لنفسي هاد للعلا ودليل

وللعز مني صاحب وخليل

My soul has a guide to greatness and a leader,

And honor has in me a companion and a close friend.

ولي همة تعلو ذرى كل باسق

وتقصر عنها الشهب وهي تطول

And my ambition rises above the summits of all that towers,

And the shooting stars fall short of it as it rises higher.

وامضي ولي ماض من العزم مرهف

يرد غرار السيف وهو كليل

And I press on, with a keen blade of resolve, finely honed,

That turns back the sword's edge, leaving it blunt.

ولي ان اقم دار المقامة منزل

ولي ان اسر نهج العلاء سبيل

And if I stay, I have a home in the abode of permanence,

And if I journey, I have a road along the path of greatness.

عشقت فاعطيت المكارم والعلا

حشا ليس فيه للحسان غليل

I fell in love, and gave noble virtues and greatness

A heart with no thirst for beautiful women.

وما أنا من يصبو إلى الحسن وحده

إذا لم يكن عند الجميل جميل

And I am not one who yearns for beauty alone,

If the beautiful person has no goodness.

على انني لم اسل عمن عهدته

ولا كان لي ممن هويت بديل

Yet I have not forgotten the one I once knew,

Nor did I have a substitute for the one I loved.

فاني قبل العين حكمت في الهوى

ضميراً له رأي اغرّ اصيل

For, before the eye, I appointed as arbiter of love

A conscience whose judgment is radiant and sound.

وما حلت عن عهد كريم ومبدء

قويم واخلاق الزمان تحول

And I have not strayed from a noble pledge and a principle

Upright, though the morals of the age change.

وقلت لنفس بين جنبي مشيع

خذي أهبة الأيام فهي تدول

And I said to the soul within a dauntless man's breast:

Make ready for the days, for they bring changing fortunes.

دعاني للحفاظ المرّ دعوة واثق

فلبيته والمسعدون قليل

He summoned me to bitter defense of honor, with a confident call,

So I answered him, though helpers were few.

وجرّدت دون الشعب سيفي ومقولي

وكل رقيق الشفرتين صقيل

And I unsheathed my sword and my tongue in defense of the people,

And each is finely double-edged and polished.

لسان له يوم المقامة حجة

وسيف له يوم الكفاح صليل

A tongue with an argument on the day of assembly,

And a sword that rings on the day of combat.

ولست كمن لا يملك الفعل في ندى

ولا القول في ناد غداة يقول

And I am not like one who cannot perform deeds of generosity,

Nor command speech in an assembly when he speaks.

فاسعى لقومي وهو يسعى لنفسه

واسلك نهج الحق وهو يميل

So I strive for my people, while he strives for himself,

And I follow the path of truth, while he strays.

وليس سواء صادق ومخادع

وليس سواء عالم وجهول

And a truthful person and a deceiver are not equal,

Nor are a learned person and an ignorant one equal.

بقومي اسمو راقياً شرف العلى

واسطو بهم يوم الوغى واصول

Through my people I rise, ascending the heights of greatness,

And through them I strike on the day of battle and charge.

هم القوم اما عزهم فمشيد

تليد واما مجدهم فاثيل

They are the people: as for their honor, it is built high,

Ancestral; and as for their glory, it is deeply rooted.

شمائل كالروض الأريض تضوعت

بطيب شذاه شمأل وقبول

Their virtues are like a lush meadow; fragrant have grown

With its sweet scent the north wind and the east wind.

كرام يقيلون العثار وللردى

بظل عواليهم ذرى ومقيل

Noble men who pardon missteps; and death has

Shelter and a noonday resting place in the shade of their tall spears.