ألا بالحمى إن جزت يا راكب الوجنا

فشبب بذكر العامرية في المغنى

Ah, if you pass the protected pasture, O rider of the sturdy she-camel,

Then sing love-verses naming al-Amiriyya in the dwelling-place.

وحي عريب الحي واحمل تحيتي

وقل مغرما غادرته وبكم مضنى

And greet the dear Arabs of the encampment, and carry my greeting,

And say: "I left a lover behind, wasted away for you."

فإن سمحوا بعد القلا لي باللقا

فيا عيش ما احلى ويا قلب ما اهنا

If, after estrangement, they grant me a meeting,

O life, how sweet! O heart, how blissful!

عريب بروحي منهم ابتعت نظرة

فقلبي على حكم الهوى اتخذوا رهنا

Dear Arabs—from them I bought a glance with my soul;

So they took my heart in pledge, under love's decree.

يمثلهم انسان عيني صورة

وقلبي وان بانوا يشاهدهم معنى

The pupil of my eye portrays them in form,

And my heart, though they have departed, beholds them in essence.

فيا سائق الاظعان عج بطويلع

سحيرا وحي الفازلين بها عنا

O driver of the camel-caravan, turn aside at Tuwayliʿ,

Just before dawn, and greet those dwelling there on our behalf.

وغن بمن اهوى وشبب بذكره

وحاول اذا رجعت ان تعرب اللحنا

And sing of him whom I love, and name him in love-verses;

And when you repeat the refrain, strive to render the melody clearly.

وقف بالكثيب الفرد شرقي ضارج

وان جئت سلعا والعقيق فخذ يمنا

And stop at the lone sandhill east of Darij;

And if you reach Salʿ and al-Aqiq, turn right.

وان بان بان الحي من نحو طيبة

فأطلق زمان الشوق واحبس به الظعنا

And if the encampment's bān-trees appear toward Tayba,

Then give longing free rein, and hold the caravans there.

احب وميض البرق من نحو بارق

وعرف الصبا منه اذا ما سرى وهنا

I love the lightning's gleam from the direction of Bariq,

And the east wind's fragrance from there when it passes in the night.

وأشتاق من نجد معالم ربعها

ومن نبتها زهر الربا العاطر المجنى

And I long for the landmarks of her dwelling in Najd,

And, among its plants, the fragrant, gathered blossoms of the hills.

وان انا لم اسفح على السفح عبرتي

فلا اضحك الرحمن لي بعدها سنا

And if I do not shed my tears upon the hillside,

Then may the Merciful never again make a tooth of mine smile.

سقى الله ذياك الحمى وابل الحيا

وعطر من ارجائه السهل والحزنا

May God water that protected pasture with a downpour of rain,

And perfume the plains and rugged ground throughout its reaches.

فلي قمر في ذلك الافق قد سما

يفوق على الاقمار بالواضح الاسنى

For I have a moon, risen high in that horizon,

Surpassing the moons in clear, supreme splendor.

جميل المحيا ازهر اللون ابلج

بريق الثنايا اكحل ادعج اقنى

Beautiful of countenance, bright of complexion, radiant-browed,

With gleaming front teeth, kohl-dark, large black eyes, and an aquiline nose.

هو المصطفى من نسل اكرم والد

فيا كرم الآبا ويا شرف الابنا

He is the Chosen One, descended from the noblest father;

What noble forefathers, what glorious sons!

نبي الهدى قد جاء الخلق رحمة

فللبائس الجدوى وللخائف الامنا

The Prophet of guidance, who came to creation as a mercy,

For the distressed, succor; for the fearful, safety.

اجل الورى قدرا واعظمهم يدا

واعذبهم نطقا واكملهم حسنا

The greatest of humankind in rank, the most generous of hand,

The sweetest in speech, the most perfect in beauty.

من المسجد الاقصى الى العرش قد دنا

الى ان تراآى قاب قوسين او ادنى

From al-Aqsa Mosque he drew near to the Throne,

Until he appeared at two bow-lengths' distance, or nearer.

وفي حضرة التقريب والانس ربه

حباه باحسان وحياه بالحسنى

And in the presence of nearness and intimacy, his Lord

Favored him with goodness and greeted him with the finest grace.

