1. وصامِتِ الجوّ بَعيدِ الفَرْقَدِ

    مُشْتَبِهِ الأعلامِ جَهْمِ المَشهدِ

    And a silent-skied waste, with Farqad far away,

    Its landmarks indistinguishable, its prospect grim,

  2. مَرْتِ الرُبَا عاري العَرَاء فَدْفَدِ

    يحارُ فيه كلُّ هادٍ مُهْتد

    Its heights barren, its open ground bare—a vast wilderness.

    Every guide who knows the way is bewildered there.

  3. صَلْدِ السَّبَارِيتِ صَلِيبِ الجلْمَدِ

    يُمْرِضُ فيه الريحَ بُعْدُ المقصِد

    Its barren expanses hard, its rock solid,

    The distance to its destination sickens even the wind.

  4. ليس به غيرُ الظلام الأسودِ

    يظلُّ فيه الركبُ هيمانَ صدِ

    There is nothing in it but black darkness.

    The caravan spends the day there, thirst-maddened and parched.

  5. قَطَعتهُ يقظانَ لم أستنجد

    إلا بِمتْن الصارم المهنَّد

    I crossed it wakeful, seeking no help

    Except from the blade of a keen Indian sword,

  6. والليلُ مضروب الرُّواق الأَرْبَد

    على قَلْوقِ الرحل مَوَّارِ اليدِ

    While night's dusky pavilion was pitched,

    On a saddle-rocking mount with surging forelegs,

  7. عَوْدٍ جَدِيليّ صريح المَحتِدِ

    كأنني منه على خَفَيددِ

    An old Jadili camel, pure of lineage,

    As though upon it I were riding a male ostrich.

  8. وكلّ هِرْجابٍ أَمُونٍ أجُدِ

    لو سُلِعت في النار لم تَبَلَّد

    And every long-bodied, trusty, sturdy she-camel,

    Even cast into fire, would not falter;

  9. ولو سَرَتْ ما بقِيَتْ لم تُجْهَدِ

    من المراسيل العِتَاق الوُخَّد

    Even traveling all her remaining life, she would not tire.

    One of the fleet, high-bred, quick-striding camels,

  10. الشَدْقميّات العِرَابِ الشُرَّد

    مَهْرِيَّة النِسْبة لم تفنَّد

    Broad-mouthed, purebred Arabian, wild-ranging,

    Mahri in lineage, never impugned.

  11. لها على الإرقالِ والتمرُّد

    عَزُّ الموالي واحتمالُ الأعْبُد

    In swift trotting and defiance, she has

    The masters' pride and the slaves' endurance.

  12. تقول للَمْعزَاء لا تَبَّعدِي

    قَوْداء في السير ولم تُقَوّد

    She says to the stony ground, 'Do not grow distant!'

    Long-necked on the march, though never led,

  13. تُعِيد في إرقالها وتبتدي

    كأنها في جِنَّة لم تُجهَد

    She repeats her swift trot and begins anew,

    As though seized by madness, yet never wearied.

  14. تعطِيك ما اعتادت وما لم تعتدِ

    كأنها جاءت بأعلى ثَهْمَد

    She gives you what she is accustomed to, and what she is not.

    As though she brought Thahmad's summit with her,

  15. تسبَحُ في الآل إذا لم تُسْئِد

    والآلُ في رَقْراقِهِ الممدَّد

    She swims through the mirage when not traveling by night.

    And the mirage, in its outspread shimmer,

  16. كالماء في صَرْحٍ له ممرَّد

    يحسبه الغائب ما لم يَشهَد

    Is like water in a smoothly paved palace.

    One far off, before witnessing it, takes it for

  17. ماءَ خِضَمّ المَوْج طام مُزْبِدِ

    وآسِنِ الطعم قذِيِّ الموردِ

    Water with mighty waves, surging high and foaming.

    And water stale in taste, its drinking-place fouled with debris,

  18. مِلحٍ أُجاجٍ كدموع الأرمَدِ

    وردتُه تحت الظلام المُلْبِد

    Briny and bitter as tears from an inflamed eye,

    I reached beneath thick, enveloping darkness,

  19. والليلُ جونُ المِرْطِ أَحَوى الجسدَ

    قبل هبوبِ الطائرِ المغرِّد

    While night's mantle was black, its body dusky,

    Before the singing bird began to stir,

  20. حتى تَبَدّى الصبح ظهر المِبردِ

    والليل في مَغْرِبه لم ينفَد

    Until dawn appeared like the back of a file,

    While night was not yet spent in the west.

  21. كأنه كُحْل عيون الخُرَّد

    تخاله فوق الصباح المنجِد

    It was like kohl in the eyes of bashful maidens.

    You would think it, above the rising dawn,

  22. صُدْغين في خدّ غلامٍ أمردِ

    وأنجمُ الظلماءِ لم تَبَدّد

    Two sidelocks on a beardless boy's cheek.

