1. عَذَّبْتَ طَرْفيَ بالسَّهَرْ

    وأَذَبْتَ قلبيَ بالفِكَرْ

    You tormented my eyes with sleeplessness,

    and melted my heart with thoughts.

  2. ومزجْتَ صفْوَ مودَّتي

    من بَعد بُعْدِكَ بالكَدَرْ

    You mingled the purity of my affection,

    after your absence, with sorrow.

  3. وَمَنَحت جُثماني الضَّنَى

    وَكَحلْتَ جفَنْيَ بالسَّهَرْ

    You bestowed wasting sickness upon my body,

    and lined my eyelids with sleeplessness.

  4. وجَفَوْتَ صَبّاً ما لَهُ

    عن حُسْن وجهك مُصْطَبَرْ

    You shunned a lovesick man who has no

    endurance apart from your face's beauty.

  5. يا قلبُ ويْحَكَ كم تُخا

    دَع بالغُرُور وكم تُغَرْ

    O heart, alas for you! How often

    are you deceived by delusion, how often beguiled!

  6. وإِلامَ تكْلَفُ بالأَغَن

    نِ من الظباء وبالأَغَرّ

    How long will you be enamored of the soft-voiced

    among gazelles, and of the radiant one?

  7. ريمٌ يُفَوّقُ إنْ رما

    ك بِسَهمِ ناظره النَظَرْ

    A white gazelle that nocks, when it shoots

    at you, a glance—the arrow of its eye.

  8. تَرَكَتْكَ أَعْيُن تَرْكُهَا

    من بأسهنَّ على خَطَرْ

    Eyes have left you; to forsake them

    is perilous, such is their power.

  9. وَرَمَتْ فَأَصمَت عَن قِسي

    يٍ لا يُناطُ بها وتَرْ

    They shot and struck dead, from bows

    to which no string is fastened.

  10. جَرَحَتْكَ جَرْحاً لا يُخَي

    يَطُ بالخيوطِ ولا الإِبَرْ

    They wounded you with a wound that cannot

    be stitched with threads or needles.

  11. تَلْهُو وَتَلعَب بالعُقُو

    ل عيونُ أبناء الخَفَرْ

    Minds are toys and playthings

    for the eyes of bashful youths.

  12. فكأنَّهُنَّ صَوالِجٌ

    وكأنَّهُنَّ لها أُكَرْ

    Those eyes seem like polo mallets,

    and minds like balls for them.

  13. تُخفي الهَوَى وتُسِرُّهُ

    وخَفيُّ سِرِّكَ قَد ظَهَرْ

    You hide love and conceal it,

    yet your hidden secret has come to light.

  14. أَفَهَلْ لِوَجْدكَ من مَدَى

    يُفْضي إِلَيهِ فَينتظرْ

    Does your passion have some limit

    it might reach, so that one could await it?

  15. نفسي الفِدَاءُ لشادِنٍ

    أَنا مِن هَواهُ على خطرْ

    My soul be the ransom of a young gazelle;

    his love has put me in danger.

  16. رَشَأٌ تحار له الخَواطر

    إنْ تثنَّى أو خَطَرْ

    A fawn at whom thoughts grow bewildered

    when he sways or struts.

  17. عذل العذول وما رآ

    هُ فَحين عايَنَه عَذَرْ

    The reproacher blamed me without seeing

    him; once he beheld him, he excused me.

  18. قمرٌ يَزين ضوءَ صب

    ح جبينه ليلُ السَّعَرْ

    A moon whose brow's dawn-light is adorned

    by the night of his thick hair.

  19. تُدْمي اللّواحظُ خَدَّه

    فترى لها فيه أَثَرْ

    Glances draw blood from his cheek,

    and you see their marks upon it.

  20. هو كالهلال مُلَثَّماً

    والبدْرِ حُسْناً إنْ سَفَرْ

    Veiled, he is like the crescent,

    and, unveiled, a full moon in beauty.

  21. وَيْلاَهُ ما أحلاهُ في

    قلبي الشَجِيّ وما أَمَرْ

    Alas! How sweet he is within

    my grieving heart, and how bitter!

