1. أتعتبني عمادي عمدَ عَينِ

    وعين العُذرِ تعرفه كعيني

    Do you reproach me, my mainstay, deliberately and knowingly?

    And you know the very substance of the excuse as my own eye does.

  2. وعهدي عهدُ معتقدٍ عليمٍ

    بمعتزْ اعتزازك في رُعينِ

    And my pledge is that of one convinced and well aware

    Of the honor of your proud standing in Ruʿayn.

  3. وعجزي معلنٌ بالعذر عني

    فدعْ عتبي أيا سمعي وعيني

    And my inability proclaims my excuse on my behalf.

    So cease reproaching me, O my hearing and my sight.

  4. وعودني التعمد بأعتناء

    وعوذ عهدنا عن لقع عين

    And make attentive care for me your habit.

    And shield our bond from the stroke of an evil eye.

  5. وضع للعدل معيار اعتدال

    عظيم معتلٍ عن عيب عين

    And set a balanced standard for justice,

    Great and lofty, beyond any fault an eye could find.

  6. أأعمدُ للبديع بديعِ عصري

    بعين العيّ عنت بالمعين

    Would I approach the wondrous one, the marvel of my age,

    With sheer inarticulacy—a burden upon the helper?

  7. وعندي عقد أعظام وعلم

    بعلياه لعمري مانعين

    While I hold a bond of reverence and knowledge

    Of his eminence—two restraints, by my life.

  8. وضعفي عاقني عن بعث عين

    تعوضها بعقيان وعين

    And my weakness kept me from sending a choice offering

    Which you would recompense with pure gold and ready coin.

  9. فعَدتَ علي معتمدي بصنع

    لتصنعني على رعيٍ وعين

    So you returned to me, my mainstay, with kindness,

    To nurture me under care and a watchful eye,

  10. وتُمرعَ عرصتي عن بعد عهد

    بعهد هامعٍ عن عين عين

    And make my courtyard lush after a long dry spell,

    With fresh rain pouring from the eye of a spring.

  11. وتبدع للمعَالي مُعجزات

    فتطلعَ للعيون شُعاع عين

    And create marvels for lofty deeds,

    Thus revealing to all eyes the radiance of a sun.

  12. فيا علماً لأعلام عظام

    علا بالعلم أعلى المطلعين

    So, O beacon to mighty beacons,

    Who rose through learning above the loftier of the two horizons.

  13. ويا عينا يعرفنا رعينا

    بعزِّ العزم عند المجمعين

    And O eminent one who makes Ruʿayn known to us

    Through strength of resolve before both assemblies.

  14. ويا معتامَ صنعته اختراعاً

    عجيب النوع معتاماً لعين

    And O chooser whose handiwork is invention,

    Wondrous in kind, chosen for the eye.

  15. سأتبعُ شرعكَ الأعلى أتباعاً

    واشرع عند عذب المشرعين

    I shall follow your loftiest law in full obedience,

    And drink at the sweet water of both watering places.

  16. وأطلع للعيون على شعابٍ

    يبعث طليعة وببعث عين

    And rise before all eyes upon mountain paths;

    He sends an advance scout, with a spy dispatched as well.

  17. وأدعو عُربها شعباً فشعباً

    لا جمع جمع عين للرعيني

    And summon their Arabs, tribe after tribe:

    Not a crowd—a gathering of notables for al-Ruʿaynī.

  18. وارجع شيعةً لعلا علي

    وانزع بانتزاعي منزعين

    And bring back a following for ʿAlī's glory,

    And, through what I draw forth, pursue two aims.

  19. وعندي بعد عودتي اعترافٌ

    ومعذرةٌ تعاد لذي رُعين

    And after my return I have an acknowledgment,

    And an apology renewed for Dhū Ruʿayn.

  20. وبعض الشعر عن عين عُريٌ

    فعدّ الموضعين بموضعين

    And some of the verse is bare of the letter ʿayn;

    So reckon the two places against two others.