1. فرائد زانها حسن النظام

    اتت نحوى من البلد الحرام

    Rare pearls, adorned by the beauty of their arrangement,

    came toward me from the Sacred City.

  2. أرق من الهوى في الصيف طبعا

    وأشفى للفؤاد المستهام

    More delicate by nature than the air in summer,

    and more healing for the love-stricken heart.

  3. تسائل عن شهى في البرايا

    وشيء جالب طعم المنام

    They ask about something desirable among humankind,

    and a thing that brings the taste of sleep.

  4. وذلك لا يرى إلا سماعا

    ورأى العين أشفى للأوام

    And that is seen only through hearing,

    while the eye's sight is more healing for burning thirst.

  5. فيرقد وهو ذو جسم لطيف

    ويسهر وهو معنى في الأنام

    So it sleeps, possessing a subtle body,

    and stays awake as a meaning among humankind.

  6. وما ارتفع الدنى به لفضل

    على الأعلى ولكن بالقيام

    Nor did the lowly rise through it on account of merit

    above the higher, but by standing upright.

  7. وما قبض الجسوم بقبض أخذ

    ولا أحيا النفوس من الحمام

    Nor did it contract bodies with a seizing grasp,

    nor restore souls from death.

  8. يواصله الفتى حينا وحينا

    يرى منه الصدود بلا احتشام

    The youth keeps its company at times, and at other times

    finds it turning away without reserve.

  9. وللاشيآء أوقات فمن لم

    يوافقها تعرض للملام

    And things have their times; whoever does not

    accord with them exposes himself to reproach.

  10. وما تحكيه من قبض وبسط

    صنيع عز من بعض اللئام

    And what you recount of contraction and expansion

    is a deed seldom forthcoming from certain base men.

  11. وليس لديهم في كل يوم

    حبيبا لا ولا في كل عام

    Nor is it, to them, on every day,

    a beloved—no, nor in every year.

  12. وأهنى ما أتى الانسان شيء

    أتاه بغير كد واهتمام

    And the most pleasant thing that comes to a person is something

    that comes to him without toil or worry.

  13. له فعل ولكن ليس مما

    هو المعدود من قسم الكلام

    It has an action, but not one that

    is counted among the parts of speech.

  14. ومن حركاته نصب وخفض

    تشرك كونه بعد انضمام

    And among its movements are raising and lowering,

    which share in its being after joining together.

  15. سباعي مرادفه خماسي

    ثلاثي بلا ألف ولام

    It has seven letters; its synonym has five,

    three without alif and lam.

  16. نسيب كونه جدا أصيلا

    لجد الحبر فينا والطغام

    Noble in lineage, being a true forefather

    to the forefather of the scholar among us and the rabble.

  17. ومن ابنا جابر كان أولى

    فليس بنوه من ابنا الغمام

    And among Jabir's sons it was more fitting,

    for its sons are not among the sons of the clouds.

  18. فخذه جواب رام ليس يخطى

    إذا أخطا سواه في المرامي

    So take it as the answer of an archer who does not miss,

    when others miss their targets.

  19. فقد بنيته باسم ووصف

    مبين في ابتدائي واختتامي

    For I have built it with a name and a description,

    plain in my beginning and my ending.

  20. لقد أنشدتها لما أتتني

    فيسر فهمها قبل التمام

    Indeed, I recited them when they came to me,

    so understanding them became easy before the end.

  21. ولكني سأتبعها بلغز

    ولست بمبعد لك في المرام

    But I shall follow them with a riddle,

    nor shall I make the target distant for you.

  22. فما شيء ينيل القلب منه

    توجع كل محزون مضام

    What thing, then, imparts from itself to the heart

    the anguish of every sorrowful, oppressed person?

  23. يسر كما يضر وذاك وصف

    به افتخر الكرام من الأنام

    It pleases just as it harms—and that is a quality

    in which the noble among humankind have taken pride.

  24. مجوف الأصل لكن قد تجلى

    بأوصاف عزين إلى الكرام

    Hollow at its root, yet it has revealed itself

    with qualities ascribed to the noble.

  25. له وجهان وجه مكفهر

    ووجه معجب لك ذو ابتسام

    It has two faces: a grim face,

    and a face that delights you, bearing a smile.

  26. به العلماء والصلحاء ترضى

    وليس به عليهم من أثام

    The scholars and the righteous are pleased with it,

    and through it they incur no sin.

  27. وللشيطان منه ولي صدق

    فخذه من التناقض في كلامي

    And from it Satan has a faithful ally;

    so take it from the contradiction in my words.

  28. حلال لي علي به حرام

    فخذ عجبا من الحل الحرام

    Lawful for me, yet through it forbidden to me—

    so marvel at this forbidden lawfulness.

  29. يموت لدى الورى حينا ويحيا

    حياة قد تسوق إلى الحمام

    It dies among humankind for a time, and lives

    a life that may lead to death.

  30. قريب العهد أنت به فخذه

    تجده في تضاعيف الكلام

    Your acquaintance with it is recent; so take it:

    you will find it in the folds of the words.