1. لَو أَنَّ قَلبَكِ مِثلُ قَلبي مُغرَمٌ

    لَم يَثنِ عِطفَكِ ما تَقولُ اللُوَّمُ

    If your heart were enamored like mine,

    the blamers' words would not have turned you away.

  2. لَكِن عَدَتكِ صَبابَتي فَأَطَعتِهِم

    شَتّانَ خالٍ قَلبُهُ وَمُتَيَّمُ

    But my ardent longing passed you by, so you obeyed them:

    how far apart are an unoccupied heart and one enslaved by love!

  3. عودي مَريضاً في يَدَيكَ شِفاؤُهُ

    إِشفي وَأَنتِ بِما يُكابِدُ أَعلَمُ

    Visit a sick man whose cure lies in your hands;

    heal him—you know best what he endures.

  4. أَو فَاِحسِمي شَكواهُ مِن داءِ الهَوى

    إِن كانَ داءُ هَواكِ مِمّا يُحسَمُ

    Or put an end to his complaint of love's sickness,

    if the sickness of loving you can be ended.

  5. وَلَقَلَّما وَجَدَ المَريضُ لِدائِهِ

    بُرءاً إِذا كانَ الطَبيبَ المُسقِمُ

    Rarely has a sick man found for his illness

    a cure when the physician is the one who sickened him.

  6. وَوَراءَ ما يَبدو لِعَينِكِ مِن ضَنىً

    وَجَدٌ بِأَثناءِ الضُلوعِ مُكَتَّمُ

    Beyond the wasting that appears to your eye

    lies passion concealed within the folds of the ribs.

  7. إِن كُنتِ يَقظى بِالسَلامِ بِخَيلَةً

    فَمُري الخَيالَ يَمُرُّ بي فَيُسَلِّمُ

    If, when awake, you are miserly with a greeting,

    command your dream-image to pass by me and greet me.

  8. وَعِدي بِوَصلِكِ في المَنامِ لَعَلَّها

    تَرجو لِقاءَكَ مُقلَتي فَتَهَوَّمُ

    And promise union with you in sleep, so that perhaps

    my eye may hope to meet you and drift into slumber.

  9. أَعرَضتِ عَن شَيبي وَأَنتِ جَنَيتِهِ

    نَفسي الفِداءُ لِمُجرِمٍ يَتَجَرَّمُ

    You turned away from my gray hair, though you brought it on;

    my soul be ransom for an offender who falsely finds fault!

  10. إِمّا تَرَيني جاثِماً فَلَطالَما

    رَكَّضتُ أُنجِدُ في البِلادِ وَأُتهِمُ

    If you see me sitting still, how often before

    I spurred on across the lands, into Najd and Tihamah!

  11. وَجَرَرتُ ذَيلَ شَبيبَتي وَخَلاعَتي

    وَأَسَمتُ خَيلَ بِطالَتي لا أَسأَمُ

    I trailed the hem of my youth and my wantonness,

    and pastured the horses of my idle pleasure, never tiring.

  12. فَاليَومَ وَجهُ مَطالِبي وَمَآرِبي

    بَعدَ الطَلاقَةِ عابِسٌ مُتَجَهِّمُ

    Today the face of my desires and aims,

    once cheerful, is frowning and grim.

  13. سُدَّت مَطالِعُها عَلَيَّ فَدونَ ما

    أَرجوهُ مِنها بابُ يَأسٍ مُردَمُ

    Their approaches are barred to me, and before what

    I hope of them stands a sealed door of despair.

  14. وَلَئِن رَمَينَني الخُطوبُ بِمُقصِدٍ

    مِن صَرفِهِنَّ فلِلنَوائِبِ أَسهُمُ

    Though misfortunes have struck me with a deadly shot

    from their reversals—for calamities have arrows—

  15. أَو أَخَّرَتني الحادِثاتُ وَلَم أَزَل

    بِفَضائِلي وَخَصائِصي أَتَقَدَّمُ

    or events have put me behind, though I have always

    advanced through my virtues and distinctive gifts,

  16. فَالدَهرُ لا شُكِرَت مَساعيهِ بِتَأ

    خيرِ الفَضائِلِ مُستَهامٌ مُغرَمُ

    Time—may its efforts go unthanked—is, in holding

    merit back, infatuated and enamored.

