1. عَسى الدَّهرَ أَن يَنتاشَني وَلَعَلَّهُ

    يَقولُ لِذي جَدٍّ عُثورٍ لَعاً لَهُ

    May Time rescue me; perhaps it

    will say to one whose fortune stumbles, 'May he rise again!'

  2. أَرقدةُ أَهل الكَهفِ يا حَظِيَ انتَبِه

    فَإِنّي حُرِمتُ النَّومَ إِلا أَقَلَّهُ

    Is this the sleep of the People of the Cave? O my fortune, awake!

    For I have been denied sleep, except the merest little.

  3. أَروني حَبيباً لَست أُمنَعُ وَصلَهُ

    أَجَل وَخَليلاً لَستُ أُمنَحُ عَذلَهُ

    Show me a beloved whose union is not denied me,

    yes, and a friend whose reproach I am not granted.

  4. وَبي قَمَرٌ يَعلو عَلى خوطِ بانَةٍ

    شَكا خَصرُهُ إِذا آدَهُ الرِّدفُ ثِقلَهُ

    And I am smitten with a moon rising above a bān-tree's tender shoot;

    his waist complained of his haunches' weight when they burdened it.

  5. لَهُ اللَحَظاتُ اللاءِ لَم لَم يَرنُ رامِياً

    خَلِياً بِها إِلا تَكفّلنَ قَتلَهُ

    His are those glances: never, never has he gazed, aiming

    them at one untouched by love, without their pledging to kill him.

  6. وَما أَتَمَنّى خالِياً لثمَ كَفِّهِ

    بَلى أَتَمَنّى أَن أُقَبِّلَ رِجلَهُ

    And I do not wish, in private, to kiss his palm;

    nay, I wish to kiss his foot.

  7. تَوَلّى عَلى قَلبي وِلايَةَ قادِرٍ

    فَلَم يَخشَ عَنها مُدَّةَ الدَّهرِ عَزلَهُ

    He assumed a potentate's rule over my heart,

    so for all time he never feared dismissal from it.

  8. وَما أَحَدٌ في الحُبِّ مِثلي قَناعَةً

    رَضيتُ بِوَعدٍ مِنهُ يُكثِرُ مَطلَهُ

    And no one in love is as contented as I:

    I accepted a promise from him whose fulfillment he keeps delaying.

  9. فَفي راحَتي مِن هَجرِهِ لَستُ طامِعاً

    وَمِن تَعَبي أَن لَستُ آمَلُ وَصلَهُ

    So I do not hope for relief from his abandonment,

    and part of my suffering is that I do not hope for union with him.

  10. رَكِبتُ مِنَ العِشقِ المُبَرِّحِ وَعرَهُ

    وَقَد رَكِبَ العُشّاقُ قَلبِيَ سَهلَهُ

    I rode the rough terrain of agonizing love,

    while lovers, O my heart, have ridden its smooth ground.

  11. وَقَد سَرَّني أَنّي خَيالٌ لِهَجرِهِ

    لَعَلّي أَسري لِلزِّيارَةِ مِثلَهُ

    And I am glad that his abandonment has made me a phantom;

    perhaps I may travel by night to visit, like one.

  12. عَدِمتُ اِصطِباري عَن حَبيبٍ مُدَلَّلٍ

    يَهيمُ بِهِ القَلبُ الكَئيبُ المُدَلَّهُ

    I have lost my endurance away from a pampered beloved,

    with whom the sorrowful, love-bewildered heart is infatuated.

  13. أَلِلدَهرِ ثَأرٌ فَهوَ يَطلُبُ ثَأرَهُ

    لَدَيَّ فَمالي لا أُفارِقُ ذَحلَهُ

    Is vengeance owed to Time, that it seeks its revenge

    from me? Why can I not escape its grudge?

  14. رَماني زَماني عَن قِسِيّ قَساوَةٍ

    فَفي غَيرِ قَلبي ما يُسَدِّدُ نُبلَهُ

    My Time shot at me from bows of cruelty;

    it aims its arrows at no heart but mine.

  15. أَأُمنَعُ طَلَّ الخَيرِ مَعَ أَدَبي بِهِ

    وَيُمنَحُ مِنهُ أَبلَهُ القَومِ وَبلَهُ

    Am I denied bounty's drizzle, despite my learning in this age,

    while the people's greatest fool is granted its downpour?

  16. هُناكَ يَذُمُّ الفاضِلُ النَّدبُ فَضلَهُ

    وَيَحمَدُ فيهِ الجاهِلُ النَّذلُ جَهلَهُ

    Then the capable man of merit blames his merit,

    and there the base ignoramus praises his ignorance.

  17. سَأَشكُرُ دَهري يا اِبنَ شُكرٍ لأَنَّهُ

    بِهِ تابَ حَتّى صارَ يُحسِنُ فِعلَهُ

    I shall thank my Time, O Ibn Shukr, for

    through him it repented and came to act well.

  18. وَزيرٌ حَوى العَلياء مِن كُلِّ وجهَةٍ

    وَمُلِّكَ فَرضَ القَولِ عَفواً وَنَفلَهُ

    A minister who has won eminence from every side,

    and freely been granted speech's obligatory and voluntary offerings.

  19. إِمامٌ يؤُمُّ السابِقينَ إِلى العُلا

    فَما أَحَدٌ في المَجدِ حَلَّ مَحَلَّهُ

    A leader who leads the foremost toward the heights,

    so no one in glory has occupied his station.

  20. يُبَيِّضُ وَجهَ الخَطبِ بَعد اِسوِدادِهِ

    بِحُسنِ خِطابٍ قارَنَ النُّجحُ فَصلَهُ

    He whitens calamity's face after its blackening

    with fine speech, success attending its decisive words.

