1. إسْألِ الأرْسُمَ لو ردَّت جوابا

    وَوَعَتْ للمغرَم العاني خطابا

    Ask the ruined traces, if they could give an answer,

    and heed the words of the anguished lover.

  2. عَرصاتٌ يَقِفُ الصبّ بها

    ينفدُ الدَّمع ذهاباً وإيابا

    Courtyards where the lovesick one stands,

    his tears running dry as he comes and goes.

  3. عاتب الدهر على إقوائها

    إنَّ للحرّ مع الدهر عتابا

    Reproach Time for leaving them desolate;

    a noble soul has cause to reproach Time.

  4. ما رعت فيها الليالي ذمّةً

    وكستها من دياجيها نقابا

    The nights honored no covenant there,

    and clothed them in a veil of their darkness.

  5. فسقتها عبرة مهراقة

    كالسحاب الجون سحاً وانسكابا

    So a tear, freely poured, watered them,

    like dark clouds, streaming and spilling.

  6. كلَّما أسبلها مُسبِلُها

    روت الأغوار منها والهضابا

    Whenever its shedder let it flow,

    it watered their hollows and their hills.

  7. لا قضت عيناي فيها واجباً

    إن تكن عيناي تستجدي السحابا

    My eyes have not fulfilled their duty toward them,

    if my eyes must beg the clouds for rain.

  8. وقف الركب على أفنائها

    وقفة الأميّ يستقري الكتابا

    The caravan halted at their courtyards,

    with the pause of an unlettered man trying to read a book.

  9. منكراً من أرسُمٍ معرفة

    لبست للبين حزناً واكتئابا

    Finding strange the once-familiar traces

    that had donned sorrow and dejection at parting.

  10. لأريننَّكُما وَجدي بها

    ما أرَتْني الدار إلاَّ ما أرابا

    I shall surely show you both my anguish for them;

    the dwelling showed me only what stirred unease.

  11. ليت شعري هذه أطلالهم

    أيّ رامٍ قد رماها فأصابا

    Would that I knew—these are their ruins—

    which archer shot at them and struck home?

  12. وبكتها البُدن لكن بدم

    فحسبنا أدمع البدن خضابا

    The stout camels wept for them, but with blood,

    so we took the camels' tears for dye.

  13. وردت منهلها مستعذباً

    وأراها بُدِّلَتْ منه عذابا

    I came to their watering place, finding its water sweet,

    yet I see it changed from that into torment.

  14. أينَ منها أوجهٌ مشرقة

    ملكت من كامل الحسن نصابا

    Where are the radiant faces once found there,

    that possessed a full share of perfect beauty?

  15. ولكم كانَ لنا من قمرٍ

    في مغاني ذلك الربع فغابا

    How many a moon was ours

    in the haunts of that dwelling, only to vanish!

  16. وأويقات سرور جمعت

    لذة الكأس وسلمى والربابا

    And brief moments of joy that brought together

    the pleasure of the cup, Salma, and al-Rabab!

  17. زمن ما إن ذكرناه لِمَنْ

    فاته عهد الصّبا ألا تصابى

    An age we never recalled to anyone

    whose youth had passed without his acting young again.

  18. ظنَّ أن أسلوكم اللاّحي بكم

    كذب الظنّ من اللاّحي وخابا

    My reproacher, blaming me for you, thought I would forget you;

    the reproacher's expectation proved false and failed.

  19. وتَصامَمْتُ عن العاذل إذ

    قال لي صبراً وما قال صوابا

    I feigned deafness to the censor when

    he told me, "Be patient," but did not speak rightly.

  20. ما عليكم لو دَنَوْتُم من شجٍ

    في هواكم دنفٍ شبّ وشابا

    What harm to you if you drew near a grief-stricken man,

    ailing in love for you, who grew to youth and then grew gray?

  21. أنا أغنى النَّاس إلاَّ عنكمُ

    فامنحوا النأي دنوًّا واقترابا

    I am the most self-sufficient of people, except in my need for you;

    so grant separation nearness and closeness.

  22. ما رجائي أملاً من فئة

    زجر الحظ بهم منهم غرابا

    What hope can I place in a band

    for whom Fortune read omens in a raven from their own ranks?

  23. كيف أستمطرُ جدوى سحبٍ

    عقدوها بالمواعيد ضبابا

    How can I ask bounty to rain from clouds

    that they have woven with promises into mist?

  24. أوَيُغريني وميضٌ خُلَّبٌ

    وشراب لم يكن إلاَّ سرابا

    Can a rainless lightning flash entice me,

    and a drink that was nothing but a mirage?

  25. ما عرفت النَّاس إلاَّ بعدما

    ذقت من أعوادهم شهداً وصابا

    I did not know people until

    I tasted honey and bitter sap from their branches.

