لا تَهجُرَنَّ الحَبيبَ إِن هَجَرا

وَلا تُعاقِبهُ بِالَّذي فَعَلا

Do not abandon the beloved if he is aloof

Do not forsake the beloved, even if he forsakes,

And do not punish him for what he has done

Nor punish him with the like of what he has done.

إِذا بَلَوناهُ في الوِصالِ فَما

أَحسَنَ إِلّا المِطالَ وَالعِلَلا

When we tested him in intimacy, nothing

For when we tested him in the matter of union,

Was better for him than procrastination and excuses

He mastered nothing but delay and false excuses.