ماذا يقولُ عليلٌ شفَّهُ ولَهٌ

وقلبِهِ بلِظى الأَشواقِ يضطَرِبُ

What does the ailing one whose lips are cracked say

With his heart throbbing with intense longing?

سرتْ به العِيسُ ليلاً فهي طائرةٌ

إلى مفاوِزِ أَهلِ الحيِّ تنقلِبُ

The night took him on a journey, so he is like a bird

Returning to the dwellings of the living.

يبكي ويندُبُ عن وجدٍ تسرْبَلَهُ

ضِدَّانِ قاما به فالسَّيلُ واللَّهبُ

He weeps and laments from a passion that has seized him,

The torrents and flames both opposing him.

يا من يرَى بسِواهُ في الهوَى عَجَباً

أَبصِرْ فهذا مُحِبٌّ كلُّهُ عجَبُ

O you who see those madly in love as strange,

Look, here is a lover who is all wonders.

يا جيرَةَ الحيِّ رِفقاً بالذي اضْطَرَمَتْ

نيرانُهُ وسُيولُ الدَّمعِ تنسكِبُ

O people of the neighborhood, be gentle with one whose

Fires have flared up and whose flowing tears pour forth.

إِن كانتِ الأَرضُ لم تبهَجْ بسيرَتِكُمْ

فلا ازْدَهى بفَضا أَطرافِها العِشِبُ

If the land did not flourish with your deeds,

Then the grass on its edges would not be lush.

أَو السَّمواتُ لم تلمَعْ بكوكَبِكُمْ

لا دارَ يوماً لدى أَبراجِها القُطُبُ

Nor would the heavens gleam with your star,

No pole star would one day shine among its mansions.

ولا المِياهُ ببطْحاءِ الورَى نبعَتْ

ولا تلأْلأَ في جوِّ العُلى الشُّهُبُ

Nor would the waters in the lowlands of the land spring forth,

Nor would meteors blaze in the lofty atmosphere.

عشِقْتُكُمْ فتوالى إِخوتي حَسَدٌ

ورُشَّ منهُمْ على ثوبي دَمٌ كذِبُ

I loved you, so my brothers' jealousy multiplied

And they cast lies onto my garment like blood.

وغِبْتُ في جُبِّ أَحزاني ولي أملٌ

بواحدٍ أَحدٍ تُمْحى به النُّوَبُ

I was absent in the depths of my sorrows, and I hoped

For one single helper by whom troubles could be erased.

كأَنَّ يعقوبَ إِنتاجي بلا ولدٍ

وما له غيرهُمْ بين الوَرى عَقِبُ

It was as if Jacob, my father, had no son,

And none but they were his progeny in the world.

تكرَّمَ اللهُ حتَّى قمتُ سيِّدَهُمْ

كما القُلوبُ هي الأيَّامُ تنقَلِبُ

God honored me until I became their master,

Just as hearts turn around from day to day.

لمَّا دنتْ عيسُهُمْ نحوي بمسغَبَةٍ

منهُمْ وقامَ لهُمْ في ساحَتي طلَبُ

When their Jesus approached me aggressively

And rose up in my yard to fight me,

أخبرتُهُمْ بشُؤُنِ الغيبِ فانْذَهلوا

وهزَّهُمْ لمَعالي حضرَتي رَهَبُ

I told them of the unseen world's affairs, so they were dumbfounded

And shaken by the sublimity of my holy presence.

خُذوا قَميصي ومِسُّوا فيه وجه أبي

يرتَدُّ حالاً بَصيراً نعْمَ منهُ أَبُ

Take my shirt and rub my father's face with it

And he will soon regain his sight, excellent is such a father!

قد غالَبوني عليه بعد أَن كَذَبوا

وصِرتُ فيهم أميراً مثلَ ما غَلَبوا

They had overcome me and taken it after lying,

And I had become a prince among them just as they had overcome me.

الحمدُ للهِ من بدوٍ إلى حضرٍ

جِئنا وتمَّ لنا المقصودُ والأَرَبُ

Praise God who took us from Bedouin life to civilization;

We came and accomplished for us the goal and profit.

فالعرشُ والفرشُ والأَملاكُ تعرِفُنا

والبيتُ والخُطَباءُ الفُصْحُ والخُطَبُ

The Throne on high and the angels below know us,

As do the House, the eloquent preachers, and the sermons.

إِن أَنكرَتْنا الأَعادي فهي خاسِئَةٌ

ورغْمَهُمْ عرفَتْنا العُجْمُ والعرَبُ

If the enemies denied us, they are failures,

And despite them the non-Arabs and Arabs know us.

لنا بآلِ رسولِ اللهْ سِلسِلَةً

جليلةٌ طابَ منها الأَصلُ والنَّسَبُ

Through the House of the Messenger of God we have a

Noble lineage, with an excellent origin and ancestry.

ونحنُ قومٌ إلى العَلْياءِ مصعَدُهُمْ

وما لهُمْ غيرَ عزْمِ المُصْطَفى سَبَبُ

We are a people whose ascent is to the Highest,

With no cause but the choice of the Chosen One.

جرى الحُسودُ لنا بالسوءِ مُبْتَهِجاً

يَطيبُ إِحكاكَ جلدِ الأَجربِ الجَرَبُ

The envious attacked us with evil, happily

Enjoying the rubbing of a mangy camel's skin.

يا بئسَ ما اتَّخذوهُ من مَسالِكِهِمْ

نهجاً وغايتُهُمْ في دِينهِمْ عَطَبُ

Oh, how miserable is the path they have taken

And their goal in religion is defect.

أَفعى خَواطِرِهِمْ لانتْ ملامِسُها

لكنْ عليهم بسَمِّ القتلِ تنقَلِبُ

The snake of their inner thoughts has become smooth to the touch,

But it turns on them with lethal poison.

مدارِكٌ قد أخذْناها مُسلسَلَةً

عن النَّبيِّ الذي يُعزى له الأَدَبُ

We took successive steps,

Following the Prophet to whom reverence is shown.