1. القَلبُ مِنَ الجَوى كَليمُ

    وَالجِسمُ مِنَ النَّوى سَقيمُ

    The heart is wounded by love's anguish.

    And the body is sick from separation.

  2. وَالصبُّ مِنَ البِعادِ مُضنى

    وَلهان مِنَ الهَوى يَهيمُ

    And the ardent lover is exhausted by distance,

    Distraught with love, he wanders.

  3. يَشتاقُ إِلى الحَبيب دَوماً

    وَالشَّوقُ عَلى الجَفا يَدومُ

    He longs for the beloved always,

    And longing endures despite estrangement.

  4. كَم باتَ مُؤرَّقاً بليلٍ

    سُهْداً شَهِدَت بِهِ النُّجومُ

    How often he has lain sleepless at night,

    In wakefulness to which the stars bore witness.

  5. يا ظبيُ أَخا المَهى نِفارا

    لا تُصْغِ لعاذلٍ يلومُ

    O gazelle, brother to the oryx in skittishness,

    Do not listen to a reproacher who blames.

  6. فَالعاذِلُ شأنُهُ مُلام

    وَالمُغرَمُ في الهَوى مَلومُ

    For the reproacher's business is reproach,

    And the lover is blamed for love.

  7. والعاذل قلبُه حَقودُ

    والمُغرَمُ قلبه سَليمُ

    And the reproacher's heart is spiteful,

    And the lover's heart is pure.

  8. يا مالِكَ مُهجَتي وَروحي

    يا روحُ لَها الوَرى جُسومُ

    O master of my lifeblood and my soul,

    O soul, whose bodies are all humankind,

  9. إِنّي لَكَ مادِحٌ بِمَدحٍ

    يَزهو بِكَ دُرُّه النَّظيمُ

    Indeed, I praise you with a panegyric,

    Whose strung pearls shine through you.

  10. قَد صيغَ بِجَوهَرٍ كَمَدحٍ

    فيمَن حَييَت بِهِ العُلومُ

    It has been fashioned from gems, like a eulogy

    Of one through whom the sciences came alive:

  11. الشَّيخُ رَضيعُ ثَديِ فضلٍ

    لا شكَّ وغيرُه الفَطيمُ

    The shaykh, a nursling at excellence's breast—

    Without doubt, while all others are weaned.

  12. العالِمُ مَنْ حَوى ذكاءً

    لم تدرِ بكُنْهه الفُهومُ

    The scholar who possesses an intelligence

    Whose true nature minds have not fathomed;

  13. العارفُ ذو الكمالِ صفوا

    البارعُ ذو الحِجى الحكيمُ

    The knower, endowed with pure perfection,

    The accomplished, discerning, wise one;

  14. نُعمانُ أَوانُهُ قَضاء

    فالعدلُ طريقُهُ القَويمُ

    The Nuʿmān of his age in judgment,

    For justice is his upright path;

  15. السيِّدُ مَعدِن المَعالي

    الشّهمُ أَخو العُلا العَظيمُ

    The master, a mine of noble virtues,

    The noble-hearted, brother to eminence, the great;

  16. مَنْ حَلَّ بِأَوْجِ كلِّ عزٍّ

    لَم تَحوِ حلولَه النجومُ

    Who has settled at the summit of every glory—

    A station the stars have never encompassed.

  17. البحرُ سَخاوةً وَبَذلاً

    وَالبذلُ يُحبُّهُ الكَريمُ

    An ocean in generosity and giving,

    And the generous one loves giving.

  18. يا جَوهرَ ذا الزّمانِ فَرداً

    ما إنْ لَكَ في الوَرى قَسيمُ

    O singular jewel of this age,

    You have no peer among humankind.

  19. مَنْ فيهِ يحلُّ كلُّ حسنٍ

    والحُسنُ بجوهرٍ يقومُ

    One in whom all beauty dwells,

    And beauty subsists in substance.

  20. إِنّي لَكَ مرسلٌ عروساً

    عَذراءَ وَوَجهُها وسيمُ

    Indeed, I am sending you a bride,

    A virgin whose face is lovely;

  21. غَيداء مِنَ الفَخارِ عزّاً

    يَعلو بِكَ قَدرُها الفخيمُ

    Graceful, deriving honor from glory,

    Through you her lofty worth rises.

  22. خُذها وَلَكَ الهَناء فيها

    دَوماً وَمَسرّةً تدومُ

    Take her, and may delight in her be yours

    Always, and joy that endures.

  23. وَاِسلَمْ ودُمْ الزّمانَ سلما

    ما الصبُّ عَلى الهَوى يُقيمُ

    And be safe, and remain at peace for all time,

    As long as the lover abides in love,

  24. ما الفَتحُ أَجادَ فيكَ مَدحاً

    مِن حَيثُ غَدا لَهُ يُديمُ

    As long as al-Fath excels in praising you,

    Since he has come to keep that praise enduring.