1. تَجلَّتْ فقلْتُ البدرُ لولا عُقودُها

    وماسَتْ فقلتُ الغصْنُ لولا نُهودُها

    She revealed herself; I said: the full moon, were it not for her necklaces.

    She swayed; I said: a bough, were it not for her breasts.

  2. وظَلّ نساءُ الحّيِ يَحسُدْنَ وجهَها

    ولا خيرَ في نُعميَ قليلٍ حَسودها

    The women of the tribe kept envying her face,

    and there is no good in a blessing with few enviers.

  3. عَشِيّةَ أبدَتْ عن رياضِ محاسنٍ

    فلم يَدْرِ سَرْحُ اللّحظِ كيفَ يَرودها

    That evening she unveiled gardens of beauty,

    and the grazing herd of the gaze knew not how to roam them.

  4. ومِن دونها زُرْقُ الأسنّةِ شُرَّعٌ

    إذا وردَتْها العَينُ ظلّتْ تَذودها

    Before her, blue spearheads stood leveled;

    whenever the eye approached her, they kept driving it away.

  5. غَدتْ وحديدُ الهِندِ حادي جِمالِها

    وقِيدَتْ بأشطانِ الرُّدَيْنّيِ قُودها

    She set out at dawn, Indian steel driving her camels,

    and her long-necked mounts were led by the tethers of Rudaynian spears.

  6. وقد سارتِ الأحداجُ من بطْنِ وَجْرةٍ

    وأَدنَى ديارِ الحّيِ منها زَرودها

    The camel litters had departed from the valley of Wajra,

    and the nearest of the tribe's homes to them was their Zarud.

  7. ببِيضٍ وليس البِيضُ إلاّ لِحاظُها

    وسُمْرٍ وليس السُّمْرُ إلاّ قُدودها

    Bearing white blades, yet those blades were only their glances,

    and brown lances, yet those lances were only their figures.

  8. وما بَرِح الألحاظُ يَجني كَليلُها

    علينا وبيضُ الهندِ يَنْبو حَديدها

    Even the dull glances kept inflicting harm

    upon us, while the keen edges of India's white blades glanced off.

  9. عَجبتُ لذاتِ الخالِ أنَّى تَقلّدتْ

    دماءً وَحَمْلُ العِقْدِ مِمّا يؤودها

    I marveled how she of the beauty spot could wear

    blood about her neck, when even a necklace's weight burdens her.

  10. تَمُدُّ أمامَ السِربِ للرّكْبِ جيدَها

    فللّهِ من وَحشيّةٍ ما نَصيدها

    Before the herd, she stretches her neck toward the riders:

    by God, what a wild gazelle we cannot catch!

  11. نظرتُ وأقمارُ الخدورِ طَوالعٌ

    وقد أَتلعَتْ بِيضَ السّوالفِ غِيدها

    I looked as the moons of the curtained chambers rose,

    their graceful maidens lifting their snowy necks.

  12. فلم أر كالألحاظِ لولا نُبوُّها

    ولم أرَ كالأجيادِ لولا صُدودها

    I saw nothing like those glances—were it not for their aversion,

    nor anything like those necks—were it not for their turning away.

  13. ومهما حدا الحادي بسُعْدَى ففي الكَرى

    مُعيدٌ على رَغْمِ الفراقِ يُعيدها

    Whenever the camel-driver sings Su'da onward, in sleep

    a restorer brings her back, despite separation.

  14. عقيلةُ حيٍّ راكِزينَ رِماحَهم

    إلى حُلَلٍ تَحْمِي مَهاها أُسودها

    She is the treasured lady of a tribe whose men plant their spears

    beside encampments whose lions guard their gazelles.

  15. مُمنّعةٌ حاطتْ عليها رِماحَها

    ولو قَدرتْ خيطتْ عليها جُلودها

    Unassailable, her people's spears encircle her;

    could they, their very skins would be stitched around her.

  16. إذا ما اجتَلْينا ما أَسرّتْ حِجالُها

    تَجلَّى علينا ما أَسرَّتْ غُمودها

    Whenever we behold what her curtained chambers conceal,

    what their scabbards conceal is revealed against us.

  17. وقد زاد أشواقي إليكم حَمائمٌ

    وما كنتُ أدرِي أنّ شيئاً يَزيدها

    Doves have increased my longing for you,

    though I had not known that anything could increase it.

  18. مُطوّقةٌ من زُرْقةِ الفجرِ قُمْصُها

    وَمن حُلْكةِ اللّيلِ البهيمِ عُقودها

    Ring-necked, their shirts are made of dawn's blue,

    and their necklaces of the blackness of impenetrable night.

