1. هاتِ لي يا سُعْدُ عن أهِل الحمى

    خبراً يُذهِبُ مَا بي مِن ظَما

    Bring me, O Su‘d, about the people of the sanctuary,

    News that dispels the thirst within me.

  2. ومتَى حَدّثتَ عن كاظمةٍ

    إحْكِ لي مَا فعلتْ ذاتُ اللِّمَا

    And whenever you speak of Kazimah,

    Tell me what the dark-lipped beauty has done.

  3. وعَنِ الحيّ بنجدٍ إِنّ لي

    مقلةً مذ فارقوها في عَمى

    And of the tribe in Najd—for I have

    An eye that, since they left it, has been blind.

  4. كنتُ أبكي أدْمُعاً مِن هجرهم

    ثم بانَوا فجرى دمعي دَمَا

    I used to weep tears over their estrangement;

    Then they departed, and my tears ran as blood.

  5. مطر بارقة من لوعتي

    وحياة من جفوني إن هما

    Rain, with a lightning-flash from my anguish,

    And life from my eyelids, if it pours.

  6. مَطَرٌ من مُقْلتي في وَجْنتي

    هذه الأرض وهاتيك السما

    Rain from my eye upon my cheek:

    This is the earth, and that the sky.

  7. أيُّها الرائح إنْ جزتَ على

    خيمٍ بالرمِل فاتِ الخِيمَا

    O departing traveler, if you pass by

    Tents among the sands, visit those tents.

  8. ومتى حزتَ بوادي سَلمٍ

    فسلِ الوادي وَحيّ السَّلَمَا

    And whenever you reach the valley of Salam,

    Question the valley, and greet the acacias.

  9. سَلْ ديارَ الحي عن ساكِنها

    هل ينْبيك فصيح أعجما

    Ask the tribe's dwellings about their inhabitant:

    Will an eloquent mute give you news?

  10. آه ما بي آه ما في أضلعي

    من جوى يظهرُ مهما كُتِمَا

    Ah, what ails me! Ah, what lies within my ribs

    Of burning grief that shows, however much concealed!

  11. لا تذكرني زمَاناً باللِّوى

    فاتَ عنّي عيشهُ فانصَرَما

    Do not remind me of a time at al-Liwa:

    Its life slipped away from me and came to an end.

  12. وتبصّر كبدي بل كمدي

    سِتري جمْر الغضا بينهما

    Look closely at my liver—rather, my sorrow;

    You will see ghada embers between the two.

  13. يا أهيل الحيّ من كاظمةٍ

    لم أَيت بينَكمُ مُهْتَضَمَا

    O dear people of the tribe of Kazimah,

    Why do I remain among you, wronged?

  14. لي منكم ذمةٌ مرْعيّةٌ

    والكريمُ الحرُّ يَرْعى الذّمَمَا

    From you I hold a pledge to be honored;

    And the noble, freeborn man honors pledges.

  15. أنتمَ سمعي وأنتم ناظري

    وفؤادي حَيْثُما كنتم هُمَا

    You are my hearing, and you are my sight,

    And my heart—both are wherever you are.

  16. لو ذهبتم بسَوادي ناظري

    وفؤادي لم أقلْ وآندمَا

    Were you to take away both dark pupils of my eyes

    And my heart, I would not cry: alas, my regret!

  17. يا بُريقَ الغورمَالي باكياً

    كلّما رفرفتَ لي مُبْتسما

    O little lightning of al-Ghawr, why am I weeping

    Whenever you flutter for me with a smile?

  18. لُحْتَ يا برقُ يمانيًّا وقد

    أشْأمتْ داري فيمَنْ أشأما

    You flashed, O lightning, toward Yemen, while

    My home had turned north with those who turned north.

  19. تتلأَلأُ بسهامٍ وأَنا

    بخَزازي وَهْيَ نأي المُرْتما

    You glitter with arrows, while I

    Am at Khazazi, a far-off target.

  20. بحياة الْحبّ يا برقُ متى

    جئت شريافاً فكنْ مُبْتسَما

    By the life of love, O lightning, whenever

    You reach Shiryaf, be smiling.

  21. وأمْطرالسَّوْح العُواجي فَمَا

    زِلْتُ مُعرى بهواه مُغْرما

    And rain upon al-Sawh al-‘Uwaji, for I have never

    Ceased to be laid bare by love of it, enamored.

  22. وَأَنِخْ بابن الحُسين إِنّه

    غُصُنٌ في تُرْبةِ القُدسِ نما

    And alight beside Ibn al-Husayn, for he

    Is a branch that grew in the soil of sanctity.

