يا مُعْرِضاً قد آن أَنْ تَتَلفَّتا

تَعذيبُ قلبِ المُستَهامِ إلى مَتى

O you who have turned away, it is time you show remorse

How long will you torture a passionate heart?

لم أجعَلِ الأحبابَ فيكَ أعادياً

حتى تكونَ لكُلِّهم بِي مُشمِتا

I have not made loved ones into enemies

So you can gloat over their misery

نذرَ الوشاةُ دَمي وتُصبحُ نادماً

إن لم تكُنْ مُتَبيَّناً مَتُثبِّتا

The slanderers have vowed to shed my blood and will regret it

If you do not become clear and convinced

هي ليلةٌ عَلِقَ الرُّقادُ بناظري

فقَضى خيالُك فَرْضَ وَصْلٍ فُوِّتا

It was a night when sleep clung to my eyes

And your apparition fulfilled a missed union

لا مُتِّعتْ عَيْنايَ منك بنَظْرةٍ

إن عادتا من بَعْدِ ذاك فأغفَتا

My eyes were not delighted by a glance from you

If they return after that, they were negligent

قد طَلَّق العَينَيْنِ طَيفُك ساخطاً

فَلَه اللّيالي عَدَّتا واعتدَّتا

The specter of you divorced the eyes angrily

So it has counted the nights and observed the waiting period

وأَظُنُّ أنّ سَوادَ إنسانَيْهما

لهما حِدادٌ للمُصابِ أحَدَّتا

And I think the blackness of their pupils

Have donned mourning clothes for the afflicted

يا ناسيَ المِيعادِ من سُكْرِ الصبا

بعَذابِ هَجْرِك كم ترَى أن تُعنِتا

O you who forgot the tryst because of the intoxication of youth

How long do you intend to torment me with your abandonment?

مَن لي لِيُطْلِقَ رَسْمَ قُبلةِ عارضٍ

قد كان في ديوانِ وَعْدِك أُثبِتا

Who can release for me the image of the cheek of a beloved

That was registered in the book of your promises?

واحْلُلْ مَهبَّ الريحِ من أصداغهِ

يَستَغْنِ قَومُك أن يَؤُمُّوا تُبَّتا

Let the zephyr carry pollen from its flowers

Your people can do without repentance

لا تَجعلَنَّ لنَيْلِ وَصْلِكَ مَوعِدي

بمُرور يومٍ للزّمانِ مُوَقِّتا

Do not make my attainment of your union

At a specific time limited for the days

يومُ المُتَيَّم منك حَولٌ كاملٌ

يتَعاقَبُ الفصْلانِ فيه إذا أتى

The day I yearn for you is a full year

In which the two seasons alternate when it comes

ما بينَ نارِ حشاً وماءِ مَدامعٍ

إنْ حَنَّ صافَ وإن بكَى وَجْداً شَتا

Between the fire of longing and the water of tears

Whether it laughs or cries intensely

للهِ ظَبْيٌ كلّما عَرَضوا له

صَرَعَ الرُّماةَ بمقلتَيْهِ وأفلَتا

God has a gazelle, whenever archers approach it

It defeats them with its eyelashes and escapes

ويَضُجُ منّي كلُّ مَنْبِت شَعْرةٍ

فيما أُجِنُّ ولو خَرِسْتُ تَزَمُّتا

And every hair on me wriggles in what I endure

Even if I were mute, they would writhe

وإذا عتَبْتُ من الإقامةِ بينهم

قالَ الزّمانُ يداكَ فاعلَمْ أَوْ كتا

And if I complain of staying among them

Time says, "Your hands – so know or be silent"

