ألا هل فتحت من الشوق بابا

وخاطبت من لا يطيق الخطابا

Ah, have you opened a door to longing,

and addressed one who cannot bear speech?

فما من ملامك طارحت رشداً

ولا أَنت فيه اِهتديت الصوابا

For through your reproach you offered no sound guidance,

nor have you found the right course in it.

فدع ذا الملام فبرّك عندي

أراه بماء العقوق مشابا

So leave this reproach; your kindness, in my eyes,

I see mingled with the water of ingratitude.

ودعني وحبّي لأسما فإنّي

أرى حبّها مذهباً لن يعابا

And leave me to my love for Asma, for I

see love for her as a path that will not be censured.

خذ الحزم يا صاح في كلّ أمر

تجشّمته صحبة واِرتكابا

Hold fast to resolve, my friend, in every undertaking

you shoulder, in companionship and in action.

وإيّاك صحبة خلّ إذا ما

غدرت به المهمات هابا

And beware the company of a friend who, whenever

grave troubles betray him, takes fright.

وخالل فتى الودّ عنّا إِذا ما

دعوت لأمر عظيم أَجابا

And befriend a loving young man from among us who, when

you call him to a mighty matter, answers.

يُواليك في كلّ أمرٍ وطورٍ

يقاسمك الكأس شهداً وصابا

He stands by you in every matter and condition,

sharing the cup with you, honey and bitter sap.

ثبوت لعهدك إن غبت عنه

فعهدك لو غبت ما عنه غابا

Steadfast in your covenant if you are absent from him,

for even if you are absent, your covenant never leaves him.

فما كلّ ذي صحبة في البرايا

يسرّ المصاحبَ فيما أصابا

For not everyone who keeps company among humankind

gladdens his companion in what befalls him.

فَكم واردٍ في السراب ماءً

ولم يلق ذلك إلّا سرابا

For how many have sought water in a mirage,

and found nothing there but a mirage!

ولُذ بالمليك عرار سليل

فلاح إذا أناب الدهر نابا

And seek refuge with King Arar, descendant

of Falah, when Time grows a fang.

فَذلك للمسلمين ملاذٌ

إِذا الدهرُ أَنشب ظفراً ونابا

For he is a refuge for the Muslims

when Time sinks in a claw and a fang.

مليك إِذا ما تجلّى بدستٍ

رأيت الجلال عليه حجابا

A king who, whenever he appears upon a throne,

you see majesty as a veil upon him.

تمنحه إِن شئت في كلّ أمرٍ

تجده أعزّ الملوك جنابا

Give to him, if you wish, in every matter;

you will find him the most exalted of kings in dignity.

وإِن أَنت كيّفته كان في ال

كونِ غَيثاً وليثاً مهابا

And if you describe him, he is, in the

world, rain and an awe-inspiring lion.

تقود إِلى الوفدِ في كلّ يوم

جمالاً ضخاماً وخيلاً عرابا

You lead to the visiting delegation every day

huge camels and purebred Arabian horses.

سحاب الندا وَالعطا من يديه

تجلجل يوم النوال السحابا

Clouds of generosity and giving from his two hands

make the clouds rumble on the day of bestowal.

وَأَسلو هواها وَقد صار لحمي

طعاماً إِليه وَماء شرابا

And can I forget her love, when my flesh has become

food for it, and water its drink?

وَإِنّي وَإِن عذبتني اِعتماداً

لمستعذب في هواها العذابا

And I, even if she deliberately torments me,

surely find torment sweet in my love for her.

وَكم لي مِن لَوعةٍ قد شكاها

فؤاد على لاهب الجمر ذابا

And how many a burning anguish of mine has been lamented by

a heart that melted on the blaze of embers.

هيَ الشمسُ لكنّما هي شمسٌ

تجلّ الخيام معاً والقبابا

She is the sun—but she is a sun

that ennobles tents and domed pavilions alike.

فَما رقرقت لحظها قطّ إلّا

بِأسهمهِ في فؤادي أصابا

For never has she made her gaze shimmer without

its arrows striking within my heart.