    And the stars of darkness had not yet dispersed,

  23. كأنها لآلئٌ لم تُعْقَد

    سابحة في فَلَكٍ من عَسْجَدِ

    As though they were pearls not yet strung,

    Swimming in a celestial sphere of gold,

  24. وتارةً تَسْبَح في زُمُرُّد

    سَبْحَ المَدارِي في أَثيثٍ أجعد

    And at times swimming through emerald,

    As combs swim through thick, curly hair.

  25. كأنما شِعْراه إذا لم تَخْمُدِ

    جُمَانةٌ في كفّ عبدٍ أسود

    As though its Sirius, while still undimmed,

    Were a pearl in a black slave's palm.

  26. يا كاتِمَيْ سِرِّ المشوقِ المُكْمَد

    هل فيكما بالله لي من مُسْعِدِ

    O you two keepers of the grieving lover's secret,

    By God, is either of you a helper for me?

  27. إذا رمى الليلُ عيونَ السُّهَّدِ

    مِن نَشْوَتَيْ كلّ كَرىً بِمرْوَد

    When night touches the eyes of the sleepless

    With a kohl-stick steeped in every slumber's twin trances,

  28. كم زَورةٍ لي تحت ذاك المرقِد

    في حَيّ سهم بالظلام مُرْتَدِ

    How many a visit I made beneath that giver of sleep,

    In Sahm's quarter, cloaked in darkness,

  29. لا مستعينا بسَوى تجلُّدي

    أسرَى وأمضَى في الدُّجَى من فَرْقَد

    Seeking no aid beyond my fortitude,

    More night-roving and swifter through darkness than Farqad,

  30. حتى أبِيت بين غِيدٍ نُهَّد

    أرشُف شَهْداً كامِنا في بَرَد

    Until I spent the night among graceful, full-breasted maidens,

    Sipping honey hidden among hailstones,

  31. ملتزِماً هِيفَ الخصورِ المُيَّد

    ما أنتِ يا لَيْلي سوى غُصْنٍ ندِ

    Embracing swaying women of slender waist.

    You, O Layla, are nothing but a dewy bough,

  32. تميس في غُصْن نَقًى مُلَبَّد

    وقَمَرٍ فوق قضيبٍ أَملَدِ

    Swaying as a bough upon a firm-packed dune,

    And a moon above a smooth, supple stem.

  33. تَفْتَرُّ عن كاللؤلؤ المنضَّد

    صِيغ لها من عسلٍ مجمَّدِ

    Your lips part to reveal something like pearls in a row,

    Fashioned for her from frozen honey;

  34. فهُوَ متى هَمَّ بذوب يَبردِ

    الثلجُ لولا بَردُه لم يَجمُد

    Whenever it begins to melt, it grows cold.

    Snow would not freeze but for its cold.

  35. وفاتِر الطَرْف عليلِ الموعدِ

    أضعف من لحظِيَ بين العُوَّد

    And a languid-eyed beloved, frail in promise,

    Weaker than my gaze among my sickbed visitors,

  36. يقتل من يشا ولكن لا يدِي

    يجور في حكم الهوى ويعتدي

    Kills at will, yet pays no blood-money,

    Deals unjustly in love's judgment and transgresses.

  37. يا حبَّذا قَوْلتُها قَدْك أقصِد

    أذَبْتَنِي بالضمّ والتشدُّدِ

    How lovely her saying: 'Enough—be moderate!

    You have melted me with embraces and hard squeezing!

  38. يا شَرها من قُبَلِي ومن دَدِي

    يكفيكَ ما في الخدّ والمقلَّد

    O you greedy for my kisses and my play,

    What is on the cheek and neck is enough for you,

  39. وناهدٍ منتصبٍ مِلءْ اليدِ

    كتما كَحْسو الطائرِ المصرَّد

    And an upright breast that fills the hand,

    In secret, like the sips of a bird given scant water.'

  40. لم تر عين مثل هذا المشهدِ

    مستعبَدٌ يعبث بالمستعبِد

    No eye has seen the like of this scene:

    One enslaved toys with the enslaver.

  41. حتى إذا خِفتُ عيون الهُجَّد

    وانكدرت زُهْرُ النجومِ الوُقَّد

    Until, when I feared the eyes of the sleepers,

    And the bright, blazing stars grew dim,

  42. ولاح ضوءُ الفجر كالسيف الصدِي

    قامت تَهادَى كالغزال المفردَ

    And dawn's light appeared like a rusty sword,

    She rose, swaying gently like a solitary gazelle,

  43. تقول يا ليت الدُّجَى لم يُطْرَدِ

    وقد جرت أدمُعُها بالإثْمد

    Saying, 'Would that darkness were not driven away!'

    Her tears had flowed, carrying antimony,

  44. على نقاءِ خَدِّها المورِّد

    فهْيَ عليه كالعِذَار المبتدي

    Over the clear skin of her rosy cheek,

    Like newly sprouting sideburns upon it.

