قِفِ العيسَ قَد أَدنى خُطاها كَلالُها
وَسَل دارَ سُعدى إِن شَفاكَ سُؤالُها
Stop the camel, her steps have drawn near, her weariness is complete
Ask the abode of my joy if your question will bring it healing
وَما أَعرِفُ الأَطلالَ مِن بَطنِ توضِحٍ
لِطولِ تَعَفّيها وَلَكِن إِخالُها
I know not the ruins amidst the clearly shining valley
For long has it been desolate and only its traces remain
إِذا قُلتُ أَنسى دارَ لَيلى عَلى النَوى
تَصَوَّرَ في أَقصى ضَميري مِثالُها
If I say I forget the abode of Layla in al-Nawā
Her image is pictured in the furthest reaches of my soul
وَقَد كُنتُ أَرجو وَصلَها قَبلَ هَجرِها
فَقَد بانَ مِنّي هَجرُها وَوِصالُها
I had hoped to attain union with her before we parted
But my parting and union with her have become clear to me
فَلَم يَبقَ إِلّا لَوعَةٌ تُلهِبُ الحَشا
وَإِلّا أَكاذيبُ المُنى وَضَلالُها
There remains only a burning anguish igniting my thoughts
And the false hopes and strayings of my wishes
فَلا عَهدَ إِلّا أَن يُعاوِدَ ذِكرُها
وَلا وَصلَ إِلّا أَن يَزورَ خَيالُها
I have no pact but that her memory should recurrently revive
No union but that her phantom should visit me
تَمَنَّيتُ لَيلى بَعدَ فَوتٍ وَإِنَّما
تَمَنَّيتُ مِنها خُطَّةً لا أَنالُها
I wished for Layla after she was gone but truly
I wished from her only an unattainable fantasy
زَهَت سُرَّ مَن را بِالخَليفَةِ جَعفَرٍ
وَعادَ إِلَيها حُسنُها وَجَمالُها
The capital flourished when Jaʿfar al-Khalīfa returned
Her beauty and charm went back to her
صَفا جَوُّها لَمّا أَتاها وَكُشِّفَت
ضَبابَتُها عَنها وَهَبَّت شَمالُها
Its air cleared when he came to it and its obscurities
Were unveiled from it and its north wind blew
وَكانَت قَدِ اِغبَرَّت رُباها وَأَظلَمَت
جَوانِبُ قُطرَيها وَبانَ اِختِلالُها
It had been covered in dust and the sides of its crescents darkened
And the disorder of its condition became evident
إِذا غِبتَ عَن أَرضٍ وَيَمَّمتَ غَيرَها
فَقَد غابَ عَنها شَمسُها وَهِلالُها
When you are absent from a land and head for another
Its sun disappears from it and its crescent is veiled
غَدَت بِكَ آفاقُ البِلادِ خَصيبَةً
وَهَل تُمحِلُ الدُنيا وَأَنتَ ثِمالُها
By you the horizons of the countries become fertile
Can the world carry you while you are its adornment?
وَأَيَّةُ نُعمى ساقَها اللَهُ نَحوَنا
فَكانَ لَنا اِستِئنافُها وَاِقتِبالُها
What blessings has God conveyed to us?
Their restoration to us and our receiving them were because of you
فَمِن وَجهِكَ الضاحي إِلَينا بِبِشرِهِ
وَمِن يَدِكَ الجاري عَلَينا نَوالُها
So from your radiant face good news comes to us
And from your open hand its plenty flows to us
لَكُم كُلُّ بَطحاءٍ بِمَكَّةَ إِذ غَدا
لِغَيرِكُمُ ظُهرانُها وَجِبالُها
You possess every plain in Mecca when its furniture
And its mountains belong to others
وَأَنتُم بَني العَبّاسِ عَمِّ مُحَمَّدٍ
يَمينُ قُرَيشٍ إِذ سِواكُم شِمالُها
And you, O Banū al-ʿAbbās, are the uncle of Muḥammad
The right wing of Quraysh when their left wing are others
وَقَد سَرَّني أَنَّ الخِلافَةَ فيكُمُ
مُخَيِّمَةٌ ما إن يُخافُ اِنتِقالُها
I was pleased that the Caliphate was established among you
Encamped, not fearing it would transfer
لَكُم إِرثُها وَالحَقُّ مِنها وَلَم يَكُن
لِغَيرِكُمُ إِلّا اِسمُها وَاِنتِحالُها
Yours is its inheritance and truthfully from it, no one else had
Anything but its name and false claim to it
وَإِنَّ بَني حَربٍ وَمَروانَ أَصبَحوا
بِدارِ هَوانٍ قَد عَراهُم نَكالُها
The Banū Ḥarb and Marwān have woken up
In an abode of humiliation, stripped of all honor
يَغُضّونَ أَبصاراً مَغيظاً ضَميرُها
وَيُبدونَ أَلحاظاً مُبيناً كَلالُها
They lower their eyes in anger and their souls
Reveal gazing looks expressing weariness
وَإِنَّ الَّذي يُهدي عَداوَتَهُ لَكُم
لَمُرتَكِضٌ في عَثرَةٍ مايُقالُها
Whoever shows enmity to you
Is plunging into a pitfall from which there is no escape
مَتى ماثَنَوا أَعناقَهُم نَحوَ فِتنَةٍ
يَكُن بِالسُيوفِ الماضِياتِ اِعتِدالُها
Whenever they incline their necks toward strife
There is equilibrium in the passing swords
وَدونَ الَّتي مَنّى الأَعادي نُفوسَهُم
مَناياهُمُ في العالَمينَ نَكالُها
Beneath those their enemies’ souls desired
Is their perdition in both worlds
مُثَقَّفَةٌ سُمرٌ لِدانٌ صُدورُها
وَهِندِيَّةٌ بيضٌ حَديثٌ صِقالُها
Burnished Indian swords white and newly sharpened
Their chests split open and their skulls cloven
