ما كان حق محبكم أن يهجرا

ويخص بالاعراض من بين الورى

It was not right that your lover should be forsaken,

and singled out for rejection among all humankind.

نقل الوشاة فكدروا ذاك الصفا

بالمكر واختلقوا الحديث المفترى

The talebearers carried tales and clouded that serenity

through guile, and invented a fabricated tale.

نسبوا لي الغدر وادعوا الوفا

لا ذاق طعم رضاك منا الأغدرا

They ascribed treachery to me and claimed fidelity for themselves.

May the more treacherous of us never taste your favor!

من لي بأمر فيه ينكشف الغطا

ليبين ظاهر أمرنا والمضمرا

Who will secure me a means by which the veil is lifted,

so the outward and hidden sides of our affair become clear?

أمرى وأمرهم وإن هم ستروا

ما ستروا لا بد من أن يظهرا

My case and theirs, even if they conceal

whatever they conceal, must both come to light.

بيني وبينهم وحقك في الوفا

بالعهد ما بين الثريا والثرى

Between me and them—by your honor—in fidelity

to the covenant lies the span between the Pleiades and the dust.

ما شاهدت عيناي أشجع منهم

وأشد أقداما عليك وأجسرا

My eyes have never seen any braver than they,

more daring against you, or more audacious.

نصبوا العداوة لي جهارا حيث لم

أجعلك عنهم في الحقوق مؤخرا

They openly declared enmity toward me because I did not

give their rights precedence over yours.

وتوعدوني عند كل مبلغ

لأعود عن نصحي فلم أك مفكرا

They threatened me before every messenger,

to make me abandon my loyal counsel; I gave it no thought.

وعلمت أن رضاكم في سخطهم

فأنجزت سخطهم ويجرى ما جرا

I knew that your pleasure lay in their displeasure,

so I brought about their displeasure—let happen what may.

إن الحكيم إذا ألمّ بجسمه

داآن مختلفان داوا الأخطرا

The wise man, when his body is afflicted

by two different ailments, treats the more dangerous.

والخدع ممن قد وثقت بنصحه

ذنب يكون أجل من أن يغفرا

And deceit from one whose sincere counsel you trusted

is a sin too grave to be forgiven.

شلت يد الساعي لقد جاز المدى

كذبا وحرّف في الحديث وزورا

May the talebearer's hand be paralyzed! He has exceeded all bounds

in lying; he distorted the account and falsified it.

وأراد ستر نصائحي فتكشفت

عما يسود وجهه بين الورى

He sought to hide my sincere counsels, but they unfolded,

revealing what blackens his face among humankind.

هيهات ظن بان يغطى كفه

وجه الصباح وقد أنار واسفرا

How vain his thought that his palm could cover

the face of morning, already shining and radiant!

ظنوا بأنّ القول ما قالوا به

جورا وعدلا لانزاع ولا مرا

They thought the final word was whatever they pronounced,

whether unjust or just, with no dispute or argument.

ونسوا بأن وراءهم ملك يرى

في المشكلات برأيه ما لا يرى

And they forgot that behind them stood a king who sees

in thorny matters, through his judgment, what goes unseen.

يقظ إذا اعترض المقال أعاده

نظرا وأجرى الفكر فيه تدبرا

Vigilant, when a statement comes before him, he returns to it

with fresh scrutiny, and sets his mind to pondering it.

لا يستمال إلى الهوى بخديعة

كلا ولا يعيى بخطب إن عرا

He cannot be lured into partiality by deceit—

no, nor is he confounded when calamity befalls.

ملك أزمة أمره بيمينه

ما باع فيهن المشير ولا اشترى

A king with the reins of his rule in his right hand;

no counselor has traded in them, selling or buying.

الناصر الدين الحنيف بسيفه

وأبن الممهد للملوك المفخرا

The champion of the upright faith with his sword,

and son of him who established glory for kings,

اسما الورى فرعا وازكى محتدا

واجل سابقة وأكرم معشرا

humankind's loftiest branch, the purest of stock,

most illustrious in past merit, and of the noblest clan.

هل تطمع الدنيا بآخر مثله

هيهات ذاك ببالها لن يخطرا

Does the world hope for another like him?

Far from it—that will never cross her mind.

بهر العقول بهاؤه وكماله

فضلا وحق لمثله أن يبهرا

His splendor and perfection have dazzled minds

with excellence—and well may one like him dazzle.

اشدد بعروتهيديك إذا عرا

خطب فعروته الوثيقة في العرا

Fasten both your hands to his handhold when there comes

a calamity: his is the firm handhold among all handholds.

لا تغترر بسواه فيما يدعى

فالصيد كل الصيد في جوف الفرا

Do not be beguiled by what is claimed for anyone else,

for the game—all the game—is in the wild ass's belly.

قالوا ارضنا واسخطه تنج فإننا

نرضيه عنك وإن قسى وتنمرا

They said, “Please us and anger him; you will be safe, for we

will make him pleased with you, even if he grows harsh and fierce as a leopard.”

قالوا وأن اسخطتنا لم تنتفع

برضاه عنك وان بلغت به الذرا

They said, “And if you anger us, you will gain nothing

from his favor toward you, even if through him you reach the heights.”

هاتيك دعواهم وقد جربتها

فوجدت ما قالوه قولا مفترا

That was their claim, and I have tested it,

and found what they said to be a fabrication.