1. أَشِدْ بِالقَوَافِي ذِكْرَ علْوَةَ أَوْ عَلْيَا

    وَدَعْ لِلسَّوافِي دارَ مَيَّةَ بِالعَلْيَا

    Celebrate in rhyme the memory of ʿAlwa or ʿAlya,

    and leave Mayya's dwelling at al-ʿAlya to the sand-driving winds.

  2. لِكُلٍّ مِنَ العُشَّاقِ رَأْيٌ يُجِلُّهُ

    وَإِنْ جَالَ فِي الأَحدَاقِ مَا يُبْطِلُ الرَّأْيَا

    Each lover has a view he holds in reverence,

    even if what passes before his eyes disproves that view.

  3. أَلَمْ تَرَها عَيَّتْ جَواباً ولَمْ يَجِدْ

    مُسائِلُها إِلا الأَوارِيَّ وَالنُّؤْيَا

    Did you not see it fail to answer, while nothing was found

    by its questioner but tethering stakes and the tent-ditch?

  4. بِحَسْبِ زيادٍ نَدْبُهُ طَلَلاً عَفَا

    وَحَسْبِي اقْتِدَاحٌ للغَرامِ زَكَا وَرْيَا

    Let Ziyad be content to mourn an effaced campsite;

    I am content to kindle passion into a flourishing flame.

  5. إِذَا الأَثَرُ اسْتَهوَى فَما العَيْنُ صانِعٌ

    بِمَنْ عَقْدُهُ لا يَقْبَلُ الوَهْنَ والوَهْيَا

    If a mere trace enthralls, what can the eye do

    to one whose bond admits neither weakening nor fraying?

  6. أَوَيْتُ إلَى عَلْيَاءَ غَيْرَ مُنَهْنِهٍ

    فُؤَاداً عَلَى الإِخفَاقِ يَسْتَنجِزُ الوَأْيَا

    I sought refuge with ʿAlyaʾ, without restraining

    a heart that, despite disappointment, demands fulfillment of the promise.

  7. وَلَمْ أَرَ كَالأَحْيَاءِ تَزْحَف دُونَها

    فَتُكْثِرُ في أَكْفَائِها القَتْل والسَّبْيَا

    I have seen nothing like the clans advancing in her defense,

    multiplying slaughter and captivity among their equals.

  8. كَفَانِي بِهَا رِيَّا بِرَامَةَ شَدَّ ما

    جَفَانِي فَلا بُقْيا عَلَيَّ وَلا لُقْيَا

    In her I needed no Riyya at Rama—how harshly

    she shunned me, with neither mercy for me nor a meeting.

  9. جَزَتْنِي جَزَاء الوَشْيِ والحَلْيِ إذْ أَبَتْ

    مَحَاسِنُهَا أَنْ تَلْبَسَ الوَشْيَ وَالحَلْيَا

    She treated me as she treated brocade and ornaments, for

    her beauties refused to wear brocade and ornaments.

  10. كَأَنِّيَ ما نازَلْتُ آسَادَ قَوْمِها

    وَغَازَلتُ مِنْها وَسْطَ أَخْيامِها ظَبْيَا

    As though I had never faced the lions of her tribe

    and wooed in her a gazelle amid her tents.

  11. وَلَمْ أَدْرِ فِي هَصْرِي لِميَّادِ قَدِّها

    أَرُمَّانَةً فِي النَّحْرِ أَقْطِفُ أَمْ ثَدْيَا

    I could not tell, as I bent her swaying figure,

    whether I plucked a pomegranate from her upper chest or a breast.

  12. سَجَايَا الغَوَانِي مَا دَرَيْتُ فَشَأْنها

    وَهجرَانها لا أُدرِك الهَجْر وَالنأْيَا

    I never understood beautiful women's natures; as for her ways

    and her desertion, I cannot fathom estrangement and distance.

  13. أَجِدَّكَ لا أَنْفَكُّ بِالغِيدِ مُغْرَماً

    فَمَا أَنَا لِلأُخْرَى وَمَا أَنَا لِلدُّنْيَا

    Truly, I never cease to be enamored of slender beauties,

    so I belong neither to the hereafter nor to this world.

