1. جارَ الحبيب على الكئيب ببُعده

    فغَدا حليفَ صبابةٍ من بَعْده

    The beloved wronged the sorrowful one through his absence.

    So, in his absence, he became a companion of ardent longing.

  2. وغدا يعذَّبُ قلبه وفؤادُه

    بغرامهِ وبهجره وبصدِّه

    And his heart—his very heart—came to be tormented

    By love for him, his desertion, and his rejection.

  3. فالجسم منه في تهامةَ نازلٌ

    والقلبُ منه غائبٌ في نجده

    So his body dwells in Tihamah,

    And his heart is far away in his Najd.

  4. نُورٌ إذا رأتِ الغزالةِ وجهه

    ترتدُّ منه مثلَ فاحِم جَعْده

    A light—when the sun beholds his face,

    It retreats before him, dark as his jet-black curls.

  5. ظبْيٌ مراعيه الحشا عجباً له

    ردَّ الشموس بنوره وبِسَعده

    A gazelle whose pastures are the heart's depths—how wondrous he is!

    He turned back the suns with his radiance and his good fortune.

  6. هذا الذي يَسْبِى العقولَ بلفظه

    وبلحظِه وبدرِّه وبوَرْدهِ

    This is he who takes minds captive with his speech,

    And with his glance, his pearls, and his roses;

  7. وبخَصْره وبنحرِه وبثغرِه

    وبهجرِه وببُعدِه وبقدِه

    And with his waist, his upper chest, and his mouth;

    And with his desertion, his distance, and his stature;

  8. وبدلِّه ودلاله وجماله

    ومَلالِه وكماله وبِنَهدِه

    And with his coyness, his coquetry, and his beauty;

    And with his boredom, his perfection, and his breast;

  9. وبنُبله وبمَطْله وبعَدله

    وبجوره وبنور جَوهر عِقْده

    And with his nobility, his stalling, and his justice;

    And with his injustice, and the radiance of his necklace's gems;

  10. وبجيدِه وبحُسْنه وبطرْفه

    وبخاله وبفَوْدِه وبجُنده

    And with his neck, his beauty, and his eye;

    And with his beauty mark, his temple-lock, and his host.

  11. عجباً لطرفٍ يَكْلُم الأحشاءَ

    والأكبادَ وهْو مزمَّلٌ في غِمْده

    How wondrous an eye that wounds the entrails

    And the livers, while wrapped in its sheath!

  12. يُصْمِى قلوب العاشقين إذا بدا

    أو إن نثنَّي في غلائل بُرْدِه

    It strikes lovers' hearts dead when he appears,

    Or if he [sways] in the fine folds of his cloak.

  13. حازَ المحاسنَ كلَّها في وصفِه

    وأنا أهيمُ بحبِّه وبوجدِه

    He has every beauty among his attributes,

    And I am lost in love and longing for him.

  14. لا زالَ يمنحنى البعادَ ولم يَجُدْ

    للصبِّ من هزلِ الكلام وجدِّه

    He keeps granting me separation, yet has not bestowed

    On the lovesick lover any words, in jest or earnest.

  15. ماذا يضيرُ حبيبنا وخليلَنا

    لو كان يا ذَا صادقا في وَعْده

    What harm would it do our beloved and dear friend,

    If, O you, he were faithful to his promise?

  16. كم عاذلٍ قد لامني في حُبِّه

    وأتى إليَّ بنُصْحه وبرُشْدِه

    How many a reproacher has blamed me for loving him,

    And come to me with his advice and sound judgment.

  17. وأنا أقولُ فما أميلُ عن الهوَى

    مثلَ السخيِّ فلم يَمِلْ عن رِفْدِه

    And I say: I do not turn away from love,

    Like a generous man who never turns from his giving.

  18. لا تعذلنَّ فتى أذابَ فؤاده

    حبٌّ عظيم وهْو باذِلُ جَهدِه

    Never reproach a youth whose heart has been melted

    By a mighty love, while he gives all his strength.

  19. أتلومُني وأنا حلفت أليَّةً

    فوربه لا أَنْثني عن وُده

    Do you blame me, when I have sworn an oath?

    For, by his Lord, I will not turn from love for him.

  20. وأحب طلعته وحسنَ طباعه

    أحببتُه يا صاحبي في مَهْدِه

    And I love his countenance and his good nature;

    I loved him in his cradle, O my friend.

  21. كيف الخلاصُ ولبُّ عقلى عنده

    لا زلت طولَ زمانه في رفده

    How can I escape, when the very core of my mind is with him?

    I remain, throughout his days, sustained by his bounty.

  22. أخذ الفؤادَ سوادُه وبياضُه

    ماضَرَّه لو أن يجود بردِّه

    His blackness and his whiteness have seized my heart.

    What harm would it do him to be generous and return it?

  23. إن كان هذا قاتلي ومُعذِّبي

    فأنا الذي راضٍ عليه بقصدِه

    If this one is my slayer and my tormentor,

    Then I am content with him and his intent.

  24. فلتقض يا ذا ما تشاءُ مِن القضا

    فاللهُ يفعلُ ما يشاءُ بعبده

    So decree, O you, whatever judgment you wish;

    For God does what He wills with His servant.

  25. لا خير في حرٍّ يدوم على الخَنا

    لو كان يملك ذا الزمان بجُنده

    There is no good in a free man who persists in obscenity,

    Even if he ruled this age with his army.

  26. إذْ صار عن نهج الهدى متكبراً

    لا خير في هذا ولا في مجدِه

    Since he has grown too proud to follow the path of guidance,

    There is no good in this man, nor in his glory.

  27. خيرُ الرياسة من أطاعَ إلهه

    وغدَا له متوضِعاً في زُهده

    The best leader is he who obeys his God,

    And becomes humble before Him in his asceticism.

  28. إن الذي قد صدَّ عن نهج الهدى

    يجفوه في دنياهُ أو في لَحْده

    Indeed, whoever has turned away from the path of guidance

    Is forsaken in his worldly life or in his grave.

  29. وسألت ربي أنْ يمن بفضله

    للمؤمنين القائمين بحمدِه

    And I asked my Lord to bestow His grace

    Upon the believers who stand praising Him.