أَبلِغ رِياحاً مُردَها وَكُهولَها

أَبلِغ رِياحاً مُردَها وَكُهولَها

عَنّي وَعَمِّم فيهِمُ وَتَخَصَّصِ

عَنّي وَعَمِّم فيهِمُ وَتَخَصَّصِ

Tell Riyah—its beardless youths and its middle-aged men—

Send word to those friends whose affections found me too hard to retain,

on my behalf; address them all, and each in particular:

And be tender to them, however perverse I have been.

إِنّي أُهابُ وَما أُراني فاعِلاً

إِنّي أُهابُ وَما أُراني فاعِلاً

رَهطَ اِبنِ وَقّاصٍ وَرَهطَ الأَخوَصِ

رَهطَ اِبنِ وَقّاصٍ وَرَهطَ الأَخوَصِ

I fear—though I do not see myself doing so—

Tell them the fear I betrayed and the passion I would not reveal-

the clan of Ibn Waqqas and the clan of al-Akhwas.

What cared Ibn Wakkas or Akhtal for such as I feel?

لَولا الَّذي عَهِدَت إِلَيَّ سَراتُهُم

لَولا الَّذي عَهِدَت إِلَيَّ سَراتُهُم

لَجَهِدتُ جُهدَ بَديهَةِ اِبنِ الأَخوَصِ

لَجَهِدتُ جُهدَ بَديهَةِ اِبنِ الأَخوَصِ

Were it not for what their chiefs had enjoined upon me,

Had they not veiled me with victim and fate I inherited,

I would have taxed Ibn al-Akhwas’s ready wit to its utmost.

I would have shown them a passion as warm as Akhtal's could be.