  14. لقَلْبِيَ أوْحَى بالتَّصَابِي تَقَلُّبٌ

    مِنَ الغُصْنِ مُخْضلاً ثَنَتْهُ الصَّبا ثَنْيَا

    A swaying movement whispered youthful folly to my heart,

    from a dew-fresh bough that the east wind bent.

  15. وَلا بُدَّ لِلْوَافِي النُّهَى مِن نِهَايَةٍ

    يُوَفِّي ارْعِواءً عِنْدَها الأَمْرَ وَالنَّهْيَا

    Yet one of mature understanding must reach a limit

    where, turning back, he fully honors command and prohibition.

  16. أَلَيْسَ مَشِيبِي مُنْذِراً وَمُبَشِّراً

    فَمَا لِيَ وَيلِي أُشْبِهُ الصُّمَّ وَالعُمْيَا

    Is my gray hair not a warning and a bearer of good tidings?

    What is wrong with me, alas, that I resemble the deaf and blind?

  17. وَشُكْرُ أَبِي يَحْيَى الأَميرِ أَحَقُّ بِي

    وَإِنْ عَزَّنِي شُكْرُ الأَميرِ أَبِي يَحْيَى

    And thanking the emir Abu Yahya is more fitting for me,

    though thanking the emir Abu Yahya is beyond my powers.

  18. هُمام إِذَا ابتَاعَ الثَّناءَ بِمَا حَوَتْ

    يَدَاهُ فَمَا يَخْشَى مُبَايعُه ثُنْيَا

    A magnanimous man: when he buys praise with what

    his hands contain, his seller fears nothing withheld.

  19. تَرَعْرَعَ بَيْنَ البَأْسِ والجُودِ مِثْلَما

    تَبَحْبَحَ فِي المَجْدِ المُؤَثَّلِ وَالعَلْيَا

    He grew up between valor and generosity, just as

    he flourished in firmly established glory and eminence.

  20. مُجِيلاً قِداحَ الفَوْزِ فِي كُلِّ مَشْهَدٍ

    بِما يُقْتَضَى سَعْداً وَمَا يُرتَضَى سَعْيَا

    Casting the arrows of victory in every encounter,

    with deeds that earn good fortune and efforts worthy of approval.

  21. بِرَاحَتِهِ زَنْدُ المَكَارِمِ كُلَّما

    أَرَانا بِهِ قَدْحاً رَأَينَا لَهُ وَرْيَا

    In his palm lies the fire-stick of noble deeds: whenever

    he shows us its striking, we see it kindle flame.

  22. أَعَدَّ لأَدْواءِ الليالِي دَوَاءَها

    وَهَلْ يُخْطِئُ الإصَمَاءَ مَنْ يُحْسِنُ الرَّمْيَا

    He has prepared the remedy for the ailments of the nights;

    does a master marksman miss the killing shot?

  23. مَسَاعِيهِ في أعْدَائِهِ وَوُلاتِهِ

    تَمرُّ لَهُمْ شَرْياً وَتَحْلُو لَنَا أَرْيَا

    His endeavors toward his enemies and his governors

    are bitter as colocynth to them and sweet as honey to us.

  24. يُديرُ مِن الحَرْبِ الضَّروسِ حَدِيقَةً

    وَإِنْ لَم يَرِدْ فِيها سِوَى لامَةٍ مَهْيَا

    He fashions a garden from fiercely biting war,

    though in it he finds no water but armor.

  25. ويَحْسبُ أَجْنَاسَ القَوَافِي عُفَاتهُ

    فيَحيَا لَها مَن هامَ أَقْتَالَهَا حَيَّا

    He counts the kinds of rhyme among his petitioners,

    so their love-stricken victims come alive again for them.

  26. تَأَلَّى هُدَاه لا تَأَتَّى مُناجِزاً

    صُنوفَ العِدَى أَو يَمْحُوَ الغَيَّ والبَغْيا

    His guidance swore not to deal gently, battling

    every kind of foe until he erases error and oppression.

