1. أَقَلُّ عَذابي ما تَصابَ مُقاتِلي

    وَأَضيعُ نَصحي ما تَقولُ عَواذِلي

    The least of my torment is when my vital parts are struck.

    And the vainest counsel I receive is what my reproachers say.

  2. وَاَسعَرُ ناري ما تَكُن جَوانِحي

    وَأَهدَأُ حالي ما تَهيجُ بَلابِلي

    And my fiercest fire is what my ribs conceal.

    And my calmest state is when my sorrows rage.

  3. تَفيضُ دُموعي كُلَّما لاحَ بارِقُ

    وَتَطرَبُ مِن مُرِّ النَسيمِ شَمائِلي

    My tears overflow whenever lightning flashes.

    And my spirits thrill at the passing of the breeze.

  4. وَأَنّى لَتَشجوني الحَمائشمُ أَن شَدَّت

    عَلى عَذَباتِ البانِ عِندَ الأَصائِلِ

    And the doves indeed sadden me when they sing

    Upon the ban trees' tips at eventide,

  5. سَواجِعَ بِالشَكوى يَنُحنَ عَلى النَوى

    نَواعِمَ لا يَعرِفنَ غَيرَ الخَمائِلِ

    Cooing their complaints, lamenting separation,

    Tender creatures knowing nothing but thickets.

  6. يُبَكّينَ أَوقاتَ الصَفاءِ الَّتي خَلَت

    وَأَبكى لِأَيّامِ الصَباءِ الرَواحِلِ

    They bewail the bygone times of serenity,

    And I weep for the departing days of youth.

  7. وَأَنّى لِصَبٍّ لَم أَزَل أَندُبُ اللِقا

    بِدَمعٍ طَويلِ الذَيلِ هامَ وَهامِلِ

    And I am lovesick, ever lamenting reunion,

    With long-trailing tears, pouring and streaming.

  8. حَنيني إِلى عَهدِ الوِصالِ وَأَهلِهِ

    وَسُهدي عَلى هَجرِ الخَليطِ المُزايِلِ

    My longing is for the age of union and its people,

    And my sleeplessness is over the desertion of departing companions.

  9. وَلَكِنَّهُ قَد رَمَّثَ الحُبَّ مُهجَتي

    وَرَوَّقَ أَعناتَ الغَرامِ مَناهِلي

    Yet love has indeed mended my soul,

    And passion's torments have cleared my drinking springs.

  10. تَفَرَّدَت في طَبعٍ إِلى الحُبِّ نازِعِ

    وَقَلبٌ عَلى حُكمِ الصَبابَةِ نازِلِ

    I stand apart in a nature inclined toward love,

    And a heart submitting to passion's rule.

  11. فَيُطرِبُني هَمسُ القَصائِرِ في الحِمى

    وَيُعجِبُني في الرَملِ هَدى المُطافِلِ

    The whispers of secluded maidens in the sanctuary delight me,

    And the gait of mother gazelles in the sand pleases me.

  12. وَأَهوى لِحاظَ العَينِ مَعسولَةَ اللَمى

    وَأَعشَقُ رَبّاتِ الخُصورِ النَواحِلِ

    And I love the glances of wide-eyed beauties with honey-sweet, dusky lips.

    And I adore the ladies of slender waists.

  13. وَأَختالُ في غِيِّ الهَوى غَيرَ عابِئِ

    وَأَمرَحُ في بَذَخِ الصِبا غَيرَ سائِلِ

    And I strut through love's waywardness, uncaring,

    And frolic in youth's extravagance, asking nothing.

  14. وَأَنّى لَيَجري في جِناني هَوى الحِمى

    وَحُبُ الدُمى مَجرى الدِما في مَفاصِلي

    Indeed, love of the sanctuary flows through my heart,

    And love of doll-like beauties, like blood through my joints.

  15. فَيا ظَبيَةَ الكُثبانِ حُسنَكَ فاتَني

    وَيا غادَةَ الجَرعاءِ حُبَّكَ قاتِلي

    So, gazelle of the dunes, your beauty has eluded me!

    And graceful maiden of the sandy plain, your love is my killer!

  16. وَيا هَذِهِ الأَعطافُ رُمحُكَ طاعِني

    وَيا هَذِهِ الأَلحاظُ سِحرَكَ بابِلي

    And O these supple sides, your spear pierces me!

    And O these glances, your magic is Babylonian!

  17. وَيا عاذِلي أَقصَرَ فَلَستَ بَوازِعي

    أَطَلتَ بِتَعنيفي عَلى غَيرِ طائِلِ

    And O my reproacher, desist: you cannot restrain me.

    You have prolonged your rebukes of me to no avail.

