لِيَ اللهُ قَلْبِي كَمْ يَذُوبُ مِنَ الذِّكْرَى

وَكَمْ كَبِدِي تُفْرَى وَكَمْ عَبْرَتِي تُذْرَى

My Lord melts my heart with memories

God help my heart, how often it melts from memory,

And my liver is laid bare, and my tears flow

How often my soul is torn, and my tears are shed.

حَنِينِي لِمَنْ شَطَّ عَنِّي مَزَارُهُمْ

أَتَاحَ لِي الأَشْجَانَ مِنْ حَيْثُ لاَ يُدْرَى

I yearn for those whose dwellings have been denied me

I long for those whose dwelling place has grown so far from me,

Grief has been made easy for me from where I know not

Bringing me sorrows from places unknown.

فَيَا دَارَنَا الْغَرَّا عَلَى الرَّبْوَةِ الْخَضْرَا

لَدَى الصَّدَفَيْنِ الْمُشْرِفَيْنِ عَلَى الْحَمْرَا

Oh our green mansion on the green hill

O our radiant home upon the emerald hill,

By the two cliffs overlooking the red sands

By the twin slopes overlooking the Alhambra,

سَقَاكِ رَذَاذُ الْغَيْثِ مِنْ بَعْدِ وَبْلهِ

وَزَادَكِ إِلْمَامُ الصَّبَا بَهْجَةً أُخْرَى

The rain clouds have watered you after drought

May the gentle drizzle water you after the heavy downpour,

And the passing breeze has given you more delight

And may the touch of the east wind bring you yet another joy.

وَحَيَّتْكِ أَنْفَاسُ الأَزَاهِرِ مَوْهِناً

وَبَثَّتْ لَكِ الأَرْوَاحُ منْ طِيبِهَا نَشْرَا

The breaths of flowers have revived you gently

May the breaths of the blossoms greet you at midnight,

And spirits have scattered their sweet fragrance over you

And the gentle breezes diffuse their sweet fragrance upon you.

ذَكَرْتُ بِمَغْنَاكِ الْكَرِيمِ مَعَاهِداً

مُنَضَّرَةً أَذْكَتْ لَظَى كَبِدِي الْحَرَّا

I remembered our blessed covenants

In your noble abode, I recalled familiar gathering places,

Which have revived the burning embers of my liver

So radiant, they kindled the blazing fire within my burning heart.

لَيَالِيَ خِدْنِي كُلُّ يَمْؤُودَ أَغْيَدٍ

تَجَلَّى عَلَى أَطْوَاقِهِ وَجْهُهُ بَدْرَا

The nights of my joy where every bright full moon

Nights when my companion was a graceful, tender youth,

Its face appears like the full moon over its corners

Whose face appeared above his collar like a full moon.

يَبِيتُ يُعَاطِينِي سُلاَفَ رَحِيقِهِ

فَأَكْرِمْ بِهِ بَدْراً وَأَعْظِمْ بِهِ خَمْرَا

It spends the night entertaining me with the draft of its holy wine

He spent the night pouring for me the purest of his nectar,

So honor it with the full moon and extol it as generous wine

How noble a full moon he was, and how magnificent a wine!

إذِالدَّهْرُ دَهْرٌ وَالزَّمَانُ مُسَاعِدٌ

وَنُورُ الصِّبَا غَضٌّ سَقَاهُ الْحَيَا نَوْرَا

When time is time and favourable days assist

Back when time was truly time, and destiny was on our side,

And the light of youth is vivid, watered with life’s light

And the light of youth was tender, its blossoms watered by the rain.

وَلِلَّهِ لَيْلٌ فِي رُبَاكِ سَهِرْتُهُ

عَلَى ضِفَّتَيْ نَهْرٍ بِشِنِّيلَ قَدْ أَزْرَى

By God I have a night in your squares I have kept vigil over

By God, I remember a night upon your hills I spent awake,

On the bank of a river lined with acacia trees

On the banks of a river whose beauty put the Genil to shame.

