لا يَضِقْ مَنْ صدرُهُ حَرجٌ

لا يَضِقْ مَنْ صدرُهُ حَرجٌ

شَيْخُنَا الشَّعْبِيُّ شارِحُهُ

شَيْخُنَا الشَّعْبِيُّ شارِحُهُ

Let no one whose breast is constricted be distressed;

Let no one with a burdened heart feel distress,

Our shaykh al-Shaʿbī opens it wide.

For our Sheikh Al-Sha'bi is the one who relieves it.

إِنَّما أخلاقُهُ زَهَرٌ

إِنَّما أخلاقُهُ زَهَرٌ

عطَّر الآفَاقَ فائِحُهُ

عطَّر الآفَاقَ فائِحُهُ

His virtues are nothing but blossoms;

Indeed, his character is a blossoming flower,

Their wafting fragrance perfumed the horizons.

Whose fragrance has perfumed the horizons.

إِنَّما أقلامُهُ أَسَلٌ

إِنَّما أقلامُهُ أَسَلٌ

هابَهَا في الجَوِّ رَامِحُهُ

هابَهَا في الجَوِّ رَامِحُهُ

His pens are nothing but spears;

Indeed, his pens are sharp spears,

The sky's lancer feared them.

Dreaded by the lancer in the heat of battle.

قَبِلَ الشَّعْبِيُّ حينَ دعا

قَبِلَ الشَّعْبِيُّ حينَ دعا

فكبا بالليثِ سابِحُهُ

فكبا بالليثِ سابِحُهُ

Al-Shaʿbī accepted when he called;

Al-Sha'bi advanced when he was summoned,

So his charger stumbled with the lion—

And the steed stumbled beneath the lion.

بِتَميمٍ حينَ حانَ بهِ ال

بِتَميمٍ حينَ حانَ بهِ ال

حَيْنُ وانقَادَتْ جَوامِحُهُ

حَيْنُ وانقَادَتْ جَوامِحُهُ

with Tamīm, when there came upon him the

With Tamim, when his fated doom

doom, and his headstrong steeds submitted.

Descended, and his unruly forces were tamed.

ضَعُفتْ منه القُوَى فَغَدَتْ

ضَعُفتْ منه القُوَى فَغَدَتْ

مِن قَوارِير قَوَارِحُهُ

مِن قَوارِير قَوَارِحُهُ

His strength weakened, and they became

His powers faltered, so that his biting strength

made of glass—his full-grown chargers.

Became as fragile as glass vessels.

واِنجلَتْ عن حُسْنِ مالِقَةٍ

واِنجلَتْ عن حُسْنِ مالِقَةٍ

بِفَقِيهيها قَبائِحُهُ

بِفَقِيهيها قَبائِحُهُ

And from Málaga's beauty vanished,

And the ugliness was lifted from the beauty of Malaga,

through her two jurists, his foul deeds.

By the virtue of its two jurists.

وصَفا البحرانِ من كَدرٍ

وصَفا البحرانِ من كَدرٍ

فاِرتوَى بالماءِ مائِحُهُ

فاِرتوَى بالماءِ مائِحُهُ

And the two seas grew clear of murk;

And the two seas cleared of all turbidity,

So its water-drawer drank his fill of water.

So the water-drawer drank his fill.

ذِكْرُهُ غَنَّى الزَّمانُ به

ذِكْرُهُ غَنَّى الزَّمانُ به

وأنا فيهِ أُطارِحُهُ

وأنا فيهِ أُطارِحُهُ

Time sang of his renown,

His renown is a melody that Time has sung,

And I exchange verses with it about him.

And I, in turn, exchange the song with him.