1. جَعَلَ الرُقادَ لِكَي يُواصِلَ مَوعِدا

    مِن أَينَ لي في حُبِّهِ أَن أَرقُدا

    He made sleep the appointed time for union;

    how can I sleep while loving him?

  2. وَهُوَ الحَبيبُ فَكيفَ أَصبَحَ قاتِلي

    وَاللَهِ لَو كانَ العَدُوُّ لَما عَدا

    And he is the beloved—how has he become my killer?

    By God, had he been my enemy, he would have gone no further.

  3. كَم راحَ نَحوي لائِمٌ وَغَدا وما

    راحَ المَلامُ بِمَسمَعَيَّ وَلا غَدا

    How many a reproacher came toward me at dusk and dawn, yet

    no reproach reached my ears at dusk or dawn,

  4. في كُلِّ مُعتَدِلِ القَوامِ مُهَفهَفٍ

    حُلوِ التَثَنّي وَالثَنايا أَغيَدا

    concerning every slender one of well-proportioned stature,

    sweet of sway and front teeth, supple and graceful.

  5. يَحكي الغَزالَةَ بَهجَةً وَتَباعُداً

    وَيَقولُ قَومٌ مُقلَةً وَمُقَلَّدا

    He resembles the sun in splendor and remoteness,

    and some say, the gazelle in eye and neck.

  6. وَكَذاكَ قالوا الغُصنُ يُشبِهُ قَدَّهُ

    يا قَدَّهُ كُلُّ الغُصونِ لَكَ الفِدا

    Likewise they said a bough resembles his figure;

    O figure of his, may all boughs be your ransom!

  7. يا رامِياً قَلبي بِأَسهُمِ لَحظِهِ

    أَحَسِبتَ قَلبي مِثلَ قَلبِكَ جَلمَدا

    O archer who shoots my heart with the arrows of his glance,

    did you suppose my heart was hard stone, like yours?

  8. وَهَواكَ لَولا جورُ أَحكامِ الهَوى

    ما باتَ طَرفي في هَواكَ مُسَهَّدا

    By love of you, were it not for the tyranny of love's decrees,

    my eye would not have spent the night sleepless for love of you.

  9. وَإِلَيكَ عاذِلُ عَن مَلامَةِ مُغرَمٍ

    ما أتَهَمَ العُذّالُ إِلا أَنجَدا

    And away with you, reproacher, from reproaching a love-stricken man!

    The reproachers never go to Tihamah without going to Najd.

  10. أَوَما تَرى ثَغرَ الأَزاهرِ باسِماً

    فَرَحاً وَعُريانَ الغُصونِ قَد اِرتَدى

    Do you not see the mouth of the blossoms smiling

    for joy, and the naked boughs now clothed?

  11. وَقَفَ السَحابُ عَلى الرُبى مُتَحَيِّراً

    وَمَشى النَسيمُ عَلى الرِياضِ مُقَيَّدا

    The clouds stood bewildered over the hills,

    and the breeze walked fettered over the gardens.

  12. وَيَشوقُني وَجهُ النَهارِ مُلَثَّماً

    وَيَروقُني خَدُّ الأَصيلِ مَوَرَّدا

    And the veiled face of day fills me with longing,

    and the rose-tinted cheek of late afternoon delights me.

  13. وَكَأَنَ أَنفاسَ النَسيمِ إِذا سَرَت

    شَكَرَت لِمَجدِ الدينِ مَولانا يَدا

    And it is as though the breaths of the breeze, when they drift,

    thank our lord Majd al-Din for his generous hand.

  14. مَولىً لَهُ في الناسِ ذِكرٌ مُرسَلٌ

    وَنَدىً رَوَتهُ السُحُبُ عَنهُ مُسنَّدا

    A lord whose renown is freely spread among the people,

    and whose bounty the clouds recount with a chain of transmission from him.

  15. أَلِفَ النَدى وَالسَيفَ راحةُ كَفِّهِ

    فَهُما هُناكَ مُعرَّباً وَمُهَنَّدا

    His palm is accustomed to bounty and the sword;

    so there they are, one Arabized, the other Indian-forged.

  16. وَإِذا اِستَقَلَ عَلى الجَوادِ كَأَنَّهُ

    ظامٍ وَقَد ظَنَّ المَجَرَّةَ مَورِدا

    And when he mounts his steed, it is as though he were

    a thirsty man who has taken the Milky Way for a watering place.

  17. جَعَلَ العِنانَ لَهُ هُنالِكَ سُبحَةً

    وَغَدا لَهُ سَرجُ المُطَهَّمِ مَسجِدا

    There he makes the reins his prayer beads,

    and the well-built steed's saddle becomes his mosque.

  18. مَولىً بَدا مِن غَيرِ مَسأَلَةٍ بِما

    حازَ المُنى كَرَماً وَعادَ كَما بَدا

    A lord who began, unasked, with gifts that

    fulfilled hopes through generosity; he gave again as he began.

  19. وَأَنالَ جوداً لا السَحابُ يُنيلُهُ

    يَوماً وَإِن كانَ السَحابُ الأَجوَدا

    And he bestowed bounty such as no cloud could grant

    on any day, even if that cloud were the most generous.

  20. يُعزى لِقَومٍ سادَةٍ يَمَنِيَّةٍ

    أَعلى الوَرى قَدراً وَأَزكى مَحتِدا

    His lineage is traced to a people of Yemeni lords,

    highest of humankind in rank, and purest in lineage,

  21. الحالِبينَ البُدنَ مِن أَوداجِها

    وَالموقِدينَ لَها القَنا المُتَقَصِّدا

    who milk the sacrificial camels from their jugular veins,

    and kindle fires for them with shattered lances;

  22. وَالغالِبينَ عَلى القُلوبِ مَهابَةً

    وَالواصِلينَ إِلى القُلوبِ تَوَدُّدا

    and who conquer hearts through awe,

    and reach hearts through affection.

  23. وَإِذا الصَريخُ دَعاهُمُ لمُلِمَّةٍ

    جَعَلوا صَليلَ المُرهَفاتِ لَهُ صَدى

    And when a caller for help summons them to a calamity,

    they make the clang of keen-edged swords an echo to his call.

  24. يا سَيِّداً لِلمَكرُماتِ مُشَيِّداً

    لا فُلَّ غَربُكَ سَيِّداً وَمُشَيِّدا

    O lord who builds up noble deeds,

    may your edge never be blunted, as lord and builder!

  25. لَكَ في المَعالي حُجَّةٌ لا تُدعى

    لِمُعانِدٍ وَمَحَجَّةٌ لا تُهتَدى

    In lofty honors you have a proof that cannot be advanced

    for an opponent, and a path that cannot be found.

  26. وَافاكَ شَهرُ الصَومِ يا مَن قَدرُهُ

    فينا كَليلةِ قَدرِهِ لَن يُجحَدا

    The month of fasting has come to you, O you whose worth

    among us, like its Night of Decree, will never be denied.

  27. وَبَقَيتَ حَيّاً أَلفَ عامٍ مِثلَهُ

    مُتَضاعِفاً لَكَ أَجرُهُ مُتَعَدِّدا

    And may you live a thousand years like this,

    with its reward multiplied for you many times over.

  28. وَالدَهرُ عِندَكَ كُلُّهُ رَمَضانُ يا

    مَن لَيسَ يَبرَحُ صائِماً مُتَهَجِّدا

    And all time with you is Ramadan, O

    you who never cease fasting and praying at night.