كََسَاهُ ضِيَاءُ الْبَدْرِ لاَمَةَ فِضَّةٍ

وَفَتَّتْ ذُبَالُ الشَّمْعِ فيِ مَتْنِهِ تِبْرَا

The moonlight has clad it in a silvery gloss

The light of the full moon clothed it in silver armor,

And the flames of candles have sprinkled powder in its text

While the wicks of candles crumbled gold dust upon its surface.

فَشَبِّهْ بِهِ نَهْرَ الْمَجَرَّةِ حَلَّهُ

عُطَارِدُ وَالْجَوْزَاءُ وَالْقُطْبُ وَالشِّعْرَى

Compare it to the Milky Way: Mercury, Venus, the Pole Star, and Sirius

You might compare it to the river of the Milky Way, inhabited by

We turned the wind upon it, a gentle joyous wind

Mercury, Orion, the Pole Star, and Sirius.

أَدَرْنَا عَلَيْهِ الرَّاحَ رَاحَ مَسَرَّةٍ

وَقَدْ مَدَّ جَيْشُ اللَّيْلِ أَلْوِيَةً سُمْرَا

And the army of night has planted dark banners

Beside it, we passed around the cup, the wine of purest joy,

And spread its curtains over daylight’s glow

As the army of the night unfurled its dark, shadowed banners,

وَأَرْخَى عَلَى ضَوْءِ النَّهَارِ سُتُورَهُ

وَبَاتَتْ نُجُومُ الأُفْقِ تَزْجُرُهُ زَجْرَا

And the stars of the horizon rebuked it strongly

And dropped its heavy curtains over the daylight,

Until dawn struck the darkness with the sword of first light

While the stars on the horizon spent the night rebuking it.

إِلَى أَنْ بَدَا الإِصْبَاحُ يَضْرِبُ فِي الدُّجَى

بِنَصْلِ حُسَامِ الْفَجْرِ صَاحَتْ بِهِ ذُعْرَا

And they passed by its traces while it fled

Until the dawn appeared, striking through the darkness

And their horses followed behind it in flight

With the sword-blade of daybreak, making the night cry out in terror.

وَمَرَّتْ عَلَى آثَارِهِ وَهْوَ هَارِبٌ

وَقَدْ أَفْرَتْ أَفْرَاسُهَا خَلْفَهُ أَفْرَا

As if the shiny stars in the belly of the sky

Dawn pursued the night's tracks as it fled,

Were crystals over a green surface

Its horses tearing through the darkness in pursuit.

كَأَنَّ الدَّرَارِي الشُّهْبَ فِي كَبِدِ السَّمَا

قَوَارِيرُ بَلُّورٍ عَلَى لُجَّةٍ خَضْرَا

As if Suhail, sparkling alone

It was as though the brilliant stars in the heart of the sky

Were a passionate lover who gained nothing from his beloved but estrangement

Were flasks of crystal upon a deep green sea.

كَأَنَّ سُهَيْلاً إِذْ تَأَلَّقَ مُفْرَداً

صَرِيعُ هَوىً قَدْ نَالَ مِنْ حُبِّهِ هَجْرَا

It wants to reach Thurayya but the distance prevents it

As if Canopus, shining all alone,

Alas, it has no patience to reach her

Were a victim of passion, abandoned by his beloved;

يُرِيدُ الثُّرَيَّا وَالْبِعَادُ يَعُوقُهُ

وَهَيْهَاتَأَمَّا الصَّبْرُ عَنْهَا فَلاَ صَبْرَا

So she moans and sighs for its state

He longs for the Pleiades, but vast distance holds him back,

And inclines toward it that she might help tie its burdens

And alas, he has no patience left to bear her absence!

