1. أَصْبِحِيْنَا بالله أم حَكيمِ

    هذه أخْرَياتُ زهْرِ النُّجُومِ

    Serve us morning wine, by God, Umm Hakim.

    These are the last of the bright stars.

  2. بادريها مِنْ قَبْلِ أن يعزم

    التحريمُ إن الخلافَ في التحريم

    Hasten to it before it is firmly

    forbidden; its prohibition is a matter of dispute.

  3. قد تولَّى شهرُ الصيامِ حميداً

    فاخْلفِيهِ فينا بِفِعْل ذميم

    The month of fasting has departed, praised;

    so take its place among us with a blameworthy deed.

  4. ضَيّعي حُرْمةً له كَرُمَتْ ما

    كانَ عَهْدي في حِفْظها بكريم

    Violate its cherished sanctity: never

    was my conduct noble in preserving it.

  5. مَنْ ينادمْ على الحديثِ فقد أختْلَسُ

    الكاسَ مِنْ حديثِ النديم

    Whoever carouses for conversation—indeed, I snatch

    the cup away from my drinking companion's talk.

  6. قطريُّ أحقُّ بالفَلجِ مِنْ

    عمرانَ في منْ يقولُ بالتحكيم

    Qatari has a better claim to victory than

    Imran among those who proclaim God's judgment.

  7. إنا للوالبيِّ لست لحسَا

    نَ فإن سرَّكِ الملامُ فلومي

    We side with al-Walibi; I do not side with Hassan;

    so if reproach delights you, reproach me.

  8. مُحْدَثٌ مِنْ رأي المشيخةِ في

    الجُلاّسِ أُزري بكلٍّ رأيٍ قديم

    A new departure from the elders' thinking about

    boon companions: I scorn every old opinion.

  9. أصْبِحيني حتى تَرَيْنيَ لا أفْ

    رُقُ بين المُعْوَجِّ والمستقيم

    Serve me morning wine until you see me unable

    to distinguish the crooked from the straight.

  10. فاستلابُ الجرْيالِ أَوْلى بمثلي

    إنْ أُديرتْ من انتِشاقِ النسيم

    For snatching crimson wine better suits one like me,

    if it is passed around, than inhaling the breeze.

  11. وهلمّي نُبِحْ حِمَى كلِّ محظو

    رٍ ونُزْرِي بِقَدْرِ كلِّ عظيم

    And come: let us breach the sanctuary of every forbidden thing

    and belittle the worth of every mighty one.

  12. واستزيدي منَ الذُّنُوب فإن ال

    أَمْرَ فيها إلى غفورٍ رحيم

    And seek still more sins, for the

    judgment over them belongs to One forgiving and merciful.

  13. وبديعِ الأوصافِ كالشمس كالدُّ

    مْيَة كالغُصْنِ في النَّقا كالرِّيم

    And one of wondrous qualities, like the sun, like

    a sculpted figure, like a branch on the dune, like a gazelle,

  14. سُكَّرِيُّ الَّلمى وضيءُ المحيَّا

    يَستَخِفُّ النفوسَ قبل الجُسُوم

    sugar-sweet in his dark lips, radiant of face,

    carries souls away before bodies.

  15. مُتَهَدٍّ إلى الحُلُومِ بِلَحْظٍ

    رُبّما كانَ ضَلّةً لِلْحُلُوم

    He makes his way into minds with a glance

    that may sometimes lead those minds astray.

  16. ما يُبالي مَنْ باتَ يلهو به إنْ

    لم يَنَلْ مُلْكَ فارسٍ والرُّوم

    Whoever spends the night delighting in him cares not if

    he never gains the dominion of Persia and Rome.

  17. ما يُبالي مَنْ لَمى ثَغرِهِ العَذْ

    بِ على صَحنِ خدِّه المَرْقُوم

    He cares nothing, whose sweet mouth's dark hue

    lies upon the patterned surface of his cheek.