تُريك سنا البدرِ منها إذا ما

أَزالت هنالك عنها القبابا

She shows you the full moon's radiance in her whenever

she removes the domed canopies from herself there.

فَفي الحرّ تشبه كانون طبعاً

وَتُشبه في زمن البردِ آبا

So in the heat she resembles Kanun by nature,

and in the season of cold she resembles Ab.

إِذا أَنا قبّلتُ لم أَدر طلعاً

أقبِّلُ أَم لؤلؤاً أم حبابا

When I kiss, I do not know: is it palm blossom

I kiss, or pearls, or bubbles?

أَغارُ على ناعمِ الجسم منها

إِذا هيَ أَلقت عليه الثيابا

I am jealous over her tender body

when she lays garments upon it.

وَأحسدُ عودَ البشام إذا ما

تَرشّف من ثغر فيها الرضابا

And I envy the balsam twig whenever

it sips sweet saliva from the opening of her mouth.

فيا فوزه إِذ جرى في لماها

وقبّل منها الثنايا العذابا

Oh, what fortune it had as it moved along her dark lips

and kissed her sweet front teeth!

وَليل سرَينا به وهو فيما

رَأيناه في الكون يحكي الغرابا

And a night we traveled through, which, as

we saw it in the world, resembled a raven.

كأنّ النجوم مصابيح رتب

تلألأن ثحثجة واِضطرابا

As though the stars were lamps in tiers,

they glittered [unclear word] and trembled.

كأنّ السماء صحيفة رأس

تطاردُ فيه المشيب المشابا

As though the sky were the surface of a head,

where gray hair chases the mingled strands.

وَقد ملّت اليعملات سراها

فلم يترك السير فيها هبابا

And the hardy she-camels had wearied of their night travel,

so the journey had left them no vigor.

بداويّة ما بها من أنيسٍ

يؤنس من مرّ فيها الإيابا

In a wilderness with not a single companion

to cheer whoever passed through it on the return.

غمام تَجلجل بالجود غيثاً

حكى الغيث جلجله واِنسكابا

A cloud rumbled, raining generosity,

matching the rain in its rumbling and downpour.

وَلولاه ما أشرق الملك وجها

وَلا الدهر بشّ ولا العيش طابا

Were it not for him, kingship would not have brightened its face,

nor would Time have smiled, nor life grown pleasant.

أحاط سماءَ المعالي بعزم

منَ الصارمِ العضب أمضى ذبابا

He encompassed the sky of high honors with a resolve

sharper of edge than a keen, cutting sword.

سَجاياه في الناس كافت فكانت

على مستحقّ العقاب عقابا

His traits requited people, and thus became

punishment for those deserving punishment.

أَقام لأهلِ النكال نكالا

وأهدى لأهل الثواب ثوابا

He imposed chastisement on those deserving chastisement,

and bestowed reward on those deserving reward.

إِليك ابن نبهان جاءت تخطّ

على الطرق مثل الكتاب كتابا

To you, son of Nabhan, she came, tracing

on the roads a script like that of scribes.

إِذا جرّرت في الطريق سطوراً

رأيت المداد دماً ولُعابا

Whenever she trailed lines along the road,

you saw the ink as blood and saliva.

أَنت اِصطفتك اِختباراً وحلّت

جَميع الورى جفوة واِجتنابا

You she chose after testing, and adorned

all humankind with estrangement and avoidance.

وَجاءت لركب للقياك جاؤوا

عمار البلاد معاً والخرابا

And she came for riders who came to meet you through

inhabited lands and wastelands alike.

وَلولاك ما فارقوا قطّ أهلاً

وَما أَزمعوا رحلةً واِغترابا

Were it not for you, they would never have left their families,

nor resolved upon a journey and absence from home.

فَشكراً لك اليوم لا الجود ودّي

ولا مُرتجي فيض كفّيك خابا

So thanks to you today; my love is not for bounty,

nor has one hoping for the bounty of your two hands been disappointed.