1. عَذيري فيكَ مِن لاحٍ إِذا ما

    شَكَوتُ الحُبَّ حَرَّقَني مَلاما

    Who will defend me, for loving you, against a censurer who, whenever

    I complain of love, scorches me with reproach?

  2. فَلا وَأَبيكِ ما ضَيَّعتُ حِلماً

    وَلا قارَفتُ في حُبّيكِ ذاما

    No—by your father—I have not squandered good sense,

    Nor have I committed anything blameworthy in loving you.

  3. أُلامُ عَلى هَواكِ وَلَيسَ عَدلاً

    إِذا أَحبَبتُ مِثلَكِ أَن أُلاما

    I am blamed for loving you; it is not just

    That, when I love one like you, I should be blamed.

  4. لَقَد حَرَّمتِ مِن وَصلي حَلالاً

    وَقَد حَلَّلتِ مِن هَجري حَراما

    You have forbidden lawful union with me,

    And made lawful the forbidden act of forsaking me.

  5. أَعيدي فِيَّ نَظرَةَ مُستَثيبٍ

    تَوَخّى الأَجرَ أَو كَرِهَ الأَثاما

    Look upon me again with the gaze of one seeking recompense,

    Who seeks reward or shrinks from sin's punishment.

  6. تَرى كَبِداً مُحَرَّةً وَعَيناً

    مُؤَرَّقَةً وَقَلباً مُستَهاما

    You will see a burning liver and an eye

    Kept sleepless, and a heart distraught with love.

  7. تَناءَت دارُ عَلوَةَ بَعدَ قُربِ

    فَهَل رَكبٌ يُبَلِّغُها السَلاما

    Alwa's dwelling has grown distant after being near;

    Is there a band of riders to bear her my greetings?

  8. وَجَدَّدَ طَيفُها لَوماً وَعَتباً

    فَما يَعتادُنا إِلّا لِماما

    And her phantom has renewed reproach and rebuke,

    For it visits us only now and then.

  9. وَرُبَّتَ لَيلَةٍ قَد بِتُّ أُسقى

    بِعَينَيها وَكَفَّيها المُداما

    And many a night I have spent being served

    Wine by her eyes and her hands.

  10. قَطَعنا اللَيلَ لَثماً وَاِعتِناقاً

    وَأَفنَيناهُ ضَمّاً وَاِلتِزاما

    We passed the night in kisses and embraces,

    And spent it all in clasping and holding close.

  11. وَقَد عَلِمَت بِأَنّي لَم أُضَيِّع

    لَها عَهداً وَلَم أُخفِر ذِماما

    And she knows that I have not broken

    A pledge to her, nor betrayed a covenant.

  12. لَئِن أَضحَت مَحَلَّتُنا عِراقاً

    مُشَرِّقَةً وَحِلَّتَها شَآما

    Even if our dwelling has come to be in Iraq,

    Eastward, while her dwelling lies in Syria,

  13. فَلَم أُحدِث لَها إِلّا وِداداً

    وَلَم أَزدَد بِها إِلّا غَراما

    Yet I have developed for her nothing but affection,

    And have only grown more ardently in love with her.

  14. خِلافَةُ جَعفَرَ عَدلٌ وَأَمنٌ

    وَحِلمٌ لَم يَزَل يَسَعُ الأَناما

    Ja'far's caliphate is justice and security,

    And forbearance that has never ceased to embrace mankind.

  15. غَريبُ المَكرُماتِ تَرى لَدَيهِ

    رِقابَ المالِ تُهتَضَمُ اِهتِضاما

    Wondrous in his noble deeds—you see before him

    The necks of wealth utterly crushed.

  16. إِذا وَهَبَ البُدورَ رَأَيتَ وَجهاً

    تَخالُ بِحُسنِهِ البَدرَ التَماما

    When he bestows full moons, you see a face

    That in its beauty you take for the moon at its fullest.

  17. غَنِيٌّ أَن يُفاخِرُ أَو يُسامي

    جَليلٌ أَن يُفاخَرَ أَو يُسامى

    He has no need to vie in glory or eminence,

    Too exalted to be rivaled in glory or eminence.

  18. غَمَرتَ الناسَ إِفضالاً وَفَضلاً

    وَإِنعاماً مُبِرّاً وَاِنتِقاما

    You have flooded mankind with beneficence and excellence,

    And with surpassing favors and vengeance.

