1. من زاحمَ الأُسدَ في غاباتها وقعا

    في معضلٍ ليس إِن دافَعتْه اندفعا

    Whoever challenges the lions in their forests falls

    Into a plight that will not yield, even if you resist it.

  2. ومن رمى حجراتٍ فوقه بطراً

    صحا إِذا شجّهُ منهنَّ ما رجَعا

    And whoever throws small stones above himself in reckless pride

    Comes to his senses when one that returns gashes his head.

  3. مهلاً فما كلُّ يومٍ منجئ هربٌ

    كم هاربٍ دون منجاه قد اقتطعا

    Take care: flight will not save you every day.

    How many fugitives have been cut off short of their refuge!

  4. لا تدعونَّ إِليكً الشرَّ محتفلاً

    فالشرُّ أسرع مدعو أجاب دُعُا

    Do not eagerly summon evil to yourself;

    For evil is the quickest of those summoned to answer a call.

  5. ودارِ أَحمدَ لا تصبح بمهلكةٍ

    فيها كثيرٌ من الحمقاءِ قد وقَعَا

    And placate Ahmad; do not end up in a place of ruin

    Where many fools have already fallen.

  6. إِمهاله لك أَمنُ الفوْتِ أوجَبَهُ

    فقدرةُ المرء عنه تُذِهب الهَلعَا

    He grants you respite because he is sure you cannot escape;

    For a man's power drives panic away from him.

  7. يا من يعاديه ما أنت امرؤ يقظٌ

    بسمعه قبل مرأى طرفه انتفعا

    O you who oppose him, you are no vigilant man

    Who learns through hearing before his eyes have seen.

  8. كلفت نفسك جهلاً فوق طاقتها

    ومن يصارع بضعف ذي قوىً صُرعا

    In ignorance, you have burdened yourself beyond your strength;

    And whoever wrestles a strong man while weak is thrown.

  9. لقد سمعت ولكنْ لا محيصَ لمن

    قادتْه للأَجل الأَقدار فاتّبعا

    You have indeed heard, but there is no escape for one

    Whom the fates lead to death, and who follows.

  10. تعمى القلوب إِذا جاء القضاء فلا

    ذو الطرف راءٍ ولا ذو مسمعٍ سمعا

    Hearts go blind when destiny comes, so neither

    Does the one with eyes see, nor does the one with hearing hear.

  11. وكيف تسمع أذنُ أو يرى بصرٌ

    عليهما الله بعد الختم قد طبعا

    And how can an ear hear, or an eye see,

    When God has stamped them both after sealing them?

  12. اختر لنفسك واعمل ما تحب لها

    لا يحصد المرءُ شيئاً غير مازرعا

    Choose for yourself, and do what you wish for it;

    A man harvests nothing but what he has sown.

  13. غداً تراهُ ونَصرُ الله يقدُمه

    قد طبق الحزن جيشاً والسهول معا

    Tomorrow you will see him, with God's victory preceding him,

    Already covering rugged ground and plains alike with his army.

  14. وبانَ أَنك مغرور بسطوته

    إِذا تغيّر منك اللونُ وامتقعا

    And it will be clear that you were deluded about his might,

    When your complexion changes and turns pale.

  15. وقلت يا ليتَني قدمّتُ صالحةً

    أضو المجازاةُ للجاني بما صنعا

    And you say, 'Oh, if only I had sent a good deed ahead!'

    [Unclear opening word]—the offender is requited for what he has done.

  16. اشدد يدْيكَ بحبلِ منهُ معتصماً

    تجدْهُ بالجودِ موصوَلاًفما قَطعا

    Grip with both hands a rope from him, seeking protection;

    You will find it bound by generosity, never severed.

  17. يجزي ويصفحُ لا بغضاً ولا مِقةً

    بل سعى من في صلاحِ المسلمين سعى

    He requites and pardons, neither from hatred nor affection;

    Rather, he strives as one who strives for the Muslims' welfare.

  18. وليسَ يخدعُ إِلاّ حين يسالُه

    إِنَّ الكريمَ إِذا خادعتهُ انخدعا

    And he is deceived only when someone petitions him;

    For a generous man, when you deceive him, lets himself be deceived.

  19. الناصرُ الملكُ ذو العليا التي ظهرت

    في العالمين ظهورَ الصبح إذْ سطعا

    Al-Nasir, the king whose lofty eminence has appeared

    Throughout the worlds like dawn when it shines;

  20. من كلِّ يوم يرينا من مكارمهِ

    خوارقاً سنَّها في الجود وابتدعا

    Who each day shows us, among his noble deeds,

    Wonders he established and originated in generosity.

  21. وفصل حلم إِذا ضاقت بما رحبت

    الأرض بالخطب ذراعاً زاد واتسعا

    And distinctive forbearance that—when, for all its breadth,

    The earth is cramped by calamity—grows a cubit and expands.

  22. ما حلّهُ الصبرُ لكنْ همةٌ عظُمت

    عن أُن تاثَّرَ من جرم وإن فُظعا

    It is not patience that dwells in him, but a resolve too lofty

    To be affected by an offense, however heinous.

  23. والذنبُ أُحقرُ إِن جاء الحقيرُ به

    من أَن يشيل كريمٌ فيه أَو يضعا

    And an offense committed by a base man is too petty

    For a noble man to make much or little of it.

  24. يا بنَ الملوك ويا من كل فضل أتى

    مفرقاً في الورى في شخصه اجتمعا

    O son of kings, O you—every virtue that appears

    Scattered among mankind has gathered in your person.

  25. إن أشكُ نحوك من دهري شكوتُ إِلى

    مصمتِ من شكا من دهره وَجَعا

    If I complain to you of my days, I have complained to

    One who stills the complaints of whoever bemoans the pain of his days.

  26. عيشٌ كدير وأحوال مشتةٌ

    وضيقُ صدِر وبعدٌ عنك قدَ قطَعا

    A clouded life and scattered affairs,

    And anguish and distance from you would have cut me down,

  27. لولا رجاءٌ وآمالٌ تحدثُني

    بما يهّونُ عني بعضَ ما وَقَعِا

    Were it not for hope and aspirations that tell me

    Of what eases some of what has befallen me.

  28. من لم تكن بابن إسماعيل عدتَهُ

    تقسمتْهُ الليالي بينها قِطعا

    Whoever does not have his support in Ibn Isma'il,

    The nights divide him among themselves, piece by piece.

  29. إنّي أُحبكَ عن علم بما انفردتْ

    به حلاك وما فيها قد اجتمعا

    Indeed, I love you, knowing what is unique

    To your graces, and what has gathered within them.

  30. فلستُ أُفرطُ في الإِقبال مبتدعاً

    ولستُ أقنط في الإِعراض مرتدِعا

    So I do not go to excess when welcomed, making things up,

    Nor do I despair when turned away, letting myself be deterred.

  31. لو اقتسمنا بقدرِ الحب منك رضىً

    لكان لي فيه كل منهم تبعا

    Were we to share your favor in proportion to our love,

    All of them would rank behind me in it.

  32. والحمد لله لي في أَحمدٍ أملٌ

    يجدُّ لي كلَّ يوم نحوه طمعا

    And praise be to God: I have a hope in Ahmad

    That renews my eager expectation of him every day.