  18. بين ليلٍ كَخُضْرَةِ الرَّوضِ في الحُس

    نِِ وَصُبْحٍ كَعَرْفِهِ في الشَّميم

    Between a night like the garden's green in beauty

    and a dawn like its fragrance in scent,

  19. وكأَنَّ النجومَ في غَبَشِ الصُّبْ

    حِ وقد لفّها فُرادى بِتُوم

    the stars in the dimness of dawn seemed—

    with dawn wrapping them, one by one, in pearls—

  20. أعْيُنُ العاشقينَ أَدهشها البينُ

    فأَغْضَتْ بين الضَّنا والوجوم

    the eyes of lovers whom separation had stunned,

    lowered between wasting sickness and silent sorrow.

  21. فاحتساها صِرْفاً على نَغَمِ الأوْ

    تارِ من مُطْلق ومنْ مَزْمُوم

    Then he sipped it unmixed to the music of

    strings, some open and some stopped,

  22. مستنيماً مني إلى سيّء العهدِ

    مُخِلّ الصّاحبِ المستنيم

    trusting in me, one faithless to his pledge,

    one who fails the companion who trusts him,

  23. ورِعٍ عن مالِ اليتيمِ ولكنْ

    ربَّما راعَ سِرْبَ أُمِّ اليتيم

    scrupulous about an orphan's wealth, but

    sometimes startling the orphan's mother's flock;

  24. وَغَشُوم وإنما يَتَجافى الدهرُ

    عن صَفوِهِ بكلِّ غشوم

    and ruthless: Time only departs

    from its serenity through every ruthless man.

  25. واحْتَساها حتّى إذا غادَرَتْهُ

    كابياً لليدينِ والخُرْطوم

    And he drank it until, when it had left him

    fallen onto both hands and his snout,

  26. لم أُبَلْ أَنْ يَلُومني في الذي كا

    نَ وإن لم أُسَلْ فَغَيْرُ مَلُوم

    I cared not that he should blame me for what

    had happened; even if unasked, I am not to blame.

  27. لا تَحَدَّثْ على بُلَهْنِبَةِ العيشِ

    ولكنْ عن جودِ إبراهيم

    Do not speak of life's ease,

    but of Ibrahim's generosity;

  28. عنْ عطايا هيَ الغيومُ وإنْ

    مَيّزَها البشر عن سماءِ الغيوم

    of gifts that are rainclouds, though

    cheerfulness sets them apart from the clouded sky.

  29. تَتَبارَى إلى العفاةِ فهمْ فيها

    سواءٌ مِنْ ظاعنٍ أو مُقِيم

    They race toward petitioners, who share in them

    alike, whether travelers or residents,

  30. مِنْ يَدَيْ أَغلبٍ لأغْلَبَ لا فُرْ

    قانَ بين الموصوفِ والمرسوم

    from the hands of a lion of Aghlab's line—no

    difference between the description and the name.

  31. وإذا طابتِ الفروعُ وطالَتْ

    كَفَتِ البحثَ عن زَكَاءِ الأروم

    When the branches thrive and grow tall,

    they spare inquiry into the vigor of the roots.

  32. باهرٌ كالصّباح أَبْهمُ كاللّيْلِ

    عميمٌ في كلِّ خطبٍ عميم

    Dazzling as morning, inscrutable as night,

    wide-reaching in bounty amid every widespread calamity,

  33. وَمنِيعُ الذِّمارِ بالاستطالا

    تِ على وَفْرِهِ لِعُدمِ العديم

    and inviolable in honor through assaults

    upon his wealth to meet the destitute man's need.

  34. أرْيحِيٌّ إلى المكارِمِ هشٌّ

    في صريحٍ منَ المعالي صميم

    Openhanded and cheerfully eager for noble deeds,

    pure and genuine in the heart of high distinction,

  35. أغلبيُّ النجارِ فاعدُدْه في الغُلْبِ

    إذا لم تَعُدَّهُ في النجوم

    of Aghlab's stock—count him among the lions

    if you do not count him among the stars.

  36. وبعيدُ المّرامِ لا يَرْأَمُ الضّيْمَ

    أبيٌّ لا يأتني بالمُضيم

    And far beyond reach, he will not accept oppression;

    unyielding, he shows no forbearance toward an oppressor.

  37. قُلّبُ القَلْبِ رابطُ الجأشِ رحب

    الصّدْرِ واري الذكاءِ ماضي العزيم

    Nimble of heart, steadfast of spirit, broad

    of breast, with blazing wit and sharp resolve.

