1. يا حاتم الجود وبحر الندى

    ومعدن الاحسان والخير

    O Hatim of generosity, sea of bounty,

    and mine of kindness and goodness,

  2. أوليتني ما كنت أملته

    وفزت بالحمد وبالشكر

    you bestowed on me what I had hoped for,

    and you have won praise and thanks.

  3. وقد كفيت البرد لكنني

    حاشاك محتاج إلى البر

    And I have been shielded from the cold, yet I—

    with all respect to you—am in need of wheat.

  4. فما ببيتي أبدا فارة

    تلوح في يوم ولا شهر

    For never does a mouse in my house

    appear, on any day or in any month.

  5. ولا به حبة قمح ولا

    ملم ينقد الطير مدى الدهر

    Nor is there in it a grain of wheat, nor

    a scrap for birds to peck at throughout all time.

  6. وسوق شعري قد غدا كاسدا

    والقمح قد اصبح في سعر

    And the market for my poetry has grown stagnant,

    while wheat now commands a high price.

  7. وكل من جئت إلى بابه

    ودمعتي من مقلتي تجري

    And everyone whose door I came to,

    while my tear streamed from my eye,

  8. يقول ان رمت زوال العنا

    وتأمن الخوف من الفقر

    says: “If you seek an end to hardship

    and would be safe from the fear of poverty,

  9. فلذ بتاج الدين تاج العلا

    رب الثناء الطيب النشر

    then seek refuge in Taj al-Din, crown of glory,

    master of sweetly fragrant praise,

  10. مولى ربيع الفضل يحيى به

    روض المعالي خالد الذكر

    a lord, springtime of bounty, through whom is revived

    the garden of noble deeds; his renown is everlasting.

  11. من جاء صفر الكف يوما له

    يؤب بالبيض وبالصفر

    Whoever comes to him one day empty-handed

    returns with white silver and yellow gold.

  12. اسخى من الغيث اذا ما همى

    وكفه اندى من البحر

    More generous than rain when it pours,

    and his palm is more bountiful than the sea.

  13. يمينه تروي الندى عن عطا

    ووجهه يرويه عن بشر

    His right hand relates bounty on the authority of ‘Ata (Giving),

    and his face relates it on the authority of Bishr (Good Cheer).

  14. نواله مكبا اذا ما جرى

    مرسله احلى من القطر

    His bounty pours headlong whenever it flows;

    what he sends forth is sweeter than syrup.

  15. ما فيه من عيب سوى انه

    يجود في العسر وفي اليسر

    He has no fault, except that he

    gives generously in hardship and in ease.”

  16. مولاي يا اوفى الورى نائلا

    ومن سما بالمجد والفخر

    My lord, O most lavish of mortals in giving,

    and you who have risen high in glory and pride,

  17. خذها عروسا قد حلا وصفها

    تجتال في عقد من الدر

    take her as a bride, sweetly described,

    swaying in a necklace of pearls.

  18. جاءت إلى نحوك من خدرها

    تضرب عن زيد وعن عمرو

    She has come toward you from her curtained chamber,

    turning away from Zayd and from ‘Amr.

  19. فجهز البر لها عاجلا

    واغنم ثنايَ واغتنم اجري

    So prepare the wheat for her at once,

    and win my praise and earn the reward for aiding me.

  20. لا زلت في عز وفي رفعة

    وفي علو ماضيَ الامر

    May you ever remain in might and eminence,

    and in high rank, your command prevailing;

  21. ولا برحت الدهر في عيشة

    راضية منشرح الصدر

    and may you always, through all time, live a life

    of contentment, your heart at ease,

  22. ما مال غصن الروض في دوحة

    ورنحته نسمة الفجر

    as long as a garden bough bends in a spreading tree

    and the dawn breeze sets it swaying.