1. سَكِّن فُؤادكَ لا تَذهَب بِهِ الفِكَرُ

    ماذا يُعيد عَلَيكَ البَثُّ وَالحذرُ

    Calm your heart; let not thoughts run away with it.

    What do anguish and apprehension bring you in return?

  2. وَازجُر جفونك لا تَرضَ البُكاءَ لَها

    وَاِصبر فَقَد كُنتَ الخطب تَصطَبِرُ

    And rein in your eyelids; do not let them weep.

    And be patient, for you have borne calamity before.

  3. وَإِن يَكُن قَدرٌ قد عاق عَن وَطَرٍ

    فَلا مَرَدّ لما يأتي بِهِ القدرُ

    And if a decree of fate has barred you from a desire,

    there is no averting what fate brings.

  4. وَإِن تَكُن خيبَةٌ في الدَهرِ واحِدَةٌ

    فَكَم غَدَوتَ وَمن أشياعك الظَفرُ

    And if there has been a single disappointment in life,

    how often have you risen with victory among your followers!

  5. إِن كُنتَ في حيرَةٍ مِن جُرمِ مُجتَرِمٍ

    فَإِنَّ عُذرك في ظَلمائِها قَمَرُ

    If you are bewildered by an offender's crime,

    then your excuse is a moon in that bewilderment's darkness.

  6. كَم زَفرَةٍ مِن شِغافِ القَلبِ صاعِدَة

    وعَبرة مِن شؤون العين تَنحَدِرُ

    How many a sigh rises from the heart's inmost core,

    and a tear flows down from the eye's tear ducts.

  7. فَوِّض إِلى اللَه فيما أَنتَ خائِفُه

    وَتِقْ بِمُعتَضِدٍ بِاللَهِ يَغتَفِرُ

    Entrust to God whatever you fear,

    and trust in al-Mu'tadid bi-llah, who forgives.

  8. وَلا تَرُعكَ خُطوبٌ إِن عَدا زَمَنٌ

    فاللَه يَدفَع وَالمَنصور يَنتَصِرُ

    And let no calamities frighten you if time turns hostile;

    for God wards off harm, and al-Mansur prevails.

  9. وَاِصبر فَإِنَّكَ مِن قومٍ أَولي جلَدٍ

    إِذا أَصابَتهم مَكروهَةٌ صَبَروا

    And be patient, for you belong to a people of fortitude:

    when misfortune befalls them, they endure.

  10. مَن مِثل قَومك وَالمَلك الهُمام أَبو

    عمرو أَبوك لَه مجدٌ وَمُفتَخَرُ

    Who can match your people, with the valiant king Abu

    Amr, your father, whose are glory and honor?

  11. سَمَيدَعٌ يَهَب الآلافَ مُقتَدراً

    وَيَستَقِلُّ عَطاياه وَيَحتَقِرُ

    A noble lord who grants thousands, possessing ample power,

    yet deems his gifts small and scorns them.

  12. لَهُ يَدٌ كُلُّ جَبّارٍ يُقَبِّلها

    لَولا نَداها لَقُلنا إِنَّها الحَجَرُ

    He has a hand that every mighty ruler kisses;

    but for its bounty, we would say it was stone.

  13. يا ضَيغَماً يَقتُلُ الأَبطال مُفتَرِساً

    لا توهنَنّي فَإِنّي الناب وَالظُفرُ

    O lion who slays champions, devouring them,

    do not weaken me, for I am the fang and the claw.

  14. وَفارِساً تَحذَر الأقرانُ صَولَتَهُ

    صُن عبدَك القِنّ فَهوَ الصارِم الذكرُ

    And O horseman whose rivals dread his charge,

    protect your bondslave, for he is the keen, hard-steeled sword.

  15. هُوَ الَّذي لَم تَشِم يُمناك صَفحَتَهُ

    إِلّا تَأتّى مُرادٌ وَاِنقَضى وَطَرُ

    He is the one whose blade your right hand never drew

    without a wish coming true and a desire being fulfilled.

  16. قَد أَخلَقتَني صُروف أَنتَ تعلمها

    وَقالَ موردها ما لي بِها صدرُ

    The vicissitudes you know have worn me out;

    and their bringer said, “I have no heart to bear them.”

  17. فالنَفسُ جازِعَةٌ وَالعَينُ دامِعَةٌ

    وَالصَوتُ مُرتَفِعٌ وَالسِرُّ منتشِرُ

    So my soul is anguished, and my eye is weeping;

    and my voice is raised, and my secret spread abroad.

  18. وَزادَ هَمّيَ وما بالجسم مِن سَقَمٍ

    وشِبتُ رأسا وَلَم يبلُغني الكِبَرُ

    And my worry has grown, as has the sickness in my body;

    and my head has turned gray though old age has not reached me.

  19. وَذُبتُ إِلّا ذَماءً فيَّ يُمسكني

    أَنّي عَهدتُكَ تَعفو حينَ تَقتَدِرُ

    And I have wasted away, save for a last spark of life within me; what sustains me

    is that I have known you to pardon when you have power.

  20. لَم يأت عبدُك دَنبا يَستَحِقُ به

    عُتبى وَها هُوَ ناداكَ يَعتَذِرُ

    Your slave has committed no offense for which he deserves

    reproach; and here he has called to you, apologizing.

