickness none visits.

  14. قد كنتُ صَلْدَ المُقلَتيْنِ منَ البُكا

    أيّامَ لَهْوي جامِحُ الأفْراس

    My eyes were once stone-hard against weeping,

    In the days when the steeds of my revelry ran wild.

  15. فرجَعْتُ لمّا شِبْتُ أسبَقَ دَمعةً

    من شَمعةٍ عندَ اشتِعالِ الرّاس

    But when I grew gray, I became quicker to shed tears

    Than a candle when its head is set aflame.

  16. وصَحْوتُ إلاّ من تَذَكُّرِ مَن مضى

    ونَفضْتُ مِن عُلَقِ الهوى أَحلاسي

    I sobered, except from remembering those departed,

    And shook my saddlecloths free of love's attachments.

  17. أَبتِ النُّهى لي أَن أُحاوِلَ خُلْسةً

    في لَذّةٍ والرّاسُ ذو أَخلاس

    Reason forbade me to steal

    A pleasure, with my head streaked gray.

  18. فلئن يَئِسْتُ اليومَ من وَصْلِ الدُّمَى

    فاليأْسُ إن نَسَبوا أَخٌ للنّاس

    If today I despair of union with those fair idols,

    Despair, if pedigrees are traced, is mankind's brother.

  19. ولَكَمْ أَرحْنَ وقد سمَحْنَ بمُنْيتي

    رُوحُ النّجاح خِلافُ رُوح الياس

    How often they gave me comfort, granting my desire;

    The spirit of fulfillment differs from the spirit of despair.

  20. فاليومَ من زَمنِ الصِّبا لم يَبْقَ لي

    إلاّ بذِكْرِ عُهودِها اسْتِئْناسي

    Today, of the days of youth, nothing remains for me

    Except solace in recalling their bygone times.

  21. لِلّهِ حَيٌّ قد عَهِدْتُ قِبابَهمْ

    ضُربَتْ على العَلَمَيْنِ من أَوطاس

    How splendid, by God, the tribe whose tents I knew,

    Pitched upon the two landmarks of Awtas!

  22. شُوسٌ إذا نَزَلوا قَرَوا أَو نازَلُوا

    قَروُا العُداةَ تَناكُصَ الأنكاس

    Fierce men: when they camped, they hosted guests; when they fought,

    They served their foes the backward flight of cowards.

  23. كم بعدَ ما جَزُّوا النّواصيَ في الوغَى

    جَرُّوا الشّواصيَ في الثّرى المُتَعاسي

    How often, after shearing forelocks in battle,

    They dragged upturned limbs through the unyielding earth.

  24. ولدَيهمُ لمّا انتشَوا ثُمَّ اشتَرَوا

    كاسَ العقير لدى عَقيرِ الكاس

    And among them, when they grew drunk and then purchased

    The slain one's cup beside one slain by the cup,

  25. فيهمْ غزالٌ لا يُصادُ وخَدُّه

    دامٍ بنَبْلِ نَواظِرِ الجُلاّس

    Was a gazelle that cannot be hunted; his cheek

    Bleeds beneath the arrows of his companions' gazes.

  26. إن آنسَ العَينانِ من وجَناتهِ

    ناراً فمِنها القلبُ في اسْتِقْباس

    If the two eyes discern upon his cheeks

    A fire, the heart seeks its kindling there.

  27. أَعَجِبْتَ كيف زهَتْ لتَحِكيَ قَدَّه

    أَعطافُ خُوطِ البانةِ المَيّاس

    Do you marvel how, to mimic his stature, grew proud

    The bending lengths of a swaying ban-tree shoot?

  28. وبدا ليُشْبِهَ خَدَّه أو خَطَّه

    في الرَّوضِ مُشرِقُ وَرْدِه والآس

    And there appeared, to resemble his cheek or its down,

    In the garden, its radiant roses and myrtle.

