1. جاد وما ضَنَّ عَلَيْهِ ضَنَاهْ

    وَمَا شَفَاهُ غَيْرُ لثم الشِّفاهْ

    He gave freely, and his wasting sickness was not stingy with him;

    and nothing healed him but the kissing of lips.

  2. أَصْبَحَ مَكْفُوفاً بِلاَ مِرْيَةٍ

    لأَنَّه يَعْشَقُ مَنْ لاَ يَرَاهْ

    He became blind, beyond all doubt,

    because he loves one he does not see.

  3. هذا وقد أَقْدم حتى شَرَى

    رِيمَ الفَلاَ مَنْ بَينِ أُسْدِ الشَّراهْ

    This, though he dared so much that he bought

    the wilderness gazelle from among the lions of al-Sharah.

  4. ظبيٌ ومِسْكُ الظُّبْي في سُرَّةٍ

    يُوجَدُ لَكِنْ مِسْكُ ذَا في لَمَاهْ

    A gazelle—a gazelle's musk, in its navel,

    is found; but this one's musk is in his dusky lips.

  5. غُصنٌ جَنَتْ أَزهارَه أَعينٌ

    وأَعينُ العشَّاقِ أَيْدي الجُنَاهْ

    A bough whose blossoms eyes have plucked;

    the lovers' eyes are the gatherers' hands.

  6. شمسٌ يرى الشمسَ ولكنَّه

    يُبْصِر مِنْها وجْهَه في مِرَاه

    A sun who sees the sun, and yet

    sees his own face in it as in a mirror.

  7. حوريُّ إِنْسٍ سُنْدُسِيُّ القَبَا

    لا مِثْل أَعْرابيةٍ في عَباهْ

    A human houri in a robe of fine silk,

    not like a Bedouin woman in a cloak.

  8. في طَرْفِهِ الرَّاحُ وأَجفانُه ال

    كَاسَاتُ والأَهْدَابُ مِنْها السُّقاه

    Wine is in his gaze, and his eyelids are the

    cups; his lashes are their cupbearers.

  9. تقلَّد السَّيف فَقُلْنا فتىً

    وجَاءَ للبَيْتِ فقُلنا فَتَاه

    He girded on a sword, and we said, 'A young man!'

    He came to the house, and we said, 'A maiden!'

  10. أَحْسُد لفظاً قَالَه عندما

    قبَّل فاهُ لَفظُه حِين فَاه

    I envy a word he uttered, when

    his utterance kissed his mouth as he spoke.

  11. يا ساكناً قلباً به سَاكِنٌ

    فَهو بِهَذا قد حَوَى مَا حَواه

    O you who dwell in a heart that dwells in you,

    it has thereby contained what contains it.

  12. أَمِنتُ مِنكَ الموتَ مِنْ يَوْم أَن

    شَرِبتُ من رِيقِكَ مَاءَ الحَياه

    I have felt safe from death at your hands since the day when

    I drank the water of life from your saliva.

  13. آهاً لعيشٍ قد تَقَضَّى به

    ما كانَ أَبْهَاه وأَحْلىَ حُلاه

    Ah, for a life that has passed with him!

    How splendid it was, how sweet its adornments!

  14. أَيَّامَ غُصْني مُورِقٌ مُثْمرٌ

    وقبلَ أَنْ فلَّ شَبَابي شباه

    In the days when my bough was leafy and fruitful,

    and before the edge of my youth was blunted.

  15. وكان عَيْشِي بِمَشيبي قذىً

    نَعَم فَمَا الشَّيْبَةُ إِلاَّ قَذَاه

    And my life, with my graying, was grit in the eye;

    yes, gray hair is nothing but its grit.

  16. وفي حصاةِ القلْبِ طَوْدُ الهوى

    فاعْجَبْ لطَوْدٍ كامنٍ في حَصَاه

    Within the heart's pebble is a mountain of passion;

    marvel at a mountain hidden in a pebble.

  17. وبي جَوىً تضعُفُ منه القوى

    وبي أَسىً تَعجِزُ مِنْه الأُساه

    And in me is burning anguish that saps all strength;

    and in me is sorrow that leaves healers helpless.

  18. جار عليَّ الدَّهرُ في حُكْمِه

    وزاد في طُغْيانِه واعْتِدَاه

    Time has wronged me in its judgment,

    and increased its tyranny and aggression.

  19. لا يعلقُ الدَّهرُ حبالَ امرئٍ

    بابن عليٍّ عُلِّقَتْ رَاحَتَاه

    Time cannot entangle the cords of a man

    whose two palms are fastened to Ibn Ali.

  20. وليكفك الجورُ فَظَهْري حِمىً

    منه لأَني سَاكِنٌ في حِمَاه

    Let injustice suffice you: my back is protected

    from it, for I dwell in his sanctuary.

  21. وأَنت يا خَطْبَ زمانٍ غَدَا

    ذَرني فإِنِّي قاطن في ذُرَاه

    And you, calamity of time, tomorrow

    leave me alone, for I dwell among his heights.

  22. إِنَّ صَفيَّ الدّين حِصْني فما

    يَقْرعُ هذا الدَّهرُ لي من صَفاه

    Safi al-Din is my fortress, so

    this Time can strike none of its stones on my account.