وقَدْ رَقَّتِ الشِّعْرَى الْعَبُورُ لِحَالِهِ

وَحَنَّتْ لَهْ كَيْمَا تَشُدُّ لَهُ أَزْرَا

She crossed the Milky Way towards it

Sirius the Crosser has taken pity on his plight,

While her sister could not cross to reach it

Yearning to reach him and offer him her strength.

وَقَدْ عَبَرَتْ نَهْرَ الْمَجَرَّةِ نَحْوَهُ

وَلَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ عَبْراً شَقِيقَتُهَا الأُخْرَى

That is why she does not stop her moaning and sobbing

She has crossed the river of the Milky Way toward him,

And sending tears continuously streaming from her eyelids

While her other sister was unable to cross over.

لِذَلِكَ مَا تُولِي أَنِيناً وََزَفْرَةً

وَتُرْسِلُ مِنْ أَجْفَانِهَا عَبْرَةً عَبْرَا

She wants to reach her brother when adversity has hurt him

That is why she endlessly moans and sighs,

And the obstacle has forcefully prevented her from reaching him

Sending forth a ceaseless stream of tears from her eyelids.

تُرِيدُ أَخَاهَا إِذْ أَضَرَّ بِهِ النَّوَى

وَقَدْ عَاقَهَا الْعَيُّوقُ عَنْ قََصْدِهَا قَسْرَا

As if the light of the moon and stars around it

She longs for her brother, stricken by the pain of distance,

Were the teeth of our Shaykh ibn Al Hajj in a circle of reading

But Capella forcefully blocks her from her goal.

كَأَنَّ ضِيَاءَ الْبَدْرِ وَالشُّهْبِ حَوْلَهُ

سَنَا شَيْخِنَا ابْنِ الَْحَاجِ فِي حَلْقَةِ الإِقْرَا

Its rays almost confuse the ignorant

It is as though the light of the full moon and its surrounding stars

When they glimpse its lights in the darkness

Are the radiance of our Shaykh, Ibn Al-Hajj, in his teaching circle.

يَكَادُ يُرِيبُ الْجَاهِلِينَ شُعَاعُهُ

إِذَا لَمَحُوا أَنْوَارَهُ فِي الدُّجَى تَتْرَى

They say in ignorance when it illuminates landmarks

His brilliant light almost casts doubt into the minds of the ignorant,

“Has the full moon appeared or is it lightning that has flashed by?”

When they glimpse his continuous rays piercing the darkness.

يَقُولُونَ جَهْلاً إِذْ أَضَاءَ مَعَالِماً

أَبَدْرٌ بَدَا أَمْ بَارِقٌ قَدْ سَرَى مَسْرَى

But no! It is the light of guidance that has appeared in the darkness

In their ignorance, as he illuminates the landmarks, they ask:

Of misconception, so its veils have been lifted

'Has a full moon appeared, or has a flash of lightning crossed the sky?'

بَلَى إِنَّهُ نُورُ الْهُدَى لاَحَ فِي الدُّجَى

دُجَى الْوَهْمِ فَانْزَاحَتْ دَيَاجِيرُهُ تُفْرَى

Oh misconception! Why have you become blind in people's eyes?

Nay, it is the light of guidance gleaming in the dark—

Oh light! Your brilliance when it blazed was most manifest

The darkness of illusion, whose shadows are torn and cast away.

فَيَا وَهْمُ مَا أَدْجَاكَ فِي أَعْيُنِ الْوَرَى

وَيَا نُورُ مَا أَجْلَى سُطُوعَكَ إِذْ أَوْرَى

The houris of knowledge appeared as brides

O illusion, how black you appear in the eyes of men!

So those who could not see the full moon witnessed it

And O light, how brilliantly clear your radiance when kindled!

تَجَلَّتْ بِهِ حُورُ الْعُلومِ عَرائِساً

فَشاهَدَها مَنْ كانَ لاَ يُبْصِرُ الْبَدْرَا

An imam whom God has granted wisdom and calm composure

Through him, the virgins of knowledge are unveiled like brides,

And given him knowledge and made him greatest in pride

Witnessed even by those who could not see the full moon.

