كَتَبْتُ وَوُدِّي فِي الصَّفَاءِ كَمَا زَهْرِي

سَلاَماً كَأَنْفَاسِ الْحَدَائِقِ فِي الْفَجْرِ

I wrote, my affection in its purity like my blooming flowers,

A greeting of peace, like the breath of gardens at dawn,

وَإِلاَّ فَكَالنِّسْرِينِ فَاحَ بِرَوْضَةٍ

يَهُبُّ بِهِ عَرْفُ الصَّبَا زَمَنَ الْحَرِّ

Or else like the wild rose exhaling its fragrance in a meadow,

Carried by the fragrant east wind in the season of heat,

تُفَاوِحُ عَرْفَ النَّدِّ وَالْعُودُ وَالْكِبَا

وَتُزْرِي بِنَشْرِ الْمِسْكِ مَعْ عَنْبَرِ الشَّحْرِ

Rivaling the scent of blended incense, agarwood, and aloes,

And surpassing the wafting of musk and the ambergris of Shihr,

لِمَنْ هَزَّنِي شَوْقٌ إِلَيْهِ مُبَرَّحٌ

وَأَجْرَى دُموعِي مِثْلَ مُنْسَجِمِ الْقَطْرِ

To the one for whom an agonizing longing has shaken me,

And caused my tears to flow like continuous pouring rain,

إِلَى السَّيِّدِ الأَرْضَى الْكَِرِيمِ نِجَارُهُ

سَلِيلِ رَسُولِ اللهِ حَقّاً بِلاَ نُكْرِ

To the most pleasing master, of noble lineage,

The true descendant of the Messenger of Allah, beyond any denial,

عَلَيْهِ صَلاَةُ اللهِ مَا هَبَّتِ الصَّبَا

وَآلِهِ وَالأَصْحَابِ مَا غَرَّدَ الْقُمْرِي

Upon him be the blessings of Allah, as long as the east wind blows,

And upon his family and companions, as long as the turtledove sings.