  17. دَهرٌ رَماني في قَرارَةِ مَنزِلٍ

    ضَنكٍ نَهاري فيهِ لَيلٌ مُعتِمُ

    An age that cast me into the depths of a dwelling

    so straitened that my day there is a dark night.

  18. لَيلي بِهِ لَيلُ السَليمِ وَإِنَّني

    لِلهَمِّ وَالبُرَحاءِ فيهِ لَمُسلَمُ

    My night there is the night of one snake-bitten, and I

    am surrendered there to anxiety and torment.

  19. مُتَهَضِّماً فَضلي الأَبِيُّ وَلَم يَكُن

    لَولا الزَمانُ وَغَدرُهُ يَتَهَضَّمُ

    My unyielding worth is being slighted; it would never

    be slighted but for time and its treachery.

  20. فَمَتى يُقَوِضُ راحِلاً عَن ساحَتي

    هَمٌّ عَلَيَّ بِما يَنوءُ مُخَيِّمُ

    When will it strike camp and depart from my courtyard—

    this grief encamped upon me with its crushing weight?

  21. أَنا يا زَماني إِن تَطَأ مِن مَنكِبي

    ضَرَعاً لِظُلمي مِن خُطوبِكَ أَظلَمُ

    As for me, O my time, if you tread down my shoulder

    in weakness, wronging me is crueler than your calamities.

  22. هَيهاتَ لا يَعبا بِحَملِ عَظيمَةٍ

    مَن كانَ ناصِرَهُ الإِمامُ الأَعظَمُ

    Far from it! He cares nothing for bearing a grave burden

    whose champion is the supreme Imam:

  23. الناصِرُ المَنصورُ جَيشُ لِوائِهِ

    وَمَعاطِسُ الأَعداءِ جُدعٌ رُغَّمُ

    al-Nasir, whose banner's army is victorious,

    while the enemies' noses are cut off and rubbed in dust.

  24. نَصَرَتهُ أَملاكُ السَماءِ فَمُردِفٌ

    مِنهُم يُقاتِلُ دونَهُ وَمُسَوَّمُ

    Heaven's angels aided him: some come in succession

    among them to fight in his defense, and some are marked.

  25. الخاشِعُ الأَوّابُ يُقدِمُ حاسِراً

    في الرَوعِ وَهوَ عَنِ المَحارِمِ مُحجِمُ

    Humble and ever repentant, he advances unarmored

    amid terror, yet refrains from forbidden deeds.

  26. لا يَرتَضي لُبسَ الحَديدِ بَسالَةً

    فَكَأَنَّهُ لُبسُ الحَديدِ مُحَرَّمُ

    In his valor he will not consent to wearing iron,

    as though wearing iron were forbidden.

  27. فَعَتادُهُ عَضبُ المَضارِبِ باتِرٌ

    وَأَصَمُّ عَسّالٌ وَأَجرَدُ شَيظَمُ

    His equipment is a keen-edged, severing sword,

    a solid, swaying spear, and a tall, short-haired steed;

  28. رَأيٌ يَفُلُّ البيضَ وَهيَ حَدائِدٌ

    وَسُطىً تَرُدُّ الجَيشَ وَهوَ عَرَمرَمُ

    a judgment that blunts swords, though they are iron,

    and assaults that drive back an army, though vast.

  29. يُصلي الأَعادي نارَ كُلِّ كَريهَةٍ

    يَشوي الوُجوهَ حَريقُها المُتَضَرِّمُ

    He makes his enemies burn in the fire of every battle,

    whose blazing flames roast faces.

  30. يُزجي لَهُم سُحبَ الحِمامِ رُعودُها

    زَجَلُ الكُماةِ وَصَوبُ عارِضِها الدَمُ

    He drives clouds of death toward them; their thunder

    is the warriors' clamor, and their cloudbank's rain is blood.

  31. فَزَمانُهُم بِالرُعبِ مِنهُ لَيلَةٌ

    لَيلاءُ أَو يَومٌ عَبوسٌ أَيوَمُ

    Through fear of him their time is a night

    of deepest darkness, or a grim, dire day.