  19. نَعُدُّ لَكَ السِقايَةَ وَالمُصَلّى

    وَأَركانَ البَنِيَّةَ وَالمَقاما

    We count as yours the giving of water and the place of prayer,

    And the corners of the Kaaba and the Station:

  20. مَكارِمَ قَد وَزَنتَ بِها ثَبيراً

    فَلَم تَنقُص وَطُلتَ بِها شِماما

    Noble honors you have weighed against Thabir,

    And not fallen short; through them you have towered above Shimam.

  21. وَما الخُلَفاءُ لَو جاروكَ يَوماً

    بِمُعتَلِقيكَ رَأياً وَاِعتِزاما

    And the caliphs, were they ever to race against you,

    Would not catch up with you in judgment or resolve.

  22. أَلَستَ أَعَمَّهُم جوداً وَأَزكا

    هُمُ عوداً وَأَمضاهُم حُساما

    Are you not the broadest of them in bounty, and the purest

    Of them in stock, and the keenest of them in sword?

  23. وَلَو جُمِعَ الأَئِمَّةُ في مَقامٍ

    تَكونُ بِهِ لَكُنتَ لَهُم إِماما

    And were the imams gathered in one place,

    With you among them, you would be their imam.

  24. مُخالِفُ أَمرِكُم لِلَّهِ عاصٍ

    وَمُنكِرُ حَقِّكُم لاقٍ أَثاما

    Whoever defies your command disobeys God,

    And whoever denies your right will meet sin's punishment.

  25. وَلَيسَ بِمُسلِمٍ مَن لَم يُقَدِّم

    وِلايَتَكُم وَإِن صَلّى وَصاما

    Nor is he a Muslim who does not put first

    Allegiance to you, even if he prays and fasts.

  26. شَهَرتُم في جَوانِبِ كُلِّ ثَغرٍ

    ظُباةَ البيضِ وَالأَسلَ المُقاما

    You have brandished along the flanks of every frontier

    The edges of gleaming swords and upright spears.

  27. وَأَقدَمتُم وَفي الإِقدامِ كُرهٌ

    عَلى الغَمَراتِ تُقتَحَمُ اِقتِحاما

    And you advanced, though advancing entails hardship,

    Into engulfing perils that are stormed headlong.

  28. أَمينَ اللَهِ دُمتَ لَنا سَليماً

    وَمُلّيتَ السَلامَةَ وَالدَواما

    O God's trustee, may you remain safe for us,

    And may you long enjoy safety and lasting life.

  29. أَرى المُتَوَكِّلِيَّةَ قَد تَعالَت

    مَحاسِنُها وَأَكمَلَتِ التَماما

    I see al-Mutawakkiliyya; exalted have become

    Its beauties, and it has attained utter perfection.

  30. قُصورٌ كَالكَواكِبِ لامِعاتٌ

    يَكَدنَ يُضِئنَ لِلساري الظَلاما

    Palaces glittering like the stars,

    They all but light the darkness for the night traveler.

  31. وَبَرٌّ مِثلُ بُردِ الوَشيِ فيهِ

    جَنى الحَوذانِ يُنشَرُ وَالخُزامى

    And a plain like a brocaded mantle, where

    Buttercup blossoms and lavender lie spread.

  32. إِذا بَرَقَ الرَبيعُ لَهُ كَسَتهُ

    غَوادي المُزنِ وَالريحُ الرُخامى

    When spring gleams upon it, it is clothed by

    The morning showers of rain clouds and the gentle breeze

  33. غَرائِبُ مِن فُنونِ النَبتِ فيها

    جَنى الزَهرِ الفُرادى وَالتُؤاما

    With wondrous varieties of plants, bearing

    A harvest of blossoms, single and paired.

  34. تُضاحِكُها الضُحى طَوراً وَطَوراً

    عَلَيها الغَيثُ يَنسَجِمُ اِنسِجاما

    Morning sunlight smiles with them at times, and at times

    The rain pours down upon them in abundance.

  35. وَلَو لَم يَستَهِلَّ بِها غَمامٌ

    بِرَيِّقِهِ لَكُنتَ لَها غَماما

    And even if no cloud poured down upon them

    With its first fresh showers, you would be their cloud.