  22. نومي المحرَّم بَعْدَهُ

    وربيع لذّاتي صَفَرْ

    Since he left, my sleep is Muharram—forbidden;

    my pleasures' spring is Safar—empty.

  23. بالمشْعَرَيْن وبالصَّفا

    والبيتِ أُقْسم والحَجَرْ

    By the two sacred stations and al-Safa,

    by the House and the Stone, I swear,

  24. وبمن سَعَى فيه وطا

    ف ولَبَّى واِعْتَمَرْ

    and by whoever walked its rites and circumambulated,

    answered the pilgrimage call, and performed umrah:

  25. لَئِنِ الشريف المُوسَوي

    يُ ابن الشريف أبي مُضَرْ

    if the noble al-Musawi,

    son of the noble Abu Mudar,

  26. أبْدَى الجُحُودَ ولم يَرُد

    دَ إليَّ مملوكي تَتَرْ

    shows denial and fails to return

    my slave Tatar to me,

  27. والَيْتُ آل أُمَيَّةَ الط

    طُهُر الميامينِ الغُرَرْ

    I shall ally myself with the house of Umayya,

    the pure, auspicious, radiant ones.

  28. وجَحَدْتُ بَيْعَةَ حَيْدَر

    وَعَدَلْتُ عنه إلى عُمَرْ

    I shall deny the pledge of allegiance to Haydar,

    and turn from him to Umar.

  29. وأُكَذِّبُ الراوي وأَطْ

    عَنُ في ظُهور المُنْتَظَرْ

    I shall call the narrator a liar and cast doubt

    on the advent of the Awaited One.

  30. وَإِذا رَوَوا خَبرَ الغَدي

    رِ أَقول ما صَحَّ الخَبَرْ

    Whenever they recount the report of Ghadir,

    I shall say, 'The report is not authentic.'

  31. وَلَبِست فيهِ مِنَ المَلا

    بِسِ ما اِضْمَحَلَّ وَما دَثَرْ

    For it, I shall wear garments

    that have faded and become threadbare.

  32. وَإِذا جَرى ذِكْرُ الصَّحا

    بة بين قومٍ واشْتَهَرْ

    Whenever mention of the Companions

    circulates among people and becomes well known,

  33. قلتُ المُقَدَّمُ شيخُ تي

    مٍ ثمَّ صاحبُهُ عُمَرْ

    I shall say, 'First comes the elder of Taym,

    then his companion Umar.

  34. ما سَلَّ قَطُّ ظُباً على

    آلِ النّبيّ ولا شَهَرْ

    Never did he draw blades against

    the Prophet's family, nor brandish them.

  35. كلّا ولا صَدَّ البَتُو

    لَ عَنِ التُّراث ولا زَجَرْ

    Certainly not; nor did he bar al-Batul

    from the inheritance or rebuke her.

  36. وأثابَهَا الحُسْنَى وما

    شَقَّ الكتابَ ولا بَقَرْ

    He rewarded her with kindness and did not

    tear up the document or rip it open.'

  37. وبَكَيْتُ عثمانَ الشَّهي

    د بُكاءَ نسوان الحَضَرْ

    I shall weep for Uthman the martyr

    as the women of the towns weep,

  38. وشرحْتُ حُسْنَ صلاته

    جُنْحَ الظَّلام المُعْتَكِرْ

    and expound the beauty of his prayers

    in the deepening darkness of night.

  39. وَقَرأتُ مِن أَوراقِ مُصْ

    حَفِهِ البراءَةَ والزُّمَرْ

    I shall read from the pages of his Qur'an

    al-Bara'ah and al-Zumar.

  40. وَرَثَيت طَلْحَةَ والزُّبَيْ

    رَ بكلّ شِعْرٍ مُبْتَكَرْ

    I shall elegize Talha and al-Zubayr

    with every freshly fashioned poem.

  41. وَأَزورُ قَبرهما وأزْ

    جُرُ مَن لحاني أو زَجَرْ

    I shall visit their graves and rebuke

    whoever censures or rebukes me.

