من المُحالِ اجتماعُ القُبح والحُسُنِ

فالحمدُ للّه نافي الشَينِ عن حَسَن

It is impossible for ugliness and beauty to coexist

So praise be to Allah who removes evil from goodness

فالخَلقُ يحسن بالخُلق الجميل ولا

يُزيّنُ الخُلقَ خَلقٌ غير ذي حُسُنِ

People behave well with good morals, not with

Morals other than those with beauty

لِلّه يا من صَفَت منهُ مَوَدَّتُهُ

لأَنتَ آثرُ ما استأثرتُ في زَمَني

To you, O one whose affection came from Him

You are the best of what I gained in my time

بسطتُ نحوك آمالي تُقدِّمُني

اليك آونةً ثُمَّت تؤَخِرُني

I extended my hopes to you, to bring me forward

Then you delayed me for a period

فحُسنُ ظَبِّيَ في نُعماك يَجذُبُني

وفرطُ إِجلال قدرٍ فيكَ يدفعني

The beauty of my youth in your blessings pulls me

And the utmost reverence for your worth pushes me away

وانتَ ادنى إلى المعروفِ شِنشِنةً

من قابِ قوسينِ او عينٍ من الجفنِ

And you gently lean towards goodwill

As much as two bow-lengths or an eyelid's blink

لولاكَ ما امتدَّ نحوي كفُّ مقتنصٍ

ولا تشفَّى ذووا الأَغراض والإِحَنِ

If not for you, no grasping hand would have reached for me

Nor would those with needs and worries feel relief

حَسَبتُها من هِباتِ اللَه مفتقداً

فانهُ خيرُ وهَّابٍ وممتحنِ

I thought of them as gifts from Allah, though absent

For He is the Best Giver and Tester

واللَهُ إِمَّا ابتلَى مَرءاً وجرَّبَهُ

يُعِنهُ حقّاً وغيرُ اللَه لم يُعِن

And Allah either tests a man and tries him

Or truly helps him, for none save Allah helps

أَولَى بذي اللُبِّ ان ينحازَ عن وَطَنٍ

يَلقَى بهِ الجَورَ من جارٍ ومن سَكَنِ

It is best for one of intelligence to withdraw from a homeland

Where he faces injustice from a neighbor or resident

هل ضاقت الأرض عن حيٍّ وهل بَخُلَت

يوماً على ميّتٍ بالقبر والكفَن

Has the earth narrowed for the living? Or has it

Ever begrudged a grave and shroud for the dead?

ليَكلا اللَهُ أَعداءي فانهمُ

قد قلَّدونيَ أطواقاً من المِنَنِ

May Allah embarrass my enemies, for they

Have collared me with chains of favors

راموا اقتناصي ورُمتُ الإِنقيادَ لهم

واللَهُ يعدِلُ بالافعال ما يَزِنِ

They wanted to trap me, but I refused to submit to them

And Allah makes straight what crooks weigh

والعدلُ بالحُكم زَينُ الحاكمينَ وما

سِواهُ يشناهُ عقلُ الحاذقِ الفَطِنِ

Equity in judgment is the beauty of rulers, and nothing

Else earns the contempt of the perceptive intellectual

قد يُخدَعُ المرءُ في الدنيا فيَحسَبُ ما

يراهُ من وَرَمِ الأَجساد كالسِمَنِ

One may be deceived in life, and think what

He sees of bodily swelling is fat

فيحسبُ الشُهبَ نجماً وَهيَ ابخرةٌ

تَفنَى سريعاً كأَن ما كانَ لم يَكُنِ

So he takes meteors for stars, though they

Quickly vanish as if they never were

فكم قد احتُسِبَت بكراً مخدَّرةً

ما حالُها ثَيِّبٌ مُفتنَّةُ الفِتَنِ

How many presumed chaste were debauched,

Seducers of seductions!

ما كل لامعةٍ عن ظاهرٍ ذَهَباً

كلا ولا كلُّ مأمونٍ بمُؤتَمَنِ

Not all that glitters is gold,

Nor is every trusted one trustworthy

وذو البصيرةِ لن يغترَّ منخدعاً

بمشبهِ الدُرّ او في خُضرة الدِمَنِ

The discerning will not be fooled,

Either by rhinestones or greenery from Yemen

فان اعجبَ ما تَلَقى وأَغرَبهُ

من ليسَ يَفرُقُ بينَ التِبر والتبنِ

For the most wondrous thing one encounters

Is one who cannot distinguish wheat from chaff

واشنعُ الحال ان يُلفَى الكريمُ بهِ

ما بالكرائِم من بُخلٍ ومن جُبُنِ

And most shameful is that the generous be wrapped in

Stinginess and cowardice from generosity

كم سادَ في الناسِ واستولى زِمامهمُ

مَن كان اليقَهم بالرحل والرَسَن

How many gained power over people

Who weren’t suited to a saddle or travel gear!

وكم ترفَّعَ بالاقدار منخفضٌ

وكم تنصَّبَ بالاقدار قدرُ دني

And how the lowly have risen high in status

As status of the noble fell low!

استغفرُ اللَه لولا اختشيهِ اذاً

لقلتُ مستعجباً سُبحانَ كلّ غني

I seek Allah's forgiveness - for if not for fear of Him

I would exclaim in wonder, Glory to the All-Wealthy

من كل مستغرق التنكير عرَّفَهُ ال

دهرُ الذي نكَّرَ المعروفَ من يَمَنِ

From whom the ages have hidden his merits, though the

Era discredited the well-known from Yemen

خُذها اليكَ فَتاةً بنتَ ليلتها

تُجلى بلحن نِظامٍ جلَّ عن لَحَنِ

Take it, a poem whose night is illuminated

With rhythmic verse far from meter

تنجابُ في يلمق التعريض من حَلَبٍ

زَهَت وباهت خلنج الهِند واليَمَنِ

It whispers intimations in the lispings of eloquence

Which outshone the finery of India and Yemen

ما لابنِ أَوسٍ مَرامٌ من بَلاغتها

لمَّا نَحَت بلِسان غير ذي لكنِ

The son of Aws has no need for its eloquence

Since he sculpted with a tongue without lisp

لا نقدّ بمَهَرُها لكن رِضاكَ بها

فاستقبِلَنها بلا غَبنٍ ولا غَبَنِ

I appraise not its bride-price, but your acceptance of it

So receive it without fraud or being defrauded