سلي عن فؤادي مُذ فقدتك هَل سلا

وهلْ طلبَ الإِبْدالَ فيمن تبدَّلا

Ask my heart since I lost you, has it found peace?

And has it sought replacement among those who have changed?

وهل جف دمعي منْ حَقائب أذرقى

وهل بِتُّ خُلواً من هواك كمن خلاَ

And have my tears dried up from the bags where I shed them?

And have I lived devoid of your love like one who has emptied out?

وحاشا لذاك الصَّفْوِ من كدرٍ يُرى

وحاشا لذاك الحالِ أنْ يتَحوَّلا

Far be it that this clarity be tainted by any turbidity

Far be it that this state changes

رحلتُ وخيمتُهم وقلبي فيكم

وبالرغم منّي أن تقيموا وأرْحَلا

I traveled while their tents remained pitched, and my heart is with you

And despite me that you stay and I travel

وطاب لكم مرعَى بنجدٍ وموردٌ

وما طاب عيشي بالغوير ولا حَلا

And your pasture in Najd and springs have been good for you

While my living in Al Ghuwair and Haala has not been good

حَسُنْتم وُرُدّتء دون أحسانكم يدي

وشرط جميل الوجه أن يتجملا

You have done well, and without your benevolence, my hands have returned empty

And the condition of a beautiful face is to beautify

وما أعشق الأقمارَ الاَّ لاجلِكم

ولا أذكرُ الأغصانَ الاّ تَعَلُّلاَ

And I don’t love the moons except for your sake

And I don’t mention the branches except that they intertwine

خَلِيليّ قد كانتْ غَوالي أدمعي

فأرخَص منها البينُ ما كانَ قد غلا

My beloved, my tears were my pride

So the separation made cheap what had been dear

وليلى ما لي كلمّا قلتُ ينجلي

غرامي ووجدي عاد ليلي ألْيلا

Whenever I say, O Layla, my passion and ecstasy clear up

My Layla night returns a miserable night

أُحبُّ خيامَ النازلين على الغضا

وإنْ أهْلُها حلوا فؤاداً ومنزِلاَ

I love the tents of travelers in the barren land

Even if its people have made my heart and abode sweet

وأشرقُ بالماء الزلال لاجلِهم

ولو كان ذك الماءُ أزْرَقَ سلسلا

And I shine with pure water for their sake

Even if that water was more blue than a chain

وإن زعَمَ الواشونَ أني نسيتهم

فلا وَهوَاهُم عذرةً وتنصّلا

And if the slanderers claim I forgot them

No! By their love, excuse and denial

بنات السرى عَسْجاً ووسجاً فقد رأوا

من الشامِ برقٌ غيثهُ ملأ الملا

The girls of Sirah, unkempt and disheveled for they have seen

Lightening from Levant, its rain has filled the land

وما أحبب الترحال لولا محمدٌ

أمَامي ومن يبغى من الحق معدِلا

And I wouldn’t have loved travel, if it weren’t for Muhammad

Walking ahead of me, and whoever wants justice to prevail

إلى ابنِ عتيقٍ ربّ كل مَطهّمٍ

عتيق يُرى فرداً فيخشاه جحفلا

To the son of Atiq, lord of every afflicter

Atiq who is seen as unique, so assemblies fear him

إلى رجلٍ صَلْبٍ أغرَّ محجّل

متضى مَا يُسَلْ أعطى الأغّر المحُجَّلاَ

To a sturdy man, the most cunning fraud

Who fulfills whatever is asked, the cunning fraud

علتْ بخزازيَ ذكْرُه ومنارة

فَمنْ زارها ألَفى السديف المكملا

His mention has risen with Al-Khazzaz and the Minaret

So whoever visits it, finds the perfect example

ونادى مَنَادي الوفِد حيَّ على القِرى

ونادت ظباة البيضُ حَيّ على الطلا

And the caller of the delegation calls, “long live the villages”

And the white gazelles call, “long live the hills”

سنانٌ لعكِ بل سَنَامٌ لها غدا

هُمامٌ غَمامٌ لا يزال مجلجلا

Snails belong to Akk, or towers belonging to it

Clouds, clouds that never cease to rumble

غَبيديّها عبسيّهُا مَجمعيّهُا

فما استبقتْ إلاّ وبرّزَ أوّلا

Its stupid, its stubborn, its perfect

It never starts a race except it shows first

لقد جرّبوه في القراع وفي القِرى

جميعاً فكان الفاضِلُ المتَفَضّلا

They have tried him in battles and in villages

He has always been the superior, the most generous

وما ضَل ضيفُ اليحصبي مضيّعاً

وما بات ضيفُ اليحصبي مذلّلا

And the guest of Al-Yahsubi has never gone astray

And the guest of Al-Yahsubi has never been humiliated

وما زاده العُذَّالُ إلاّ تكرّماً

ومَنْ ذا الذي يثنى الصباح إذا انجلا

And the blamer has only increased his generosity

And who is it that praises the morning when it clears up?

تذكرت من نعماك عَهْداً وشاقنِي

إليك هوىً لم يُبق في الصبر مَحْمَلا

I remembered a pact of your bounties, and it made me

Yearn to you with a passion that left no patience to endure

فوالله ما أتيك إلاّ فريضةً

وأتي جميعَ الناسِ إلا تنفَلا

By God, I only come to you out of duty

And I come to all people for mere voluntary grace

قليل لك المدح الكثير وأهله

وإن أكثر المثني عليك وقلَّلاَ

Little is abundant praise for you and its people

Even if the one who praises you becomes excessive and scant

ومن ذا الذي يُحصي الغمامَ إذا هَمي

ويُحْصي أمواجَ الخِضَّمِ إذا امْتلا

And who is it that can count the clouds when they swell darkly

And count the waves of the tumultuous sea when it fills up

مَتَى مَا يَعُدْلي برمكٌ وابنُ برمك

أعدت جريراً في الثناء وجرولا

When will Barmuk and the son of Barmuk equal me

When I present Jarir in praise and poetry

فلا زال للراجين طَولك وابلاً

ولا زال للاجين ظِلّك مَعْقلا

So you have not ceased to rain on those hoping

And your shade has not ceased to be a refuge for the seekers