  42. وأقولُ أُمُّ المؤمني

    نَ عُقُوقُهَا إحدى الكِبَرْ

    I shall say, 'The Mother of the Believers—

    disobedience to her is among the gravest sins.

  43. ركبَتْ على جَمَلٍ وسا

    رت من بنيها في زُمَرْ

    She rode a camel and set out

    among bands of her sons.

  44. وَأَتَت لِتُصْلح بينَ جَي

    شِ المُسلمينَ على غَرَرْ

    She came to make peace among

    the Muslim army, despite the peril.

  45. فَأَتى أَبو حَسنٍ وسَل

    لَ حُسَامَهُ وَسَطا وَكَرْ

    Then Abu Hasan came and drew

    his sword, attacked, and charged.

  46. وأذاق إخْوَتَه الرَّدَى

    وبَعيرَ أُمِّهم عَقَرْ

    He made his brothers taste death

    and hamstrung their mother's camel.

  47. ما ضَرَّهُ لو كان كَف

    فَ وعَفَّ عنهم إذ قدرْ

    What harm would it have done him had he held back

    and spared them when he had the power?'

  48. وَأَقولُ إِنّ إمامَكُم

    ولَّى بصِفِّين وفَرّ

    I shall say, 'Your imam

    turned his back at Siffin and fled.'

  49. وَأَقولُ إِنْ أَخطا مُعا

    وِيةٌ فما أخْطَا القَدَرْ

    I shall say, 'If Mu'awiya erred,

    Destiny did not err.'

  50. هَذا وَلَم يَغدُر مُعا

    وِيَة ولا عَمرو مَكَرْ

    And this: Mu'awiya did not betray,

    nor did Amr scheme.

  51. بَطلٌ بسَوْأتِه يُقا

    تِلُ لا بصارمِهِ الذَّكَرْ

    A hero who fights with his private parts,

    not with his hard-steeled sword!

  52. وَجَنيتُ مِن رُطَبِ النَّوا

    صِبِ ما تتمَّر واِخْتَمَرْ

    I shall harvest the Nasibis' ripe dates,

    those that have dried and fermented.

  53. وأقول ذَنْبُ الخارجي

    ن على عليٍّ مُغْتَفَرْ

    I shall say, 'The Kharijites' sin

    against Ali is forgiven.

  54. لا ثائِرٌ لقتالهم

    في النَّهْرَوان ولا أثرْ

    There is no avenger for their killing

    at Nahrawan, nor any trace.'

  55. والأَشْعَرِيُّ بما يؤو

    لُ إِلَيهِ أمرُهُما شَعَرْ

    Al-Ash'ari perceived how

    the affair of the two would turn out.

  56. قالَ اِنصبوا لي مِنْبَراً

    فأنا البريءُ من الخَطَرْ

    He said, 'Set up a pulpit for me;

    I am free of peril.'

  57. فَعَلا وقالَ خَلَعت صا

    حبَكُم وأوجَزَ واخْتَصَرْ

    He mounted it and said, 'I have deposed

    your companion'—briefly and concisely.

  58. وَأَقول إِنّ يزيدَ ما

    شَرِبَ الخمورَ ولا فَجَرْ

    I shall say, 'Yazid did not

    drink wine or commit wickedness.

  59. وَلِجَيشِه بالكَفِّ عن

    أَبناءِ فاطمة أَمَرْ

    He ordered his army to refrain from harming

    the children of Fatima.

  60. وَلَهُ مَعَ البيت الحرا

    م يدٌ تُكَفِّرُ ما غَبَرْ

    Toward the Sacred House he rendered

    a service that atones for what went before.

  61. والشَّمِرُ ما قتل الحُسَيْ

    نَ ولا ابنُ سَعْدٍ ما غَدَرْ

    Shimr did not kill Husayn,

    nor did Ibn Sa'd betray.'

  62. وَحَلَقْتُ في عَشرِ المُحَر

    رَمِ ما اسْتَطَال من الشَّعَرْ

    During Muharram's ten days I shall shave

    whatever hair has grown long.

