هلِ الأفْقُ تبْدو في مَطالِعِه الزُّهْرُ

أمِ الرّوضُ في أدْواحِهِ فُتِّحَ الزّهْرُ

Does the horizon in its rising seem to blossom,

Or is it the meadow in its expanse the blossoms opened?

أمِ الوَصْفُ منّي حيثُ لاحَتْ مَحاسِني

تُنظَّمُ عِقْداً مثلَما يُنظَمُ الدُّرُّ

Or is it my portrayal, when her charms appeared,

Arranged like pearls are strung in a necklace?

فلا حُسْنَ إلا ما لوَصْفيَ يَنتَمي

ولا وصْفَ إلا ما بحُسْني له ذِكْرُ

No charm but owes its being to my portrayal,

No portrayal but finds in her charm its fame.

وما السّحْرُ عن هاروتَ يُروَى حقيقةً

فحُسْني الذي يُعْزَى لِبابلِه السِّحْرُ

And the sorcery attributed to Harut is not

In truth, for her charm is the sorcery assigned to Babylon.

إذا أنتَ قد شاهَدتني واخْتَبَرْتَني

وحقّقتَ وصْفي صدّقَ الخبَرَ الخُبْرُ

Now you have seen me and tried me out,

And verified my portrayal, truths are verified.

لأن الجَمالَ اليوسُفيَّ حقيقةً

بغَرناطةٍ دعْ ما حَوَتْ قبلَهُ مِصْرُ

For the Joseph-like beauty is in reality

In Granada - leave what Egypt contained before!

ومُبدِعُ شكلي ناصرُ الدّين يوسُفٌ

فدامَ لهُ التأييدُ والعِزُّ والنّصْرُ

And the creator of my form is Nasir al-Din Yusuf,

So may he enjoy support, glory and triumph!

قِناعٌ كأنّ الأفْقَ أبْدَى سحابَهُ

جَهاماً فحلّاها ببارِقِه التّبْرُ

A mask as though the horizon displayed its clouds

As tents, which he adorned with its lightning flash.

يَروقُ شُعاعٌ منهُ فوقَ بياضِهِ

فمِن سُحْبِهِ ثوبٌ ومِنْ تِبْرِه زُهْرُ

A ray from it gleams over its whiteness,

So from its clouds a garment, from its lightning blossom.

كما لاحَ نورُ الشّمسِ في روْنَقِ الضُحى

وساقَ الثريّا في مُلاءَتِهِ الفجْرُ

As the sun's light shone in the sheen of dawn

And threaded the Pleiades in their setting at dawn.