  32. فَالبيضُ تُغمَدُ في المَفارِقِ وَالطُلى

    وَالسَمهَرِيَّةُ في الضُلوعِ تُقَوَّمُ

    Bright swords are sheathed in heads and throats,

    and Samhari spears are straightened in ribs.

  33. وَرِثَ النُبوَّةَ مِنبَراً وَخِلافَةً

    وَتَقِيَّةً فَعَلَيهِ مِنها ميسَمُ

    He inherited from prophethood a pulpit and a caliphate,

    and piety, whose mark he bears.

  34. فَلِمَنكِبٍ وَلِعاتِقٍ وَلِخِنصِرٍ

    مِنهُ ثَلاثٌ قَدرُهُنَّ مُعَظَّمُ

    For his shoulder, his neck, and his little finger

    there are three things whose worth is revered:

  35. بُردٌ وَسَيفٌ لا يُفَلُّ وَخاتِمٌ

    فَمُحَلبَبٌ وَمُقَلَّدٌ وَمُخَتَّمُ

    a mantle, a sword never blunted, and a ring;

    thus he is mantled, sword-girded, and ringed.

  36. مَلِكٌ لَهُ عَدلٌ وَجودٌ يَعدَمُ ال

    مَظلومُ في يَوميهِما وَالمُعدِمُ

    A king with justice and generosity; no longer is the

    wronged man or the destitute found in their two days.

  37. فَالرِفدُ تَبسُطُهُ يَدٌ مَبسوطَةٌ

    وَالجَورُ يَحسِمُهُ حُسامٌ مِحذَمُ

    An outstretched hand spreads bounty abroad,

    and a keen, cutting sword ends oppression.

  38. مُتَيَقِّظٌ يَرعى الرَعايا طَرفُهُ

    وَهُمُ رُقودٌ في المَضاجِعِ نُوَّمُ

    Ever wakeful, his eye watches over his subjects

    while they lie asleep, slumbering in their beds.

  39. القائِدُ الغُلبَ الكُماةَ عَوابِساً

    وَالبيضُ في أَيمانِهِم تَتَبَسَّمُ

    He leads mighty, armored warriors, grim-faced,

    while the bright swords in their right hands smile.

  40. مِن غِلمَةٍ بِجَمالِهِم نارُ الهَوى

    وَبِبَأسِهِم نارُ الوَغى تَتَضَرَّمُ

    Of youths whose beauty kindles the fire of love,

    and whose valor sets the fire of battle blazing.

  41. سِيّانِ سِلمُهُمُ وَحَربُهُمُ فَما

    يَنفَكُّ يَقطُرُ مِن أَكُفِّهِمُ الدَمُ

    Their peace and war are alike, for never

    does blood cease dripping from their palms.

  42. تُركٌ إِذا لَبِسوا التَرائِكَ أَيقَنَت

    صُمُّ العَوالي أَنَّها سَتُحَطَّمُ

    Turks: when they don their helmets, certainty comes

    to the solid long spears that they will be shattered.

  43. يَزدادُ إِشراقاً ضِياءُ وُجوهِهِم

    وَالجَوُّ بِالهَبَواتِ أَربَدُ أَقتَمُ

    The radiance of their faces grows brighter,

    though the air is dusky and dark with clouds of dust.

  44. فَهُمُ إِذا حَسَروا ظَباءُ خَميلَةٍ

    وَهُمُ أُسودُ شَرى إِذا ما اِستَلأَموا

    Bareheaded, they are gazelles of a thicket,

    but armored, they are the lions of Shara.

  45. رَكِبوا الدَياجي وَالسُروجُ أَهِلَّةٌ

    وَهُمُ بُدورٌ وَالأَسِنَّةُ أَنجُمُ

    They rode through darkness, their saddles crescents,

    themselves full moons, and their spearheads stars.

  46. فَكَأَنَّ إيماضَ السُيوفِ بَوارِقٌ

    وَعَجاجَ خَيلِهِمُ سَحابٌ مُظلِمُ

    The flashing of their swords is like lightning,

    and the dust of their horses like a dark cloud.

