إِذا آمَنَ الإِنسانُ بِاللَهِ فَليَكُن
لَبيباً وَلا يَخلِط بِإيمانِهِ كُفرا
If man believes in God, let him be wise
And not mix his faith with blasphemy
إِذا نَفَرَت نَفسٌ عَنِ الجِسمِ لَم تَعُد
إِلَيهِ فَأَبعِد بِالَّذي فَعَلَت نَفرا
When the soul departs the body it will not
Return, so drive it away by what it has done in aversion
كَأَنَّ وَليداً ماتَ قَبلَ سُقوطِهِ
عَلى الأَرضِ ناجٍ مِن حِبالَتِهِ طَفرا
As if a newborn died before falling
On the ground, saved from his swaddling clothes in deliverance
تَمَنَّيتُ أَنّي بَينَ رَوضٍ وَمَنهَلٍ
مَعَ الوَحشِ لا مِصراً أَحُلُّ وَلاكَفرا
I wish I were between a garden and a spring
With the wild beasts, not building Egypt nor blaspheming
يَقولونَ مَسكُ الجَفرِ أودِعَ حِكمَةً
إِذا كُتِبَت أَطراسُها مَلَأَت جَفرا
They say the hyena's mind holds wisdom
If its tablets were written, they would fill volumes
وَغافِرَةٍ في نيقَةٍ رَضِعَت غِنىً
كَمُغفِرَةٍ في النيقِ مُرضِعَةٍ غَفرا
And a she-camel in Rut suckled wealth
Like forgiveness suckling mercy in forgiveness
مَتى مَلَأَت كَفَّيكَ دُنياكَ أَرسَلَت
مُلِمّاً يُعيدُ الكَفَّ مِن جودِها صِفرا
Whenever your hands are filled with your worldly goods
It sends a bare-handed one to return the palm empty
أَمِن أُمِّ دَفرٍ تَبتَغونَ عَطِيَّةً
وَقَد فَرَّقَت فيهِم سُلالَتَها دَفرا
Do you seek a gift from the mother of insects?!
When she has scattered her offspring amongst them in dispersion
وَكَم مِن عَفيرِ الوَجهِ بَينَ أَديمِها
وَقَد كانَ يَرمي قبلَها الأُدمَ وَالعُفرا
And how many a dirty-faced one between her straps
Used to pelt the skins and wool before her
غَدَوتُ مَعَ الأَحياءِ مُذ حانَ مَولِدي
إِلى اليَومِ ما نَنفَكُّ في دَأَبٍ سَفرا
I have risen with the living since my birth
To this day we do not cease in constant journeying
وَرَبُّكَ عَمَّ الوَهدَ بِالرِزقِ وَالرُبى
وَأَمطَرَ بِالمَوتِ العَمائِرَ وَالقَفرا
And your Lord has provided sustenance to the depressions and the dunes
And rained death upon the buildings and wastelands
وَإِن حَبَّبَ اللَهُ الحُسامَ إِلى اِمرِئٍ
حَباهُ بِهِ في كُلِّ مَفزَعَةٍ خَفرا
And if God endears the sword to a man
He endows him with it in every peril as a victory
وَصَيَّرَ جَفناً جَفنَهُ وَغِرارَهُ
غِراراً لِعَينَيهِ وَشَفرَتَهُ شُفرا
And makes his eyelids eyelids for his eyes
And his skull a skull for his head and his blade a blade
وَقَد ضَفَرَت فَرعاً كَريمَةُ مَعشَرٍ
فَما حَلَّ إِلّا الغاسِلاتُ لَهُ ضَفرا
And an honorable clan has woven a branch
So none dissolved it but the washing women for him in plaiting
دَنا نيرُها مِن كَفِّها لِتَعَبُّدٍ
وَأَلقَت دَنانيراً بِراحَتِها صُفرا
Its string drew near to her palm in worship
And it cast dinars with its palm yellow
إِذا هَجَرَت زيرَينِ زيرَ أَوانِسٍ
وَزيرَ غِناءٍ فَهيَ راجِيَةٌ عَفرا
If the companions of a musical tone abandon it
It remains desiring the companions of chanting
وَرَدنا بِلا وَفرٍ دِيارَ حَياتِنا
وَنَترُكُ فيها يَومَ نَرتَحِلُ الوَفرا
And we have returned without farewells to our abode of life
And we will leave it one day when we travel farewells
وَلَو لَم يُقَدِّر خالِقُ اللَيثِ فَرسَهُ
لِمَطعَمِهِ لَم يُعطِهِ النابَ وَالظُفرا
And if the Creator did not ordain for the lion its prey
He would not have given it the fang and claw
تَطولُ اللَيالي وَالزَمانُ وَتَنبَري
حَوادِثُ لا تُبقي عَلى ظَهرِها شَفرا
The nights grow long and time passes
Events that leave no trace upon its back
وَلا رَيبَ في مَهوى الرَفيعِ إِلى الثَرى
وَلَو اِنَّهُ جارى السَماكينِ وَالغَفرا
And there is no doubt about the goal of the exalted one to the earth
Even if he is equal to the whales and locusts
وَلَو أَنَّ أَبراجَ السَماءِ بُروجُه
لَبُدِّلَ مِنها غَيرَ مُمتَنِعٍ جَفرا
And if the celestial constellations were his constellations
Something other than them would be changed easily
عَجِبتُ لِرَقٍّ ضُمِّنَ المَينَ بَعدَما
تَخَيَّرَهُ قَومٌ لِتَوراتِهِم سِفرا
I wondered at parchment being chosen
By a people for their scripture a binding
كَما وَسَقَ الراحَ السَقاءُ وَرُبَّما
يُضاهي مَزاداً مِن مَشارِبِهِم وُفرا
Just as the rainwater quenched the rainwater bearer
It sometimes rivals a reservoir of their wells