  21. ما الذَنبُ إِلّا عَلى قَومٍ ذَوي دَغلٍ

    وَفى لَهُم عهدُك المعهود إِذ غدروا

    The blame lies only with people of deceit;

    your established pledge held true for them when they acted treacherously.

  22. قَومٌ نَصيحتُهُم غِشٌّ وصدقهمُ

    مَينٌ وَنَفعهم إِن صُرّفوا ضَرَرُ

    People whose counsel is deceit, and whose truthfulness

    is falsehood; their usefulness, if they are employed, is harm.

  23. يُمَيَّزُ البُغض في الأَلفاظِ إِن نَطَقوا

    وَيُعرَفُ الحِقدُ في الأَلحاظ إِن نَظَروا

    Hatred is discerned in their words if they speak,

    and rancor is recognized in their glances if they look.

  24. إِن يَحرِقِ القَلب نَفثٌ مِن مَقالهمُ

    فَإِنَّما ذاكَ مِن نارِ القِلى شَرَرُ

    If a breath of their speech scorches the heart,

    it is nothing but sparks from the fire of hatred.

  25. مَولاي دعوةَ مَملوكٍ بِهِ ظمأٌ

    بَرح وَفي راحَتَيكَ السَلسَلُ الخضرُ

    My lord, hear a slave's plea: his thirst

    is fierce, while sweet green water lies in your palms.

  26. أَجِب نِداءَ أَخي قَلبٍ تملَّكَهُ

    أَسى وَذي مُقلَة أودى بِها السَهَرُ

    Answer the call of one whose heart is possessed

    by grief, whose eye sleeplessness has destroyed.

  27. لَم أُوتَ مِن زَمَني شَيئا أُسِرُّ بِهِ

    فلست أَعهَدُ ما كأس وَلا وترُ

    My days have given me nothing in which to rejoice;

    so I do not know what a winecup or a musical string is.

  28. وَلا تَمَلَّكَني دَلٌّ وَلا خَفَرٌ

    وَلا سَبى خَلَدي غُنج وَلا حَوَرُ

    Neither coquettish charm nor shy reserve has mastered me,

    nor have coy allure or bright, dark-pupiled eyes captivated my mind.

  29. رَضاكَ راحَةُ نَفسي لا فُجِعتُ بِهِ

    فَهوَ العَتادُ الَّذي لِلدهر أَدّخِرُ

    Your approval is my soul's repose—may I never lose it;

    for it is the provision I store up against time.

  30. وَهوَ المُدامُ الَّتي أَسلو بِها فَإِذا

    عَدَمتُها عَبَثَت في قَلبيَ الفِكَرُ

    And it is the wine in which I find solace; and when

    I lack it, thoughts play havoc in my heart.

  31. ما تركيَ الخَمرَ مِن زُهد وَلا وَرَعٍ

    فَلَم يُفارِق لَعَمري سِنّيَ الصغَرُ

    My forsaking wine is not from asceticism or piety,

    for, by my life, youth has not yet left me.

  32. وَإِنَّما أَنا ساعٍ في رِضاك فَإِن

    أَخفَقتُ فيه فَلا يُفسَح ليَ العُمُرُ

    Rather, I strive for your approval; and if

    I fail in that, may my life not be prolonged.

  33. ما سَرّني وَأحاشي عَصر عَطفِكمُ

    يَومَ أَخَلّ في القَنا وَالهامُ نَنتَثِرُ

    Nothing delighted me—excepting the time of your kindness—

    on a day of failure amid spears, with heads scattering [text unclear].

  34. أَجَل وَلي راحَةٌ أُخرى عَلِقتُ بِها

    نَظم الكُلى في القَنا وَالهامُ تَنتَثِرُ

    Yes, I have another solace to which I am bound:

    stringing kidneys on spears while heads scatter.

  35. كَم وقعة لي في الأَعداء واضِحَة

    تَفنى اللَيالي وَما يَفنى لَها الخبرُ

    How many a renowned battle against enemies has been mine;

    nights fade away, but its story never fades.

  36. سارَت بِها العيسُ في الآفاقِ فاِنتَشَرَت

    فَلَيسَ في كُلِّ حَيٍّ غَيرها سَمَرُ

    Pale camels bore its tale across the horizons, and it spread,

    so in every tribe, it alone is the evening talk.

  37. لازلتَ ذا عِزّة قَعساء شامِخَة

    لا يَبلُغ الوَهمُ أَدناها وَلا البَصَرُ

    May you ever possess unshakable, towering might,

    whose lowest reach neither imagination nor sight can attain.

  38. وَلا يَزالُ وَزَرٌ مِن حُسنِ رأيك لي

    آوي إِلَيهِ فَنِعمَ الكَهفُ وَالوَزَرُ

    And may your sound judgment always afford me a refuge

    where I may shelter—what a fine cave and refuge!

  39. إِلَيكَ رَوضَةُ فِكري جادَ مَنبتها

    نَدى يَمينك لا طَلّ ولا مَطَرُ

    To you I offer my thought's garden; its soil was drenched

    by your right hand's bounty, not dew or rain.

  40. جَعَلتُ ذكركَ في أَرجائِها شَجَراً

    فَكُلُّ أَوقاتِها لِلمُجتَني ثَمَرُ

    I made your remembrance trees throughout its grounds,

    so at all times it offers fruit to the gatherer.