  19. ولو قد أعارَتْ حين شاقَتْ إليكمُ

    جناحاً به تُطْوَى على النّأْيِ بِيدها

    If, when they stirred my longing for you, they had lent me

    a wing with which their deserts might be folded away despite the distance,

  20. تَقلّدت منها مِنّةً يَغْتدِي لها

    مدَى الدّهْر في طَوقَيْنِ جيدي وجيدها

    I would have donned a debt of gratitude to them, leaving

    my neck and theirs in two collars for all time.

  21. ومن عُدَدِي للشّوقِ عَينٌ إذا بكَت

    جَرت عَبْرةٌ لا يُستطاعُ جمُودها

    Among my provisions for longing is an eye that, when it weeps,

    lets flow a tear whose course cannot be stopped.

  22. فلا مطَرتْ إلاّ لليْلَى عِهادها

    ولا سُقيَتْ إلاّ بَدْمعيِ عُهودها

    May its recurring showers rain only for Layla,

    and may her remembered days be watered only by my tears.

  23. وما كُنتُ وَفّيتُ الصِّبا كُنْهَ حَقِّه

    وأيّامَه حتّى تَقضَّي حَميدها

    I had not rendered youth the full measure of its due,

    nor its days, until their finest had passed.

  24. فلمّا انقضَى عَجْلانَ قلتُ لصاحبي

    ألا هل له من عَودةٍ نَستعيدها

    When it ended so swiftly, I said to my companion:

    Ah, is there any return for it that we might reclaim?

  25. وبُدِّلتُ من سوداءَ تُهوَى على البِلَى

    بِبيضاءَ مشْنوءٌ إلينا جَديدها

    In place of a black lock, loved even when worn, I was given

    a white one whose very newness we detest.

  26. وكم ذا تُرى يَبْقَى سَوادِي بحالِه

    إذا اختلفَتْ بِيضُ اللّيالي وسُودها

    How long, do you think, will my black hair remain as it is,

    when the nights alternate, white and black?

  27. وخُوصٍ طَويْنَ البِيدَ وهْي طلائحٌ

    تَرامَى بها أغوارُها ونُجودها

    And narrow-eyed she-camels folded up the wastes, exhausted,

    flung onward by the deserts' lowlands and highlands.

  28. يُباري نجومَ اللّيلِ طَوراً هُبوطُها

    معَ الفَلَكِ الأعْلى وطَوراً صُعودها

    Their descent sometimes races the stars of night

    with the highest sphere; at other times, their ascent does.

  29. وجُزْنا جِبالاً مِلْؤُها كُلُّ ماردٍ

    على صَعْبةٍ أعيَتْ على مَنْ يَقودها

    We crossed mountains filled with every rebel,

    each on a stubborn mount that defied whoever would lead it.

  30. رُماةُ سهامٍ لا تُمَدُّ قِسيُّها

    وفُرسانُ خيلٍ لا تُشَدُّ لُبودها

    Archers of arrows whose bows are never drawn,

    and riders of horses whose saddle-felts are never strapped on.

  31. فتلك جلاميدٌ بهنّ قِتالُها

    وتلكَ شَناخِيبٌ عليها قُعودها

    Their battle is fought with those boulders,

    and those lofty crags are their seats.

  32. ستَرجِعُ والأطوادُ شِيبٌ فُروُعها

    ركائبُ سارتْ وهْي جُرْدٌ خُدودها

    They will return, the mountains' summits gray-haired:

    mounts that set out when the mountains' cheeks were bare.

  33. وما بيَ من طُرْقِ تَشيبُ جِبالُها

    ولكنْ لأيّامٍ يَشيبُ وَليدها

    It is not roads with graying mountains that distress me,

    but days that turn their newborns gray.

  34. رحَلْنا عنِ القومِ اللّئام نجائباً

    تُشَدُّ بشَكْواهم وتُلْقَى قُتودها

    We saddled noble she-camels to leave those base folk,

    their saddle-frames strapped on with complaints against them, then cast off.

  35. وعنْديَ لو أَطلقتُ عنها سَوائرٌ

    أَوابدُ إلاّ أنّ حِلْمِي قُيودها

    I have far-ranging verses, if I were to unbind them—

    wild things, except that my forbearance is their fetters.