  47. مِن كُلِّ رَيّانِ المَعاطِفِ خَصرُهُ

    كَمُحِبِّهِ مِن رِدفِهِ يَتَظَلَّمُ

    Each is full-fleshed in his contours; his waist,

    like his lover, complains of his hips.

  48. في ثَنيِ بُردَتِهِ قَضيبُ نَقىً فَفي

    الدِرعِ المُفاضَةِ مِنهُ طَودٌ أَيهَمُ

    In the fold of his mantle, a branch upon a dune; but in

    his ample coat of mail, an inaccessible mountain.

  49. بَشَرٌ أَرَقُّ مِنَ الزُلالِ وَتَحتَهُ

    كَالصَخرِ قَلبٌ لا يَرِقُّ فَيَرحَمُ

    Skin softer than pure water, and beneath it

    a heart like rock, never softening to show mercy.

  50. يُصمي الخَلِيَّ بِطَرفِهِ وَبِكَفِّهِ

    يُصمي الكَمِيَّ فَجُؤذَرٌ أَم ضيغَمُ

    His glance strikes dead the heart-free; his hand

    strikes dead the armored warrior—is he a fawn or a lion?

  51. هُوَ تارَةً لِلحُسنِ في أَترابِهِ

    عَلَمٌ وَطَوراً في الكَتيبَةِ مُعلَمُ

    At times, among his peers, he is for beauty

    a beacon; at others, a marked warrior in the battalion.

  52. لَحظٌ عَلى نَهبِ القُلوبِ مُسَلَّطٌ

    وَغِرارُ نَصلٍ في الرِقابِ مُحَكَّمُ

    A glance empowered to plunder hearts,

    and a blade's edge given mastery over necks.

  53. عَزَماتُ مَنصورِ السَرايا هَمُّهُ

    في نُصرَةٍ الدينِ الحَنيفِ مُقَسَّمُ

    The resolves of one whose squadrons triumph; his care

    is apportioned to supporting the true faith.

  54. قَرمٌ بِأَعباءِ الخِلافَةِ ناهِضٌ

    صَبٌّ بِتَدبيرِ المَمالِكِ قَيِّمُ

    A lord who shoulders the burdens of the caliphate,

    passionately devoted to governing kingdoms, their guardian.

  55. قَرمٌ يَومَ النَدى لِعُفاتِهِ

    كَرَماً وَفي وَجهِ الزَمانِ تَجَهُّمُ

    A lord to his petitioners on the day of giving,

    out of generosity, though the face of time is grim.

  56. مُتَبَسِّمٌ يَومَ النَدى لِعُفاتِهِ

    كَرَماً وَفي وَجهِ الزَمانِ تَجَهُّمُ

    Smiling at his petitioners on the day of giving,

    out of generosity, though the face of time is grim.

  57. يَغشى الطِعانَ فَلا يُراعُ جَنانُهُ

    وَيَجودُ بِالدُنيا فَلا يَتَنَدَّمُ

    He enters the clash of spears, his heart unafraid,

    and gives away the world without regret.

  58. تُسدي الصَنائِعَ كَفُّهُ وَتَشِبُّ ن

    يرانُ الوَقائِعِ فَهوَ مُسدٍ مُلحِمُ

    His hand bestows favors; blazing are the

    fires of battle: he is a benefactor and a maker of war.

  59. يا اِبنَ الأَئِمَّةِ وَالهُداةِ وَمَن إِلى

    أَحسابِهِم يُنمى الحَطيمُ وَزَمزَمُ

    O son of Imams and guides, and of those to

    whose noble lineages al-Hatim and Zamzam are traced,

  60. ما عُدَّ مَجدٌ أَوَّلٌ مُتَقادِمٌ

    إِلّا وَمَجدُهُمُ المُؤَثَّلُ أَقدَمُ

    No ancient, long-established glory is ever counted

    but their firmly rooted glory is older.

  61. آلُ الرِسالَةِ بِالصَلَوةِ عَلَيهِمُ

    وَالحَمدِ يُفتَتَحُ الصَلَوَةُ وَتُختَمُ

    The family of the Message: with blessings upon them

    and praise, prayer is begun and ended.