  27. فَلا شَكَّ أَنَّ السُّمْرَ شَكّاً تُبيتُهُم

    وَلا رَيْبَ أَنَّ البِيضَ تُفْنِيهِمُ بَرْيَا

    There is no doubt the brown spears assail them by night, piercing them,

    and no doubt the white swords annihilate them by hewing.

  28. كَأَنَّ عَلَيهِ لِلقِرَاعِ ولِلْقِوَى

    نُذُوراً فَلا صُبْحاً تُضَاعُ وَلا مَسْيَا

    As though he were bound, for battle and strength,

    by vows never neglected at morning or evening.

  29. يَرُوحُ وَيَغدُو مَنزِلاً وَمُنازِلاً

    فَمِن مُعتَدٍ يردَى وَمِن معتفٍ يَحْيَا

    Evening and morning he hosts guests and confronts foes;

    thus an aggressor perishes, and a suppliant lives.

  30. هُوَ المُقْتَفِي مَا سنَّ للناسِ آلَه

    وَهَلْ يَقْتَفِي إِلا السَّكِينَةَ وَالهَدْيَا

    He follows what his family laid down for the people;

    does he follow anything but serenity and right guidance?

  31. أَئِمَةُ عَدلٍ يَمَّمَ الحَقُّ نَصْرَهُم

    فَمَا عَدَلُوا عَنهُ دِفاعاً وَلا حَمْيَا

    Leaders of justice, whom truth has chosen to support:

    they never turned from it in defense or protective zeal.

  32. هُمُ فَرَّجُوا غَمَّ الدَّواهِي وَضِيقَها

    بِمَا وَسِعَ الدُّنْيَا وأَبْنَاءَها دَهْيَا

    They dispelled the sorrow and straits of calamity

    with sagacity that encompassed the world and its children.

  33. وَهُمْ نَصَرُوا الدينَ الحَنيفَ وَبَصَّروا

    مَعَالِمَهُ والنَّاسُ فِي فِتْنَة عَمْيَا

    And they championed the upright faith and made clear

    its landmarks while people were in blind turmoil.

  34. وَهُمْ أَحْرَزُوا دُونَ المُلوكِ مَنَاقِباً

    مَتَى مَا وَلوا إِخفاءَها بَهَرَتْ خَفْيَا

    And they secured virtues beyond those of other kings,

    which dazzled even in concealment whenever they undertook to hide them.

  35. تَنَاهَوا مِنَ العَلْيَا إلَى غايَةٍ نَأَتْ

    فَقَصَّرَ عَنْها كُلُّ مَدْحٍ وَإنْ أَعْيَا

    They reached from lofty rank a goal so far removed

    that every praise falls short of it, however it exhausts itself.

  36. أَعِدْ نَظَراً لِلدَّهْرِ تُبْصِرهُ ناضِراً

    وَمَا رُؤْيَةُ الأَشْياءِ حَقّاً مِن الرُّؤْيَا

    Look again at time: you will see it flourishing;

    seeing things in truth is not dreaming.

  37. فَلا يَوْمَ إِلا إِضْحِيانٌ بِنُورِهم

    وَلا لَيْلَة إِلا بِأَسْعُدِهِمْ ضَحْيَا

    No day is anything but radiant with their light,

    and no night but sunlit by their lucky stars.

  38. لآلِ أَبِي حَفْصٍ وَسائِلُ نُصْرَةٍ

    إلَى الدِّينِ وَالدنْيا هيَ النّسْبَةُ الدُّنْيَا

    The house of Abu Hafs has bonds of support

    to faith and this world: theirs is the closest kinship.

  39. فَبُشْرَى لِمَنْ لَمْ يَتَّخِذْ غَيْرَ حُبِّهِم

    عَتاداً وزَاداً لِلمَمَاتِ وَلِلحَيَا

    So glad tidings to whoever takes nothing but love for them

    as preparation and provision for death and life.

  40. لَقَدْ أَعْرَقُوا فِي المُلكِ لَكِنْ تَعدَّدُوا

    فيَا رُشْدَهُم رَأْياً وَيا حُسْنَهُم رُؤْيَا

    Deep indeed are their roots in kingship, yet they are many:

    how sound their judgment, how fair they are to behold!