  26. إنْ تعالَتْ في المعالي سادة

    فعليُّ القدر أعلاها جنابا

    If lords rise high in noble attainments,

    the exalted in rank stands highest among them in honor.

  27. سيّد يطلع كالبدر ومن

    فكره يوقِد بالرأي شهابا

    A lord who rises like the full moon, and from

    his thought kindles a shooting star through sound judgment.

  28. أريحيٌّ لم يزل متخذاً

    دأبَ المعروف والإحسان دابا

    Generous-hearted, he has always made

    the practice of kindness and beneficence his habit.

  29. ويثيب النَّاس جوداً وندىً

    وهو لا يرجو من النَّاس ثوابا

    He rewards people with bounty and generosity,

    while he seeks no reward from people.

  30. فإذا استُسقِيَ وافى غيثه

    ومتى يدعو إلى الحسنى أجابا

    When rain is sought from him, his downpour arrives,

    and whenever someone calls to goodness, he answers.

  31. فإذا ما سمع الذكر اتّقى

    وإذا ما ذُكر الله أنابا

    Whenever he hears the Reminder, he fears God,

    and whenever God is mentioned, he turns to Him in repentance.

  32. من عرانين علىً قد نزلوا

    من بيوت المجد أفناءً رحابا

    He is of those foremost in nobility, who have settled

    in spacious courtyards of the houses of glory.

  33. ما بهم عيب خلا أنَّهم

    يَجِدون البخل والإمساك عابا

    They have no fault, except that

    they deem stinginess and withholding a fault.

  34. غرست أيديهم غرس الندى

    فاجتنب من ثمر الشكر لبابا

    Their hands planted the planting of generosity;

    so avoid the choicest fruits of gratitude.

  35. سحبت ذيل افتخار أمةٌ

    لبسوا التقوى بروداً وثيابا

    A people trailed the train of pride,

    wearing piety as mantles and garments.

  36. وأعدُّوا للعلى سمر القنا

    والرقاق البيض والخيل العرابا

    And they readied brown spear-shafts for glory,

    and slender white swords and purebred Arab horses.

  37. ينزل الوحيُ على أبياتهم

    فاسأل الآيات عنهم والكتابا

    Revelation descends upon their houses;

    so ask the verses and the Book about them.

  38. عروة الوثقى ومنهاجِ الهدى

    كشفوا عن أوجهِ الحقّ حجابا

    The firmest handhold and the path of guidance,

    they drew a veil from the faces of truth.

  39. إنَّ هذا فرعُهم من أصلهم

    طاب ذاك العنصر الزاكي فطابا

    Indeed, this man is their branch, sprung from their root;

    that pure stock was good, and so was he.

  40. هاشميٌّ علويٌّ ضاربٌ

    في أعالي قُلل الفخر قبابا

    A Hashimite, an Alid, who pitches

    tents on glory's highest peaks.

  41. ضاحكُ الثَّغر إذا ما خُطَبٌ

    كَشَّرتْ عن مُدْلَهمِّ الخطب نابا

    His mouth smiles when calamities

    bare a fang of blackest misfortune.

  42. قد تأمَّلناك من بين الورى

    فرأينا عَجَباً منك عجابا

    We have contemplated you among all mankind,

    and seen in you a most wondrous marvel.

  43. يا مهاب البأس مرجوّ الندى

    لا تزال الدهر مرجوًّا مهابا

    O you whose might is feared, whose bounty is hoped for,

    may you forever inspire hope and awe.

  44. طوَّقَتني منك أيديك وما

    طوَّقَتْ إلاَّ أياديك الرقابا

    Your own hands have encircled my neck, and

    only your favors have encircled necks.

  45. وأرَتْني كيف ينثال الغنى

    والغنى أعيا على النَّاس طلابا

    They showed me how wealth pours forth,

    though the pursuit of wealth has wearied people.

  46. كلّما أغلق بابي دونه

    فتحت لي يدك البيضاء بابا

    Whenever my door was shut against it,

    your white hand opened a door for me.

  47. أرْخَصَتْ لي كلَّ غالٍ فكأنْ

    وَجَدتْ في جودها التبر ترابا

    It made every costly thing cheap for me, as though

    in its generosity it found raw gold to be dust.

  48. فاهن بالعيد وفُز في آجر ما

    صُمْتَه لله أجراً وثوابا

    So rejoice at the feast, and win, at the close of what

    you fasted for God, recompense and reward.

  49. فجزاك الله عنّا خيره

    وجزَيْناك الدعاءَ المستجابا

    May God reward you on our behalf with His goodness,

    and we have repaid you with prayers that are answered.