لا يُناجي في النَدى إِلّا النَدى

وَإِذا هَمَّ به لا يَستَثيرُ

None converse in the dew but the dew,

In the realm of generosity, he communes with naught but generosity,

And if it intends otherwise, it cannot be stirred,

And when he resolves to give, he needs no urging.

زاد مَعورفَك عِندي عِظَماً

أَنَّه عِندك مَستورٌ حَقير

Your bounty to me has grown mighty,

Your kindness has grown ever greater in my eyes,

Though with you it remains hidden and humble,

Because to you, it remains hidden and deemed insignificant.

تَتَناساهُ كأن لَم تأتِهِ

وَهوَ عِندَ الناس مَشهور خَطير

You forget it as if you had never granted it,

You feign forgetfulness of it, as though you never performed it,

While to people it remains famed and grand,

While among the people, it is celebrated and momentous.

كَم وَكَم أَولَيتَني من نِعمَةٍ

تَدَعُ المُثني بِها وَهوَ حَسير

How often you have bestowed favors upon me,

How many, oh how many blessings have you bestowed upon me,

Leaving the wisher in sorrow and despair,

Leaving the one who praises them exhausted by the task.

هاكَها غَرّاءَ تَسري في الدُجى

كُلُّ بَيت عائِر منها يَسير

Every humble home has easy access to it,

Take this poem, a bright blaze traveling through the darkness,

It is robed in ink whose bend is straight,

Every wandering verse of it journeying far and wide.

حُلَّة حبرها ذو مِقة

بِالهَوى يُسدي وَبالو يُنير

With passion it gives light and with water gives life,

A raiment adorned by one possessing deep affection,

So I deserve thanks just as

Warped with passion and woven with love.

فَجَدير أَنا بالشُكرِ كَما

أَنت بالإِحسان وَالفضل جَدير

You deserve kindness, favor and nobility.

For I am worthy of offering gratitude, just as

You are worthy of benevolence and grace.