ربّ عيشٍ نصبت كأس مدامِهْ

ربّ عيشٍ نصبت كأس مدامِهْ

ومليحٍ ضممت غصن قوامِهْ

ومليحٍ ضممت غصن قوامِهْ

Many a pleasure whose wine-cup I set out,

The chieftain set up a cup of wine

and many a beauty whose branchlike form I embraced.

And adorned a slender branch as its stand

تائه أقنع الهلال افتخاراً

تائه أقنع الهلال افتخاراً

أنه قد غدى مثال لثامه

أنه قد غدى مثال لثامه

Haughty, he persuaded the crescent to take pride

The crescent moon pretends arrogantly

in having become the likeness of his veil.

That it has become like the veil on his cheek

عربيّ إلى كنانة معزا

عربيّ إلى كنانة معزا

هُ ولكن لحاظه من سهامه

هُ ولكن لحاظه من سهامه

An Arab, his lineage traced to Kinānah,

An Arab going to the beloved Kannana

yet his glances are among his arrows.

His glances are like arrows from his bow

ضائع العين كلّ سهران فيه

ضائع العين كلّ سهران فيه

ضيعة القاف في حروف كلامه

ضيعة القاف في حروف كلامه

Everyone sleepless for him has lost his eye,

With eyes lost, every insomniac in it

as qāf is lost among the letters of his speech.

The loss of reason in the letters of his speech

هبّ في جامه كخمرةِ فيهِ

هبّ في جامه كخمرةِ فيهِ

وسقاني فوهُ كخمرة جامِه

وسقاني فوهُ كخمرة جامِه

He stirred in his goblet like the wine of his mouth,

It bubbles in his cup like a flask in it

and his mouth gave me drink like the wine of his goblet.

Serve me so its mouth is like the lip of his cup

وجفاني بعد اللقاء فيا نا

وجفاني بعد اللقاء فيا نا

ر فؤاد المحب بعد سلامه

ر فؤاد المحب بعد سلامه

And he shunned me after our meeting—O fire

And he left me after the meeting, so O the one who lit

of the lover's heart, after its peace!

The heart of the lover after his peace

ويح صبّ يخفي بكمّيه دمعاً

ويح صبّ يخفي بكمّيه دمعاً

وهو كالزهر لاح في أكمامه

وهو كالزهر لاح في أكمامه

Alas for a lovesick man hiding tears in his two sleeves,

Alas he pours, hiding with his sleeves a tear

while they shine like flowers in their calyxes.

While it shone like a flower in his sleeves

سحرته العيون سحر ابن محمو

سحرته العيون سحر ابن محمو

د بنفث البيان من أقلامه

د بنفث البيان من أقلامه

Eyes bewitched him as Ibn Maḥmūd does,

Eyes enchanted him, the enchantment of the son of Muhammed

with eloquence breathed forth from his pens.

With the eloquence flowing from his pen

الرئيس الذي به غنيَ النا

الرئيس الذي به غنيَ النا

س عن الغيث وارتقاء غمامه

س عن الغيث وارتقاء غمامه

The chief through whom people have no need

The president with whom people became needless

of rain or the rising of its clouds.

Of rain and the rising of clouds

وثقوا أن غدوا ضيوفاً لإبرا

وثقوا أن غدوا ضيوفاً لإبرا

هيمَ أن النجاح حول مقامهْ

هيمَ أن النجاح حول مقامهْ

Having become Ibrāhīm's guests, they were certain

Be certain that tomorrow they will be guests of Ibrahim

that success lay all around his dwelling.

Success is around his abode

لم يقيسوا الحيا بجدواه لكن

لم يقيسوا الحيا بجدواه لكن

بشروه من الحيا بغلامهْ

بشروه من الحيا بغلامهْ

They did not compare rain with his bounty, but

They did not measure life by its essence but

brought him glad tidings of the rain as his son.

Gave him good tidings of life with a boy

أكمل العالمين فضلاً فما نس

أكمل العالمين فضلاً فما نس

أل ربَّ العباد غير دوامه

أل ربَّ العباد غير دوامه

Of all mankind, the most perfect in excellence; we do not

The most perfect of both worlds in virtue, so he did not forget

ask the Lord of His servants for anything but his continued life.

The Lord of creation other than His permanence

أيّ حرّ لو لم تفضّل ذووه

أيّ حرّ لو لم تفضّل ذووه

لكفتْه في الفضل نفس عصامهْ

لكفتْه في الفضل نفس عصامهْ

What a noble man! Had his kin not been distinguished,

What free man, had He not granted precedence to his partisans

his own ʿIṣām-like soul would have sufficed him for distinction.