وما زاغ ذاك الطرف منه وما طغى

ونال من الآيات ما حير الذهنا

That gaze of his neither swerved nor overstepped,

And he received signs that bewildered the mind.

وفي محكم التنزيل احكم مدحه

واثني عليه في الكتاب بما اثنى

And in the definitive revelation his praise was firmly established,

And he was extolled in the Book with the praise bestowed upon him.

واصحابه بالفضل في كل مشهد

حديثهم يفني الزمان ولا يفنى

And his companions, distinguished in every arena—

Their story exhausts time, yet is never exhausted.

اسود اسود الحرب من كل ابلج

طويل نجاد السيف معتقل لدنا

Lions, lions of war, each bright-faced,

Long of sword-baldric, carrying a supple spear.

اذا غشي القوم النعاس تراهم

على يقظة ليسوا قياما ولا وسنا

When drowsiness overtakes the people, you see them

Alert, neither standing nor drowsy.

اذا ابرقوا في الحرب صاروا صوارما

وان رعدوا اسدا وان مطروا مزنا

When they flash in war, they become cutting swords;

If they thunder, lions; if they rain, rain-clouds.

يصولون في الهيجا باللحاظ مرهف

صقيل لغير الهام لم يتخذ جفنا

They charge in battle with a keen-edged glance,

Polished, taking no sheath other than skulls.

على حسن جس العود غنت سيوفهم

على الضرب بالايقاع اذ جردوا الطعنا

To skillful fingering of the lute, their swords sang,

To rhythmic blows, when they unleashed their thrusts.

بها ليل في الهيجا اماجيد في اللقا

اذا سالموا انسا وان حاربوا جنا

Noble heroes in battle, illustrious in encounters,

Human when they make peace, jinn when they wage war.

وباعوا على حكم الجهاد نفوسهم

ولم يجدوا في ذاك حيفا ولا غبنا

And they sold their souls under the decree of jihad,

And found in that neither injustice nor loss.

وكان رسول الله ركنهم الذي

به يتقون البأس اكرم به ركنا

And God's Messenger was their pillar, the one

Through whom they warded off battle's fury—how noble a pillar!

هنيئا لهم فازوا بحسن ابتدائهم

ونحن بحسن الاتباع لقد فزنا

Blessed are they: they triumphed through a worthy beginning,

And we have surely triumphed through worthy following.

فيا ملجأ اذ لم اجد لي ملجأ

وحصنا منيعا حيث لم اتخذ حصنا

O refuge, when I found no refuge for myself,

And impregnable fortress, when I had taken no fortress,

لقد اثقلت ظهري الذنوب بحملها

وقد خف ما قدمت من صالح وزنا

Sins have weighed down my back with their burden,

And the good I have sent ahead is light in weight.

عسى ان مليك منك يشفى بنظرة

ومنك تفوز النفس بالمقصد الاسنى

May Mulayk be healed by a glance from you,

And through you may the soul win the loftiest goal,

وانجو من اليوم الشديد عقابه

اذا ما الجيال الشامخات غدت عهنا

And may I escape the day whose punishment is severe,

When the towering mountains become dyed wool.

واعطي كتابي باليمين وانثني

وقد نلت من سعدي بك لا من واليمنا

And may I be given my record in my right hand and turn away,

Having gained, through my happiness in you, security and good fortune.

لاني بحسن الظن بالله واثق

وما خاب من بالله قد احسن الظنا

For I trust in holding a good opinion of God,

And none who thinks well of God has been disappointed.

فيا رب بالمبعوث من نسل هاشم

وعدنان فاجعل مسكني في غد عدنا

O Lord, by the one sent from the line of Hashim

And Adnan, make my dwelling tomorrow in Eden.

وصل على المختار والآل ما شدا

على لايك قمريّ وفي روضة غني

And bless the Chosen One and his family, as long as there sings

In the thickets a turtle-dove, and in a garden it warbles.

وضاعف صلاتي بالسلام وبالرضى

على الصحب والاتباع وارض بهم عنا

And multiply my prayers with peace and favor

Upon the companions and followers, and for their sake be pleased with us.