  63. ونَوَيْتُ صَومَ نَهارِهِ

    وصيامَ أيّامٍ أُخَرْ

    I shall intend to fast through its day,

    and to fast on other days.

  64. وَلَبِست فيهِ أَجَلَّ ثَو

    بٍ لِلمَواسم يُدَّخَرْ

    I shall wear for it the finest garment

    kept for festive occasions.

  65. وَسَهِرتُ في طَبخِ الحبو

    ب من العِشاء إلى السَّحَرْ

    I shall stay awake cooking grains

    from evening until the hours before dawn.

  66. وغَدَوْتُ مُكَحَّلاً أصا

    فح مَن لقيتُ من البَشَرْ

    In the morning, wearing kohl, I shall shake hands

    with every person I meet.

  67. ووقفتُ في وسط الطَّري

    قِ أَقُصُّ شاربَ من عَبَرْ

    I shall stand in the middle of the road,

    trimming the mustache of whoever passes.

  68. وأكلتُ جرجيرَ البُقُو

    لِ بِلَحمِ جرّي البَحرْ

    I shall eat rocket among the greens

    with the flesh of sea catfish.

  69. وَجَعلتُها خَيرَ المآ

    كِلِ وَالفواكِهِ والخُضَرْ

    I shall deem these the finest

    foods, fruits, and vegetables.

  70. وَغَسلتُ رِجلي حاضِراً

    وَمَسحتُ خُفِّيَ في السَّفَرْ

    I shall wash my foot when at home,

    and wipe my leather sock when traveling.

  71. آمين أجْهَرُ في الصَّلا

    ةِ كَمَن بِها قبلي جَهَرْ

    I shall say 'Amen' aloud in prayer,

    as others before me said it aloud.

  72. وأسنُّ تسْنيمَ القُبو

    رِ لِكلُّ قبرٍ يُحْتَفَرْ

    I shall prescribe mounding graves

    for every grave that is dug.

  73. وإِذا اِمرُؤٌ طَلَبَ الدّلِي

    لَ وَردَّ قَولي واِستَمرّ

    If someone asks for proof,

    rejects my words, and persists,

  74. أَو قالَ لي أَنا لا أُسْ

    لِمُ قُلتُ هذا قَد كَفَرْ

    or tells me, 'I do not

    concede,' I shall say, 'He has disbelieved.'

  75. وكَفَفْتُهُ وزجَرْتُهُ

    وكفى بقولي مُزْدَجَرْ

    I shall restrain him and rebuke him;

    my words suffice as a deterrent.

  76. وأَعَنْتُ ضُلّالَ الشّآ

    مِ عَلى الضَّلالِ المُشتهرْ

    I shall help the misguided people of al-Sham

    in their notorious error.

  77. وأَطَعْتُهُم وطعنتُ في ال

    خبر المُعَنْعَنِ والأَثَرْ

    I shall obey them and cast doubt on

    the 'from-so-and-so' reports and transmitted traditions.

  78. وَسَكَنْتُ جِلَّقَ واقْتَدَيْ

    تُ بِهِم وَإِن كانوا بَقَرْ

    I shall settle in Jilliq and follow

    their example, even if they are cattle.

  79. بَقرٌ ترى بِحَليمِهم

    طَيش الظَّليم إذا نَفَرْ

    Cattle: even their forbearing man displays

    the folly of a startled ostrich.

  80. وَهَواؤُهم كَهَوائِهم

    وَخليطِ مائِهم القَذرْ

    Their airs resemble their air,

    and the foul mixture of their water.

  81. وَعَليمُهم مُسْتَجْهل

    وأخو الدّيانة مُحْتَقَرْ

    Their learned man is treated as ignorant,

    and the devout man is despised.

  82. وَخَفيفُهُم مُستَثقل

    وثقيلهم فيه العِبَرْ

    Their lightest man is deemed burdensome,

    while their ponderous man offers many lessons.