  62. قَومٌ عَلى أَبياتِهِم تَتَنَزَّلُ ال

    أَملاكُ وَالمَبعوثُ أَحمَدُ مِنهُمُ

    A people upon whose houses descend the

    angels; the envoy Ahmad is of their number.

  63. بَوَلائِهِم يُعطى الوَسيلَةَ مُؤمِنٌ

    وَبِحُبِّهِم يَرجو الشَفاعَةَ مُجرِمُ

    Through allegiance to them a believer receives the means of approach,

    and through loving them a sinner hopes for intercession.

  64. وَبِهَديِهِم عُرِفَ الضَلالُ مِنَ الهُدى

    وَبِفَضلِهِم نَزَلَ الكِتابُ المُحكَمُ

    Their guidance distinguished error from right guidance,

    and through their excellence the firmly established Book came down.

  65. مِن نورِ أَوجُهِهِم إِذا مَرّوا بِها

    يَومَ القِيامَةِ تَستَعيذُ جَهَنَّمُ

    From the light of their faces, when they pass by it

    on Resurrection Day, Hell seeks refuge.

  66. بِكَ يا أَبا العَبّاسِ أَحمَدَ أَحمَدَ ال

    زَمَنُ المُسيءُ وَإِنَّهُ لَمُذَمَّمُ

    Through you, O Abu al-Abbas Ahmad, praiseworthy has become the

    ill-doing age, though it is indeed much condemned.

  67. فَاِسلَم أَميرَ المُؤمِنينَ فَإِنَّنا

    بِكَ ما سَلِمتَ مِنَ المَخاوِفِ نَسلَمُ

    Remain safe, Commander of the Faithful, for we

    through you, so long as you remain safe, are safe from fears.

  68. وَاِنصِت لَها حَضَرِيَّةً بَدَوِيَّةَ ال

    أَنسابِ لَم يُفتَح بِشَرواها فَمُ

    And listen to it: urbane, yet Bedouin in its

    lineage; no mouth has opened with its like.

  69. ما جاوَزَت زَيفَ العِراقِ وَإِنَّها

    بِلِسانِ حاضِرِ طَيِّءٍ تَتَكَلَّمُ

    It has not gone beyond Iraq's false coin, yet

    it speaks in the tongue of the settled folk of Tayy.

  70. مِدَحاً غَدَت لِسَماءِ مَجدِكَ أَنجُماً

    فَبِها شَياطينُ العَداوَةِ تُرجَمُ

    Praises that have become stars in the sky of your glory,

    with which the devils of enmity are pelted.

  71. عُرباً فِصاحاً يَستَعيرُ فَطانَةً

    وَفَصاحَةً مِنها البَليدُ الأَعجَمُ

    Eloquent Arabic verses: wit is borrowed

    and eloquence from them by the dull, inarticulate man.

  72. تُروى فَتُحدِثُ في المَعاطِفِ نَشوَةً

    فَمُديرُها طَرَباً بِها يَتَرَنَّمُ

    They are recited, stirring intoxication in the limbs,

    so their cupbearer sings in delight at them.

  73. خَلَطَ الحَماسَةَ بِالنَسيبِ فَقُل لَهُ

    أَسلافُ خَمرٍ في كُؤوسِكَ أَم دَمُ

    He mixed heroic verse with love poetry; ask him:

    Are these wine's pure first pressings in your cups, or blood?

  74. لَم يَمدَحِ الخُلَفاءَ قَبلُ بِمِثلِها

    فيما رَوَيناهُ الوَلَيدِ وَمُسلِمُ

    No caliphs were praised before with their like,

    in what we have transmitted, by al-Walid or Muslim.

  75. أُشجي بِها الحَكَمِيَّ لَو حاكَمتُهُ

    لَكِن تَعَذَّرَ بَينَنا مَن يَحكُمُ

    I would distress al-Hakami with them, were I to contest with him,

    but someone to judge between us could not be found.

  76. خَدَمُ تَزورُكَ في المَواسِمِ لا خَلا

    مِنها وَلا مِن ظِلِّ مُلكِكَ مَوسِمُ

    Servants visiting you at the festivals—may no

    festival lack them or the shade of your kingship.