هَجَر العذولَ وراح طَوعَ غُواتِه

ورأى قبيحَ الغَىِّ منْ حَسناتِهِ

He abandoned chastity and followed his lust,

And saw the ugliness of sin among his virtues,

للحبِّ حَبةُ قلبِهِ فكأنّه

من ذاتِها وكأنها من ذاتِهِ

The chamber of his heart is for love, as if

It is part of his being and essence.

وغدا غَريمَ غرامِه من مُقْلَتَيْ

رَشَأٍ كمالُ الحُسْنِ بَعضُ صِفاته

And he became enamoured with his love, with eyes

Whose perfect beauty are some of his traits,

يبدو على الورد الجَنِيِّ إذا بَدا

خجلٌ من التقصيرِ عن وَجَناته

Shyness appears on the rosy cheeks when they show

Embarrassed for falling short of their bloom,

والغصنُ يَقْلَق في الكثيب تَذَرِّيا

بيَسيرِ ما يَحْكِيه من حركاته

And the branch sways gently in the dune revealing

Little of what it conveys of its motions,

يمشي فيَلقَي خصرُه مِن رِدْفِه

مثلَ الذي ألقاه من إعناته

He walks with his waist hit from behind

Like one who removed what had burdened him,

وكأنّ نَمْلَ عِذَاره قد خاف أن

يَسْعَى به فيزلّ عن مرآته

And it seems ants of his flirtation were scared

To roam in case they slip off their sidewalk,

لا ترْعِ طَرْفَك خُضْرةً بَدَرتْ به

فمصَارعُ العُشَّاقِ بين نَباته

Do not graze your eyes over the green that has sprouted

For fields of lovers are between their plants,

مثلُ الحُسامِ تروقُ خُضْرةُ جوهرٍ

في مَتْنِه والموتُ في جَنَباتِه

Like the greenness of a jewel’s essence

While death lies in its facets,

من لونِه ذهبٌ وأيُّ مَثوبةٍ

يَحْظَى بها لو خَصَّني بزَكاته

Its colour is gold, and what prize

Can he hope to earn were he to grant me his alms,

ولقد سَقاني من كؤوسِ غَرامِه

أَضعافَ ما اسْتعذبتُ من رَشفاتِه

And he has quenched my thirst from his love’s cups

More than I savoured of its sips,

وحياتِه قَسَما أُعظِّم قَدْرَها

وكَفاكَ أَنْ أَكُ مُقْسِما بحياته

By his life I swear, magnifying its value

And it suffices that I swear by his life.

لأُخالفَنَّ عَواذِلي في حُبِّه

ولأُسْخِطَنَّ الْخَلْقَ في مَرْضاته

I will oppose my critics in loving him

And provoke people by pleasing him,

ولأَقْنَعَنَّ من المُنَى بخيالهِ

زُورا يُمَنِّينى بخُلْفِ عُداته

And I will accept an illusion of death from him

Deceitfully providing me with its compensation,

لا تنكرنّ السحرَ فهْو بطَرْفِه

ودليلُه ما فيّ من نَفثاتِه

Do not deny the sorcery, it is in his eyes

Its proof is what he breathed into me,

سقَمى يُثبِّت ما ادّعَتْه جفونهُ

سَلْني فإني من ثِقاتِ رُواته

My sickness confirms what his eyelids have claimed

Ask me, for I am among the trusted narrators,

يَفْنَى أسيرُ الحبِّ قبلَ فَنائِه

بسقامِه ويموتُ قبلَ مَماته

The prisoner of love perishes before his death

By his sickness, and dies before his demise,

وعَذابُه عَذْبٌ ولكنْ لا تَفِى

لَذّاتُه بالنَّزْرِ من آفاته

And his torment is sweet, but the pleasures

Cannot equate the least of its harm,

قد كنتُ أَحْذَرُه ولكن غَرَّني

فأعادَني هَدفَا لنَيْلِ رُماته

I used to beware of it, but he deceived me,

And made me again a target for his arrows,

وقضَى لفَيْضِ مَدامِعي بِسجامِه

ودوامِه وفراقِه وثَباته

And he ordained the outpouring of my tears with his

Continuity, separation, and steadiness.