  21. فَلا عِلمَ إِلّا دونَ غايَةِ عِلمِهِ

    وَلا فَضلَ في المِضمارِ يُدرِكُ فَضلَهُ

    So all learning falls short of his learning's reach,

    and no merit on the racecourse can catch his merit.

  22. لَقَد أَصحبت لِلصّاحِبِ السوسُ خيفَةً

    فَأَفواهُها في التُربِ تَلثُمُ نَعلَهُ

    Indeed, the woodworms [unclear reading] have yielded to the minister in fear;

    their mouths in the dust kiss his sandal,

  23. كَما خَضَعت كُلُّ المُلوكِ بِرَأيِهِ

    لِمَخدومِهِ لا شَتَّتَ اللَهُ شَملَهُ

    as all the kings, through his counsel, have submitted

    to his master—may God never scatter his company.

  24. لَهُ مِنهُ قاضٍ هَذَّبَ العِلمُ فَرعَهُ

    كَما طَيَّبَ المَجدُ المُؤَثَّلُ أَصلَهُ

    In him his master has a judge whose branch learning has refined,

    as deep-rooted glory has sweetened his root.

  25. فَما مِثلُهُ في الرَّأيِ يوجَدُ بَعدَهُ

    وَلا مِثلَهُ فيهِ رَأى الناسُ قَبلَهُ

    So no one like him in judgment will be found after him,

    nor have people seen his like in it before him.

  26. فَما حَلُّهُ مِمّا يَرى الدَهرُ عقدَهُ

    وَلا عَقدُهُ مِمّا يَرى الدَهرُ حَلَّهُ

    What he unties, Time will never see bound again,

    nor will Time see what he binds untied.

  27. غَزيرُ العَطايا ما يُفارِقُ جِدَّهُ

    كَريمُ السَجايا ما يُقارِفُ هَزلَهُ

    Abundant in gifts, he never forsakes his earnestness;

    noble in character, he never indulges in frivolity.

  28. مَناقِبُهُ لَم يُحصِها ذو بَلاغَةٍ

    وَهَل أَحَدٌ يُحصي مِنَ البَحرِ رَملَهُ

    No master of eloquence has counted his virtues,

    and can anyone count the sea's sand?

  29. إِلَيكَ صَفِيَّ الدينِ يَشكو مُعَطَّلٌ

    عَنِ الشُغلِ فَاِنظُر حَيثُما شِئتَ شُغلَهُ

    To you, Safi al-Din, an unemployed man complains,

    kept from work: consider employing him wherever you wish.

  30. وَيا دَهرِيَ اِطوِ الجورَ وَيحَكَ وَاِتَّئِب

    فَهَذا صَفِيُّ الدِّينِ يَنشُرُ عَدلَهُ

    And O my Time, fold away injustice—woe to you—and be ashamed!

    For here is Safi al-Din spreading his justice.

  31. وَيا اِبنَ عَلِيّ قَد سَمَوتَ عَلى الوَرى

    بِمَجدٍ أَثيلٍ أَثبتَ اللَهُ أَثلَهُ

    And O son of Ali, you have risen above all mankind

    with deep-rooted glory—may God make its roots firm.

  32. أَتى رَجَبٌ يَسعى إِلَيكَ مُهَنِّئاً

    بِوارِفِ سَعدٍ أَسبَغَ اللَهُ ظِلَّهُ

    Rajab has come hastening to you in congratulation,

    with far-spreading good fortune—may God extend its shade.

  33. وَأَبدى هِلالاً في السَماءِ كَأَنَّما

    بِبِشرِ مُحَيّاكَ الإِلَهُ أَهَلَّهُ

    And it has shown a crescent in the sky, as though

    God had made it rise with your face's glad radiance.

  34. مُنَصِّلُ أَطراف العَوالي وَلَم يَكُن

    قَديماً بِهِ ذو التِّبلِ يُدرِك تِبلَهُ

    Stripper of the tips of lofty spears—never

    of old did one with a blood feud gain his vengeance in it.

  35. وَلا غَرو أَن نالَتكَ أَطرافُ وَعكَةٍ

    كَما يوعَكُ الرِئبالُ إِذ كُنتَ شكلَهُ

    And no wonder a touch of illness has reached you,

    as the lion takes fever, since you are its like.

  36. كِتابُكَ مَن أَمسى وَأَصبَحَ عائِذاً

    بِهِ يَلبَسُ الأَمنَ المُؤَمَّلَ كُلَّهُ

    Your letter: whoever passes evening and morning seeking refuge

    in it dons all the safety he has hoped for.

  37. وَأَنتَ الَّذي ما زالَ في كُلِّ حالَةٍ

    مَتى نَبلُهُ في حادِثٍ نَلقَ نُبلَهُ

    And you are the one who has always, in every circumstance—

    whenever we test him in adversity, we find his nobility.

  38. وَما كُنتَ في نادي العُلومِ مُناظِراً

    بِهِ حَفلَهُ إِلّا وَأَخرَستَ فَحلَهُ

    And never have you debated in the assembly of the sciences,

    there against its gathering, without silencing its champion.

  39. كَفِلتَ بِكَسبِ الحَمدِ تَركَبُ وَعرَهُ

    وَتَحمِلُ في كُلِّ المَواطِنِ كَلَّهُ

    You have pledged yourself to winning praise, riding its rough paths,

    and bearing its burden in every arena.

  40. فَلا زالَتِ المُدّاحُ تُهدي بِمَدحِها

    إِلَيكَ رَقيقَ الشِعرِ مِنها وَجزلَهُ

    So may the panegyrists never cease offering, through their praise,

    to you their delicate poetry and their robust verse.