  18. سَأَمنَعُ عَن عَيني لِأَجلِكَ نَومَها

    وَأَقسَمَ ما تَبكيهِ بَينَ المَنازِلِ

    For your sake, I shall deny my eye its sleep,

    And apportion the tears it sheds among the dwellings.

  19. وَأَجرى بِمِضمارِ الهَوى مُتَهَتِّكاً

    أُجَرِّرُ في شَوطي فُضولَ الغَلائِلِ

    And race upon love's course, unrestrained,

    Trailing in my race the loose folds of my under-robes.

  20. لِأَعشَقَ حَتّى لَيسَ لي مِن مُعادِلِ

    وَأَكلَفَ حَتّى لَيسَ ليب مِن مُماثِلِ

    To love until no one is my equal,

    And be infatuated until none is my peer.

  21. وَأَرهَنُ هَذا القَلبَ لِلغَيدِ وَالمَهى

    وَأَجعَلُ العَقلَ مَهرَ العَقائِلِ

    And pledge this heart to graceful beauties and oryx-like maidens,

    And make reason the bridal dower of noble ladies.

  22. وَما الحُبُّ إِلّا خَلَقَ كُلَّ مَهذَبِ

    وَما الوَجدُ إِلّا شَأنَ كُلِّ حَلاحِلِ

    Love is but the disposition of every refined soul,

    And ardent passion is but the way of every noble champion.

  23. وَما الحُسنُ إِلّا دونَ كُلِّ عَرينِهِ

    وَما الوَصلُ إِلّا في مَجالِ الغَوائِلِ

    And beauty lies only beyond every lion's lair,

    And union only in the arena of perils.

  24. إِذاً كُلُّ طَرفٍ ذابِلٍ عِندَ ذابِلِ

    وَكُلُّ قَوامٍ عاسِلٍ دونَ عاسِلِ

    Thus every languid eye is beside a slender spear,

    And every swaying figure behind a swaying lance.

  25. تَجولُ جِيادَ الخَيلِ في كُلِّ عَرصَةٍ

    وَأَنضى إِلَيها كُلُّ يَومٍ رَواحِلي

    Fine horses wheel in every open courtyard,

    And daily I exhaust my mounts journeying to her.

  26. وَتَحمي سُيوفَ الهِندِ عَن كُلِّ كِلَّةٍ

    لَقَد طالَما عَلِقتُ فيها حَمائِلي

    And Indian swords guard every curtained bower

    Where I have so often hung my sword-belts.

  27. أَزورُ خِيامَ الرَبعِ غَيرَ موارِبٍ

    وَأَغشى دِيارَ الحَيِّ غَيرَ مُخاتِلِ

    I visit the tents of the encampment without dissembling,

    And enter the tribe's dwellings without guile.

  28. وَأَنّي مِنَ الشَعبِ الَّذينَ أَذا سَعوا

    يَجلونَ قَدراً عَنِ حَؤولِ الحَوائِلِ

    And I am of the people who, when they strive,

    Rise in stature above the obstruction of obstacles.

  29. أَلَم تَرَهُم بِالأَمسِ حَزماً وَقُوَّةً

    مَفاعيلُهُم في الأَمرِ قَبلَ المُقاوِلِ

    Did you not see them yesterday, resolute and strong,

    Their deeds in every matter preceding words?

  30. فَما آجَلُ يَرجونَهُ غَيرَ عاجِلِ

    وَما عاجِلٌ يَأبونَهُ غَيرَ آجِلِ

    No deferred hope of theirs is anything but immediate,

    And no immediate thing they reject is anything but deferred.

  31. لَقَد خَيَّبوا آمالَ كُلِّ مُعارِضٍ

    وَقَد زَلزَلوا أَقدامَ كُلِّ مَنازِلِ

    They have dashed the hopes of every opponent,

    And shaken the feet of every challenger,

  32. بِشَقرِ سَراحيبِ وَسُمرِ ذَوابِلِ

    وَبيضُ أَصاليتٌ وَصُفرٌ عَياطِلِ

    With chestnut, long-bodied steeds and dusky, slender spears,

    And white, unsheathed swords and tawny, long-necked mounts.

  33. غَداةَ بِلادَ الناسِ شَرقاً وَمَغرِباً

    أَطلوا عَلى أَقطارِها بِالجَحافِلِ

    On the day when, across people's lands east and west,

    They loomed over their regions with massed armies,

  34. لَقَد دَكدَكوا الأَجبالَ فيها وَشَيَّدوا

    سَواهِنَ شَمّا مِن غُبارِ القَساطِلِ

    They leveled the mountains there and raised

    Others, lofty, from the dust of battle.

