1. Neither Sulayma nor Hind nor Asma'
You are the essence, while all else are names
١. ما سُلَيْمَى ما هندُ ما أسْماءُ
أنتَ مَعنىً وكلُّها أسْماءُ
2. You are my party and the daily litany of every tongue
Many glories have flourished through you
٢. وهْو حِزْبِي ووِرْدُ كُلِّ لسانٍ
ولَكم أخْصَبَتْ به الشَّهْباءُ
3. That is the party of the sea that finds no shore
Whose remembrance brings misery and ordeal
٣. ذاك حِزْبُ البحر الذي لا يُلاقِي
من يُدِمْ ذِكْرَه عَناً وبَلاءُ
4. They found him a precious orphan who was raised
Whom no element or dust had defiled
٤. وجَدُوه دُرّاً يَتِيماً تَرَبَّى
لم يُدْنِّسْهُ عُنْصُرٌ وهَبَاءُ
5. That was so no one would confer favor upon him
For he had roots to feel proud of
٥. ذاك كَيْلا يكونَ مَنٌّ عَلَيْهِ
لأُصولٍ له إليْها اعْتِزاءُ
6. A nature made for youth, a sympathetic peer
His aid comes from it while hostility brings perdition
٦. خُلُقٌ للصَّبَا شَقِيقٌ فمِنْها
نَصْرُه والعِدَى لَها النَّكْباءُ
7. Since time was shaded by his existence
Eras envied him, as did glimpses of time
٧. مُذْ أظَلَّ الزَّمانَ منه وُجودٌ
حسَدتْه الأزْمانُ والآناءُ
8. When the eye of the sun is jealous of him
A cloud shades and covers him
٨. وعليه إذا غارَ من عينِ شَمْسٍ
ظَلَّلتْه سَحابةٌ وَطْفاءُ
9. Through him, the flower of life is a spring
Since its birthplace turned green
٩. وبه زَهْرةُ الحياةِ رَبِيعٌ
مُذ أظلَّت مَوْلُودَه الخَضْراءُ
10. His land became a heaven proudly
So it remains green, never dusty
١٠. وغدَتْ أرضُه سماءً بفَخْرٍ
فهْي خَضْراءُ ثُمَّ لا غَبْراءُ
11. The earth is a mosque for him, so all
Upon it follow his example
١١. وله الأرضُ مَسْجِدٌ فجميعُ
مَن عليها له به الاقْتِداءُ
12. The lines of prayer prove the religion
And the seal of prophecy authorizes
١٢. وسُطورُ الصلاةِ حُجَّةِ دِينٍ
وبخَتْمِ النُّبُوَّةِ الإمْضاءُ
13. Through him it was ennobled and so became pure
Lands and deserts were made equal
١٣. وبه شُرَّفَتْ فكانت طَهُوراً
وتساوَى البُلْدانُ والصَّحْراءُ
14. The wolf attests, compelled to confess
And the dumb are made to speak in joy
١٤. وله الضَّبُّ ناطِقٌ باعْترافٍ
ومن السَّعْدِ تنْطِقُ العَجْماءُ
15. Despite the ignorance the hypocrites' hatred spread
No spite from them can touch the wolf
١٥. مع ذَأ سَفَّه النِّفاقُ أُناساً
ما لِضَبٍ من حِقْدِهم نافِقاءُ
16. In them is nothing but the blindness of horses
And the crookedness of tracks amidst chaos
١٦. ليس فيهم سِوَى أَعِنَّةِ خَيْلٍ
وقَنَا الخَطِّ في الوغَى سُفَهاءُ
17. The sickness of hearts singled them out
When its heat flared up during the raid
١٧. ومِراضُ القلوب قد قَصَدْتهم
سُمْرُهُ حين حَمَّتِ الهَيْجاءُ
18. It did not water them except from cups of death
How often does death cure an illness?
١٨. ما سَقاهم إلاّ كُئوسَ المَنايَا
ربَّ داءٍ له المماتُ دَواءُ
19. They are chaff spinning when war's mill turns
Their cries are all space echoes
١٩. هم ثِفالٌ إذا رَحَى الحرب دارتْ
وبنادِيهمُ همُ الأرْجاءُ
20. The whites of swords flash fatally at their throats
A harmful epithet stuck to the reds
٢٠. تُغْمَدُ البِيضُ في طُلاهمْ بفَتْكٍ
مُضَرٌ لُقِّبَتْ به الْحَمراءُ
21. It erased them and cleansed the earth of them
The riffraff cannot settle with the floods
٢١. قد مَحاهمُ وطهَّر الأرْضَ منها
ومع السَّيْلِ لا يَقَرُّ الغُثاءُ
22. The bellies of birds became graves
For the transgressors when corpses are torn
٢٢. وبُطونُ الطَّيرِ أمْسَتْ قُبوراً
لِلْعدى إذ تُمزَّق الأشْلاءُ
23. We never heard of a grave eagerly heading
To cover the nakedness of those who did evil
٢٣. ما سمِعْنا بالقبْرِ سار اشْتياقاً
لِيُوارِي سَوْآتِ مَن قد أسَاءُوا
24. How often a fleeting, fleeing quicksilver
Became a submissive servant in chains
٢٤. رُبَّ من كان زِئْبَقاً فَرَّاراً
صار عَبْداً لِرِقِّه اسْتعساءُ
25. It did not say, as the shadows became a bed
Above it, the Family was a thick cloak
٢٥. لم يَقِلْ والظِّلالُ صارتْ مِهاداً
فَوْقَه الآلُ بُرْدَةٌ سِيَراءُ
26. He is light, so he never has a shadow
His light and cloak appeared without it
٢٦. هو نُورٌ فما لَه قَطُّ ظِلٌّ
لاَحَ لولا بُرودُه والرِّداءُ
27. If the bleary darkness of a beauty vanishes
It is through his shadow that survival is dear
٢٧. إن نَفَى ظُلْمةً عَياءُ جَمالٍ
فبِظِلٍ له يَعِزُّ البقاءُ
28. It disdains to drag its train in the dust
Like the viper's trailing shadow
٢٨. صِينَ عن أن يُجَرَّ في التُّرْبِ ذَيْلٌ
مِن ظِلالٍ له كما الأفْياءُ
29. People laid down their shade and took his
When it stood for the noon sun
٢٩. فَرَشَ الناسُ ظِلَّهم واحْتَذَوْهُ
عندما قام للنّهارِ اسْتِواءُ
30. How can a shadow appear for a sun that rose high
And reached the zenith and loftiest rise?
٣٠. كيف يبْدُو ظِلٌّ لِشَمْسٍ تَعالَتْ
واسْتوَى الإسْتواءُ والإرْتقاءُ
31. Can you see it being sheltered from the heat
When its clouds and mist shaded it?
٣١. أتُراه يُصانُ عَن حَرِّ جَوٍ
إذْ أظَلَّتْه سُحْبُه والْعَماءُ
32. Or does the eye of the sun grow jealous over it
With no veil but its own drawn over it?
٣٢. أمْ عليه تَغارُ مِن عَيْنِ شَمْسٍ
مُدَّ مِن دونها عليه الْغِطاءُ
33. The eye has seen none like it, and so
Its shadow fades when people depart
٣٣. لم تَرَ العَيْنُ مِثْلَه فلهذا
يَنْمَحِي ظِلُّه إذا الناسُ فَاءُوا
34. The shadow wore mourning clothes from its lament
Hence all shadows on earth are black
٣٤. لَبِسَ الظِّلُّ مِن نَواهُ حِداداً
فظِلالُ الورَى لِذَا سَوْداءُ