  36. ومَن عَبد الأطماعَ ذُلاً فإنّنا

    لَمُستَعْبِدوها عِزّةً لا عَبيدها

    Though others serve their desires in abasement, we

    surely enslave them with dignity; we are not their slaves.

  37. كفى حَزناً أَنّى تَبرّضْتُ نُطْفةً

    من العيشِ لم يُبْلِلْ لساني وُرودها

    It is sorrow enough that I drew a scant drop

    of livelihood, whose draught did not even wet my tongue.

  38. وحاسِدُها يَرمِي بُمقْلةِ أَحْولٍ

    فَيزدادُ في عَينَيْهِ ضِعْفاً عَديدها

    Yet its envier looks at it with a cross-eyed gaze,

    so its amount appears doubled in his two eyes.

  39. نُفوس من الشّنْآنِ أضحَتْ مريضةً

    فقد جَعَلتْ أفكارُ سَوءٍ تَعودها

    Souls that hatred has made sick—

    evil thoughts have begun to visit them.

  40. وما غَرَّ منّي القومَ حتّى تَألّبوا

    سوى غَيْبتي عن رِحلةٍ هُم شُهودها

    Nothing about me misled those people into banding together

    except my absence from a journey they witnessed.

  41. فلمّا رأَى الحُسّادُ حُسْنَ وِفادتي

    على السُّدّةِ العلياءِ فُتّتْ كُبودها

    When the enviers saw how well I was received

    at the exalted threshold, their livers were shattered.

  42. وقالوا سَديدَ الحضرة اختَرتَ صاحباً

    فقلْتُ لهم خيرُ السّهامِ سَديدها

    They said: you chose Sadid al-Hadra as a companion.

    I replied: the best arrows are those that fly true.

  43. رَميتُ به الأغراضَ حتّى أَصبْتُها

    وحتّى دنا منّي الغداةَ بَعيدها

    With him I shot at my targets until I hit them,

    until this morning even the distant ones drew near to me.

  44. له شِيمةٌ لم يُعْطِها اللّهُ غيَرهُ

    من النّاسِ حتّى ظَلّ وهْو وَحيدها

    He has a quality God granted no one else

    among mankind, so he remained its sole possessor.

  45. يَزيدُ بإفْراطِ التّواضُعِ رفْعةً

    وتلك مَعالٍ في مَعالٍ يَشيدها

    His boundless humility increases his eminence,

    heights upon heights that he builds.

  46. ويَعلَمُ عِلْمَ الحّقِ أنْ ليس قبْسَةٌ

    من النّارِ يُخشَى الدّهرَ منها خُمودها

    He knows with certainty that he is no borrowed flame

    of fire whose extinction need ever be feared.

  47. ويَحفَظُ أموالَ الممالكِ حِفْظَها

    وأُخْرَى يَدٌ يُرضِي الرّعيّةَ جُودها

    He guards the wealth of kingdoms as it should be guarded,

    while another hand pleases his subjects with its bounty.

  48. رأَى مَلِكُ الدنْيا اختصاصَكَ بالّتي

    تُذيبُ لها أكبادَ قومٍ حُقودها

    The world's king saw fit to single you out for the office

    over which men's grudges melt their livers.

  49. وقال رَسولُ اللّهِ يُوسُفُ ولّنِي

    خزائنَها تُحفَظْ لديَّ حُدودها

    God's messenger Yusuf said: appoint me over

    its treasuries; their bounds will be safeguarded in my keeping.

  50. وولاّك سلطانُ الأنامِ ولم تَسَلْ

    وهاتِيكَ عُلْيا لا يُطاقُ جُحودها

    Yet the sovereign of mankind appointed you without your asking,

    a high distinction that no one can deny.

  51. وأَشْرفُ ما ولّي الملوكُوِلايةٌ

    تُريدُ المُولَّي لا المُولَّي يُريدها

    The noblest appointment kings confer is an office

    that seeks its appointee, not one its appointee seeks.

  52. فللّهِ مَيْمونُ النّقيبةِ ما انتمَى

    إلى دولةٍ إلاّ وأَورقَ عُودها

    By God, a man of blessed nature! He never joined

    a dynasty without its stem putting forth leaves.

  53. فأصبح يَحمِي قُبّةَ المُلْكِ نُصْحُه

    وآراؤهُ من أنْ يَميلَ عَمودها

    His loyal counsel now guards the dome of kingship,

    and his judgments keep its pillar from tilting.

  54. له ساحةٌ لم يَنتَثِرْ حَبُّ مُزْنةٍ

    كما تَتوالَى كُلَّ يومٍ وُفودها

    He has a courtyard: no cloud ever scattered its rain-beads

    as thickly as its delegations follow one another each day.