  45. وبارقٍ مثل الحريق المُوقَد

    أَرَّق عيْنَيَّ فلم أوَسَّدِ

    And lightning, like a kindled blaze,

    Kept my eyes awake, so I lay on no pillow,

  46. يُومِض في نِشاصِهِ المعمَّد

    كصفحَة السيف إذا لم يُغْمَدِ

    Flashing in its lofty, pillared cloud,

    Like the flat of a sword left unsheathed.

  47. مهما يَلُحْ في حَجْرتيه يرعُد

    طَوْع ندى الريح وسؤل الروَّدِ

    Whenever it gleams in the cloud's two flanks, thunder rolls,

    Answering the wind's moisture and the pasture-seekers' plea.

  48. كأنه في هَطْله المجوَّد

    كفُّ العزيزِ الملِك المؤيَّد

    As though, in its lavish downpour, it were

    The hand of al-Aziz, the divinely aided king,

  49. إذا اعتراه مُعْتَفٍ أو مُجْتَدِي

    يا عِصْمة الخائِف والمسترشِدِ

    When a petitioner or gift-seeker approaches him.

    O refuge of the fearful and those seeking guidance,

  50. وحُجَّةَ الله التي لَمْ تُرْدَدِ

    بعد النبيّ المصطفَى محمّدِ

    And God's proof, never rejected,

    After Muhammad, the chosen Prophet,

  51. دعا بك الملحِد كالموحِّدِ

    جرَّدت عزماً كان لم يُجَرَّد

    Heretic and monotheist alike have prayed through you.

    You unsheathed a resolve never before unsheathed,

  52. حتى عقدت دولة لم تُعْقَد

    قبلك يا بن الخُلفاء المُجَّد

    Until you established a dominion never established

    Before you, O son of illustrious caliphs.

  53. ففضلك الفضل الذي لم يُجْحَد

    شهِدْتُ والملعون لم يَشهد

    Your excellence is the excellence that none denies.

    I have borne witness, though the accursed one has not,

  54. بأنّك الطالب ثأْرَ أحمد

    وأنك الرائح فيه المغتدي

    That you seek vengeance for Ahmad,

    And go forth for it at evening and at dawn,

  55. وأنك الوارث كلّ السؤدد

    وأنك الواجد ما لم يوجَد

    And inherit all nobility,

    And find what has never been found.

  56. أعطاكَها الله فخذها وأحمد

    فالله يكفيك عيون الحسّد

    God gave it to you: take it and give praise.

    For God shields you from envious eyes.

  57. بالبيت حِلْفاً فالصفا فالمسجد

    ما شيَّد الدولةَ من مشيِّد

    I swear by the House, then al-Safa, then the Mosque:

    No builder has raised the dominion

  58. مِثْلُ العزيز الملِك المخلَّد

    شدّ من المُلْك عُراً لم تُشْدَد

    Like al-Aziz, the everlasting king.

    He bound ties of sovereignty never bound before.

  59. إني بأفعالك قِدْماً أًقْتدي

    ولم أَزَلْ أَهدِي بها وأهتدي

    Indeed, I have long followed your deeds,

    And still I guide by them and take guidance.

  60. هُنَاك شَهْرٌ طالع بالأسعد

    حتَّى دوامِ عِزّك المجدَّد

    There a month rises with the happiest omen,

    Unto the lasting continuance of your renewed glory.

  61. فصُمْه بالتقوى وبالتهجّد

    محتسِبا لله بالتعبّد

    So fast during it with piety and night prayer,

    Seeking God's reward through worship.

  62. فأنت فيه رُشْد من لم يرشُد

    ورِفْدُ مَنْ أكدى ولم يسترفِد

    In it you are guidance for those without guidance,

    And aid for one who has failed and asks for none,

  63. وعِيدُ من صلَّى ولم يعيِّد

    يا سبب النور الذي لم يخمد

    And a festival for one who prays but holds no festival.

    O source of light that never goes out,

  64. وحكمةَ الله التي لم تنفَدِ

    وشبْه داعِيه النبيّ الأحمدِ

    And God's wisdom, never exhausted,

    And the likeness of His summoner, the most-praised Prophet,

  65. أنت إمامٌ لي بلا تقيُّد

    لا هُمَّ فاشهدْ ثم لاهُمَّ اشهدِ

    You are my imam, without qualification.

    O God, bear witness; then, O God, bear witness:

  66. إن نِزاراً غايتي ومعقِدي

    أنا بريء مِن عِداك مفتد

    Truly Nizar is my goal and the bond of my allegiance.

    I disown your enemies, ready to ransom you.

  67. إن لم تكن ذي نيَّتي لم أسْعَدِ

    لولاك لم أَسْمُ ولم أُسَدَّد

    If this is not my intention, may I know no happiness.

    Without you I would neither rise nor be rightly guided.

  68. فابقَ لِرَعِيْ مُلْكك الممهَّد

    ممتَّعاً بعزّك المؤيَّد

    So live on to tend your firmly established kingdom,

    Enjoying your divinely upheld glory.