  29. لا لَومَ بالإغرابِ في مَرعَى المُنى

    عندي على جِنْسٍ من الأجناس

    For straying far in the pasture of wishes, no blame

    Falls, in my judgment, on any kind of creature.

  30. شَطَطُ الأماني كنتُ أَحسَبُ أنّه

    مَعنىً تُخَصُّ به طِباعُ النّاس

    I used to think excessive wishes

    A trait reserved for human nature,

  31. حتّى رأيتُ الدَّهَر يَسألُ رَبَّه

    عُمْرَ الخِلافةِ في بني العَبّاس

    Until I saw Time ask its Lord

    For the lifespan of the caliphate among the sons of al-Abbas.

  32. قَومٌ أقامَ الدِّينُ تحت ظِلالهمْ

    والمُلْكُ وهْو مُوطّدُ الآساس

    A people beneath whose shade religion dwelt,

    And kingship, its foundations firmly set.

  33. تَتناسَلُ الخلفاءُ منهمْ دَهرَها

    كتناسُلِ الآسادِ في الأَخياس

    Caliphs are born of them throughout the ages,

    As lions breed within the thickets,

  34. مُتحدِّرِينَ خلالَ حُجْبِ جلالةٍ

    من كُلَ أغلبَ باسلٍ هِرْماس

    Descending through veils of majesty

    From every mighty, valiant, fearsome lion.

  35. نُسِقوا كما نُسِقَتْ كُعوبُ مُثقَّفٍ

    يَهْدِي بأَعلاها سَنا مِقْباس

    They are arrayed like the joints of a straightened spear,

    At whose tip the gleam of a torch gives guidance.

  36. فاسْلَمْ أميرَ المُؤمنينَ لدولةٍ

    تَرمي جُدودَ عِداكَ بالإتْعاس

    Live safe, Commander of the Faithful, for a dynasty

    That casts your enemies' fortunes into ruin.

  37. من عالِمٍ للعِلمِ أَرضُ وَقارِه

    ماءُ النَّدى فيها ونارُ الباس

    A scholar: his dignity is learning's earth,

    With bounty's waters and valor's fire within it.

  38. واللُّطْفُ منه للعبادِ وللورَى

    نَيْلُ الحياةِ به معَ الأنفاس

    From him comes gentleness to mortals, and to mankind

    The gift of life through him, with every breath.

  39. مَلِكٌ يَرِقُ على الرّعيّةِ رأْفةً

    قَلْبٌ على الأموالِ منه قاس

    A king who softens toward his subjects in compassion,

    Yet has a heart unyielding toward wealth.

  40. تُضحي مُلوكُ الأرضِ في عَرَصاتهِ

    ماشِينَ كالأقلامِ في القِرطاس

    The kings of earth within his courts become

    Men walking like pens across a page.

  41. مُتحلِّبُ للوفدِ خِلْفُ نَوالِه

    أبداً بلا مَرْيٍ ولا إبساس

    The teat of his bounty flows for the envoys

    Forever, without stroking or coaxing.

  42. يُعطِي فيُسْرِفُ في الثّوابِ وإنّما

    وَزْنُ العِقابِ لدَيْهِ بالقِسطاس

    He gives lavishly in reward, but

    Punishment with him is weighed on the just balance.

  43. مُستَرشِدٌ باللهِ يُرشِدُ خَلْقَه

    ويَسوسُ بالإنعامِ والإبْآس

    Mustarshid bi-llah guides His creatures,

    And governs through beneficence and chastisement.

  44. قُدْسِيُّ مُلكٍ نُورُه مُتضاعِفٌ

    فالطّرْفُ عنه من المهابةِ خاس

    Sacred in kingship, his light is multiplied;

    The gaze shrinks from him in awe.

  45. مهما تَجلَّى للعِدا صَعِقوا له

    فَهُمُ لخِيفتِه على إيجاس

    Whenever he reveals himself to foes, they are thunderstruck;

    They live in apprehension through fear of him.