إِمامٌ حَباهُ اللهُ حِلْماً وَسُؤْدَداً

وخَوَّلَهُ عِلْماً وَأَعْظِمْ بِهِ فَخْرَا

If the complexities of meanings overwhelmed a group

An Imam whom God has endowed with forbearance and mastery,

And they frowned, his eloquence gave glad tidings

Granting him profound knowledge—how magnificent a pride!

إِذَا اسْتَصْعَبَتْ غُرُّ المَعانِي لمعْشَرٍ

وَقَدْ وَجَمُوا قَالَتْ طَلاَقَتُهُ بُشْرَى

And he oriented them until the difficult parts submitted

When noble meanings become too difficult for a gathering,

And it addressed them openly so they obeyed him loudly

And they fall silent, his cheerful countenance brings glad tidings.

ورَوَّضَهَا حَتَّى تَذَلَّلَ صَعْبُهَا

وَخَاطَبَهَا سِرّاً فَدَانَتْ لهُ جَهْرَا

He has ambition fortified by propriety and piety

He tames the complex ideas until their difficulties are humbled,

His character is such that praise and thanks suit it

Addressing them in secret, so they submit to him openly.

هُمَامٌ تَرَدَّى بِالصِّيَانَةِ وَالتُّقَى

لَهُ خُلُقٌ زَفَّتْ لَهُ الْحَمْدَ وَالشُّكْرَا

He is patient with the estrangement of treacherous people

A noble leader, cloaked in purity and piety,

He overlooks those who make terrible mistakes

Possessing a character that weds him to praise and gratitude.

صَبورٌ علَى هُجْرِ الأُلَى سَاءَ طَبْعُهُمْ

صَفوحٌ على ذِي هَفْوةٍ أوْجَبتْ نَغْرَا

He is friendly to those who show enmity toward him

He is patient with the foul speech of those with wicked natures,

He is forbearing with the ignorant and gives them good tidings

Forgiving of mistakes that would usually provoke wrath.

مُصِيخٌ لِمَنْ أَبْدَى إِلَيْهِ مَعَاذِراً

حَلِيمٌ علَى الْجُهَّالِ يُبْدِي لَهُمْ بِشْرَا

He refuses disgraceful matters, not given to dissipation

He listens closely to those who offer him their apologies,

He aspires to achievements beyond what victors attain

Forbearing with the ignorant, meeting them with a cheerful face.

تَأْبَّى عَنِ الأَقْذَارِ لاَ مُتَهَوْلِعاً

حَوَى هِمَماً مَا نَالَ أَيْسَرَهَا كِسْرَى

If the eloquent ones of this age counted his traits

He rejects all baseness, free from greedy impatience,

They could not fully do so even if they multiplied by ten

Harboring lofty ambitions, the least of which Khosrau never attained.

فَلَوْ بُلَغَاءُ الْعَصْرِ عَدُّوا خِصالَهُ

لَمَا بَلَغُوا مِنْهَا وَلَوْ كَثُرُوا عُشْرَا

How then can an insignificant fool accomplish

If all the eloquent men of the age were to count his virtues,

What he has accomplished in poetry and deposited in verse?

As many as they are, they would not capture even a tenth.

فَأَنَّى لِمَغْمُورِ الْحَشَا وَهْوَ وَاحِدٌ

يُحِيطُ بِهَا نَظْماً وَيُودِعُهَا شِعْرَا

The wife of Al-Qais ibn Hujr and his maternal uncle said to me

How then could an obscure soul like mine, standing all alone,

“Can I count the stars and the rain drops?”

Encompass his virtues in verse and weave them into poetry?