  38. وبليغٌ تراهُ في كلِّ نادٍ

    فارساً في القصيدِ والمنظوم

    And eloquent: at every gathering you see him

    a knight in odes and verse.

  39. يُحجِمُ الدهرُ عنهُ عن كلماتٍ

    وَقْعها في حَشاه وقْعُ الكلوم

    Time recoils from him because of words

    whose impact in its entrails is that of wounds.

  40. يرتعي في السُّهوب إن أعْرَضَ القو

    لُ إذا الناس أجدبوا في الحُزُوم

    He grazes in the open plains when speech grows broad,

    while others meet drought among the rugged heights.

  41. وإذا التفّتِ الخصومُ عليه

    فَدعي بينَهُ وبينَ الخُصوم

    And when opponents gather around him,

    leave him alone with his opponents.

  42. أحْوَذِيٌّ يُفضي إلى كلِّ سرٍّ

    وهو بينَ اللّهَاةِ والحَيْزوم

    Resourceful, he penetrates every secret

    while it still lies between uvula and upper breast.

  43. صُنْتَ يا براهيمُ عِرْضي برأيٍ

    هِمّتي في ضَمَانِهِ وَهُمُومي

    You guarded my honor, Ibrahim, with a plan

    in whose keeping lie my ambition and my cares.

  44. وَتَكَفَّلْتَ لي بِنُطْفةِ وجهٍ

    شَرِبَتْها الأيّامُ شُرْبَ الهيم

    And you secured for me a drop of my face's moisture,

    which the days had drunk as thirst-maddened camels drink.

  45. فلعمري إن لم أُثِبْكَ أبا

    إسحاقَ إني إذنْ لَعَينُ اللئيم

    By my life, if I do not repay you, Abu

    Ishaq, then I am the very embodiment of baseness.

  46. ولعمري لتأتِيَنْكَ القوافي

    من وَلودٍ أزُفُّها وعقيم

    And by my life, rhymes shall surely come to you:

    some fertile, which I lead as brides, and some barren,

  47. بِهِبَاتٍ أوْلَيْتَنِيهَا جِسامٍ

    كَفْكَفَتْ غَرْبَ كلِّ خَطْبٍ جسيم

    for the great gifts you bestowed on me,

    which blunted the edge of every grave calamity;

  48. وكما خُطْتَني وصرْفُ الليالي

    يَقْتَضِيني جَهدي اقتضاءَ الغريم

    and because you stitched me together while the turns of night

    exacted my utmost effort like a creditor.

  49. وإذا ما تَذَكَّرَتْكَ القَوَافي

    بدأَتْ بالصَّلاةِ والتَّسْليم

    Whenever the rhymes remember you,

    they begin with blessings and salutations.

  50. وإذا المدْحُ فازَ منك بحظٍّ

    فهو عَذْبُ الجمَام غضُّ الجميم

    When praise wins a share of you,

    its pools are sweet, its new growth tender.

  51. وإذا ما رفعتُ باسمكَ صوتي

    فزعيمٌ يُشِيدُ باسمِ عظيم

    Whenever I raise my voice in your name,

    a leader extols the name of a great man.

  52. وإذا لم أفْصِحْ حِذَارَ الأعادي

    فإلى مجدكَ الؤثَّلِ أُومي

    If I do not speak plainly for fear of foes,

    I gesture toward your deep-rooted glory.

  53. فتسربلْ مما أقوِّفُ بُرَداً

    عبقريَّ التَّعْضِيدِ والتَّسْهيم

    So clothe yourself in the mantles I compose in rhyme,

    exquisite in their stripes and arrow patterns.

  54. وَتَسَوَّغْ مِنْ عَوْدَةِ الفِطْرِ يَوماً

    عائداً بالتبجيلِ والتعظيم

    And savor a day from the returning Feast of Fast-Breaking,

    returning with reverence and exaltation:

  55. بعضُ أيَّامِكَ التي هيَ في أيا

    م هذا الدهْرِ غُرَّةٌ في بهيم

    one of your days, which among the days

    of this age are a white blaze against darkness.

  56. عَلّمَتْنا كيفَ الطريقُ إلى

    المجدِ فسِرْنا والعلمُ بالتعليم

    They taught us how to find the road to

    glory; so we traveled it, and knowledge comes through teaching.