أَلا بَكرت لُبنى عَلَيه
تُحَدِّثُهُ طَوراً وَطَوراً تُلاعِبُه
Lubna came to him early in the morning,
Speaking with him at one moment, and playfully teasing him at another.
إِنَّ أَشَدَّ الناس في الحَشر حَسرَةً
لِمورِثُ مالٍ غَيرَهُ وَهوَ كاسِبُهُ
Indeed, the person with the greatest regret on the Day of Gathering
Is one who bequeaths wealth to another, though he alone bore the burden of earning it.
كَفى سَفَهاً بالكَهل أَن يَتبَعَ الصِبا
وَأَن يأتيَ الأَمرَ الَّذي هُوَ عائِبُه
It is folly enough for a mature man to chase after youthful indiscretions,
And to commit the very acts that he condemns in others.
وَإِنَّكَ تَلقى صاحبَ الجهل نادِماً
عَلَيهِ وَلا يأسى عَلى الحِلم صاحِبُه
You will surely find the ignorant man full of regret,
While the man of wisdom never sorrows over his forbearance.
يَفِرّ جَبان القَوم عَن عِرس نفسه
وَيَحمي شُجاع القَوم مَن لا يُناسِبُه
The coward among men flees, abandoning his own wife,
While the brave man defends even those of no kin to him.
وَيُرزَق مَعروفَ الجَواد عَدوُّه
وَيُحرَم مَعروف البَخيل أَقارِبُه
The generous man’s enemy is provided with his bounty,
While the miser’s own kin are deprived of his kindness.
أَرى الحِلمَ في بَعض المَواطِن ذِلَّةً
وَفي بَعضها عَزّا يُسوَّد صاحِبُه
I see forbearance in certain places as mere abasement,
Yet in others, it is a glory that grants leadership to its possessor.
أَلا مَبلَغٌ عَنّي خَليلي وَدونَه
مَطا سَفَرٍ لا يَطعَمُ النَومَ طالِبُه
Is there anyone to convey a message to my friend, though between us
Lies a stretch of journey where the traveler tastes no sleep?
رِسالَةَ ثاوٍ بِالعِراق وَروحه
بِفُسطاطِ مِصرٍ حَيث جَمّت عَجائِبه
A message from one dwelling in Iraq, while his soul resides
In Fustat of Egypt, where wonders abound.
لَهُ كُلَّ يَوم حَنّةٌ بَعدَ رَنَّة
يَجيش بِها في الصَدر شَوق يُغالِبُه
Every day he suffers a moan following a cry of grief,
As a longing surges within his chest, overpowering him,
إِلى صاحِب لا يُخلِق النأيُ عهده
لِناءٍ وَلا يَشقى بِهِ من يُصاقبه
Yearning for a companion whose pact is not worn thin by distance,
And whose neighbor never suffers misery.
تَخيَّرَه حُرّاً نَقيّاً ضَميرُهُ
جَميلاً مُحَيّاهُ كَريماً ضَرائبه
He chose him as a free man, pure of conscience,
Beautiful in countenance, and noble in his natural traits.
هُوَ الشَهد سِلماً وَالزُعاف عَداوَةً
وَبحر عَلى الوراد تَجري غَواربه
He is pure honey in peace, and deadly poison in enmity;
A vast ocean whose towering waves flow over those who seek it.
فَيا حَسنَ الحُسن الَّذي عَمَّ فَضله
وَتَمَّت أَياديه وَجَمَّت مَناقبه
O perfection of goodness, whose virtue has encompassed all,
Whose favors are complete, and whose merits are abundant.
إِلَيكَ عَلى بُعدِ المَزار تَطلَّعت
نَوازعُ شَوق ما تُرَدّ عَوازبه
Toward you, despite the vast distance between us,
The urges of longing gaze out, and their wandering thoughts cannot be turned back.
أَرى بعدك الاخوانَ أَبناءَ عَلّة
لهم نسب في ودّهم لا أُناسِبُه
Since you left, I see other 'brothers' as mere rivals born of a different mother,
Claiming a kinship in affection that I do not share.
فَهَل يَرجِعَن عيشي وَعيشَكَ مَرَّة
بِبَغدادَ دَهرٌ منصف لا نُعاتِبُه
Will our lives ever return, even for a moment,
To Baghdad, under a fair fortune that gives us no cause for blame?
لَياليَ أَرعى في جَنابك رَوضَةً
وآوي إِلى حِصن مَنيع مراتبه
Those nights when I grazed in the garden of your presence,
And sought shelter in a fortress of impregnable standing.
وَإِذ أَنتَ لي كالشَهد بالراح صُفِّقاد
بِماء رُصافٍ صفّقَته جَنائبه
When you were to me like honey mixed with wine,
Diluted with cool, clear water stirred by the breeze.
عَسى وَلَعَلَّ اللَهُ يَجمَع بَينَنا
كَما لاءمَت صدعَ الإناء مشاعبه
May it be that God will reunite us,
Just as the mender restores the cracks of a broken vessel.