  23. فإِذَا جئت سمّي المُصْطَفى

    وهو مثلُ البدرِ يجلو الظُّلَمَا

    And when you reach the namesake of al-Mustafa,

    Who, like the full moon, dispels the darkness,

  24. ووعيتَ القول وهو في

    علمِه الكوني كالبحرِ طَمَا

    And have understood his words, while in

    His cosmic knowledge he swells like the sea,

  25. تنظرُ الطُوسي والكَرْخي

    والملك الْبجلّي ديناً قيّمَا

    You behold al-Tusi and al-Karkhi,

    And the king al-Bajalli, upright in faith.

  26. وأطلُب الخضر تجدّه حيثما

    سار ذاك الشخصُ أو ماخيَّما

    Seek al-Khidr: you will find him wherever

    That man travels or pitches camp.

  27. صفوةُ الله وظلُّ الله مَنْ

    يَعْتصم بالحبل منه عُصِمَا

    God's chosen one and God's shadow: whoever

    Clings to his rope is protected.

  28. والرَّحيمُ البَرُّ والله كما

    قيلَ في الكُتْبِ يُحِبُّ الرَّحما

    And he is merciful and good; God, as

    It is said in the scriptures, loves the merciful.

  29. كم حَمَى سِرْباً وأوى نازحاً

    وجلاَ كرباً وأغنى عَدَمَا

    How many a flock he protected and an exile he sheltered,

    And dispelled distress and enriched the destitute!

  30. يَهْدمُ المالَ لكي يبني العُلاَ

    هل رأيتم بانياً مَا هَدَمَا

    He demolishes wealth to build high honor;

    Have you ever seen a builder who did not demolish?

  31. قسَمَ اللهُ به الرزقَ ولَوْ

    لم تَكُنْ راحتُه مَا قَسَما

    God apportioned sustenance through him; and had

    His palm not existed, He would not have apportioned it.

  32. أتعب السَّاعين في أثاره

    ورأه جَيْشُهم فانْهزما

    He wearied those who pursued his footsteps;

    Their host saw him and was routed.

  33. عرفوا تقصيرَهم فاقْتصروا

    من يساوي بالسنامِ المنْسِمَا

    They recognized their shortcomings and held back;

    Who would make a camel's hoof equal to its hump?

  34. إِنَّما أنكره مُنْكِرُهم

    قبلُ لمّا جَهِلوا مَا عَلِمَا

    It was only their denier who rejected him

    Before, when they were ignorant of what he knew.

  35. سُيّرتْ سُفنُهُم في بحرِه

    فهوت في قعره والْتَطَمَا

    Their ships were set sailing on his sea,

    Then plunged to its depths as it surged.

  36. واعادَ الحرَّ منهم حائراً

    وثَنِيَ المِنْطِيقُ منهم مُفْحَمَا

    And he sent their freeborn man back bewildered,

    And their fluent speaker was turned back, silenced.

  37. واجمع السّر فيه هل ترى

    كلّ ذي نابٍ يُسَمَّى ضَيْغمَا

    And gather the secret within him: do you think

    Every fanged creature is called a lion?

  38. قد بلونا مجدَه في صَبْره

    وروينَا ما رأينا عَنْهُمَا

    We have tested his glory in his patience,

    And recounted what we witnessed of them both.

  39. وشهدنا كرماً ملء الفضا

    مُنذ نشأ لم يتعاظمْ كرمَا

    And we witnessed generosity filling all space;

    Since his youth, he has never grown proud of his generosity.

  40. يا أبا عبد الاله إسمع فكم

    مَسْمَعٍ أذهَبْتَ عنه الْصَّمَمَا

    O Abu ‘Abd al-Ilah, listen: how many

    Ears have you freed from deafness!

  41. أنا بَعْض مِنْك والكفّ على

    كل حالٍ لا تضيعُ المِعْصَما

    I am a part of you, and the hand, in

    Every circumstance, does not abandon the wrist.

  42. قد تمسكتُ باهدابك من

    أسْهُمِ الدهر إذا الدهر رمى

    I have clung to your robe's fringes against

    The arrows of time, whenever time lets fly.

  43. ولزمتُ العروة الوثقى الَّتي

    منك لا يشقَى بها مَنْ لَزِما

    And held fast to the firmest handhold, which

    Comes from you: no one clinging to it is wretched.

  44. لاَ لدُنْيا بَلْ لِديْن مَعْهَا

    ولأخْرَى وَلمَا بَيْنَهُمَا

    Not for this world, but for faith alongside it,

    And for the hereafter, and what lies between the two.

  45. ومُحتُّ القومِ منهم يا أبا

    أحمدٍ والودُّ يحكي الرُّحمَا

    And whoever loves a people is one of them, O Abu

    Ahmad; affection resembles kinship.

  46. كلبُ أهلِ الكهف قد نال بهم

    شرفُ الْصحبةِ لمّا انتظما

    The dog of the people of the Cave attained, through them,

    The honor of companionship when it joined their company.