1. يا من له روض الفؤاد مكان

    وهواه في قلب الشجي فتان

    O you whose abode is the garden of the heart,

    And whose love enchants the sorrowful one's heart.

  2. يهديك وجد الصب اشواقا كما

    تهدي لنا من بعدك الأشجان

    The lover's passion sends you yearnings, just as

    You send us sorrows through your absence.

  3. يا وحشتي مذغاب انس جمالكم

    والانس في مصربكم ريعان

    O my desolation, since the solace of your beauty vanished!

    While fellowship in Egypt, with you, is in full bloom.

  4. ما راعني الا الفراق ولم يكن

    لي منكم يوم الفراق عيان

    Nothing distressed me but parting, and I had no

    Sight of you on the day of parting.

  5. لا تحسبوا ترك التودع عن قلى

    كلا فما لي عنكم سلوان

    Do not think I neglected farewell out of aversion.

    No indeed: I find no solace apart from you.

  6. لكن لفرط مودتي لم تستطع

    يوم الفراق تراكم الأجفان

    But, so great was my affection, they could not—

    My eyelids—see you on the day of parting.

  7. ان تحسبوه على المحب جناية

    فالعفوان العفو منك امان

    If you hold this against the lover as an offense,

    Then pardon—for your pardon is safety.

  8. تاللَه مذ غبتم وشط مزاركم

    اني لورد لقاكم ظمآن

    By God, since you left and your abode grew distant,

    Indeed, I thirst for the draught of meeting you.

  9. فطويل دهر مثل يوم معكم

    وقصير يوم عنكم ازمان

    So a long lifetime is like a day with you,

    And a short day away from you is ages.

  10. ان تنعموا ردوا الرقاد لعل ان

    يحظى بطيف ناظر وسنان

    If you would favor me, restore sleep, so that perhaps

    A drowsy eye may be blessed with your dream-image.

  11. فسقى اويقات السرور ومهدها

    دمع المشوق الوافر الهتان

    May those brief moments of joy and their cradle be watered

    By the yearning lover's abundant, streaming tears.

  12. اني المقيم على العهود ان تطل

    بعد فعهدك بالضمير يصان

    I remain steadfast in our pledges; should you prolong

    Your absence, your pledge is guarded within my heart.

  13. ان تسألوا عن حال صب مغرم

    فالنوم ليس تذوقه العينان

    If you ask how a yearning, enamored lover fares,

    Neither of his eyes tastes sleep.

  14. ولقد عراني منكم يوم النوى

    أشواق قلب بعضها النيران

    Because of you, on the day of separation I was assailed

    By a heart's yearnings, some of them flames.

  15. فصبابتي تهدي اليك مع الصبا

    أرواح شوق عرفها الريحان

    So my ardor sends you, with the east wind,

    Breaths of longing whose scent is sweet basil.

  16. يا آل ودي هل يفوز بطيفكم

    صب قلوقٌ طرفه يقظان

    O kindred of my love, will your dream-image be granted

    To a restless lover whose eye stays awake?

  17. قد كاد يعلن بالغرام لبعدكم

    قلب صبور شانه الكتمان

    Because of your absence, it has almost proclaimed its passion—

    A patient heart whose habit is concealment.

  18. فمتى يراك الطرف شرفت الحمى

    وتسرفيك الآل والأوطان

    So when will my eye see you? You have honored the precincts,

    And family and homelands rejoice in you.

  19. يا حبذا مصر السعيدة قد دنا

    ومن روض مغناها البهي عثمان

    Ah, how lovely is happy Egypt! He has drawn near,

    And Uthman is from the garden of its splendid abode.

  20. إنسان عشق للعلوم ونيلها

    ولعين مقلة انسنا انسان

    A man enamored of learning and its attainment,

    And the pupil of the very eye of our fellowship.

  21. صبّ لآداب تعشق قلبه

    ويلوح من آدابه البرهان

    A lover of letters, which his heart adores,

    And from his learning the proof shines forth.

  22. أضحى لتحصيل العلوم مهاجرا

    ولذيذ وصل العاشق الهجران

    He has gone away to acquire learning,

    And separation is the lover's sweet union.

  23. قد كان لي منه حديث مطرب

    يحكي السلاف وكاسه الآذان

    I once enjoyed his enchanting conversation,

    Like choice wine, with ears for its cup.

  24. والآن وردي ذكره وثناؤه

    والورد لي ما تذرف الأجفان

    And now my daily litany is remembrance and praise of him,

    And my draught is what my eyelids shed.

  25. فغرامه ابدا سميري كلما

    هبت صبا وحديثه الألحان

    So love for him is ever my companion by night, whenever

    An east wind blows, and his words are melodies.

  26. يا أيها الخل الوفي بعهده

    عطفا علي فإنني ولهان

    O you dear friend, faithful to your pledge,

    Be kind to me, for I am distraught with longing.

  27. فعليك مني لطف كل تحية

    وسلام عهد حفظه ايمان

    So to you from me goes every tender greeting,

    And peace from a pledge whose keeping is faith.

  28. ويخص منا بالسلام حبيبنا

    الألمعي أبو العلا عثمان

    And our beloved receives a special greeting from us:

    The brilliant Abu al-Ala Uthman.

  29. فليوهبنكما العلوم وحفظها

    وليفتحن عليكما المنان

    So may He grant you both learning and its retention,

    And may the Bountiful One open the way for you both.

  30. وليرجعنكما الينا بالمنى

    في كل فضل دونه الأقران

    And may He bring you both back to us with hopes fulfilled,

    In every excellence, leaving your peers behind.

  31. أرجوكم خير الدعا بمعالم

    قرنت بها البركات والأذعان

    I ask you for your best prayers at places

    Where blessings and humble submission are joined.

  32. والعيسوي ابن الكرامة ناظم

    عقد الثنا في الحب ليس يشان

    And the Christian Ibn al-Karama strings

    A necklace of praise in love, never blemished.

  33. ويقبل الراحات وهو حسبيكم

    والعفو عن تقصيره احسان

    And kisses your palms, being your [unclear epithet];

    And pardoning his shortcomings is kindness.