His own self would have sufficed him in virtue

وجوادٍ لو لم يعمّ سخاه

وجوادٍ لو لم يعمّ سخاه

لحبا من صلاته وصيامه

لحبا من صلاته وصيامه

And a generous man: had his bounty not embraced all,

And a generous one, had he not made his generosity universal

he would give even of his prayer and fasting.

For the love of his prayers and fasting

وبليغ لو قام أهل المعاني

وبليغ لو قام أهل المعاني

قال أسنى من قولهم في منامهْ

قال أسنى من قولهم في منامهْ

And an eloquent man: were the masters of rhetoric to rise,

And an eloquent one, had the people of meanings stood up

he would speak more splendidly than they, even in his sleep.

Would have said better than their words even in sleep

فاض فيض الغمام في الجود لا قص

فاض فيض الغمام في الجود لا قص

د مديح الغنى ولا خوف ذامّهْ

د مديح الغنى ولا خوف ذامّهْ

He overflowed like clouds in bounty, not seeking

The outpouring of the clouds in generosity without intending

praise for wealth, nor fearing his detractor.

Praise of wealth nor fear of blame

وحمى الدين إذ سما فله الفض

وحمى الدين إذ سما فله الفض

ل على كلّ سامِ دهرِ وحامه

ل على كلّ سامِ دهرِ وحامه

And he guarded the faith as he rose; thus his is the preeminence

And He protected religion when it was sublime so for Him is virtue

over all the age's lofty men and its defenders.

Over every pillar of time and its protector

ما روى الناس في التواريخ قدماً

ما روى الناس في التواريخ قدماً

ما روَوْا للسّماح في أيامهْ

ما روَوْا للسّماح في أيامهْ

People never recounted in chronicles of old

What people related in history of old

what they recounted of generosity in his days.

They related to benevolence in his days

عدّ بالخنصر المقدم إذ أو

عدّ بالخنصر المقدم إذ أو

ضح وجه البيان من إبهامه

ضح وجه البيان من إبهامه

He was counted first on the little finger, when he

Consider him the first pick when eloquence

made the face of eloquence clear of its obscurity.

Clarified the face of rhetoric from its ambiguity

ودَرى المدح عجزه عنه لكن

ودَرى المدح عجزه عنه لكن

خاف عنه الكتمان من آثامه

خاف عنه الكتمان من آثامه

And praise knew its inability to do him justice, yet

And praise saw its incapacity from it but

feared silence about him as one of its sins.

Feared silence from its sins

يا رئيساً نرجو به أدب الدّه

يا رئيساً نرجو به أدب الدّه

ر لأنَّا نراه من خُدَّامهْ

ر لأنَّا نراه من خُدَّامهْ

O chief, through whom we hope for Time's courtesy,

O president we hope through him the morals of time

for we see it among his servants.

For we see him from its servants

دم هنيئاً بألف صومٍ وفطرٍ

دم هنيئاً بألف صومٍ وفطرٍ

مسعد في اقتباله وانصرامهْ

مسعد في اقتباله وانصرامهْ

May you live happily through a thousand fasts and feasts,

Congratulations in thousands of fasting and feasts

blessed at their coming and their passing.

Felicitous in its approach and departure

من غدا طاهراً كطهرك فينا

من غدا طاهراً كطهرك فينا

كانَ كلّ الشهور شهر صيامهْ

كانَ كلّ الشهور شهر صيامهْ

For anyone among us who becomes as pure as you,

Whoever becomes pure like your purity in us

every month is his month of fasting.

Every month will be like his month of fasting

أو غدا جائداً كجودك فينا

أو غدا جائداً كجودك فينا

كانَ كل الأوقات أعياد عامهْ

كانَ كل الأوقات أعياد عامهْ

Or for one who becomes as generous as you among us,

Or becomes generous like your generosity in us

every moment is a festival day in his year.

Every time will be like the holidays of his year

فاز حرٌّ أمسيت مغزَى رجاه

فاز حرٌّ أمسيت مغزَى رجاه

وزمان أصبحت صدر منامهْ

وزمان أصبحت صدر منامهْ

Fortunate is the noble man whose hopes have found their goal in you,

A free man has won whom you were the goal of his hopes

and the age in whose dream you have taken foremost place.

And a time that became the chest of his sleep