1. رِفاقي الظاعنين مَتى الورود

    وَذياك العذيب وَذا ورود

    My departing companions, when shall we reach the water?

    And yonder is al-ʿUdhayb, and here is Wurud [uncertain place-name].

  2. فعو حَوابي علي آثار لَيلى

    فَم يَدري الغعَريب مَتى يَعود

    So turn aside with me to the traces of Layla,

    For the wanderer knows not when he will return.

  3. وَزوروا شعبها فَعَلى فؤادي

    وَقَلبي من نسيمه برود

    And visit her ravine, for my heart

    And soul are cooled by its breeze.

  4. رِفاقي الظاعنين تَرَفقوا بي

    فَقَلبي في هَوى لَيلى عَميد

    My departing companions, be gentle with me,

    For my heart is stricken with love for Layla.

  5. أَعيدوا لي لاحَديث بذكر لَيلى

    أَعيدوه فديتكم أَعيدوا

    Repeat for me the tale that speaks of Layla;

    Repeat it—may I be your ransom—repeat it.

  6. مررت عَلى بقية ربع لَيلى

    فَساعد لَوعَتي دمع يحود

    I passed by what remained of Layla's dwelling,

    And freely flowing tears aided my anguish.

  7. وَحيت الطلول فَلَم تحبنى

    وَكَيفَ تجيبني سفع ركود

    I greeted the ruined campsites, but they did not answer me;

    How could dark, motionless ruins answer me?

  8. نأت وَتَباعَدَت لَيلى وَعزت

    عَلى وَما تَباعَدَت العهود

    Layla has gone far, grown distant, and become hard

    For me to reach; yet our pledges have not grown distant.

  9. رَعى اللَه الزَمان زَمان لَيلى

    وَلا رَعى التفرق وَالصدود

    May God preserve the time—the time of Layla—

    But not preserve separation and estrangement.

  10. فَما أَحلى هَواها في فؤادي

    وان بخلت عَلى بما اريد

    How sweet, then, is her love within my heart,

    Even if she withholds from me what I desire.

  11. جَرى قلم السَعادة باسم لَيلى

    فَطابَ بذكرها عيشي الرَغيد

    The pen of happiness traced Layla's name,

    And remembrance of her sweetened my life of ease.

  12. فَكَيفَ يَلومني في حب لَيلى

    خلىّ القَلب أَدمعه جمود

    How, then, can one blame me for loving Layla—

    One with an untroubled heart, whose tears are frozen?

  13. وان فَتى رمته جفون لَيلى

    وَماتَ عَلى الفِراش هوَ الشَهيد

    And surely a youth struck by Layla's eyelids

    And dying upon his bed—he is the martyr.

  14. وان فَتى يمرّ بارض لَيلى

    وَيَلثَم حيث موطئها سعيد

    And surely a youth who passes through Layla's land

    And kisses where she sets foot is fortunate.

  15. نعم بلى الزَمان وَحب لَيلى

    جَديد لَيسَ يبليه الجَديد

    Yes, time has grown worn, while love for Layla

    Is fresh, unworn by ever-renewing time.

  16. وَقفت عشية ببلاد لَيلى

    وَبت وأَدمعي در نضيد

    I stood one evening in the lands of Layla,

    And spent the night, my tears strung pearls.

  17. وَنهنهت الغَرام فيجتَني

    سواجع في الأراك لَها نَشيد

    I restrained my passion, but I was stirred

    By cooing birds with songs in the arak trees.

  18. لحى اللَه الزَمان فَقَد بَلاني

    بصبر ناقص وَحوى يزيد

    May God curse time, for it has afflicted me

    With scant patience and a passion that grows.

  19. يفيد صَنيعة وَيفيت أحرى

    وَيمتح نعمة وَلَها حسود

    It bestows a favor and withholds a worthier one,

    And dispenses a blessing that has its envier.

  20. وَما قدر الزَمان وَفي قعار

    غمام فيضه كرم وجود

    And what is time worth, when in Qaʿar there is

    A cloud whose outpouring is generosity and bounty?

  21. نلم بقبر سيدنا النَهارى

    فَتَبيض المَطالب وَهي سود

    We visit the grave of our master al-Nahari,

    And petitions turn white, dark though they are.

  22. جِناب جَلالة وَبَبيع بر

    ربت في ريف وأفته الوفود

    A precinct of majesty and a springtime of goodness;

    Delegations flourished in fertile country and came to him.

  23. فَيا طَرَب النفوس إِلى صعيد

    يكفر ذنبها ذاكَ الصعيد

    Oh, the souls' rapturous yearning for a tract of earth—

    That earth atones for their sin.

