1. أَقرِ نَجداً وَمَن بِنَجدٍ سَلامي

    إِنَّ نَجداً مَأوى غَريمِ غَرامي

    Convey my greetings to Najd and those in Najd.

    For Najd is home to the creditor of my passion.

  2. قِف وَسَل عَن قَلبي إِذا جِئتَ سَلعاً

    تَلقَهُ عِندَ ساكِناتِ الخِيامِ

    Stop and ask about my heart when you come to Sal‘;

    you will find it with the women dwelling in the tents.

  3. عِندَ غيدٍ يَبسِمنَ عَن أُقحُوانٍ

    وَلآلٍ بيضٍ وَحَبِّ غَمامِ

    With graceful women whose smiles reveal daisies,

    and white pearls and hailstones.

  4. رانِياتٍ بِأَعيُنٍ رامِياتٍ

    بِسِهامٍ واها لَها مِن سِهامِ

    Gazing with eyes that shoot

    arrows—ah, what arrows they are!

  5. لَحَظاتٌ يَفعَلنَ بِالسِّحرِ في أَل

    بابِنا إِذ يَنفُثنَ فِعلَ المُدامِ

    Glances work magic upon our

    minds, breathing spells with the effect of wine.

  6. ثَمَّ تَلَقى أُسدَ العَرينِ عَلى الأَذ

    قانِ صَرعى بِأَعيُنِ الآرامِ

    There you find the lions of the den upon their

    chins, laid low by the eyes of gazelles.

  7. هُنَّ أَحبابُنا وَيَفعَلنَ فينا

    فِعلَ أَعدائِنا بِغَيرِ اِحتِشامِ

    They are our beloveds, yet they do to us

    what our enemies do, without restraint.

  8. وَغُلامٍ مُهَفهَفٍ مِن بَني التُر

    كِ جَليبٍ واهاً لَهُ مِن غُلامِ

    And a slender youth from among the

    Turks, brought from afar—ah, what a youth!

  9. كَتَبَ الحُسنُ فَوقَ خَدَّيهِ مِن لي

    قَةِ وَردٍ بِأَحسَنِ الأَقلامِ

    Beauty wrote upon his cheeks from an inkpad

    of roses, with the finest of pens.

  10. فَهوَ صاحٍ مُعَربِدُ اللَّحظِ لِم لا

    وَجَنى فيهِ فيهِ أَشهى مُدامِ

    He is sober, yet his gaze is drunkenly wild—why not,

    when the fruit of his mouth holds the choicest wine?

  11. شاقَنا بَرقُ خَدِّهِ بِابِتِسامٍ

    مِنهُ يَبدو بِفيهِ حَبُّ الغَمامِ

    The lightning of his cheek made us yearn, with a smile

    from him revealing hailstones in his mouth.

  12. فَهوَ يَنضو مِنَ الجُفونِ حُساماً

    رانِياً ما أَحَدَّهُ مِن حُسامِ

    He unsheathes from his eyelids a sword,

    gazing—how keen a sword it is!

  13. لَحظُهُ يَثقَفُ العُقولَ فَهَل عَل

    لَمَهُ خَزرَجٌ ثِقافَ المقامِ

    His glance captures minds—has

    Khazraj taught him fencing in the arena?

  14. حينَ يَزهو بِقَولِهِ إِنَّهُ لِل

    مَلِكِ الأَشرَفِ الأَجَلِّ الهُمامِ

    When he proudly says that he belongs to

    the most exalted, valiant King al-Ashraf.

  15. مَلِكٌ ما اِهتَدَت إِلى عُشرِ مِعشا

    رِ نَداهُ يَوماً عُقولُ الكِرامِ

    A king—not even a tenth of a tenth

    of his bounty have generous minds ever fathomed.

  16. بازِلُ المالِ صائِنُ العِرضِ مُهتم

    مٌ بِتَحصينِ بَيضَةِ الإِسلامِ

    Lavish with wealth, guarding honor, intent

    on fortifying the core of Islam.

  17. فَلَهُ في العُفاةِ بيضُ أَيادٍ

    هَتَكَت سِترَ ظُلمَةِ الإِعدامِ

    For suppliants, he has white hands of favor

    that have rent the veil of destitution's darkness.

  18. فَتَعالى الإِلَهُ فَهوَ الَّذي أَع

    جَزَ عَن وَصفِهِ أُولي الأَفهامِ

    Exalted be God! For he is the one who has left

    men of understanding powerless to describe him.

