1. يا عليّ العلا ابن قاسمٍ القا

    سم في طالبي النوال نوالَهْ

    O ʿAlī of lofty glory, son of Qāsim, the dispenser

    of his bounty among those who seek bounty;

  2. وابن مارمَّة الذي يَضرِبُ المج

    دُ به أو بمثلِه أمثالَهْ

    And son of Māramma, through whom glory

    sets forth its examples—or through one like him;

  3. والذي أضحتِ المروءةُ والخي

    رُ حليفيْهِ والحقوقُ عيالَهْ

    And he for whom honorable conduct and goodness

    have become allies, and rightful claims his dependents;

  4. والذي بذلُه بغيرِ ابتذالٍ

    والذي طَوْلُه بغير استطالهْ

    And he whose giving is without debasement;

    And he whose bounty is without arrogance;

  5. والذ لم يرثْ كريم المساعي

    والعلا وابتناءها عن كَلالهْ

    And he who did not inherit noble endeavors

    and lofty glory and its building from collateral kin;

  6. والذي يأمن المِطَال مرجِّي

    ه ولا يأمنُ المجاري مطالهْ

    And he whose hopeful petitioner fears no delay,

    but whose rival fears being outstripped by him;

  7. والذي لا يزالُ كلُّ حكيمٍ

    راشدِ الأمرِ يستعين مثالهْ

    And he whom every wise man

    of sound judgment ever looks to as his model;

  8. ما ترى في اصطناع حرٍّ شكور

    قد أراه الرجاءُ مالَكَ مالَهْ

    What do you think of taking a grateful freeborn man under your patronage,

    whom hope has shown your wealth to be his own?

  9. ساقهُ نحوك الزمانُ وقادت

    ه أفاعيلُ كفّك الفعَّالهْ

    Time drove him toward you, and he was led

    by the deeds of your ever-active hand;

  10. وعلى ظهره من الدَّيْن ثِقْلٌ

    يرتجى أن تحطَّهُ لا محالَهْ

    Upon his back is a burden of debt,

    which he hopes you will lift without fail;

  11. واعتقادُ الرجاءِ يوجبُ حقاً

    عند من هذّب الإلهُ خصالهْ

    And harboring hope confers a claim

    upon one whose qualities God has refined;

  12. ومعي ذاك والمودةُ والشك

    رُ ضميراً مجمجماً ومقالهْ

    And I have that, and affection and gratitude,

    in murmured inward feeling and spoken words;

  13. وشهدي على رجائك أنْ لم

    أتوسل وأنْ تركتُ الإطالهْ

    And proof of my hope in you is that I have not

    sought intercession, and have avoided lengthy speech;

  14. وإذا المستقِي دنا مستقاه

    فحقيقٌ أن لا يطيلَ حبالهْ

    And when the water-drawer's source lies near,

    it is fitting that he should not lengthen his ropes;

  15. وكفاني من الوسائل أخلا

    قُك يا أيّها القريبُ المنالهْ

    And your character is all the intercession I need,

    O you whose favor is within easy reach;

  16. فأدِلني على الزمانِ فما زل

    تَ على صرِفه كريمَ الإدالهْ

    So give me victory over Time, for you have always

    been generous in granting triumph over its reversals;

  17. وأجِرني من أن يقولَ حسودٌ

    خابَ أو أن يقولَ لي أولى لهْ

    And protect me from an envious man's saying,

    ‘He has failed,’ or saying to me, ‘Woe to him!’

  18. فلأَنت الذي إذا أمَّه الآ

    ملُ عُدَّتْ آمالُه أموالَهْ

    For you are the one: when a hopeful seeker turns to you,

    his hopes are counted as his wealth;

  19. والذي يشتري الثناء فَيُغْلي

    حين لا يسأل النجار الإقالهْ

    And he who buys praise, paying dearly,

    while his inborn nature seeks no undoing of the bargain;

  20. لك مني جمَّ البديهة بالشك

    رِ على الحادثات باقي العُلالهْ

    In me you have one rich in spontaneous gratitude,

    with reserves that endure despite life's calamities;

  21. وقليلُ الخلافِ يصلح إن شئ

    تَ جليساً ويرتضَى للوكالهْ

    and little given to disagreement, fit, if you wish,

    to be a companion, and acceptable as an agent;

  22. إن تجالسْهُ فالدماثة منه

    أو توكِّله تَبْلُ منه جزالهْ

    If you keep his company, you find gentleness in him;

    or appoint him your agent, you will discover sound judgment in him;

  23. مستقلٌّ متى عبأْتَ عليه

    عبءَ دهرٍ لم تذممِ استقلالهْ

    A capable bearer: whenever you load upon him

    an age's burden, you will not fault his bearing it;

  24. فيه أشياءُ لا يدعنَ ملولاً

    يتجنّى عليه ذنبَ الملالهْ

    He has qualities that allow no easily bored man

    to falsely charge him with the fault of tediousness;

  25. فاختبرْه في الحالتين جميعاً

    تجدِ الجدَّ عنده والبطالهْ

    So put him to the test in both conditions:

    you will find in him earnestness and leisure;

  26. واعتقلْه فإنه أيها السيْ

    يِدُ إن بُرْتَه أطلْتَ اعتقالهْ

    And bind him to you, for, O master,

    if you test him, you will keep him bound for long;

  27. وعزيزٌ عليَّ مَدْحِيَ نفسي

    غير أني جُشِّمتُه للدلالهْ

    And it is hard for me to praise myself,

    but I have been burdened with it to make my worth known;

  28. وهْو عيبٌ يكادُ يسقط فيه

    كلُّ حرٍّ يريدُ إظهارَ آلَهْ

    And it is a fault into which nearly falls

    every freeborn man wishing to show his abilities;

  29. واعتسافي العيوبَ حرصاً على قر

    بك حقٌّ إنْ لم ترد إبطالهْ

    And my plunging into faults, eager for closeness

    to you, is justified—unless you wish to annul it;

  30. يا محبَّ الجمالِ ليس جميلاً

    بجميلٍ ألّا يريك جمالهْ

    O lover of beauty, it is not becoming

    for a beautiful man not to show you his beauty;

  31. وإذا المرء لم يلوح بما في

    ه تخطاه رائدٌ بجهالهْ

    And when a man does not reveal what is in

    him, a scout passes him by in ignorance.