فكأنه فيضُ النَّوالِ مقسَّماً

في الخَلْق من كَفَّىْ أبى بَركاته

As if it is the outpouring of blessings apportioned

Among people - whoever missed it, its blessing avoided him

جَمَعتْ تَفاريقَ الفضائِل نفسُه

فالوصفُ يَقْصُر عن مدى غاياتِه

His self has combined separations of merits,

Description falls short of the extent of its limits,

في طبعِه عَصَبيةٌ مع نَخْوة

أبداً يفضلها على لذاته

In his nature lies enthusiasm with generosity,

He always prefers it over his pleasures,

الفضلُ بعضُ صِفاتِه والحمدُ بع

ضُ رُواته والجود بعض هِباته

Merit is part of his traits, praise is part

Of his story, and generosity part of his gifts,

والعزم من آلاتِه والحزم من

أدواته والشكر من أَقْواته

Determination is among his tools, and wisdom among

His instruments, gratitude among his provisions.

إنْ كان حاجتُك النجومَ تَنالُها

أو فوقَ ذاك من المكارم فَاتِه

If your need is to attain the stars,

Or above that, of his generous traits,

وإذا سألتَ فنَمْ فهِمَّتُه بها

كالبَيْنِ بين جُفونه وسِناته

And if you ask, his understanding perceives it

Clear between his eyelids and teeth,

وانظرْه عند سؤالِه فلِوجههِ

خَفرٌ يشوب البِشْرَ في صَفحاته

And look at him when asked, his face bears

A shyness that mars the joy on its sides,

ويودّ لو يبدو لحاجةِ سائلٍ

من قبل أنْ تُجْرَى على لَهَواته

He wishes he could show before the need

Of a questioner, without waiting for his request,

أنا من أجال الدهرُ فيه صُروفَه

فاختصَّني بالصَّعْب من نكباته

I am the one whom fate has tested with its ups

And downs, so it burdened me with its adversities,

وفَرَتْه أنيابُ النوائب واغتدتْ

فيه الحوادثُ من جميع جهاته

And dangers have eluded him, and events have come

Upon him from all directions,

وتَحيَّف الحدثانُ قَصَّ جناحِه

لوُجُود غُرْبِته وفَقْدِ ثِقاته

And the two timelines have twisted to shorten his wing

Due to the loss of his companions and trusted ones,

فَلَجا إلى حَرَم ابنِ عثمانَ الذي

لَبَّت له الآمالُ من مِيقاته

So he sought refuge in the sanctuary of Ibn Othman

For whom hopes have converged from all directions,

فَقضَيتُ تَطْوافي بكَعْبِة جُوده

وسَعَيت ثم وقفْت في عَرَفاته

I performed my circumambulations around the Kabaa of his generosity,

Then I strived and stood at his Arafat,

ودعوتُ هِمَّته هناك فلم يَخِب

ظني لمَا أبديتُ من دَعواته

And I called upon his resolve, which has not

Failed my hopes through my prayers,

ورجعتُ قد ظفرتْ يداي بجاهه

وبقُربه وبوُدّه وصِلاته

And I returned, my hands triumphant with his influence,

Closeness, love, and connection.

ولقيتُ ما سرَّ الصديقَ وساء من

عادَي فأَخْزاهُ عَقيبَ شَماته

And I found what gladdened the friend and saddened

The enemy, so he disgraced him after his gloating,

لله أيُّ صنيعةٍ قُلِّدتُها

من فضِله المألوفِ من عاداته

My God! What favour have I been honoured with

Among his customary generosity,

فضلٌ أَنافَ على المعالي فَرْعُه

قَدْرا وطيبُ ثَناه من ثَمراته

A favour that raises above glories a branch

In value, and the good praise of its fruits,

لا زال خاطرُ ربِّ كلِّ فصاحةٍ

يُهْدى إلى عَلياك من حَسناته

The thoughts of the Lord of all eloquence

Are still guided to your heights among its virtues,

فيُفيد أفرادَ الجواهرِ بهجةً

وتَطيب ريحُ المِسْك من نَفَحاته

Bringing joy to individuals of gems,

And the musk’s fragrance is perfumed by its breath,

مدحٌ تكرِّره الرواةُ ومُطرِبُ الأل

حانِ والحادِي لدى فَلَواته

A praise that narrators repeat, and composers of tunes,

And guides at the time of their inspiration,

وبقيتَ ما بقي الزمانُ مكرما

وثَناك مكتوبٌ على جَبَهاته

And you remained - as long as time continued - generously graced,

And your praise inscribed on its foreheads,