1. إنَّ في الكرخ بين تلك البيوت

    كم لصبٍّ متيَّمٍ من خُفوت

    Indeed, in al-Karkh, among those houses,

    How much an enthralled lover languishes!

  2. ولبيضٍ فُضيَّة الجسمِ كم من

    وجناتٍ تحمرُ كالياقوت

    And the fair, silver-bodied women—how many

    Cheeks they have that redden like rubies!

  3. يتعطَّفن عن غُصونٍ رشيقا

    تٍ ويبسمن عن أغرٍّ شتيت

    They sway, revealing slender boughs,

    And smile to reveal bright, widely spaced teeth.

  4. كلَّما أحيت الضُحى دعت الشم

    س وقالت لها بغيظك موتي

    Whenever she brings the morning to life, she calls the sun

    And tells her, 'Die in your rage!'

  5. مثلَ موتِ الحسود غيظاً بفخر ال

    حسن الاسم في الورى والنُعوت

    Like the envious man's death in rage at the glory of

    Him whose name and attributes are fair among mankind.

  6. ماجدٌ يخفضُ التكرّمُ منه

    ما علَت فيه عزَّةِ الجبروت

    A noble man whose generosity makes him humble,

    However high the pride of might rises within him.

  7. عشقَت نفسُه مفاكهةَ العليا

    ءِ حتَّى لقال حُبُّك قوتي

    His soul fell in love with playful converse with glory,

    Till he declared, 'Love of you is my sustenance.'

  8. لم يَزل بيتُه على أوَّل الدُن

    يا عِيالٌ عليه كلُّ البيوت

    From the world's beginning his house has ever been—

    All houses dependent upon it—

  9. قِبلةً صلَّت القَوافي إليه

    قانتاتٍ بالحمد أيَّ قُنوت

    A qibla toward which the rhymes have prayed,

    Devout in praise—what devotion!

  10. قد نفى الإثمَ مصطفى النسك عنه

    مُذ بناهُ على التُقى للثبوت

    The purest worship has banished sin from it,

    Since he built it upon piety, to stand firm.

  11. يا بن قومٍ ما ناضلوا الخصمَ إلاَّ

    شَغلوهُ بسنِّه المنكوت

    O son of a people who never contended with a foe

    Without leaving him busy with his knocked-out tooth.

  12. خُلِقَ الناسُ للكلامِ ولكن

    خُلِقوا إن نطقتُم للسكوت

    People were created for speech, but

    If you speak, they were created for silence.