1. حياكَ بعدِيَ صوبُ المزُن والدّيم

    ولا عَداك مُلِثٌ منه مُنْسَجِمُ

    May the downpour of rainclouds and steady rains greet you in my absence,

    and may its persistent, pouring rain never pass you by.

  2. هَلْ عند رَبْعِكَ مِنْ سُعدى بني جُشْمٍ

    عِلْمٌ وكيفَ كَثِيبُ الرَّملِ والعَلِمُ

    Is there at your dwelling, of Suʿdā of Banū Jusham,

    any news? And how are the sand dune and the landmark?

  3. أرَملَ رَامة حَلّوا أمْ بذي سَلَمِ

    يا أخت رَامة الحُلاّلِ والسّلمُ

    Did they settle on Rāma’s sands, or at Dhū Salam?

    O sister of Rāma, of the settlers and acacias!

  4. كانوا رِفاقي والدُّنيَا مُفَرَّقَة

    فما يدومُ بهاً بُؤْسٌ ولا نِعَمُ

    They were my companions, and the world brings separation;

    neither misery nor blessings endure within it.

  5. وكنتُ صَاحبَ سُعْدى وهي صاحبتي

    والدّار دانيةٌ والشمْلُ مُلتئمُ

    I was Suʿdā’s companion, and she was mine,

    with the dwelling near and our company united.

  6. ومَا وِسَادي إلاَّ دُمْلجّ ويَدٌ

    منها وما افترقا منّا فَمٌ وفَمُ

    And my pillow was only an armlet and a hand

    of hers; our two mouths never parted.

  7. وبعدَ ذلك من تفريق أُلْفتِنا

    سعى السعَاةُ وزورٌ كلّما زعموا

    And after that came the sundering of our affection:

    the tale-bearers strove, and all they alleged was false.

  8. يعقوبُ أصلُ عماه فقدُ يُوسِفه

    وليس يوسفُ في يعقوبِ يُتَّهَمُ

    The cause of Jacob’s blindness was the loss of his Joseph,

    yet Joseph is not blamed for Jacob’s blindness.

  9. فما يضيعُ صَديقٌ مَنْ يُصَادقُه

    لكنّها أَمَمٌ تسعى بها أمَمُ

    A friend does not neglect the one who befriends him,

    but these are aims that peoples pursue.

  10. يا حادي العيسِ حَرْفاً سيرُهَا خَبَبٌ

    وعاسفَ الليل داجٍ لونُه فَحِمُ

    O driver of pale camels—a lean she-camel whose gait is a trot—

    and traverser of the night, dark and coal-black in hue,

  11. وحاملَ الطِّرْسِ والكافورِ أبيضُه

    ورقمُ أخره بالمسك منختمُ

    and bearer of the sheet, its white as camphor,

    and the writing at its end sealed with musk,

  12. حَيِّ المرابعة المَأنوسَ جارتُها

    بل العريشُ فثَمّ البيتُ والحَرَمُ

    greet al-Murābiʿa, whose neighbor is familiar;

    rather, al-ʿArīsh, for there are the House and the sanctuary.

  13. وثمَّ اكرمُ مصحوبٍ وليس له

    مولى يحن ومثني الأنيق الرسمُ

    And there is the noblest companion, who has no

    yearning friend or praiser of the graceful form [wording unclear].

  14. فإِنْ بَدا لك فالثم بطنَ أنملِه

    وظهرَها فبنانُ الجودِ ثلتثمُ

    If he appears to you, kiss the pads of his fingers

    and their backs, for generosity’s fingertips are kissed.

  15. وقُلْ له حيثُ لا تدري عواذلُه

    فالناسُ لو سلموا من بعضِهم سَلِمُوا

    And tell him, where his reproachers are unaware:

    For people would be safe if they were safe from one another.

  16. بيني وبينَك ما لا بين ذي يَزنٍ

    وذي رُعينٍ إخاءٌ ليس ينْصَرمُ

    Between me and you is what was not between Dhū Yazan

    and Dhū Ruʿayn: a brotherhood that never breaks.

  17. وما لهارونَ مِنْ موسَى أخيه كما

    لي مِنْكَ لاَزلتَ موصولاً بك الرحمُ

    Nor had Aaron, from Moses his brother, anything like what

    I have from you; may you ever be one through whom kinship stays joined.

  18. بجيلةُ ابنةِ عَبْس أنتَ سُّيدُها

    وأننّي ابنُ هَمْدانِ الذيْن هُمُ

    Bajīla, daughter of ʿAbs—you are her chief,

    and I am a son of Hamdān, who are...

  19. ولي صَحَائفُ شوقٍ فيك لو قُرئِت

    على السَّحاب لمذا كَفّتْ لَهُ دِيمُ

    And I have pages of longing for you which, if read

    to the clouds, why would their steady rains cease for him?

  20. محمدُ بنَ حسين يا فداه أبي

    أنتَ ابنُه ولك الأكرامُ والكرمُ

    Muhammad ibn Husayn—O, may my father be his ransom!

    You are his son, and yours are honor and generosity.

  21. مَا زلتَ تَقْتضِي لُباناتي إذا بخِلَتْ

    أيدٍ وتبذِلُ مطلوبي إذا حَرَمُوا

    You have always met my needs when stingy

    hands withheld, and given what I sought when others denied me.

  22. فاغْنَم ثنائي مَهْمَا حاجتي عرَضتْ

    فليلَةُ القدرِ رُؤيا تلك تُغْتَنَمُ

    So win my praise whenever my need arises,

    for the Night of Decree is a vision, one to be seized.

  23. فبينَ رؤية عينٍ وانِتباهتِها

    يُكْدي الْغنِي ويَغْنَى مَنْ به عَدَمُ

    For between an eye’s seeing and its awakening,

    the rich fall into poverty, and those in want grow rich.

  24. أما سمعتَ بقارونٍ وَمَا جَمَعتْ

    كفاه راحَ وراح الذّئب والغَنَمُ

    Have you not heard of Qārūn and what was amassed

    by his two hands? He is gone, and gone are the wolf and the sheep.

  25. وقد سمعت بشدادٍ بَني إرماً

    يَبْغي الخُلُودَ فلم يَخْلُدْ ولاَ إرمُ

    And you have heard of Shaddād, who built Iram,

    seeking immortality; neither he nor Iram lived forever.

  26. الخيْرُ يبقى وإن طال الزمانُ به

    والفعْلُ يفنى ويبقى بعدَه الكلِمُ

    Goodness endures, though time stretches long over it,

    and the deed perishes, but words remain after it.

  27. لولا أراك كنفسي لاَ تردُّ يدي

    مَا كان يفتحُ مني بالقريض فمُ

    Were it not that I see you as myself, and you never turn my hand away,

    no mouth of mine would open in verse.

  28. ومَا أظنُّك تنسى حقّ معرفتي

    إن المعَارفَ في أهلِ النُّهى ذِمِمُ

    And I do not think you will forget the claim of our acquaintance;

    for among the wise, ties of acquaintance are binding obligations.