أقول لمطرب يحدو الجمالا

رعاك الله كم تصف الجمالا

I say to a singer urging the camels onward:

May God watch over you—how often you describe beauty!

مررت على الرياض منمنامت

فهل هيمت مذ شمت الغزالا

You passed by the richly patterned meadows;

were you lovestruck since you glimpsed the gazelle?

سكرت بنظرة جعلتك مضنى

اخا وله وعنك صبر زالا

You were intoxicated by a glance that left you languishing,

a companion of love-madness, with patience gone from you.

تثاقل ما استطعت وانت تدري

بخف العشق يا سعد الجبالا

Hold yourself steady as best you can, though you know

love makes mountains light, O Saʿd.

ورب مهيجة مني كواها

لهيب جوى واحجها اشتعالا

And many a stirring utterance of mine was seared

by anguish's flame, which fanned it into burning.

وعين لا يقر لها قرار

يرقرق جفنها الماء الزلالا

And an eye that can find no rest—

its eyelid makes limpid water ripple.

تراقب اثر ركبان تهادت

تكيل الارض مذ خفت ثقالا

It watches the trail of riders swaying onward,

measuring out the earth since they sped off, heavy-laden.

وأيام مع الاحباب مرت

لقد قصرت وخلناها طوالا

And days that passed among loved ones—

how short they were, though we thought them long!

وقد ولدت تفرقنا ليال

بامر فراقنا كانت حبالى

And nights gave birth to our separation,

pregnant with the decree of our parting.

يكلفني الزمان الصعب صبرا

وفي هذا يكلفني المحالا

Harsh time demands patience of me,

and in this it demands the impossible.

فلم اذكر او يقاتي بسلع

مع الاحباب الا الدمع سالا

I never recalled my moments at Salʿ

with loved ones without tears flowing.

ويا لهفي لقد امضيت عمري

عناء في المحبة او جدالا

Alas for me! I have spent my life

in love's suffering or in strife.

نحت في الليالي كل فج

ولم ادأ من التفريق بالا

I lamented through the nights in every mountain pass,

and my mind found no rest from separation.

وخلان حسبتهم رفاقا

فخانوا العهد وارتكبوا الوبالا

And friends whom I reckoned companions

betrayed the pledge and committed ruinous deeds.

وكنت اظن ملقتهم ودادا

فكانت كلها قيلا وقالا

I thought their flattery was affection,

but it was all mere talk and gossip.

واقبح ما تراه العين خل

يراوغ ثم يتبع الظلالا

The ugliest thing the eye sees is a friend

who dodges, then follows shadows.

وكم كلب عقور طاش جهلا

وقد سمى الهدى الاسنى ضلالا

How many a vicious dog has acted rashly in ignorance,

calling the most radiant guidance error!

ورام بزعمه قلب الثريا

ثرى والطود صيره خيالا

He sought, in his conceit, to turn the Pleiades

to dust, and made the towering mountain a phantom.

فئام اذ يجر بهم لبيب

يرى معناهم الداء العضالا

A throng—when a discerning man is drawn along with them,

he sees their nature as an incurable disease.

تمسك بالكرام اخي واهجر

لئام الناس واصابع الرجالا

Cling to the noble, my brother, and shun

the base among people and the 'fingers' of men.

ولا تقصر جميلك فالايادي

ودائع حضرة الباري تعالى

Do not stint your kindness, for favors

are deposits in the presence of the Creator, exalted is He.

يرى رب الكمال البر دينا

ويبغض صاحب النقس الكمالا

The man of perfection regards goodness as a creed,

while the flawed man hates perfection.

ورب مطية بالغدر ثارت

وقد حل الزمان لها العقالا

Many a mount has rebelled in treachery,

once time loosened its tether.

سرت مرحا فاعثرها هواها

وعدلاها اضراها ومالا

It went forth exuberantly, but its desire made it stumble,

and its two panniers harmed it and tilted.

تدرع بالخضوع وكن صدوقا

ولا ترفع لغي الله حالا

Armor yourself with humility, and be truthful;

do not lay your plight before anyone but God.

ودع هم الزمان فكم بطرز

لقد صف العمائم والنعالا

Leave worry over time aside: how often, in its designs,

it has lined up turbans beside sandals!

وقد نسج القتاد على حرير

وقد مزج الدراري والرمالا

It has woven thornbushes onto silk,

and mixed brilliant stars with sand.

وكم اعلى من الانذال قوما

طغوا وبغوا وقد كانوا حثالا

How many people from among the vile has it raised up,

who tyrannized and transgressed, though once mere dregs!

اذا سفلت خصال المرء يغدو

وضيع القدر لو نطح الهلالا

When a man's traits are base, he becomes

low in worth, even if he butts the crescent moon.

