يَا أَخِي الصَّالِحَ الْكَثِيرَ السِّبَاقِ

فيِ مَدَى حَائِزِي الْمَعَانيِ الرِّقَاقِ

O my good brother of great enthusiasm

O my righteous brother, who so often leads the race,

Among those possessing refined and subtle meanings

in the arena of those who capture delicate meanings.

أَطْرَبَتْنِي أَلْفَاظُكُمْ وَقَدِيماً

أَطْرَبَتْنِي نَفَائِسُ الأَعْلاَقِ

Your words delighted me before

Your words have enraptured me, and since olden days

And the gems of your necklaces delighted me

I have been enraptured by the most precious of treasures.

أَعْجَبَتْنِي أَبْيَاتُكُمْ وَقَدِيماً

أَعْجَبَتْنِي جَوَاهِرُ الأَطْوَاقِ

I admired your verses before

Your verses have delighted me, and since olden days

And I admired the jewels of your assemblies

I have been delighted by the gleaming jewels of necklaces.

ضَاعَ قُسْطُ السَّلاَمِ مِنْهَا وَقَدْ أَحْ

رَقَهُ نَارُ مِجْمَرِ الأَشْوَاقِ

The share of greeting from it was lost

The incense of greeting diffused from them, having been bur-

Burned by the embers of longing

-ned by the fire in the censer of yearnings.

وَأَثَارَتْ مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ عَِلِمَ اللَّ

هُ لِيُخْمِدَ مِنْ لَهِيبِ اشْتِيَاقِي

And it stirred what God, praise be to Him, did not know

And they stirred up what was never, as God kn-

To extinguish from the flames of my yearning

-ows, meant to be quenched of the flame of my longing.

غَيْرَ أّنِّي نَسِيتُ طُولَ الْفِرَاقِ

إِذْ تَنَسَّمْتُ عَرْفَ قُرْبِ التَّلاَقِي

Except that I forgot the length of separation

Yet I forgot the long duration of our parting,

When I breathed in the fragrance of the nearness of our meeting

when I breathed the fragrance of our nearing reunion.

وَرَجَوْتُ الإِلَهَ سُبْحَانَهُ فِي

رَفْعِ تَعْذِيبِنَا بِنَارِ الْفِرَاقِ

And I hoped in God, glory be to Him

And I entreated God, exalted is He, for

To relieve our torment with the fire of separation

the lifting of our torment by the fire of separation.