إنِّي بِبابِكَ لا وُدِّيْ يُقَرِّبُني

ولا أَبي ولا نَسَبِي

My love for you draws me not closer,

Neither my father nor my lineage.

إِنْ كانَ عُرْفُكَ مَذْخُوراً لِذِي سَبَبٍ

فاضْمُمْ يَدَيْكَ على حُرٍّ أَخي سَبَبِ

If your kindness is reserved for one with reason,

Then withhold your hand from a free man, my brother by cause.

أَوْ كُنْتَ وافَقْتَهُ يَوْماً على نَسَبٍ

فاقْبِضْ يَدَيْكَ فإنِّي لَسْتُ بالعَرَبِيْ

Or if you once agreed with him on lineage,

Then restrain your hands, for I am not an Arab.

إنِّي امْرُؤٌ بازِلٌ في ذُرْوَتَيْ شَرَفٍ

لِقَيْصَرٍ ولِكِسْرَى مَحْتِدِي وأَبي

I am a man declining at the peaks of noble ranks,

Defiant to Caesar and Chosroes alike.

فإنْ وتَحْظَ بها وإِنْ يَضِقْ

لا يَضِقْ في الأَرْضِ مُضْطَرَبِيْ

If it pleases you, excellent, but if not,

No shaken one in the land shall be confined.

حَرْفٌ أَمُونٌ ورَأْيٌ غَيْرُ مُشْتَرَكٍ

وصَارِمٌ مِنْ سُيوفِ الهِنْدِ ذُو شُطَبِ

A safeguarded letter, an opinion not shared,

And a blade from Indian swords full of decoration.

وخَوْضُ لَيْلٍ تَهابُ الجِنُّ لُجّتَهُ

ويَنْطَويْ جَيْشُها عن جَيْشِه اللّجِبِ

And the plunge at night that jinn fear its intensity,

And their army recoils from its ferocious army.

ما الشّنْفَرَى وسُلَيْكٌ في مُغَيّبَةٍ

إلا رَضِيعَا لِبَانٍ في حِمَىً أَشِبِ

What are acts of valor and daring in obscurity,

Other than an infant crying in protected sanctuary?

واللّهِ رَبِّ النّبِيِّ المُصْطَفَى قَسَماً

بَرّاً وَحَقِّ مِنى والبَيْتِ ذِي الحُجُبِ

By God, the Lord of the chosen Prophet I swear,

My innocence and the house behind the veil.

والخَمْسَةِ الغُرِّ أصحابِ الكِسَاءِ مَعاً

خَيْرِ البَرِيّةِ مِنْ عُجْمٍ ومِنْ عَرَبِ

And the five elite, the People of the Cloak together,

The best of mankind, non-Arab and Arab.

ما شِدَّةُ الحِرْصِ مِنْ شَأني ولا طَلَبي

ولا المَكاسِبُ مِنْ هَمِّيْ ولا أَرَبِي

Not for me is the severity of greed or request,

Nor profit my care or goal to reap.

لكِنْ نَوائِبُ نابَتْنِي وحادِثَةٌ

والدهْرُ يَطْرُقُ بالأَحداثِ والنُّوَبِ

But misfortunes have befallen me and tribulations,

As fate strikes with ordeals and afflictions.

وليس يعرِفُ لي قَدْرِي ولا أَدَبي

إلاّ امْرُؤٌ كانَ ذَا قَدْرٍ وذَا أَدَبِ

None knows my worth or manners,

Except one himself of merit and manners.

لا يَفْتِنَنَّكَ شُكْرِي إِنْ ظَفِرْتَ بهِ

فإنّها فُرْصَةٌ وافَتْكَ مِنْ كَثَبِ

Let not my gratitude tempt you, if you gain it,

For it is an opportunity that came to you unbidden.

واعلَمْ بأنّكَ ما أَسْديتَ مِنْ حَسَنٍ

عندي أَنا حَسَنٌ أَنْقَى مِنَ الذَّهَبِ

And know that any kindness you have shown,

To me is a kindness purer than gold.