يا خيرَ محتفظٍ لودّ حبيب

وَأجلّ مغتفر لذنب منيبِ

O best preserver of a lover's affection,

And most forgiving pardoner of a repentant sinner's misdeeds,

أُنهي إِليك تحيّة ودّيّةً

ما وجهها من مكره بقطيبِ

I send you a cordial greeting,

With no ill intent from any foe.

خلصت خلوصَ التبرِ كرّر سبكهُ

في جاحمٍ من فادح التخريبِ

I have been purely devoted, repeating my dedication

Against the onslaught of ruinous devastation.

ما شانَها زبدٌ يزولُ جفاؤهُ

وَتَدوم بعد فناء كلّ مشوبِ

It is no fleeting foam, soon dissipating,

Enduring beyond the passing of all that is tainted.

وَوراءها شكوى تُذكّر يوسفاً

وَصَنيع إخوته لدى يعقوبِ

And behind it, a lament reminding of Joseph,

And how his brothers treated him before Jacob.

ما إن ترى اِستعفاء واطي عشوة

عن غفلة جرّت إلي تشغيبِ

Do not think me heedless, having strayed

Into neglect that led me to oppose you.

إنّ الكريمَ يقيل عثرة مثله

لا سيّما إن كان غير مريبِ

The noble one overlooks the stumbling of his like,

Especially if he is free of doubt.

يُرخي سدول العذرِ دونَ ذنوبهِ

وَيَصونه عن مخجل التأنيبِ

He lets down the curtains of excuse over sins

And protects him from shameful rebuke.

وَإِذا رأى ألَم العقاب شفاءه

من علّة لم يعد رفق طبيبِ

And when he sees the pain of punishment as his cure

From an illness, no gentler physician remains.

قَسماً بِمن هو عالم بتشيّعي

لِجنابكم في حضرةٍ ومغيبِ

I swear by Him who knows your supporters in presence and absence

For your noble self.

لو خلتهُ سرّاً لما أفشيته

لهمُ ولكن كنت غير مصيبِ

Had I kept it secret, I would not have divulged it

To them, but I was not wise.

أَأراهُ سرّاً ثمّ آمنهم وحا

لهُم معي بادٍ لكلّ أريبِ

Could I have deemed it secret, then trusted them, while

Among them were those hostile to every confidant?

آثرتُ نُصحهم على علمي بهم

فإذا عقاربهم ذوات دبيبِ

I preferred to advise them, despite my knowledge of them,

Yet their stings were those of venomous snakes.

لكنّهم غَمزوا قناة صلبةً

وَاِستكدروا بحراً بخوض ذنوبِ

But they provoked a solid barrier

And stirred a sea by wading into sins.

فَغَدت بَهارِجهم بأيدي ناقدٍ

وَخيال ظلّهم أمام لبيبِ

So their derision became subjected to the hands of critics

And the specter of their misdeeds to the eyes of the wise.

وأليّتي باللّه جلّ جلاله

وعليّ عهد ليس بالمكذوبِ

And I have sworn to God Almighty

A vow that is no fabrication.

مَهما سمعتُ مقالةً من قائلٍ

وَسُئلت عنها لم أكن بمجيبِ

However much I hear talk from some speaker

And am asked about it, I shall not respond.

فأبِح لعذري من قبولك منهجاً

يُفضي إلى رضوانك المرغوبِ

So allow my excuse to adopt, through your acceptance,

A course leading to your desired approval,

زَجراً لمن لَم يَنهه اِستحياؤه

عن أن يشافِه مثلكم بمريبِ

Deterring those whose modesty

Did not prevent them from insulting your like.

وَعصى المروءة والديانة من سعى

بِنَميمة مستوجب التأديبِ

And disobeying chivalry and religion, whoever strives

With gossip deserving discipline.

وَبقيت برّاً مستميلاً للعدى

وموالياً بالبرّ كلّ حبيبِ

While I remain righteous, appeasing every

Loving friend with righteousness.