  46. لمّا غدا شَمساً وكان زَمانُنا

    ليلاً وقَلّ اللّيلُ عنْ إشْماس

    When he became a sun, while our age was

    Night, too lowly for the shining of a sun,

  47. ضرَبَ الحِجابَ ونابَ عنه طالِعاً

    بَدْرٌ هَدَى بسَناهُ كُلَّ أُناس

    He drew the veil, and in his stead there rose

    A full moon whose radiance guided every people.

  48. ووزيرُ صِدْقٍ مُصطَفيهِ خليفةٌ

    منه الهُدَى في ظِلِّ طَوْدٍ راس

    A faithful vizier, chosen by a caliph,

    From him comes guidance beneath a firmly rooted mountain's shade.

  49. تَهدِي الجيوشَ السّودَ من راياتهِ

    أبداً كما تَهْدي العيونَ أَناسي

    The black of his banners guides the armies

    Ever, as pupils guide the eyes.

  50. وله رياحٌ مُسْرَجاتٌ سُخِّرَتْ

    لِتَجوسَ في الآفاقِ كُلَّ مَجاس

    He has saddled winds, made obedient

    To range through every tract of the horizons,

  51. بلُيوثِ غابِ ذَوابلٍ وصَوارمٍ

    غُلُبٍ لفُرسانِ الوغَى فُرّاس

    Bearing lions from a forest of slender spears and sharp swords,

    Thick-necked, tearing battle's horsemen apart.

  52. يَدعون في الهيجاء باسْمِ مُؤَيّدٍ

    منه يَلينُ شديدُ كلَّ مِراس

    In battle they cry out the name of Mu'ayyad,

    Before whom the fiercest resistance grows mild.

  53. تَوقيعُه أبداً له تَفْسيرُه

    في كُلّ يَومِ تَخاذُلٍ وتَواس

    His decree always finds its explanation

    On every day of mutual desertion and support.

  54. النّاصِرُ اللهُ المَجِيدُ له وإن

    لم يأْلَ حُسْنَ سياسةِ السُّوّاس

    His helper is God the Glorious, although

    He spares no effort in wisely governing the governors.

  55. وكذا إذا ما اللّهُ كان مُحامِياً

    عن دولةٍ حُرِسَتْ بلا أَحراس

    Thus, when God is the defender

    Of a dynasty, it is guarded without guards.

  56. لم يَجتذِبْ لرداء مُلكِكَ هُدْبَه

    إلاّ لكأْسِ رداهُ صِرْفاً حاس

    None has tugged at the fringe of your kingship's robe

    Without sipping the unmixed cup of his own doom.

  57. عُمرُ العُداةِ لكمْ إذا ما جاهَروا

    عُمرُ السّهامِ وُضِعْنَ في الأعجاس

    Your enemies' lifespan, when they openly defy you,

    Is that of arrows set against the grips of bows.

  58. لا يَظفَرُ الفَرّارُ منك بمأْمَنٍ

    حتّى يَصيرَ مُجاوِرَ الدِّيماس

    The fugitive from you finds no refuge

    Until he comes to dwell beside the burial vault.

  59. وهُناكَ أيضاً لا أمانَ فزائدٌ

    قَطْعاً عذابُ عِداك في الأرماس

    Even there is no safety, for greater still,

    Most certainly, is your foes' torment in the graves.

  60. طَهِّرْ بسَيفِك ظاهِرَ الأرضِ التي

    نَجِسَتُ بوَطْءِ أولئك الأرجاس

    Purify with your sword the surface of the earth

    Defiled by the tread of those filthy ones.

  61. طَهِّرْهُ غسْلاً منهمُ بدِمائهمْ

    يَطْهُرْ مِنَ الأنجاسِ بالأنْجاس

    Wash it clean of them with their own blood;

    It will be cleansed of filth by filth.

