1. أيا مَن أُرُجيه وآمل عفوه

    وإن عظمت مني لديه ذنوب

    O you in whom I place my hope and whose pardon I seek,

    even if my sins are grievous in your eyes.

  2. فداؤك ما تحوي جفوني فإنه

    لفقدك فيه عبرةٌ ونحيب

    May what my eyelids hold be your ransom, for

    at your absence, it harbors tears and sobbing.

  3. أتاني من الأخبار أنك واجدٌ

    عليّ بما قال الوشاة غضوب

    Word has reached me that you are resentful,

    angry with me because of what the slanderers said.

  4. وأني أشكر صنائعك التي

    بجيديَ من أطواقهن أثوب

    And I give thanks for your favors,

    returning with their collars about my neck.

  5. أاَكفر ما أوليتني من كرامة

    شواهدها كالشمس ليس تغيب

    Would I deny the honor you have bestowed on me,

    whose proofs, like the sun, never vanish,

  6. وأنساك بدر الدين من بعد أنعمٍ

    تذكرني الأنواء كيف تصوب

    and forget you, Badr al-Din, after blessings

    that remind me how the rain-bearing stars pour down?

  7. وكيف ولي من دون كتمان فضلها

    لسانٌ بها في العالمين خطيب

    And how could I, when, far from hiding their worth, I have

    a tongue that proclaims them throughout the world?

  8. ألست الذي ما زال من صفو جاهه

    وأمواله لي حرمة ونصيب

    Are you not he whose noble standing has always brought,

    along with his wealth, protection and a share for me?

  9. وما زال أمري تلو أمرك نافذاً

    كأني شريك في العلا ونسيب

    And my command has always been obeyed after yours,

    as though I shared your eminence and were your kinsman.

  10. وعندكِ إن أنوي فساكنُ موطني

    وعند جميع المنعمين غريب

    At your side, if I choose to settle, I am at home;

    but among all benefactors I am a stranger.

  11. خسأتَ العدا عني بسطوة قادرٍ

    إِلى اليوم منها في القلوب ندوب

    You drove the foes from me with a powerful man's might,

    whose scars remain in hearts to this day.

  12. وقرَّبت مني الخير وهو مبعَّد

    وبعَّدت عني الشر وهو قريب

    And you brought good near to me when it was far away,

    and drove evil far from me when it was near.

  13. وكنت إذا ما نكدَ الدهر عيشةً

    لقوم فعيشي في ذراك يطيب

    And whenever time made life bitter

    for people, my life in your shelter was sweet.

  14. وأنت الذي جربت مني مودةً

    يحوم عليها ذو الحِجى ويلوب

    And you are the one who has tested my affection,

    around which a wise man hovers and circles thirstily.

  15. مسلَّمةٌ من عيب لولا قمشترٍ

    يحصلها بالروح منه مصيب

    Free of fault, were it not for a surly fellow,

    from whom a successful seeker gains it at the price of life.

  16. فهل جائزٌ في شرع حبِّيك إنه

    يصدَّق واشٍ فيَّ وهو كذوب

    So is it permitted, under the law of loving you, that

    a slanderer be believed about me, though he is an inveterate liar,

  17. وتنسى عهودي والذي أنت عارف

    به من حِفاظي إنَّ ذا لعجيب

    and you forget my pledges and what you know

    of my fidelity? Surely that is strange.

  18. فإن كان ذنبي أنني عندما جد

    جنابي من نعمي يديه خصيب

    So if my sin is that I, when the fortune

    of my abode was fertile through his hands' bounty,

  19. تداركني وانتاشني فلأخمصي

    بعليائه فوق السماك ركوب

    was rescued and raised by him, so that my foot's arch

    through his eminence rode above al-Simak,

  20. وأصبح يعديني على الدهر جوده

    فذلك ذنب لست منه أتوب

    and his generosity came to aid me against time,

    then that is a sin of which I do not repent.

  21. أنا الصادق الود الذي في ولائه

    سواءٌ عليه مشهد ومغيب

    I am true in love, one whose loyalty

    is the same in presence and absence.

  22. عليم بما ينقى به العرض حافظ

    أمينٌ له منه عليه رقيب

    I know what keeps honor pure and am its guardian,

    trustworthy, with an inner sentinel watching over me.

  23. رزئت شبابي مذ رزئت وصالكم

    وما منهما إِلا إِليّ حبيب

    I have lost my youth since I lost your company,

    and both of them are dear to me.

  24. وإن فتى يلقى من البين مثلما

    لقيتُ لمَعذور عليه مشيب

    And indeed, a young man who suffers from separation as much

    as I have is surely excused for his gray hair.