أَتَتني مِن سَيِّدي رُقعَةٌ

أَتَتني مِن سَيِّدي رُقعَةٌ

فَقُلتُ الزُلالُ وَقُلتُ الضَرب

فَقُلتُ الزُلالُ وَقُلتُ الضَرب

A note came to me from my master.

A missive came to me from my master

So I said, 'Clear water!' and said, 'White honey!'

So I said: It glitters, and I said: It shines

وَرُحتُ لِرَسمِ اِسمِهِ لاثِماً

وَرُحتُ لِرَسمِ اِسمِهِ لاثِماً

كَأَنّي لَثَمتُ اللَمى وَالشَنَب

كَأَنّي لَثَمتُ اللَمى وَالشَنَب

And I began kissing his written name,

And I began tracing his name in rapture

as though I had kissed dusky lips and a mouth's cool sweetness.

As if my lips were savoring wine

فَيا حَبَّذا غُرُّ أَبياتِها

فَيا حَبَّذا غُرُّ أَبياتِها

وَما أودِعَت مِن فُنونِ الأَدَب

وَما أودِعَت مِن فُنونِ الأَدَب

How lovely are its radiant verses,

What marvelous, subtle verses it bore

and the literary arts with which it is endowed!

Filled with the finest rhetoric and lore!

فَأَودَعتُها في صَميمِ الفُؤا

فَأَودَعتُها في صَميمِ الفُؤا

دِ وَلَم أَرضَ تَسطيرَها بِالذَهَب

دِ وَلَم أَرضَ تَسطيرَها بِالذَهَب

So I placed it in the very core of my heart,

I placed it deep in my innermost heart

and was not content to have it inscribed in gold.

And would not glorify it in gold anymore

فَيا أَيُّها السَيِّدُ الفاضِلُ ال

فَيا أَيُّها السَيِّدُ الفاضِلُ ال

شَريفُ الفِعالِ المُنيفُ الحَسَب

شَريفُ الفِعالِ المُنيفُ الحَسَب

So, O virtuous master,

O excellent, noble sir of flawless repute

noble in deeds, lofty in ancestral honor!

Of gracious deed, of purest attribute!

رَقيتَ هِضابَ العُلى مُسرِعاً

رَقيتَ هِضابَ العُلى مُسرِعاً

كَأَنَّكَ مُنحَدِرٌ مِن صَبَب

كَأَنَّكَ مُنحَدِرٌ مِن صَبَب

You swiftly climbed the hills of glory,

You climbed the heights of glory in great haste

as though you were descending a slope.

As though cascading from a mountaintop

وَكُلُّ بَعيدٍ مِنَ المَكرُماتِ

وَكُلُّ بَعيدٍ مِنَ المَكرُماتِ

كَأَنَّكَ تَأخُذُهُ مِن كَثَب

كَأَنَّكَ تَأخُذُهُ مِن كَثَب

And every far-off noble deed—

And every far-flung generosity

you seem to grasp it from close at hand.

You seize as though from a nearby hilltop

أَتَيتُكَ مُعتَرِفاً بِالقُصو

أَتَيتُكَ مُعتَرِفاً بِالقُصو

رِ وَأَينَ اللَآلي مِنَ المُخشَلَب

رِ وَأَينَ اللَآلي مِنَ المُخشَلَب

I came to you acknowledging my inadequacy—

I come to you contrite, confessing my dearth

and how can pearls be compared with glass beads?

While nothing compares to your priceless worth

وَإِنّي مِنكَ لَفي خَجلَةٍ

وَإِنّي مِنكَ لَفي خَجلَةٍ

لِأَنّي أُقَصِّرُ عَمّا وَجَب

لِأَنّي أُقَصِّرُ عَمّا وَجَب

And indeed I feel ashamed before you,

For beside you I am filled with shame

because I fall short of what is due.

Falling short of what duty does claim