  24. صَعيد تظهر البركات منه

    وَتَطلع في جوانبه السعود

    Earth from which blessings appear,

    And in whose precincts good fortune rises.

  25. فمن دار السَلام له نَسيم

    ومن نور الجَلال له عمود

    From the Abode of Peace comes its breeze,

    And from the light of Majesty comes its pillar.

  26. به الكَرَم الَّذي يغنى وَيقنى

    وَلا عرض لديه وَلا نقود

    Within it is generosity that enriches and endows,

    Though neither possessions nor coins are there.

  27. لَدى ملك يقل الملك عنه

    وَتَحتقر العَساكر وَالجنود

    Before a king beside whom kingship dwindles,

    And armies and troops are held in little esteem.

  28. سما فاِستَخدم الاشياء فيما

    يَشاء ولا لماء وَلا عَبيد

    He rose high and put things into service for whatever

    He wills, without slave-women or slaves.

  29. فَتى غرس المحامد واجتَناها

    فَضائِل لَيسَ يحصرها عَديد

    A youth who planted praiseworthy deeds and harvested them,

    Virtues no reckoning can encompass.

  30. محمد بافتى عمر بن موسى

    أَضام وَأَنتَ لي ركن شَديد

    Muhammad, O son of ʿUmar ibn Musa,

    Am I to be wronged while you are my mighty pillar?

  31. يواعدني العدوّ بغير جرم

    أَتَعجَز أَن يحل به الوَعيد

    My enemy threatens me without any offense;

    Can you not make the threatened punishment befall him?

  32. أَماترني لاطفال صغار

    أَبوهم من محلتهم طَريد

    Do you not pity little children,

    Whose father is an outcast from their dwelling?

  33. يمر العيد بالصبيان لَهوا

    وَلَيسَ لهم مَع الصبيان عيد

    The feast-day passes with children at play,

    Yet they have no feast-day among the other children.

  34. فأين مَكارِم الاخلاق يامن

    ببهجة وَجهة ابتهج الوجود

    Where, then, is noble character, O you

    Whose radiant face has gladdened existence?

  35. فثم بواعث بعثت غَرامي

    وَأَهوال يشيب لَها الوَليد

    For there are causes that have awakened my anguish,

    And terrors that turn a newborn's hair white.

  36. وَما جسمي عَلى الحدثان صخر

    وَلا قَلبي عَلى البَلوى حَديد

    My body is no rock against time's blows,

    Nor is my heart iron against affliction.

  37. فَكن يد نصرتي وَجناب عزي

    اذا ما جار جبار عَنيد

    So be the hand that aids me and the refuge of my honor,

    Whenever an obstinate tyrant acts unjustly.

  38. وَقل للمُعتَدين عَلى بعدا

    لمدين مثل ما بعدت ثمود

    And tell those who wrong me: 'Away

    With Madyan, as Thamud was cast away!'

  39. فَلا عدد وَلا مَدَد يقيهم

    وَلا مصر وَلا قصر مشيد

    No numbers and no reinforcements will shield them,

    Nor a city, nor a lofty-built palace.

  40. وأَنتَ المُستَعان لكل خطب

    وَما يبدي الزَمان وَما يعيد

    And you are the one whose help is sought in every calamity,

    And in all that time brings forth and brings again.

  41. وَسَيفك في النَوائِب غير ناب

    وَسهمك ماء مورده الوَريد

    Your sword never fails to strike in adversity,

    And your arrow is water, its watering-place the jugular vein.

  42. اذا عَبد الرَحيم دَعاكَ يَوما

    عَلى بعد فقل حضر البَعيد

    If ʿAbd al-Rahim calls upon you one day

    From afar, say: 'The distant one has arrived.'

  43. حَماكَ اليَوم لي وَلمن يَليني

    وَيشملنا غَدا معك الخلود

    Your protection today is for me and those near me,

    And tomorrow eternity will embrace us with you.

  44. بقيت لملة الاسلام نورا

    تضىء بك التَهائم وَالنجود

    May you remain a light for the community of Islam,

    Through you the lowlands and highlands shine.

  45. وَحيا أَرضا اِشتملتك غيث

    يسبح في جوانبه الرعود

    And may rain greet the earth that enfolds you,

    The thunders chanting praise within its reaches.

  46. وَصلى ذو الجَلال عَلىنَبي

    به منشى المَدائح مُستَفيد

    And may the Lord of Majesty bless a prophet

    Through whom the composer of panegyrics gains benefit.