فَضْلي لأوّلِ نَظْرةٍ مَتَبَرِّجٌ

دَعْ مَن يُقلِّبُ طَرْفَهُ مُستَثْبِتا

My excellence is to a coquettish first glance

Leave those who stare steadily with unmoving eyes

وطَريقتي حَسْناءُ إلا أنّها

مُحتاجةٌ معَ حُسْنِها أن تُبخَتا

My manner is beautiful, but it

Needs, despite its beauty, to be brought down a peg

أمّا القريضُ فكان غايةَ بارعٍ

يَوماً إذا أسمَعْتُهُ أن يَبْهَتا

As for poetry, it was once supremely eloquent

When I heard it, it would leave me awestruck

ما زِلتُ فيه لناطقٍ ولسابقٍ

طلَعا أمامي مُسْكِتاً ومُسَكِّتا

I continued to have a spokesman and a predecessor

Rising ahead of me, silencing me and silencing others

قد كان ذلك مرّةً فاليومَ لا

أغدو لناشئةِ القريضِ مُربِّتا

That was once, but today I no longer

Set out to groom the colt of poetry

لم يُبقِ لي من بحر هزْلٍ مُغرَفاً

ضَجري ولا في صَخْرِ جِد مُنحَتا

No ladle of jest remains for me from the sea of jest

My boredom, nor chisel upon the rock of earnestness

إن ماتَتِ الهمَمُ العليّة في الورى

فيَحُقُّ أن تَجِدَ الخواطرَ أمْواتا

When lofty ambitions die in the world

It is right that thoughts should find them dead

لا تَعْجَبنْ من شَدِّ عُقْلِ شواردي

في الصدر حتى ما يطقن تفلتا

Do not wonder at the intensity of the madness in my heart

To the point it can no longer contain itself

كذب المدائح كلُّها فمقتُّها

ولقد يهون الشيء حتى يمقتا

All praise is lies, and I detest it

And something becomes cheap until it is detested

إلا مديحَ جمالِ دينِ مُحَمّدٍ

ومَنِ المُطيقُ لمجْده أن يَنْعتا

Except praise of the beauty of Muhammad's religion

And who can adequately describe his glory?

ولسانُ أُمّتِهِ الذي من طاعةٍ

لِمقالِه اسَتمع الزّمانُ وأنصتَا

And the tongue of his nation that obeyed his word

The times listened and gave ear

علَمُ الهدَى إن سِيلَ عن عِلم الهدى

نثَر الجواهرَ شارحاً ومُنكِّتا

The banner of guidance - if it diverged from the knowledge of guidance

It would scatter its pearls plainly and concisely

فإذا الكلامُ تَطاردَتْ فُرسانُه

شاهدْتَ سيفَ اللهِ منه مُصْلتا

So when its steeds of speech raced

You would see the sword of God unsheathed from it

وإذا أُتيحَ مَواقفٌ مَشهودةٌ

ٌفي نصرِ دينِ اللهِ إن باغٍ عَتا

And if witnessed positions were afforded

In the victory of God's religion, against an aggressor

نادَى المُنادي من رَفيعِ سَمائه

ألا فتىً إلا سليلُ ابنِ الفتىَ

A caller called out from its high heavens:

"Is there a young man, other than the son of a hero,

مَولىً إذا ما شاء جار على الفتى

وأجارَ مِن عَضِّ الزّمانِ المُسحَتا

"A master - if he wishes, he can help the young man

"And protect him from the bite of fate?"

ما عادَ مَنْ يَلْقاهُ إلا قائلاً

يا ابنَ الفَتى للهِ دَرُّك مِن فتى

No one meets him but says:

"O son of the hero - may God honor you - what a young man!

يَهَبُ النّوالَ معَ العلومِ مع العُلا

هل ماجدٌ في الدّهر يأتي ما أتى

"He gives knowledge and ascension together

"Has a glorious one in time come as he has come?

ماضي العزائمِ جُودُ أسحمَ أوطَفٍ

قد شِيبَ فيه ببأسِ أغلَبَ أهْرَتا

"Firm in determination, generous, beautiful-faced

"His prowess has whitened in it what fate blackened

ذو مُعْجِزٍ من بِشْرِه في وَجْهِه

مهما بدا أحَيا رجاءً مَيتَا

"With miracles in his humanity, so whenever

"He appears, he revives dead hopes

وإذا يداهُ أسنتا بعَطيّةٍ

نَصرْتُكَ حتّى لم يُبَلْ إن أسنَتا

"And when his hands are outstretched in generosity

"I will help you," even if they were cut off

صدْرُ الشّريعةِ والأئمَّةُ كُلُّهم

كالسّاعدَيْنِ بِجانبيهِ احتَفَّتا

"The chest of Shariah and all its Imams

"Have rallied around, pressing next to his shoulders

إن قال أسكَت كلَّ فَحْلٍ هَدْرُه

وثنَى لسانَ الخَصْمِ يَحْكي أُسكُتا

"If he speaks, he silences all the empty chatter

"And splits the tongue of the opponent, saying: 'Be silent!'

وتَخالُ في النادي فُصولَ كلامهِ

دُرًّا تَبَدَّدَ عِقْدُه فَتَبتَّتا

"And its chapters of discourse contend in the club

"Scattering their pearls, crumbling to pieces

وكأنّما الجوزاءُ فوق سَمائها

للالتقاطِ له يَداها امتَدَّتا

"As if the constellation Pleiades in its sky

"Stretched out its hands to gather them"

يا أوحداً للعصرِ أصبح صِيتُه

يومَ الفَخارِ لكُلِّ جَرْسٍ مخفِتا

O matchless one of the age, his reputation

On the day of pride has muted every chime

قَضتِ الخِلافةُ بالعلا لكَ في الورى

فانظُرْ لحَقِّ عُلاك مَن قد ثَبّتا

The caliphate has judged supremacy to be yours in the world

So see who established your supremacy

والشّاهدانِ الدَّولتانِ على عُلا

لك سَلَّمتْ وجميعُ مَن قد ضَمَّتا

And the two witness states of your supremacy

Have submitted, and all who have joined them

فَمنِ المُطيقُ جُحودَ فَضْلٍ حُزْتَهُ

وبه العِدا والحاسدون أَقَرَّتا

So who can deny excellence you have attained

By which enemies and enviers were convinced?