  19. لَم يَكُن لِلضِّرغامِ جُرأَتُهُ في ال

    حَربِ يَوماً لا كَيدَ لِلضِّرغامِ

    No lion ever possessed his courage in

    war; a lion has no cunning.

  20. وَتَخافُ الأُسودُ مِنهُ كَما خا

    فَت أُسوداً سَوارِحُ الأَنعامِ

    And lions fear him just as

    grazing livestock have feared lions.

  21. فَلَهُ يَصلُحُ المَديحُ كَما قي

    لَ لِعمرٍو مِن قَبلُ في الصَّمصامِ

    Thus praise befits him, like that once

    spoken to ‘Amr concerning al-Samsam.

  22. حاكِمُ الرَأيِ في القَريضِ فَقَد أَص

    بَحَ في الشِعرِ أَعدَلَ الحُكّامِ

    His judgment governs verse, for he has

    become the fairest of judges in poetry.

  23. قَدرُهُ قَدرُ لَيلَةِ القَدرِ في كُل

    لِ زَمانٍ ما فيهِ شَهرُ الصِّيامِ

    His worth is that of the Night of Decree in every

    season, even without the month of fasting.

  24. سَيفُهُ يَقهَرُ العِدا وَهيَ يَقظَى

    وَتَراهُ يَروعُها في المَنامِ

    His sword overpowers enemies while they are awake,

    and you see it terrifying them in dreams.

  25. عَلِمَ اللَهُ أَنَّهُ أَسمَحُ الأَم

    لاكِ كَفّاً في سائِرِ الأَقوامِ

    God knows that he is the most generous of

    kings in open-handedness, among all peoples.

  26. ناقِضٌ في الوَغى جُيوشَ الأَعادي

    مُستَطيلٌ بِالنَقضِ وَالإِبرامِ

    He breaks up enemy armies in battle,

    wielding power through undoing and binding.

  27. يَومَ يَحكي أَبناءُ سامٍ بِهِ مِن

    صَدَأ السابِغاتِ أَبناءَ حامِ

    On that day the sons of Shem resemble, through

    the rust of full coats of mail, the sons of Ham.

  28. مِن أَياديكَ أَيُّها المَلِكُ الأَش

    رَفُ يَنجابُ لَونُ كُلِّ ظَلامِ

    Through your favors, O King

    al-Ashraf, the hue of every darkness is dispelled.

  29. إِنَّ أَيّامَكَ اللَواتي نَراها

    هِيَ ساداتُ سائِرِ الأَيّامِ

    Indeed, your days that we behold

    are the lords of all other days.

  30. وَلِيُمناكَ بِالسَماحِ اِنهِلالٌ

    مُخجِلٌ صَوبُهُ اِنهِلالَ الغَمامِ

    And your right hand has a downpour of generosity,

    whose rainfall shames the downpour of clouds.

  31. وَمَتى ما هَزَزتَ يَوماً حُساماً

    ضَحِكَ المَوتُ في شِفارِ الحُسامِ

    And whenever, on any day, you brandish a sword,

    death laughs along the sword's cutting edges.

  32. يا سدادَ الثَغرِ المَخوفِ بِطَعنا

    تِ ثُغورِ العِدا وَضَربِ الهامِ

    O bulwark of the feared frontier, with thrusts

    at enemies' mouths and blows to their heads,

  33. وَثَباتٍ يَفتَرُّ عَن وَثَباتٍ

    ثابِتاتٍ بِمُهجَةِ الضِرغامِ

    and steadfastness that opens to reveal leaps

    firmly rooted in the lion's heart.

  34. مُغرَماً بِالإِقدامِ يَضطَرُّ أَعدا

    ءَكَ يَومَ الوَغى إِلى الإِحجامِ

    Enamored of bold advance, forcing your

    enemies, on the day of battle, to retreat.

  35. فَعَلى سَيِّدِ الوَرى المَلِكِ الأَش

    رَفِ أَوفى تَحِيَّةٍ وَسَلامِ

    So upon the master of mankind, King

    al-Ashraf, be the fullest greeting and peace.

  36. دامَ في المُلكِ وَالسَعادَةِ ما دا

    مَ السُّها وَالسِّماكُ وَاِبنا تَمامِ

    May he endure in kingship and happiness as long as

    al-Suha, al-Simak, and the two sons of Tamam endure.