ما ضرّ من أَهدى إِليّ الخَيالْ

لو أَنَّه أَهدى إِليّ الخيالْ

What harm is there if imagination brings me gifts?

Even if it brought me only imagination as a gift

فهل تراني كنتُ إِلا كمَنْ

آلَ إِلى أَنْ عادَ يَرويه آل

Could you see me as anything but one

Who succumbed until going back to quench his thirst?

ضننتُم من بعد جودٍ فيا

قبحَ انفصالٍ بَعْد حسنِ اتِّصال

You were stingy after generosity, so how

Ugly is separation after the beauty of connection!

واللهِ ما أَحسن بي حسنُكم

كلاَّ ولا أَجملَ ذاكَ الجمال

By Allah, your goodness was not more beautiful to me

No, nor was that beauty more beautiful

وذِكْرُ وصلِي لكم مُسْقِمي

فليتَ لا كَان زمانُ الوصال

And mentioning my connection with you makes me lovesick

If only the time of connection had not existed!

ذَمِّي لأَيامِيَ من بعدهِ

يَشْغَلُني عن شُكرِ تلك الليالْ

I blame my days after it

For distracting me from thanking those nights

ضلَّ دَليلي فتذكَّرتكُم

والبدرُ قد يُذكَر عِنْد الضَّلال

My guide was lost so I remembered you

And the full moon may be mentioned during misguidance

أَبصرت يوم البينِ أُعجوبةً

وُدّاً مصوناً تحتَ دَمع الدَّلال

The day we were separated, I saw a wonder -

A hidden love under the tears of separation

وزالت الشمسُ فلا غَرْوَ إِن

قضيتُ فرضَ الحزنِ بعدَ الزوال

The sun set so no wonder that

After sunset I fulfilled the duty of grief

شمسٌ تغورُ الشمسُ منها كما

أَنَّ غزاليَ غارَ منه الغزال

A sun whose setting makes the sun set just as

My gazelle was jealous of it and hid

قل لأَبي الطيبِ ما طاب لي

في الصيدِ إِلاَّ صيدُ هذا الهلال

Tell Abu al-Tayyib that nothing was good for me

In hunting except hunting this crescent moon

واللهِ ما دلَّ عليَّ البلى

إِلاَّ الذي دلَّ عليكَ الدلال

By Allah, decay has not pointed me

Except to what the guide pointed to you

إِن كسرَ الجفنَ فلا غروَ أَن

تكسِرَه الأَبطالُ يومَ النِزال

If it broke the eyelids then no wonder

The heroes broke it in battle

وقد تسلَّى القلبُ عنه ولم

يبقَ جِلادٌ معه أَو جِدال

And the heart has been entertained away from it and no

Executioner or disputant remains with it

آنسني القُربُ ويومَ النوى

مواهب العادل يومَ النوال

Intimacy made me happy and on the day of purpose

The gifts of the just on the day of bestowal

الآخذُ الأَقرانِ بعد الوغى

والواهبُ الآلافِ قبل السؤال

The one who takes rivals after the commotion

And the one who gives thousands before asking

والطالب الأَطلابِ والسالب الأَسـ

ـلاب والقاتلُ يوم القتال

The seeker of requests and the demander of requirements

And the killer on the day of killing

والواسع الصدرِ لدَى موقفٍ

ضاقَ على الرَّاجلِ فيه المجَالْ

The one with a spacious chest at a stopping point

That was too narrow for the pedestrian

يسير سَير السيلِ في موكبٍ

يُريكَ أُنموذَج سَيْرِ الجبال

He walks like a flood walking in a procession

Showing you an example of the walking of mountains

أَخلى ديارَ الكُفْرِ أَو لم يدع

فيها خلالاً حين جاس الخلال

He emptied the lands of disbelief or left

No gaps in it when the gaps existed

وأَوثق الأَسرى فقد أَصبحت

غدائرُ القتلى لهم كالحِبال

And he tied up the prisoners, so the

Corpses of the slain became like ropes for them

سيفٌ نضاه ذُو العلا للعلى

كما جلاه للهدى ذو الجلال

A sword whose sharpness he gave to excel

As He made it prominent for guidance

أعلى به الله هوادي الهدى

بِه هدَّ ظِلاَلَ الضَّلال

God elevated through it the valleys of guidance

By it He guided the shadows of misguidance

فأَنزل الشركَ بدار الرَّدى

وصيَّر الكفرَ ببالِ الوبال

So He brought down polytheism to the abode of destruction

And made disbelief roll down the slopes of torment

فأَصبح الإِسلامُ في نُضْرةٍ

قد طال في غُرَّته واستطال

So Islam was in blossom

Stretching in its meadows and growing tall

والخلقُ من نعماه في جَنَّة

ومِنْ قَضَايَا عَدْلِه فِي ظلال

And people through His blessings are in a garden

And through His just decrees in shade

أعمارهم بالخير معمورة

منه كما الأحوال منهم حوال

Their lives prosperous with good

From Him just as their conditions are changing

يا مَلكاً لا ينبغي ملكُه

إِلاَّ له وُقيت عينَ الكمالْ

O king for whom kingship is only fitting for him

When the essence of perfection was guarded for him

وقد أَتاك العام مستبشراً

يهزُّ عطفيه من الاختيال

And this year has come to you giving good news

Shaking its sympathy out of rejoicing

مُبَشراً فيك بنيل المنى

وفي الذي ترجُو بقُربِ المنالْ

Giving you good news of attaining wishes

And of what you hope for being near attainment

فاسْعد بهذا العام في نعمةٍ

آمنة المكثِ من الانتقال

So be happy in this year with secure

Blessing, safe from transition

ولا ذوى ملكَكَ ربٌ قضى

له على الخلق بأَنْ لا زَوَال

Your kingdom has no Lord decreeing

For it over people that it will cease