وَهَبْنِي امْرَأَ الْقَيْسِ بْنِ حُجْرٍوَخَالَهُ

أَأَقْدِرُ أَنْ أُحْصِي الْكَوَاكِبَ وَالْقَطْرَا

By your life, listen to me! Passion has swayed

Even if you granted me the skill of Imru' al-Qais and his uncle,

My heart and revived ardor in my liver

Would I ever be able to count the stars and the drops of rain?

بِعَيْشِكَ أَنْصِتْ لِي فَقَدْ بَرَّحَ الْجَوَى

بِقَلْبِي وَأَذْكَى الْوَجْدُ فِي كَبِدِي جَمْرَا

Do you know that I have been tested by a people

By your life, listen to me, for passion has brought me distress,

Who show me love openly and hurt me secretly?

And burning love has kindled hot embers within my heart.

أَعِنْدَكَ أَنِّي قَدْ بُلِيتُ بِمَعْشَرٍ

يَوَدُّونَنِي جَهْراً وَيُؤْذُونَنِي سِرّاً

Yet I do not recognize God’s providence in them

Do you know that I have been afflicted by a group of people

I have probed them to their ribs and breastbones

Who feign affection for me in public while harming me in secret?

عَلَى أَنَّنِي لاَ دَرَّ لِلَّهِ دَرُّهُمْ

أَبَحْتُهُمْ مِنِّي الْأَضَالِعَ وَالصَّدْرَا

They want me hidden, but no!

Despite the fact that I—may God grant them no blessing!—

I am the bright blazing star in the dark night

Have opened my deepest chest and ribs to them in trust.

يَوَدُّونَ إِخْفَائِي وَهَيْهَاتَ إِنَّمَا

أَنَا الْكَوْكَبُ الْوَهَّاجُ فِي اللَّيْلَةِ الْغَرَّا

If not for the sky of forbearance with its falling stars

They wish to obscure me, but alas for them,

I would have unleashed upon them my greatest power

I am the brilliantly glowing star in a radiant night.

فَلَوْلاَ سَمَاءُ الْحِلْمِتَهْوَي نُجُومُهَا

لَأَوْلَيْتُهُمْ مِنْ مِقْوَلِي الْبَطْشَةَ الْكُبْرَى

And I would marshal battalions from my thoughts against them

Were it not for the sky of forbearance, whose stars might fall,

That would harass them, gaze at them aggressively

I would have struck them with the ultimate blow of my tongue.

وَجَنَّدْتُ مِنْ فِكْرِي إِلَيْهِمْ كََتَائِباً

تَؤُزُّهُمْ أَزّاً وَتَنْظُرُهُمْ شَزْرَا

And shoot them down wherever they felt safe, finding no help

I would have mobilized battalions forged from my intellect against them,

But an ambition of literary etiquette dissuaded me

Shaking them to the core and glaring at them with hostility.

وتُصْمِيهُمُ حَيْثُ اسْتَقَلٌّوا سهامُها

فَلاَ يَجِدُونَ الدَّهْرَ فِي حَرْبِهَا نَصْرَا

Aiming for the highest, never content with betrayal

My arrows would strike them fatally wherever they took their stand,

So you continued to rise into the sky’s realm of knowledge

Leaving them with no hope of victory in battle, forevermore.

وَلَكِْن نَهَتْنِي هِمَّةٌ أَدَبِيَّةٌ

سَمَتْ لِلْعُلاَ لاَ تَرْتَضِي أَبَداً غَدْرَا

And your light appears within its horizons like sunrise

But my noble literary ambition held me back,

From me is God’s peace for as long as dawn gleams

Aspiring to the heights, it would never stoop to treachery.

فَلاَ زِلْتَ تَرْقَى فِي سَمَاءِ مَعَارِفٍ

وَنُورُكَ يَبْدُو فِي غَيْهَبِهَا فَجْرَا

I have perfumed it for you Abu Al ‘Abbas and sent it as fragrance

May you never cease to ascend the heavens of knowledge,

And God’s blessing for as long as the east wind blows

Your light piercing its darkness like the breaking dawn.