  83. وَأَقولُ مِثلَ مقالهم

    بالفاشريّة قد فَشَرْ

    I shall say what they say,

    in Fashari speech: 'He has blustered!'

  84. مَصطيحَتي مَكسورَةٌ

    وَفَطيرَتي فيها قِصَرْ

    'My flat loaf is broken,

    and my unleavened loaf is undersized.'

  85. وطِباعُهُم كجبالهم

    جُبِلت وقُدَّتْ من حَجَرْ

    Their natures, like their mountains,

    were molded and hewn from stone.

  86. ما يُدرِك التَشبيبُ تغ

    ريدَ البلابل في السَّحَرْ

    No love lyric can match

    the nightingales' song before dawn.

  87. وَأَقول في يومٍ تَحا

    رُ لَهُ البَصيرةُ وَالبَصَرْ

    And I shall say on a day when

    insight and eyesight are bewildered,

  88. والصُّحُفُ يُنْشَرُ طَيُّهَا

    والنّارُ ترمي بالشَّرَرْ

    when the folded scrolls are unfurled

    and the Fire hurls sparks:

  89. هذا الشّريفُ أَضَلَّنِي

    بَعدَ الهداية والنَّظَرْ

    'This nobleman led me astray

    after guidance and discernment.

  90. ما لي مُضِلٌّ في الوَرى

    إِلّا الشريف أَبو مُضَرْ

    Among all mankind, none has misled me

    except the noble Abu Mudar.'

  91. فَيُقالُ خُذ بِيَد الشري

    ف فَمُسْتَقَرٌّ كما سَقَرْ

    Then it will be said, 'Take the nobleman's hand;

    Saqar is the resting place of you both.'

  92. لَوَّاحةٌ تَسْطُو فما

    تُبْقي عليه ولا تَذَرْ

    Scorching, it strikes, and

    neither spares him nor leaves him be.

  93. فَاِخْشَ الإِلهَ بِسوءِ فِع

    لك واحْذَرَنْ كلَّ الحَذَرْ

    So fear God for the evil of your deed,

    and beware with every caution.

  94. وَاللَّه يَغفِرُ لِلمُسي

    ءِ إِذا تنصَّل واِعتَذَرْ

    God forgives the wrongdoer

    when he disavows his fault and apologizes,

  95. إلّا لِمَن جَحد الوصي

    ي ولاءه وَلِمَن كَفَرْ

    except one who denies the appointed successor

    his allegiance, and one who disbelieves.

  96. وإليكَهَا بدويّة

    رقَّتْ لرقّتها الحَضَرْ

    Here it is for you, a Bedouin poem

    whose tenderness has softened the townsfolk.

  97. شاميَّةٌ لوشامها

    قَسُّ الفصاحة لافتَخَرْ

    A Syrian poem: were it seen

    by Quss, master of eloquence, he would boast,

  98. ودَرَى وأيقن أنَّني

    بحر وألفاظي دُرَرْ

    and know with certainty that I am

    a sea, and my words are pearls.

  99. وقصيدةٌ كَخَرِيدةٍ

    غَيْدَاءَ تَرْفُلُ في الحبَرْ

    A poem like a secluded maiden,

    lithe, trailing her striped robes.

  100. حبَّرْتُهَا فَغَدَتْ كزه

    ر الرَّوْض باكَرَهُ المطرْ

    I adorned it, and it became like blossoms

    in a garden visited early by rain.

  101. وإلى الشريف بعثتُهَا

    لمّا قراها فانْبَهَرْ

    I sent it to the nobleman;

    when he read it, he was dazzled.

  102. رَدّ الغلامَ وما اِستَمر

    رَ على الجُحُودِ ولا أَصَرْ

    He returned the youth and did not persist

    in denial or remain obstinate.

  103. وأثابني وجزيته

    شُكْراً وقال لقد صَبَرْ

    He rewarded me, and I repaid him

    with thanks; he said, 'He has indeed been patient.'

  104. وظفِرْتُ منه بالمُنَى

    والصَّبْرُ عُقْبَاهُ الظَّفَرْ

    I won from him what I wished,

    and patience ends in triumph.