  35. سَقوا تُربَةَ الأَرضَينِ سَهلاً وَمَرقَباً

    مِنَ الدَمِ بِالأَنهارِ لا بالجَداوِلِ

    They watered the soil of the two lands, plain and height,

    With blood in rivers, not in brooks.

  36. أَطاروا قُلوبَ الكاشِحينَ وَاِرقَصوا

    فَرائِصَهُم مِن كُلِّ حافٍ وَناعِلِ

    They sent their enemies' hearts flying and made

    Their flanks dance—barefoot and shod alike.

  37. وَقَد سَحَقوا بَطشاً رُؤوسَ عِداتِهِم

    وَقَد نَزَّلوهُم مِن رُؤوسِ المَعاقِلِ

    They crushed their foes' heads with force,

    And brought them down from the tops of strongholds.

  38. فَما زالَ مِنهُم باخِعاً كُلَّ عامِلِ

    وَما زالَ فيهِم عامِلاً كُلَّ عامِلِ

    Thus every governor among them continued to submit,

    And every spear continued its work among them,

  39. إِلى أَن وَلّوا بِالسَيفِ أَقصى بِلادِهِم

    فَلَم يَدعوا فيها مَجالاً لِجائِلِ

    Until they ruled the farthest of their lands by the sword,

    Leaving there no room for anyone to roam.

  40. فَهُم خَيرُ مَن في الأَرضِ سَلّوا صَوارِماً

    وَقادوا عِتاقَ الخَيلِ قَبَّ الأَياطِلِ

    They are the finest on earth ever to draw keen swords,

    And lead high-bred horses with lean flanks.

  41. وَهُم خَيرُ مَن ضَمّوا اليَراعَ إِلى القَنا

    وَهُم خَيرُ حَدٍّ بَينَ حَقٍّ وَباطِلِ

    They are the finest to join the pen to the spear,

    And the finest boundary between truth and falsehood.

  42. لَقَد نَشَروا العِلمَ الحَقيقِيَّ في الوَرى

    عَلى حينِ تَغلي الحَربَ غَليَ المَراجِلِ

    They spread true knowledge among humankind,

    While war boiled like seething cauldrons.

  43. وَقَد خَطَبوا في الأَرضِ بِالحَقِّ مَن عَلى

    مَنابِرِ عِزٍّ مِن مُتونِ الصَواهِلِ

    And proclaimed truth throughout the earth from atop

    Pulpits of glory—the backs of neighing steeds.

  44. أَزالوا سَفاهاتِ الشُعوبِ وَقابَلوا

    سَفاسِفَهُم بِالمَكرُماتِ الجَلائِلِ

    They dispelled the follies of peoples and answered

    Their trivialities with mighty deeds of honor.

  45. وَشادوا عَلى تِلكَ الرُسومُ حَضارَةً

    أُقيمَت عَلى أُسِّ التُقى وَالفَضائِلِ

    And upon those vestiges they built a civilization,

    Founded on piety and virtues.

  46. فَأَصبَحَ مِنهُم عامِراً كُلَّ غامِرِ

    وَأَضحى لَدَيهِم مَمرَعاً كُلُّ قاحِلِ

    Through them, every wasteland became inhabited,

    And under them, every barren tract grew lush.

  47. زَها وَنَما نَبتُ الوَشيجِ بِأَرضِهِم

    وَفي مُدنِهِم زادَت فُنونُ الصَياقِلِ

    Spear-reeds flourished and grew in their land,

    And in their cities the sword-polishers' arts increased.

  48. أولَئِكَ آبائي فَجِئني بِمِثلِهِم

    وَإِلّا فَهُم في الأَرضِ خَيرُ القَبائِلِ

    Those are my forefathers: bring me their like,

    Or else they are the finest tribes on earth.

  49. رِجالٌ لَدَيهِم راقَ جَمعُ مَناقِبِ

    عَفافٌ وَأَقدامٌ وَحَزمٌ وَنائِلُ

    Men in whom a gathering of virtues shone:

    Chastity, courage, resolve, and bounty.

  50. بَدورٌ بِآفاقِ الزَمانِ أَوافِلٌ

    نُحيبي عَلى تِلكَ البُدورِ الأَوافِلِ

    Full moons, setting in the horizons of time;

    My lament is for those setting moons.

  51. أَقاموا زَماناً ثُمَّ مَرَّ عَلَيهِم

    عَتوا الدَواهي وَاللَيالي الدَوائِلِ

    They endured an age; then there passed over them

    The tyranny of calamities and fortune-changing nights.

  52. زَماناً قَضوهُ بِالعَلاءِ وَلَم تَكُن

    لَيالي عَلاهُم بِاللَيالي القَلائِلِ

    An age they spent in glory; nor were

    The nights of their greatness few.

