1. هيْهاتَ ما حالِي كَحَالِكْ

    يا ويحَ إِلْفِي مِنْ مَلاَلِكْ

    Far from it! My state is not like yours.

    Alas for my love, at your weariness!

  2. ما غبْتَ عن بَالي وَمَا

    أَخطرْتنِي يَوماً بِبَالِك

    You have never left my mind, yet never

    have you brought me to mind, even for a day.

  3. أَدخلْتَني نارَ الجحيمِ

    فصرتَ يا رضوانُ مالِكْ

    You cast me into the fire of Hell,

    so, O Ridwan, you became Malik.

  4. يأَيُّها الشَّمسُ الَّتي

    أَضحتْ عهودُكِ مِنْ حِبَالِك

    O sun, whose

    pledges have become part of your snares!

  5. الشمسُ أَقربُ من مَنا

    لِكَ وهْي أَبْعدُ مِنْ مِثَالِكْ

    The sun is nearer than reaching

    you, yet farther away than your likeness.

  6. أَحسِنْ بِحسنِك يا لَه

    قسماً وأَعْدِلْ باعْتِدَالك

    Be kind, by your beauty—what an

    oath!—and be just, by your balanced grace.

  7. وإِذا قتلتَ صِلِ المتيَّمَ

    فيكَ واقْتلُ بَعْدَ ذلِك

    And if you kill, grant union to the one besotted

    with you, and kill him afterward.

  8. وامنعْ صدودَك من مُبا

    رَزَتِي فما أَنَا مِنْ رِجَالِكْ

    And keep your rejection from dueling

    with me, for I am no man to match you.

  9. ولقد رحلْتَ وما علمـ

    ـتَ بأَنَّ قلبي في رحَالِكْ

    Indeed, you departed without knowing

    that my heart was among your baggage.

  10. فابْحث عنِ النَّارِ الَّتِي

    لكُمُ تجد قَلْبِي هُنَالِكْ

    So look for the fire that

    belongs to you; you will find my heart there.

  11. قَلْبي ونَارُكُم كخد

    دِكَ في توقُّدِه وخَالِكْ

    My heart and your fire are like your cheek

    in its blazing glow, and your beauty mark.

  12. لم يَسْو بينُك ليلتيـ

    ـنِ بأَلفِ عَامٍ مِنْ وِصَالِكْ

    Two nights of separation from you were not offset

    by a thousand years of union with you.

  13. لي مطلبٌ فمني أَفو

    زُ به على رَغْمِ المَهَالِكْ

    I have a wish—[when shall I] attain

    it, despite the mortal dangers?

  14. أَشكو ولا تأْخُذْ عليَّ به

    وحقكَ عَنْ جَمالِك

    I complain—do not hold it against me,

    by your worth—about your beauty.

  15. أَحْلَى بقلْبي من حبا

    ك ومن حُلاكَ ومِنْ دَلاَلِكْ

    Sweeter to my heart than your gifts

    and your adornments and your coyness

  16. لثْمِي ثَرى مَلِكٍ تَذِ

    ل له الملوكُ مَعَ المَمَالِكْ

    is my kissing the soil of a king before whom

    kings bow low, along with kingdoms.

  17. فارقتُ خِدْمَتَه فضا

    قَتْ بِي مِنَ الأَرْضِ المَسَالِكْ

    I left his service; then the paths

    of the earth grew narrow for me.

  18. ورجعتُ في الأَوطانِ مُغْ

    ترِباً وفِي الأَحْياءِ هَالِكْ

    And I returned to my native lands an exile,

    and among the living, a dead man.

  19. يا نورَ دين اللهِ حالي

    بانتزاحِي عَنْكَ حَالِكْ

    O Light of God's Faith, my state

    is pitch-dark through my remoteness from you.

  20. أَنا في هجيرٍ ليس يُط

    فِي جَمر تَيْه سِوى زُلاَلِكْ

    I am in scorching heat; nothing quenches

    the embers of wandering but your limpid water.

  21. أَنا في دُجىً هيْهات لا

    يجلو دُجَايَ سِوى هِلاَلِكْ

    I am in darkness—never can anything

    dispel my darkness but your crescent moon.

  22. أَنا في مَماتٍ مِنْ بِعا

    دِكَ مَعْ حَياةٍ مِنْ نَوالِكْ

    I am dying from separation

    from you, yet living through your bounty.

  23. أَغْنَيْتَنِي قبل السؤَا

    لِ فكِدْتُ أَغْنَى عَنْ سُؤَالِكْ

    You enriched me before I asked,

    so I almost had no need to petition you.

  24. لم تشتَغِل عنِّي بجهـ

    ـدكَ في جِهادك واشْتِغَالك

    Your exertions did not distract you from me

    in your warfare and your occupations.

  25. فكتبتَ لي ما صرتُ منه

    فوقَ ظهرِ الأُفْقِ سَالِكْ

    So you wrote me words that set me

    walking above the horizon's back.

  26. ذاك الكِتابُ هو الأَما

    نُ من المهاوِي والمَهالِكْ

    That letter is the assurance of safety

    from abysses and mortal dangers.

  27. فسجدتُ لمَّا جاءَني

    شكراً لبرِّك واحْتِفَالِكَ

    So I prostrated when it reached me,

    in thanks for your kindness and attentive care.

  28. وخشعتُ يا لَخُشوعِ قَلْبي

    مِن مَقامِك أَو مَقالِكْ

    And I humbled myself—oh, my heart's humility

    before your presence or your words!

  29. وقتلتَ همِّي من سُطو

    ركَ هلْ سطورُك مِن نِضَالِكْ

    And you killed my anxiety with your lines—

    are your lines part of your archery?

  30. ما علَّم القتلُ السيو

    فَ المرهَفَاتِ سِوى قِتَالِكْ

    Nothing taught the swords to kill,

    those keen-edged blades, except your combat.

  31. والسَّيفُ يفخرُ بانتضا

    ئِكَ فخرَ رُمْحِكَ باعْتِقَالِكْ

    And the sword glories in your drawing it,

    as your spear glories in your wielding it.

  32. إِنَّ العِدى قُتِلَت كما

    قُتِلَتْ نصالُك في نِصَالِكْ

    Indeed, the foes were slain, just as

    your blades were slain in your swordplay.

  33. وديارهُم أَخْلَيتَها

    فكأَنَّما هِي بَيْتً مَالِك

    And you emptied their dwellings,

    as though they were Malik's house.

  34. فكأَنَّ نصْرَ الله أَصْبحَ

    خُلَّةً هي مِنَ خلاَلِكْ

    So it seems victory from God has become

    a trait among your traits.

  35. لا زلتَ منصورَ العزا

    ئِم في جِلاَدِكَ أَوْ جِدَالِكْ

    May your resolves always be victorious,

    in your combat or your debate.

  36. واللهِ مَا لِلبدرِ مكـ

    ـتمِلاً كما لَك في كَمَالِكْ

    By God, the moon at its fullest has nothing

    to match you in your perfection.