  62. أَإمامَ أُمّةِ أحمدٍ وإمامُها

    في الحَشْرِ يَشْفَعُ للورَى ويُواسي

    O imam of Ahmad's community—whose imam

    At the Gathering intercedes for mankind and brings solace—

  63. رُضتَ الزّمانَ فلان بعدَ تَصعُّبٍ

    وصُروفُه قد لِنَّ بعدَ شِماس

    You tamed Time, and it grew gentle after stubbornness;

    Its vicissitudes grew mild after restiveness.

  64. وَورِثْتَ من بُردِ النّبيّ المُصطفَى

    ولِباسِ تَقْواهُ أَجلَّ لِباس

    You inherited from the Chosen Prophet's mantle,

    And from his robe of piety, the noblest raiment.

  65. ومنَ القضيبِ ملَكْتَ مَلْمَسَ أَنملٍ

    أَعداكَ ذاك الجُودُ بالإلْماس

    From the staff you acquired the touch of fingertips;

    That generosity infected you through contact.

  66. ولك المُصلَّى والحطيمُ وزَمزَمٌ

    ومُبدِّلُ الإيحاشِ بالإيناس

    Yours are the prayer-place, the Hatim, and Zamzam,

    And that which changes estrangement into companionship,

  67. حيث الحمامةُ لا تُنازَعُ طوقَها

    والوَحْشُ يأْمَنُ رَنّةَ الأقواس

    Where no one wrests the dove's collar from it,

    And wild beasts are safe from the twang of bows.

  68. والبيتُ مَمدودٌ إليك يَمينُه

    لا زال يَستَكْسي وأنتَ الكاسي

    The House stretches its right hand toward you;

    May it ever seek clothing, while you clothe it.

  69. يا غارسي ونَداكَ غيرُ مُوَّفٍ

    في القرب أو في البعد سقْيَ غراسي

    O you who planted me, yet whose bounty's dew falls short

    Of watering my planting, whether near or far.

  70. أمّا المديحُ فلا أَدُلُّ بحُسنِه

    فَقليُبه مُتجاذِبُ الأمراس

    As for praise, I do not presume upon its beauty;

    Its well is tugged by contending ropes.

  71. لكنْ وَرِثْتُ لكمْ قديمَ مَودّةٍ

    أَضحَتْ قَواعدُها وهُنَّ رواس

    But I inherited an ancient affection for you,

    Whose foundations have grown firmly rooted.

  72. وبنيتُ بيتَ هوىً لكم فغدوتُ والتْ

    تأْميلُ سَمْكي والوَلاءُ آساسي

    I built you a house of love, and now

    Hope is my roof and loyalty my foundation.

  73. فامنَع يدَ الأيّام من هَدْمي وإن

    تَنفَحْ بإنْعامٍ فَحُقَّ لِشاس

    Keep the hand of days from tearing me down; and if

    You bestow a favor, Shas was deserving.

  74. تَشبيهُ كَفِّكَ بالبحارِ إذا طمَتْ

    تَشبيهُ نُورِ اللّهِ بالنّبِراس

    To liken your palm to the seas when they surge

    Is to liken God's light to a lamp.

  75. فأَعِدْ إلى الأيّامِ نظْرةَ حازمٍ

    نَطُسٍ لأدواء الزّمانِ نِطاسي

    So cast upon the days again the gaze of a resolute man,

    Discerning, a skilled physician for Time's ailments.

  76. واسْعَدْ بنَصْبِ وَليّ عَهْدٍ للورى

    فالبيتُ يُدعَمُ لم يَزَلْ بأواس

    Rejoice in appointing an heir apparent for mankind;

    A house has always been supported by foundation-stones.

  77. دوما معاً في دَولةٍ مَحروسةٍ

    تَبقى على الأزمانِ والأحراس

    May you both endure together in a guarded dynasty

    That survives all times and long ages.

  78. فدَوامُ مُلْكِكُما معاً في غِبْطةٍ

    أَبداً لِمجروحِ اللّيالي آس

    For your joint kingship's continuance in happiness

    Is ever a healer for those wounded by the nights.