أما العَدو فكَم طغَى لكنْ أبَى

رَبُ السماء له سوى أنْ يُكْبَتا

As for the enemy - how he transgressed, but

The Lord of Heaven refused him, except to be subjugated

شَهِدتْ لك الحُسّادُ نَيْلَ مَراتبٍ

عَذَروا لها الأكبادَ أن تَتَفَتتَّا

The enviers testified for you, attaining stations

Their livers excused from shattering

أَحَسودَهُ خفِّضْ عليك فطالما

أصبَحْتَ طالبَ غايتَيْهِ فأعْيَتا

How envious of him! Relent, for you have long been

Seeking his ultimate goals, yet failed

يا مَن أُودِّع قبل توديعي له

نَفْساً ورُحاً في ذُراهُ تَربَّتا

O you I bid farewell before my farewell to him

A self and spirit in his earth that turned to dust

قَسَماً بمَنْ حَجَّ الحجيجُ لبَيْتِه

حتّى يُزارَ مُصبَّحاً ومُبَيَّتا

I swear by the one pilgrims circumambulated his house

Until morning and night he is visited

ما عن رِضاً منّي أُفارقُ خِدْمتي

مَن قَتْوُه شَرفٌ يُعَدُّ لِمَن قَتا

I will not abandon serving you, though pleased

One whose company is an honor counted to one who accompanied

مع أن حُبَّكَ لم يَدَعْ لي فُرْطةً

من جانبي لِمُقَدَّمٍ مُتَلفَّتا

Though your love left me no gap

On my side to one I would turn to

لكنَّ داعيةَ الضَّرورة طالَما

منَعتْ بها قَدَمَ الفتَى أن تَثْبُتا

But the call of necessity has often

Prevented the youth's foot from staying fixed

ووَدِدْتُ عند صَلاةِ مَدْحِكَ مُصبحاً

بشِكايةِ الأيّام ألا أَقْنُتا

And I wished - when praising you at dawn -

To complain to the days: Do not supplicate!

ومتى تُبدَّلُ قَوْلتي يا لَهْفتي

عند الإيابِ بقَولَتي يا فَرْحَتا

And when will my state change, O my anxiety,

To my state, O my joy, when returning?

فلوِ استَطعْتُ لصُمْتُ عن كلّ الورى

صَوْماً لِنيَّتِه أكونُ مُبيِّتا

If I could, I would keep silent from all people

Fasting, intending it, remaining overnight

حتى أعودَ مُعَيّداً بكَ راجياً

في حَسْبتي للعَوْدِ ألا أغْلَتا

Until I return, seeking you again, hoping,

In my account, I will not be prevented from returning

فأْذَنْ جُعِلْتُ لكَ الفدىمن ماجدٍ

فالأَمْرُ أمرُك نافِياً أو مُثْبِتا

So permit me - may I be sacrificed for you - from Majid

The matter is yours, either refusing or affirming

اِحفَظْ مكاني في فؤادِك غائباً

حِفْظي مَكانكَ من لِساني يَثْبتُا

Keep my place in your heart while I am absent

My keeping your place - we both affirm it

لك مَحْضُ شُكري والشِّكاية كلُّها

لِصُروفِ دَهْرِكَ لم يَزلْ لي مُعْنِتا

My full gratitude is to you, and all my lament

Is for the rotations of your fate that has tortured me

سيكونُ مُنشِدَ مَدْحِ مَجْدِكَ في البِلَى

عَظْمي وإن هو في الضّريحِ تَرفتا

There will be one reciting the praise of your glory in ruin

My bones, even if they are in the grave, crumbling

ولَوَ أنَ أرضاً للمَدائح أَنبتَتْ

أضحى ثرىً قد ضَمَّني لك مُنبِتا

If the earth sprouted something for praises

It would become, having buried me, your place of growth

فاسعَدْ بصَوْمٍ أنت فيه وقبلَه

ما زلْتَ للهِ المُنيبَ المُخْبِتا

So have a good fast, while you are in it, and before it

You have not ceased to turn penitently to God, humbly

واسَعدْ كذاكَ بِعيدهِ وبِعوْدِه

في العِز ما غَنَّى الحَمامُ وصَوّتا

And similarly, have it on its holiday, and for its return

In glory - while the doves sang and warbled