وَمِنِّي سَلاَمُ اللهِ مَا لاَحَ بَارِقٌ

عَلَيْكَ أَبَا الْعَبَّاسِ حَمَّلْتُهُ عِطْرَا

To the seal of messengers, most resolute among them

And from me is the peace of God, as long as lightning flashes,

Muhammad, most virtuous of all people, and his family

Unto you, Abu Al-Abbas, carrying the fragrance of perfume.

وَأُهْدِي صَلاَةَ اللهِ مَا هَبَّتِ الصَّبَا

إِلَى خَاتِمِ الْأَرْسَالِ أَعْلَقِهِمْ خَطْرَا

And his companions who resemble blooming flowers

And I send the prayers of God, as long as the east wind blows,

A prayer whose exhalations the universe fashions into

Unto the Seal of Messengers, the greatest of them in prestige:

مُحَمَّدٍ أَزْكَى الْعَالَمِينَ وَآلِهِ

وَأَصْحَابِهِ مَنْ أَشْبَهُوا أَنْجُماً زُهْرَا

A scent rivalling the sweet smells of Dariin and Shihraa

Muhammad, the purest in all the worlds, and unto his family,

Its shade will cover me on Judgment Day

And his companions, who resembled the radiant, blooming stars.

صَلاةً يَصوغُ الكَوْنُ مِنْ نََفَحَاتِهَا

تُبَارِي شَذَا الْعِطْرَيْنِ دَارِينَ وَالشَِّحْرَا

And clothe me in its creation with green robes

A prayer whose fragrant breezes shape the universe,

And here is a bride from my mind’s daughters

Competing with the finest perfumes of Darin and Al-Shihr.

يُظَلِّلُنِي يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ظِلُّهَا

وَتُلْبِسُنِي مِنْ نَسْجِهَا حُلَلاً خُضْرَا

Tall in stature, clothed in red robes

May its shade protect me upon the Day of Resurrection,

Noble, I have not found a match for her status

And clothe me in green garments woven from its threads.

وَهَاكَ عَرُوساً مِنْ بُنِيَّاتِ خَاطِرِي

تُطَاوِلُ خَوْداً أُلْبِسَتْ حُلَلاً حُمْرَا

Except you, Abu Al ‘Abbas, so delight in her as an unmarried man

So here I present you with a bride, the daughter of my intellect,

She is upright, refined, sweet of speech and well-mannered

Standing taller than a tender maiden arrayed in crimson silks.

شَرِيفَةَ قَْدْرٍ لَمْ أَجِدْ كفءاً لَهَا

سِوَاكَ أَبَا الْعَبَّاسِ فَاهْنَأْ بِهَا بِكْرَا

Perfumed, and I hope you accept her wedding gift

She is of noble worth; I could find no equal match for her

So do not criticize her faults, for I

But you, Abu Al-Abbas—so delight in her untouched purity.

رَشُوفاً أَنُوفاً عَذْبَةَ الْقَوْلِ غَادَةً

مُعَطَّرَةً أَرْحُو الْقَبُولَ لَهَا مَهْرَا

Send with her a verse that will excuse her

A proud and sweet-lipped maiden, graceful and sweet in speech,

For he who sends poetry to Musqat’s land

So perfumed; I hope your acceptance will serve as her dowry.

فَلَا تَنْتَقِدْهَا بِالْمَلاَمِ فَإِنَّنِي

أُحَمِّلُهَا بَيْتاً يَكُونُ لَهَا عُذْرَا

Is like one who sends dates to Taybah’s land

So do not meet her with critical blame, for I

Have burdened her with a verse that shall serve as her excuse:

فَإِنَّ الذِي يُهْدِي إِلَى مِصْقَعٍ شِعْراً

نَظِيرُ الذِي يُهْدِي إِلَى طَيْبَةٍ تَمْرَا

'He who gifts his poetry to an eloquent master of words,

Is like one who brings the gift of dates to the city of Medina.'