وساحرة الأجفان معسولة اللمى

مراشفها تهدي الشفاء من الظما

And a woman whose eyelids bewitch, whose dusky lips are honey-sweet;

Her lips offer a cure for thirst.

حنت لي قوسي حاجبيها وفوقت

إلى كبدي من مقلة العين أسهما

She bent for me the twin bows of her brows and aimed

Arrows from the orb of her eye at my liver.

فوا عجباً من ريقها وهو طاهر

حلال وقد أضحى علي محرما

And oh, how wondrous her saliva—though it is pure

And lawful, it has become forbidden to me.

فإن كان خمراً أين للخمر لونه

ولذته مع أنني لم أذقهما

For if it is wine, how could wine match its hue

And its delight, though I have tasted neither?

لها منزل في ربع قلبي محله

مصون به مذ أوطنته لها حمى

She has a dwelling in my heart's precinct; its site

Is guarded there, since I made it a sanctuary for her.

جرى حبها مجرى حياتي فخالطت

محبتها روحي ولحمي والدما

Her love flowed along the course of my life, and so

Her love mingled with my soul, my flesh, and my blood.

تقول إلى كم ترتضي العيش أنكداً

وتقنع أن تضحي صحيحاً مسلما

She says, “How long will you accept a wretched life,

And be content to be healthy and unharmed?

سر في بلاد الله واطلب الغنى

تفز منجداً إن شئت أو شئت متهما

Travel through God's lands and seek wealth;

You will prosper, going to Najd if you wish, or to Tihamah if you wish.”

فقلت لها إن الذي خلق الورى

تكفل لي بالرزق منا وأنعما

So I said to her, “Indeed, He who created humankind

Has guaranteed me sustenance as a favor, and bestowed His bounty.

وما ضرني أن كنت رب فضائل

وعلم عزيز النفس حراً معظماً

And what harm is it to me—endowed with virtues

And learning, dignified in spirit, free and honored—

إذا عدمت كفاي مالاً وثروةً

وقد صنت نفسي أن أذل وأحرما

If my hands lack money and wealth,

When I have kept myself from being humiliated and deprived?

ولم أبتذل في خدمة العلم مهجتي

لأخدم من لاقيت لكن لأخدما

And I did not expend my lifeblood in the service of learning

To serve whomever I met, but rather to be served.”