حَيِّ الدِيارَ وَأَهلَها أَهلا

وَاِربَع وَقُل لِمُفَنِّدٍ مَهلا

Greet the abode and its people

Salute the dwellings and bid their people welcome,

And slow down, tell the rusher to wait

Alight, and tell the critic: "Gently now."

حُبُّ المُدامَةِ مُذ لَهِجتُ بِها

لَم يُبقِ لي في غَيرِها فَضلا

My love of wine since I indulged in it

My love for wine, since first I grew attached,

Has left me no merit in anything else

Has left me no desire for aught beside.

إِنّي نَدَبتُ لِحاجَتي رَجُلاً

صافي السَماحَةِ وَاِحتَوى النُبلا

I called upon a man to help my need

I have called upon a man to meet my need,

Of pure generosity and innate nobility

Pure in his bounty, possessed of nobility.

وَسَمَت بِهِ الهِمَمُ العِظامُ إِلى ال

رُتَبِ الجِسامِ فَبايَنَ المِثلا

With it great spirits reached

Great aspirations soared with him towards the

The highest of ranks, distinct from the rest

Weighty ranks, where he outstripped his peers.

تَلقى النَدى في غَيرِهِ عَرَضاً

وَتَراهُ فيهِ طَبيعَةً أَصلا

It finds sincerity in others merely a façade

You find generosity in others to be mere chance,

And sees it as intrinsic to itself

Yet see it in him as nature and as root.

فَاِسبِق أَيا عَبدَ الإِلَهِ بِها

وَاِجعَل لِعَقبِكَ ذُخرَها نَجلا

So precede, O servant of God, with it

So take the lead, O Abd al-Ilah, in this,

And make it an investment for your future generations

And make its treasure a legacy for your line.

كَلِّم أَخاكَ يُكَلِّمُ الفَضلا

وَلِيَبلُني حَسَناً كَما أَبلى

Speak to your brother, excellence itself speaks

Speak to your brother; he will speak of grace,

And let its goodness reach me as it did reach

And let him grant me favor as he has done before.

إِنّي وَصَلتُ بِكَ الرَجاءَ عَلى

بُعدِ المَدى إِذ كُنتَ لي أَهلا

With you I connected high hopes

I have connected my hope to you across

From afar, for you were a kindred spirit to me

The distance, for you are worthy of my trust.

وَإِذا وَصَلتَ بِعاقِلٍ أَمَلاً

كانَت نَتيجَةُ قَولِكَ الفِعلا

And when you connect hopes with a reasonable man

For when you link a hope to a man of wisdom,

The outcome of your words will be action

The result of your speech is the deed itself.