يَقولونَ لي صِفْهُ وَعُدَّ حِسانَهُ

فَقُلتُ لَقَد كُلِّفتُ أَمراً مُحالا

They bid me describe him and enumerate his charms,

But I said, "I have been assigned an impossible task."

وَلَكِنَّني أُحصي وأَحصرُ عَيبَهُ

وَأنّ بِهِ عَيباً كَساهُ جَمالا

However I count and detail his faults,

Though he has a fault overlaid with beauty.

وَما هوَ إِلّا كَونُه فاضِلَ الوَرى

وَأَعظَمُهم قَبلَ السّؤالِ نَوالا

He is none but the noblest of mankind,

And most generous ere being asked.