  41. أَعَزُّ المَبانِي مَا أَقامُوا علَى القَنَى

    لَدَيْهم وَخَيرُ الخَيْلِ مَا رَكَضُوا عُرْيَا

    The most prized buildings are those they erect upon spears

    in their eyes; the best horses are those they ride bareback.

  42. كَفَاهُمْ مِنَ القَصرِ السُّرادِقُ بِالفَلا

    وَأَنْساهُمُ اليَنْبُوعَ ذِكْرُهُمُ الحِسْيَا

    A pavilion in the wilderness sufficed them instead of a palace,

    and remembering the sand-well made them forget the spring.

  43. قَدِ اخْشَوشَنُوا إِلا حَواشِيَ أُرْهِفَتْ

    رِقاقاً وآداباً صَغَتْ نَحْوَهُم صَغْيَا

    They grew austere, except for dispositions refined

    to tenderness, and cultured manners inclining toward them.

  44. وَقَدْ هَجَرُوا حتَّى اليَراعَ فَإِنَّمَا

    يَخُطُّون بِالخَطِيِّ مَا يَفْضَحُ الوَشْيَا

    They have abandoned even the reed pen; they only

    write with the Khatti spear what puts brocade to shame.

  45. تَحَلَّى وَلِيُّ العَهْدِ زُهْرَ حُلاهُمُ

    فَحِلْمٌ إلَى بُقْيَا وَعِلْمٌ إلَى فُتْيَا

    The heir apparent wears their brightest ornaments:

    forbearance joined to mercy, and learning joined to legal counsel.

  46. سَمَتْ دَعْوَةُ التَّوحِيدِ مِنْهُ بِأَوْحَدٍ

    مآثِرَ أَعْيَتْ كُلَّ مَنْ يَطْلُبُ العلْيَا

    The cause of divine unity rose through him, one unmatched

    in noble deeds that outstrip everyone striving for the heights.

  47. تَرَى الفَلكَ الدَّوَّارَ مِنْ خدَمَائِهِ

    فَمَا لا يَرَى إيجَابُهُ سامَهُ نَفْيَا

    You see the ever-turning celestial sphere among his servants;

    whatever he does not wish it to establish, he commands it to abolish.

  48. مُجِيرٌ علَى الأَيَّامِ مِنْ جَوْرِ بُؤْسِها

    بِنُعْمَى علَى نُعْمَى وَحُذْيَا علَى حُذْيَا

    A protector against the days and the injustice of their misery,

    with blessing upon blessing and gift upon gift.

  49. لَهُ اللُّهُ ما نَدَّى يَميناً بِمِنَّةٍ

    وَإِنْ هِيَ ذَاعَتْ فِي النَّدَيِّ فَمَا أَعْيَا

    God bless him! Whenever he moistens a right hand with a favor,

    even if it spreads through the assembly, he never falters.

  50. كَأَنَّ لُهاهُ لِلثُّرَيَّا وَيَوْمِهِ

    فَعُودِي بِها نَضْرٌ وَأَرْضِي بِها ثَرْيَا

    As though his gifts were those of the Pleiades and of his day,

    so through them my bough is fresh and my earth moist.

  51. سَقَانِيَ رِيّاً بَعْدَ رِيٍّ سَمَاحُهُ

    فَيَا حَبَّذا السَّاقِي وَيَا حَبَّذَا السُقْيَا

    His generosity gave me draught upon thirst-quenching draught;

    how splendid the cupbearer, how splendid the draught!

  52. وَصَيَّرَ لِلتَّجوِيدِ جَدْوَاهُ مبدَأ

    وَقَدْ بَلَغَ الإفحَامُ غَايَتَهُ القُصْيَا

    He made his bounty a beginning for excellence,

    when speechlessness had already reached its utmost limit.

  53. وَخَوَّلَنِي رُعْياً بِها وَكلاءةً

    فَخَوَّلَهُ اللَّهُ الكَفاءةَ وَالرَّعْيَا

    And through it he granted me care and protection;

    may God grant him fitting recompense and care.