  53. كَذَلِكَ قَد كانَت أَوائِلُ قَومِنا

    أَلا لَيتَنا نَبني بِناءَ الأَوائِلِ

    Such were the forefathers of our people.

    Would that we built as the forefathers built,

  54. وَنُحيي رُسوماً غادَروا لِاِعتِبارِنا

    فَأَصبَحَ مِنها دارِساً كُلَّ ماثِلِ

    And revived the traces they left for our reflection,

    Of which every standing remnant has now faded.

  55. أَما نَحنُ مَن حازوا الغِنى بِعُقولِهِم

    وَجادوا عَلى كُلِّ الوَرى بِالفَواضِلِ

    Are we not those who won wealth through their minds,

    And bestowed bounty upon all humankind?

  56. وَقَد كانَ مِنّا كُلُّ نَدبٍ مَجرَبُ

    بِنورِ الحَجى جالٍ دَياجي المَعاضِلِ

    Among us was every tried and gallant man,

    Dispelling the darkness of difficulties with reason's light;

  57. وَكُلُّ هَمّامٍ مُشَبَّعِ الحِجرِ راشِدٌ

    مُوَفَّقُ آراءٍ دَليلَ مَجاهِلِ

    And every resolute man, rich in intellect and rightly guided,

    Sound in judgment, a guide through unknown places;

  58. وَكُلُّ إِمامٍ كَالغَزالي وَهوَ مِن

    إِذا قالَ لَم يَترُك مَجالاً لِقائِلِ

    And every imam like al-Ghazali, one who,

    When he spoke, left no room for another speaker;

  59. وَكُلُّ حَكيمٍ كَالرَئيسِ الَّذي جَرى

    وَخَلى أَرِسطو خَلفَهُ بِمَراحِلِ

    And every philosopher like al-Ra'is, who raced ahead

    And left Aristotle many stages behind him;

  60. وَكُلُّ أَريبٍ كَاِبنِ رُشدٍ وَمَن عَلى

    هَداهُ وَكَالرازي نَدُّ الأَوائِلِ

    And every sage like Ibn Rushd, and those upon

    His path, and like al-Razi, a peer of the ancients.

  61. فَبِالشَرقِ مِنّا كَالرَشيدِ وَقَومُهُ

    وَبِالغَربِ مِنّا ناصِرٌ بَعدَ داخِلِ

    In the East, from us came the likes of al-Rashid and his people,

    And in the West, Nasir after Dakhil.

  62. وَلا تَنسَ في وادي الفُراتِ وَجَلَّقِ

    وَفي مِصرَ آثارُ الصَلاحِ وَعادِلِ

    And do not forget, in the Euphrates valley and Jilliq,

    And in Egypt, the legacies of Salah and Adil.

  63. وَلا سادَةً مِنهُم مُحَمَّدٌ جاعِلٌ

    بِقَبضَتِهِ البَرَّينِ دونَ مُطاوِلِ

    Nor lords, among them Muhammad, who held

    The two lands in his grasp, with none to rival him.

  64. لَعَمري إِذا نَدري الأُمورَ فَإِنَّما

    زَوالُ العَنا بَينَ القَنا وَالقَنابِلِ

    By my life, if we understand affairs, then indeed

    Affliction ends amid spears and bombs.

  65. وَغَرَّ العُلى فَوقَ العَوالي دَوامِياً

    وَنَيلُ المُنى دونَ المَنى وَالمَناصِلِ

    And glory's bright brows bleed above the tall spears,

    And hopes are won in the face of death and blades.

  66. لَنِعمَ نِداءَ الحَربِ في كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ

    أَناخَ عَلَيها دَهرَها بِالكَلاكِلِ

    How excellent is war's call for every nation

    Upon which time has knelt with its crushing breast!

  67. لِيَنشُرَ مِن أَكفانِهِ كُلَّ مَيتِ

    وَيوقِظُ مَن تَهويمِهِ كُلَّ غافِلِ

    To raise every dead person from his shrouds,

    And wake every heedless person from his drowsing.

  68. فَذَلِكَ أَمرٌ لا يَزالُ مُجَدَّداً

    نُشاهِدهُ فَليَذكُرنَ كُلَّ ذاهِلِ

    That is a truth forever renewed,

    Which we witness; let every distracted soul remember.

  69. إِذا ضاقَ عَنهُ النَثرُ فَالبَحرُ واسِعُ

    بِنا وَالقَوافي رافِداتُ الفَواصِلِ

    If prose cannot contain it, the sea of verse is wide

    For us, and rhymes sustain the closing cadences.