القَلبُ أَعلَمُ يا عَذولُ بِدائِهِ
وَأَحَقُّ مِنكَ بِجَفنِهِ وَبِمائِهِ
The heart knows best, O censurer, of its ailment, / And has more right than you to its eyelids and their tears.
By the one I love, I shall surely disobey you in passion, / Swearing by him, by his beauty, and his splendor.
فَوَمَن أُحِبُّ لَأَعصِيَنَّكَ في الهَوى
قَسَماً بِهِ وَبِحُسنِهِ وَبَهائِهِ
Do I love him yet cherish the blame regarding him? / Indeed, such blame is numbered among his foes.
Even the slanderers marveled at the blamers, saying: / 'Leave be what you see he is too weak to conceal.'
أَأُحِبُّهُ وَأُحِبُّ فيهِ مَلامَةً
إِنَّ المَلامَةَ فيهِ مِن أَعدائِهِ
A true friend is only he whom I love with his own heart, / And view with an eye that sees nothing but him.
For he who aids the lovesick in their sorrow / Is most deserving of the Lord's mercy and brotherhood.
عَجِبَ الوُشاةُ مِنَ اللُحاةِ وَقَولِهِم
دَع ما نَراكَ ضَعُفتَ عَن إِخفائِهِ
Go gently, for censure is but one of its sicknesses, / And softly, for the ear is a limb of the heart.
And grant that blame were as sweet as slumber, / It would still be banished by his sleeplessness and weeping.
ما الخِلُّ إِلّا مَن أَوَدُّ بِقَلبِهِ
وَأَرى بِطَرفٍ لا يَرى بِسَوائِهِ
Do not rebuke the yearning soul for its desires, / Until your very vitals dwell within his breast.
For the victim drenched in the flow of his tears / Is like the martyr drenched in the flow of his blood.
إِنَّ المُعينَ عَلى الصَبابَةِ بِالأَسى
أَولى بِرَحمَةِ رَبِّها وَإِخائِهِ
Love is like the beloved: its nearness is sweet / To the afflicted, even as it consumes his soul.
If you told the heartsick lover, 'I would die for his sake,' / You would but incite his jealousy for that ransom.
مَهلاً فَإِنَّ العَذلَ مِن أَسقامِهِ
وَتَرَفُّقاً فَالسَمعُ مِن أَعضائِهِ
May the Prince be guarded against the passion of eyes, / For it is a force his might and bounty cannot quell.
It takes the armored hero captive with a single glance, / And stands between his heart and its consolation.
وَهَبِ المَلامَةَ في اللَذاذَةِ كَالكَرى
مَطرودَةً بِسُهادِهِ وَبُكائِهِ
I called upon you to face the calamities of fate, / A call to a listener who has no equal among men.
And you came from above time and from beneath it, / Resounding with power, before it and behind it.
لا تَعذُلِ المُشتاقَ في أَشواقِهِ
حَتّى يَكونَ حَشاكَ في أَحشائِهِ
How can mere swords aspire to share your name, / In noble origin, in gleaming luster, and in loyalty?
Iron is forged from the base metals of its kind, / While Ali is forged from the substance of his sires.
إِنَّ القَتيلَ مُضَرَّجاً بِدُموعِهِ
مِثلُ القَتيلِ مُضَرَّجاً بِدِمائِهِ
وَالعِشقُ كَالمَعشوقِ يَعذُبُ قُربُهُ
لِلمُبتَلى وَيَنالُ مِن حَوبائِهِ
لَو قُلتَ لِلدَنِفِ الحَزينِ فَدَيتُهُ
مِمّا بِهِ لَأَغَرتَهُ بِفِدائِهِ
وُقِيَ الأَميرُ هَوى العُيونِ فَإِنَّهُ
ما لا يَزولُ بِبَأسِهِ وَسَخائِهِ
يَستَأسِرُ البَطَلَ الكَمِيَّ بِنَظرَةٍ
وَيَحولُ بَينَ فُؤادِهِ وَعَزائِهِ
إِنّي دَعَوتُكَ لِلنَوائِبِ دَعوَةً
لَم يُدعَ سامِعُها إِلى أَكفائِهِ
فَأَتَيتَ مِن فَوقِ الزَمانِ وَتَحتِهِ
مُتَصَلصِلاً وَأَمامِهِ وَوَرائِهِ
مَن لِلسُيوفِ بِأَن تَكونَ سَمِيَّها
في أَصلِهِ وَفِرِندِهِ وَوَفائِهِ
طُبِعَ الحَديدُ فَكانَ مِن أَجناسِهِ
وَعَلِيٌّ المَطبوعُ مِن آبائِهِ