  23. أَروعُ رِيعَ الدَّهْرُ من بأسِه

    وخاف أَن تَنْفُذَ فِيه سُطَاه

    An awe-inspiring man: Time was terrified by his might,

    and feared his onslaughts would pierce it.

  24. طارَتْ أَحادِيثُ سياداتِه

    حُسْناً وطالَتْ في المعالي خُطَاه

    Tales of his lordly distinctions have taken wing

    in beauty; his strides in greatness have grown long.

  25. أَثرى من السُّودَدِ جَدّاً فما

    تُقَبِّل الساداتُ إِلاَّ ثَراه

    He grew exceedingly rich in nobility, so

    the lords kiss nothing but his dust.

  26. تتبَّعُ الساداتُ آثارَه

    وَرَاءَه تَسْعَى وتَجْرِي حُفاه

    The lords follow in his tracks,

    hastening and running barefoot behind him.

  27. أَوسَعُهُم صدراً لَحَمْلِ الْعَنا

    في هِبَة البِرِّ وفَكِّ العُنَاه

    Of them all, he has the broadest breast for bearing hardship,

    in bestowing kindness and freeing captives.

  28. فكلُّ خَلْقٍ جادَه جَودُه

    وكلُّ أَرْضٍ أَمْطَرَتْها سَماَه

    So his generosity has showered every creature,

    and his sky has rained upon every land.

  29. شتَّتَ شَمْلَ المالِ جُوداً به

    حتَّى ظَنَنَّا مَالَه مَنْ عِدَاه

    He scattered his gathered wealth by giving it freely,

    until we thought his wealth was one of his foes.

  30. مَا دَارُه الدارُ التي شَاءَها

    تلك مَقيلُ الوفْدِ مأوَى العُفَاه

    His house is not the house he wished for;

    it is a midday resting place for delegations, a refuge for petitioners.

  31. وابْنُ عليٍّ لم يَزَلْ واصِلاً

    لِمُنْتَهَى العَلياءِ في مُبْتَدَاه

    And Ibn Ali has always attained

    the utmost height of glory at his very outset.

  32. النارُ في خاطِره والنَّدى

    والبطشُ في عَزْمتِهِ والأَناه

    Fire is in his mind, and dew,

    and force is in his resolve, and deliberation.

  33. أَرْضَى عن الدنيا وما تَبْتَغي

    منه ملوكُ الأَرضِ إِلاَّ رِضَاه

    I am content with the world, and nothing is sought

    from him by the kings of earth but his approval.

  34. لولاهُ للمُلْكِ وتَشْيِيدِه

    عُرىً له لانْحَلَّ مِنْه عُراه

    Were he not there for kingship, strengthening

    its bonds, those bonds would have come undone.

  35. شُدت عُرى الملكِ بآرائِه

    وزِيدَ منه قُوَّةً في قُواه

    The bonds of kingship were tightened by his counsel,

    and through him more strength was added to its powers.

  36. وحِيلَ مِنْه بأَجَلِّ الورى

    بأَشْوَسِ الخَلقِ وأَكْفى الكُفاه

    And through him it was entrusted to the noblest of mortals,

    the fiercest of men, the most capable of the capable.

  37. يا ابنَ عليٍّ أَنْتَ ذاكَ الذِي

    أَوْدَع فيه اللهُ سرَّ السُّراه

    O Ibn Ali, you are the one

    in whom God placed the secret of the nobles.

  38. أَنْتَ الذي أَوْليْتَني أَنْعُماً

    قَدْ نَقَلْتُها إِذ رَوَتْها الرُّواه

    You are the one who bestowed favors upon me,

    which I have reported as the narrators recounted them.

  39. أَنشَرْتَ آماليَ بَعْدَ البِلى

    أَحيَيْتَ أَحْوَاليَ بَعْدَ الوَفاه

    You resurrected my hopes after decay;

    you revived my fortunes after death.

  40. حاشاي أَن أُظْلَم في دَوْلَةٍ

    شعارُها العدلُ وحَاشَا عُلاَه

    Far be it from me to suffer wrong in a realm

    whose emblem is justice; far be it from his eminence.

  41. قد كَفَّ أَعدائي وقد ردَّهم

    بغيظِهم لما أَتَوْنِي غُزاه

    He has checked my enemies and repelled them

    in their fury, when they came to me as raiders.

  42. قابَلَهم دوني على أَنَّهم

    ما فيهمُ من أَنال منّي مُنَاه

    He confronted them in my defense, although

    none of them had obtained from me what he desired.

  43. لو مدَّ صَرْف الدَّهر نَحْوي يداً

    واحدةً منه لشُلَّت يداه

    If Time's caprice stretched a hand toward me,

    a single one of its own, both its hands would be paralyzed.

  44. وخاب من يَقْصِدُني رامياً

    لا يَصِلُ النَّجْمَ سِهامُ الرُّمَاه

    And whoever comes to shoot at me is foiled;

    archers' arrows cannot reach the star.

  45. قالوا له مالٌ نعم إِنَّ لي

    من جُودِه الفائِض مالٌ وجَاه

    They said, 'He has wealth.' Yes, I have

    wealth and standing from his overflowing generosity.

  46. حاليَ كالْحَلْي بإِنعامِه

    والحَلْيُ لا تُؤْخَذُ مِنْهُ زكاه

    My state is like jewelry through his favor,

    and no alms-tax is taken from jewelry.