شَرِبْنَا مِنْ سَرِيٍّ يَحْمَدِيِّ

وِدَاداً فِي الْقَدِيمِ بِغَيْرِ شَيِّ

We drank from a flask, my companion

We drank from a noble man of Al-Yahmad,

Affection in the past without any ill

a deep affection in times past, demanding nothing in return,

سِوَى عَهْدٍ قَدِيمٍ قَدْ تَقَضَّى

بِمَعْرِفَةٍ خَلَتْ مِنْ كُلِّ غَيِّ

Except an old covenant already fulfilled

save for an ancient covenant that had passed between us,

With understanding devoid of any wrong

rooted in an acquaintance utterly free of deception.

فَمَا وُجِدَتْ بِِمَضْيَعَةٍ لَدَيْهِ

وَلَكِنْ صَانَهَا صَوْنَ الْحُلِيِّ

So it was not found wasted with him

This bond was never left to waste under his care,

But he protected it, protecting fine pearls

but rather he guarded it as one safeguards precious jewels.

وَزَيَّنَهَا بِإِخْلاَصٍ وَصِدْقٍ

كَمَا زَانَ الْقَصَائِدَ بِالرَّوِيِّ

And adorned it with pure sincerity

He adorned it with utmost sincerity and truth,

As embellished poems with excellent meter

just as poems are adorned by their rhyming consonant.

تَعَهَّدَهَا وَلَمْ يَجْدِبْ ثَرَاهَا

بِِوَسْمِيِّ التَّوَدُّدِ وَالْوَلِِيِّ

He tended it without making its meadows barren

He tended to it, never allowing its soil to run barren,

With a branding of intimacy and loyalty

watering it with the early and continuous rains of affection.

فَأَنْبَتَتِ الأَزَاهِرَ فِي صَفَاءٍ

تَنِمُّ بِنُصْحِ ذِي مِقَةٍ صَفِيِّ

So it sprouted flowers in serenity

Thus, it brought forth blossoms in pure serenity,

Flourishing with the advice of a sincere intimate

exhaling the sincere goodwill of a devoted, pure-hearted friend.

جَزَاهُ اللهُ خَيْراً فَهْوَ أَهْلٌ

لِِخَيْرِ اللهِ ذِي الطَّوْلِ الْغَنِيِّ

May God reward him well, for he is deserving

May Allah reward him with goodness, for he is truly worthy

Of the abundant goodness of the Most High

of the blessings of Allah, the Lord of Bounty, the Self-Sufficient.

وَعَامَلَهُ بِمَا يُرْضِي عُلاَهُ

عُلاً لَمْ يُرْضِهَا غَيْرُ الْعَلِيِّ

And dealt with Him in what pleases His Loftiness

And may He treat him in a manner that pleases his eminence—

A Loftiness none but the Sublime pleases

an eminence that none but the Most High could ever satisfy.

فَذَاكَ الْمَرْءُ وَهْوَ حَلِيفُ صِدْقٍ

حَقِيقٌ أَنْ يُهَنَّأَ بِالْهَنِِيِّ

Thus that man, and he is a sincere ally

For that is a man who stands as a sworn ally of truth,

Truthfully deserves to be congratulated

truly deserving to be graced with every joyful blessing.