1. أنا إن غضبت وإن رضيت حبيب

    وعلي تعداد الذنوب ذنوب

    I am beloved, whether angry or pleased.

    And counting sins against me is itself sinful.

  2. أنا وردة وبد الأحبة غصنها

    ونسيمها فوق الرؤوس يطيب

    I am a rose, and the beloveds' idol is its stem.

    And its breeze is fragrant above people's heads.

  3. طافت سجايا الروض حول معاطفي

    فعلام مثلي عندكم مسبوب

    The garden's graces circled round my sides;

    So why is someone like me reviled among you?

  4. لي في المحبة نشأة تعصى الهوى

    وتنوب ثم تعود ثم تنوب

    In love, I have a nature that defies passion,

    And repents, then returns, then repents.

  5. نال الهوى مني ولين جانبي

    لكنما عود الشباب صلهب

    Passion has taken its toll on me and softened my side,

    Yet the stem of youth is tall and strong.

  6. ولئن صددت فكل عضور راقص

    مني يكاد وما دعوت يجيب

    And even if I turn away, every dancing limb

    Of mine almost answers, though you have not called.

  7. الصبح يضحك كل يوم من فتى

    يهوى ويعلو حاجبيه قطوب

    Dawn laughs every day at a youth

    Who loves, while a scowl covers his brows.

  8. غضبي لانك بينهم في غربة

    ان الكريم على الكريم غضوب

    My anger is because you are a stranger among them;

    For a noble man is quick to anger at another noble man.

  9. من أين أنت وأين من عاشرتهم

    أو كل منقسب اليك نسيب

    Where are you from, and where are those you kept company with?

    Or is everyone claiming kinship with you a kinsman?

  10. أمن المروءة ان احلك ناظري

    وتحلني حيث الظنون تخيب

    Is it honorable that I lodge you in my eye,

    While you lodge me where expectations fail?

  11. ما زلت أعجب كيف غرك قولهم

    وأقول ان تصغى لهم لعجوب

    I still marvel at how their words deceived you,

    And I say: your listening to them is truly astonishing.

  12. لا كان قولهم فإن لوقعه

    بصميم قرطاس القلوب ندوب

    Would that their speech had never been, for its impact leaves

    Scars deep within the parchment of hearts.

  13. الظل أثبت من وداد أجلهم

    وإذا طلبت تهزه فعسيب

    A shadow is more constant than their greatest man's affection;

    And if you seek to shake him, he is a bare palm stalk.

  14. جذبتك يمنى لا تخون شمالها

    وثناك باع بالوفاء رحيب

    A right hand drew you in, one that does not betray its left,

    And an arm-span wide with loyalty turned you back.

  15. فطلعت من بعد الغروب وكان

    للحساد من بعد الطلوع غروب

    So you rose after setting, and there came

    For the envious, a setting after that rise.

  16. أأخي أفق ان اللجابة ذمة

    فينا وما خفر الذمام نجيب

    O my brother, awake: nobility is a binding pledge

    Among us, and no noble man has broken the covenant.

  17. والليث ملموم العربن بمثله

    وابو الحصين بمثله مصحوب

    And the lion's den is thronged with his own kind,

    And Abu al-Huṣayn, the fox, is accompanied by his like.

  18. غصوا بحرق لم تزل لهواتهم

    فيها وان شربوا الفرات لهيب

    They choked on burning anguish; their throats never ceased

    To blaze within it, even if they drank the Euphrates.

  19. جهلوا اتحاد السيف فيهم والطلا

    ونسوا بأن الانتقام قريب

    They knew not the union of sword and necks among them,

    And forgot that vengeance is near.

  20. أأخي وترب فضائلي انا للعلا

    أو أنت كل طالب مطلوب

    O my brother, peer of my virtues, is it I who aspire to greatness,

    Or you? Every seeker is sought.

  21. جنب أخاك عن الملام وقل له

    السهم يخطىء تارة ويصيب

    Spare your brother reproach, and tell him:

    An arrow sometimes misses and sometimes hits.

  22. لا تجعلوا خطأ المصيب عقابه

    ان الصواب كما يلوح يغيب

    Do not punish one who is usually right for his mistake;

    For right judgment vanishes, just as it comes to light.