  55. إشارتُه العلياءُ للنّاسِ قِبلةٌ

    إليها هوىً يُضحِي ويُمسِي قُصودها

    His exalted gesture is the people's prayer-direction,

    toward which their eager quests turn morning and evening.

  56. فطَوراً لأرماحِ الكُماةِ رُكوعُها

    وطَوراً لأقلامِ الكُفاةِ سُجودها

    At times, the warriors' spears offer their bowing,

    and at times, the able officials' pens their prostration.

  57. نَمتْهُ إلى أعلَى ذُؤابةِ سُؤْددٍ

    من العَجَمِ البِيض المناسيبِ سِيدها

    He was raised to the highest crest of nobility

    by Persian lords of spotless pedigree.

  58. ملوكٌ سمَتْ عَلْياؤها وجدودها

    كما كَرُمَتْ آباؤها وجُدودها

    Kings whose eminence and fortunes rose high,

    just as their fathers and grandfathers were noble.

  59. غدتْ سادةَ الدُّنيا على حينِ عِزّها

    وراحَتْ وكُلُّ الخافقَيْنِ مَسودها

    They became the world's masters in the time of their might,

    and by evening all East and West were under their rule.

  60. وما نِيلَ من أُمنيّةٍ ومَنّيةٍ

    سِوى ما أتاهُ وعْدُها ووَعيدها

    No wish was fulfilled, nor any death dealt,

    except what their promise and threat brought about.

  61. بكُلِّ يدٍ لولا نَداها وجُودها

    على النّاسِ ما سَرَّ الكريمَ وُجودها

    With every hand—were it not for its bounty and generosity

    toward people, its existence would not gladden the noble.

  62. أخو كَرمٍ تَتلو المقالَ فعالُه

    سريعاً كما يتلو بُروقاً رُعودها

    A man of generosity, whose deeds follow his words

    swiftly, as thunder follows lightning flashes.

  63. وأَعطافُهُ تَهتَزُّ حقَّ اهتزازِها

    إذا راحَ مَخْلوعاً علينا بُرودها

    His sides sway as rightly they should,

    when their mantles are taken off and bestowed upon us.

  64. كأنّ علينا رَوضةً من ثنائهِ

    إذا ظلَّ يُمناهُ سماءً تَجودها

    As though a garden of praise for him lay upon us,

    while his right hand was a sky pouring rain upon it.

  65. هو الشّمسُ والعافون أَقمارُ أفْقهِ

    تُجِدُّ وتُبْلِي النُّورَ ممّا يُفيدها

    He is the sun; his petitioners are moons of his horizon,

    renewing and wearing out the light he grants them.

  66. بأزمانِ نُوشَرْوانَ فاخرَ أَحمدٌ

    نَبِيُّ الهُدى لمّا تلاقَتْ سُعودها

    Ahmad boasted of Nushirwan's times,

    the Prophet of guidance, when their good fortunes converged.

  67. وأَيّامُ نُوشَرْوانَ في حَقِّ أَحمدٍ

    كتلكَ سواءٌ شِيبُها وجَديدها

    And Nushirwan's days, where Ahmad is concerned,

    are like those, their gray age and their newness alike.

  68. فَخُذها قوافٍ ما تزالُ لحُسْنِها

    تَسيرُ بآفاقِ البلادِ شَرودها

    So take these rhymes: their beauty will forever

    send their wandering lines across the horizons of the lands.

  69. يَلَذُ لأسماعِ الكرامِ قَريضُها

    ويَحْلو بأفواهِ الرُّواةِ نَشيدها

    Their poetry delights the ears of the generous,

    and their song is sweet in reciters' mouths.

  70. أَتَتْكَ بها نَفْسٌ إليكَ مَشوقةٌ

    لها حُرْمتاها قَصْدُها وقصيدها

    A soul longing for you has brought them to you;

    it has two claims to respect: its purpose and its ode.

  71. ولا زلْتَ في دُنيا يُقيمُ نَعيمُها

    ولا زلتَ في نُعْمَي يَدومُ مزيدها

    May you ever dwell in a world whose bliss abides,

    and ever enjoy a blessing whose increase endures,

  72. وتَحْوِي بها الذِكْرَ الجميلَ ابنَ خالدٍ

    فما الذكْرُ للأحرارِ إلا خُلودها

    and win through it honorable remembrance, Ibn Khalid,

    for remembrance is nothing but immortality for the freeborn.