ويعلو من على عرقا وطبعا

ولو لم يكتسب نشبا ومالا

And he rises who is lofty in lineage and character,

even if he acquires no property or wealth.

اجل تعلي الخلال المرء قدرا

فقبل الثروة اكتسب الخلالا

Yes, virtues raise a man's worth;

so acquire virtues before riches.

ولا تجعل حبال المكر شأوا

فنصل المكر كم قطع الحبالا

Do not make the ropes of scheming your goal,

for how often scheming's blade has severed ropes!

وشيد بالتقى ركن المعالي

فكم حط التقى حملا وشالا

Build the pillar of nobility through piety,

for how many burdens piety has lowered and lifted away!

ولا تعبأ ببهتان ابن عهر

فتدري الاصل اذ تدري الخصالا

Pay no heed to a bastard's slander;

you know the stock when you know the traits.

ترى فوق المنصة رب اصل

تسلق بالظواهر فاستطالا

You see upon the dais a man of pedigree,

who climbed by appearances and grew arrogant.

وفي حكم الفعال يرى دعيا

فلم تشكر له عما وخالا

Yet, judged by deeds, he is seen as a pretender—

so why praise his paternal and maternal uncles?

لقد رقص الزمان مع الاداني

وجرأها فاكبرت المقالا

Time has danced with the lowly,

and emboldened them into grandiose talk.

اذا ما ازمة بلغت مداها

اذن فارقب لغصتها زوالا

When a crisis reaches its utmost,

then await the passing of its choking anguish.

تعيرنا بفقد المال هند

وتجهل من اوائلنا الفعالا

Hind taunts us for lack of wealth,

ignorant of our forebears' deeds.

هل ادخر الوصي كنوز مال

وهل بحطامها ملاء الرحالا

Did the appointed successor hoard treasures of wealth?

And did he fill the saddlebags with its worldly chaff?

وهل كنز النضار الطهر طه

وورث بعده رهطا وآلا

And did the pure Ṭāhā hoard gold

and bequeath it after him to clan and household?

علا عن كل ذي الاكون طبعا

واسبغ للبريات النوالا

In nature he rose above all these worlds,

and lavished bounty upon all creatures.

واحرى نفعه للخلق طرا

وعد الناس كلهم عيالا

He made his benefit flow to all creation,

and counted all people as his dependents.

فمن رقع العروق الى التهامي

وحرز من علي الال حالا

Whoever traces his roots up to the Tihāmī,

and secures a spiritual state from ʿAlī of the Household,

ومن ندي البتول سقي حليبا

تيقن طول سؤدده فطالا

and is suckled with milk from al-Batūl's breast,

is certain his nobility will endure—and it endures.

وخلى الفانيات وبات يرجو

من الباري اقترابا واتصالا

He left transient things and spent the night hoping

for nearness and communion from the Creator.

بحمد الله لي نسب علي

سما والى علي قد تعالى

With praise to God, mine is a lofty lineage

that rose high and reaches upward to ʿAlī.

ولي من خالد المجد اقتراب

عزيز الفخر يعظم ان يزالا

And I have kinship with Khālid of glory,

precious in honor, too great to be undone.

وبالحبلين لي آباء اصل

كسوا بالهمة الدنيا جمالا

Through both cords of lineage I have forefathers of true stock,

who clothed the world in beauty through high resolve.

ونفحة جدي الغوث الرفاعي

اعارتني برونقها جلالا

And a breath from my forefather, the Succor al-Rifāʿī,

lent me majesty through its radiance.

فان عزفت عن الاشياء نفسي

فبالميراث اوسعت المجالا

If my soul has turned away from things,

then through inheritance I have widened my scope.

ويعجبني اتباع كرام قومي

على الحالين كيف الحال آلا

I delight in following the noble of my people

in either condition, however things turn out.

وذي الدنيا بعين سديد رأي

خيال حبه يعطي الخبالا

This world, in the eyes of sound judgment,

is a phantom whose love brings madness.

ومن ذكر الرحيل وضاء قلبا

يرى عن زخرف الدنيا اشتغالا

Whoever remembers departure, bright of heart,

finds something to occupy him beyond the world's glitter.

وخير العيش هجرك للفواني

وقطع العمر ذكرا وابتهالا

The best life is to forsake transient things

and spend your days in remembrance and supplication.

تثور اذا الدجا دارت رحاه

ويشبع خدك الدمع انهمالا

You rise when darkness's millstone turns,

and streaming tears soak your cheek.

يقوم مسهدا من رام مجدا

ويعطي المهر من يبغى الوصالا

He who seeks glory rises sleepless,

and he who desires union pays the dowry.