صنمٌ تسربل شكله من وَصفِهِ

فسَبى القلوبَ بحسنه وبظَرفِهِ

An idol whose beauty is clothed by his description,

Who has captivated hearts with his charm and elegance.

جُمِعت محاسن يوسفٍ في وجهه

فجميع أرواح العباد بكفِّهِ

The beauties of Joseph are gathered on his face,

And so all souls are in his grasp.

فالشمس تقبس نورها من نوره

والحور يؤخذ وصفُها من وصفِه

The sun borrows its light from his light,

And the maidens derive their depictions from his depiction.

فإذا تَمَرَّضَ لحظُه فكأنَّما

هاروت يسرق سحره من طرفِهِ

When his glances fall ill, it is as though

Harut has stolen their magic with a turn of his eye.

عجباً له خداً توقَّد جمرةً

وعليه ماء بهائه لم يُطفِهِ

Wondrously, he has a cheek kindled like embers,

Yet the water of his brilliance does not extinguish it.

وإذا تورَّد خدُّه فكأنما

يُبدي جنيَّ الورد ساعة قطفِهِ

And when his cheek turns rosy, it is as though

The garden of roses displays its blossoms at the moment of plucking.

وإذا تبسَّم عن تلالي ثغره

أبصرتَ سمطَي لؤلؤٍ في رصفِهِ

And when he smiles with the hillocks of his mouth,

You see a string of pearls arranged on his lips.

وإذا مشى فتن الورى بتخفُّفٍ

من خصره وتثقُّلٍ من ردفِهِ

And when he walks, bewitching all creation with his swaying gait

From his hips and his heavy tread,

فتمايلت أغصانُه من فوقه

وترجرجت أمواجُه من خلفِهِ

His branches sway above him,

And his waves surge behind him.

فيكاد يدخل بعضُه في بعضِهِ

ليناً ويسقط نصفُه من نصفِهِ

He nearly enters into himself gently

And half of him spills out of the other half.

جلَّت صفاتُ محمدٍ وتلاطفت

فقد ارتدى بجلاله وبلطفِهِ

The attributes of Muhammad have gathered and mingled,

For he is clothed in his majesty and kindness.

حاشا حبيبي أن أُشبِّه وجهه

قمراً يُعاب بنقصه وبخسفِهِ

Far be it that I compare his face

To a moon flawed by its deficiencies and eclipses!

لا صبر لي عن أُنسه وحديثه

والإلف ليس بصابرٍ عن إلفِهِ

I have no patience to be without his company and discourse,

For intimacy cannot endure being deprived of its intimacy.

إني أموت ببُعده وبصدِّه

وكذا أعيش بقربه وبعطفِهِ

I die from his distance and aloofness,

And so I live by his nearness and kindness.