1. ما ضرّ من أَهدى إِليّ الخَيالْ

    لو أَنَّه أَهدى إِليّ الخيالْ

    What harm would it have done the one who sent me the apparition

    if he had sent me the apparition?

  2. فهل تراني كنتُ إِلا كمَنْ

    آلَ إِلى أَنْ عادَ يَرويه آل

    So do you think I was anything but like one

    who ended up with a mirage to slake his thirst?

  3. ضننتُم من بعد جودٍ فيا

    قبحَ انفصالٍ بَعْد حسنِ اتِّصال

    You withheld after generosity—oh,

    the ugliness of parting after the beauty of union!

  4. واللهِ ما أَحسن بي حسنُكم

    كلاَّ ولا أَجملَ ذاكَ الجمال

    And by God, your beauty did me no kindness;

    no indeed, nor did that beauty act graciously.

  5. وذِكْرُ وصلِي لكم مُسْقِمي

    فليتَ لا كَان زمانُ الوصال

    And remembering my union with you makes me ill;

    so would that the time of union had never been!

  6. ذَمِّي لأَيامِيَ من بعدهِ

    يَشْغَلُني عن شُكرِ تلك الليالْ

    My censure of my days since then

    keeps me from giving thanks for those nights.

  7. ضلَّ دَليلي فتذكَّرتكُم

    والبدرُ قد يُذكَر عِنْد الضَّلال

    My guide went astray, so I remembered you;

    and the full moon may be remembered when the way is lost.

  8. أَبصرت يوم البينِ أُعجوبةً

    وُدّاً مصوناً تحتَ دَمع الدَّلال

    On the day of parting I saw a marvel:

    love kept safe beneath the tears of coyness.

  9. وزالت الشمسُ فلا غَرْوَ إِن

    قضيتُ فرضَ الحزنِ بعدَ الزوال

    And the sun declined; no wonder, then, if

    I discharged grief's obligation after its decline.

  10. شمسٌ تغورُ الشمسُ منها كما

    أَنَّ غزاليَ غارَ منه الغزال

    A sun before which the sun sinks, just as

    the gazelle grew jealous of my gazelle.

  11. قل لأَبي الطيبِ ما طاب لي

    في الصيدِ إِلاَّ صيدُ هذا الهلال

    Tell Abu al-Tayyib: nothing pleased me

    in hunting except hunting this crescent moon.

  12. واللهِ ما دلَّ عليَّ البلى

    إِلاَّ الذي دلَّ عليكَ الدلال

    And by God, none led wasting to me

    but the one who led coyness to you.

  13. إِن كسرَ الجفنَ فلا غروَ أَن

    تكسِرَه الأَبطالُ يومَ النِزال

    If he droops his eyelid, it is no wonder that

    champions break him on the day of combat.

  14. وقد تسلَّى القلبُ عنه ولم

    يبقَ جِلادٌ معه أَو جِدال

    And the heart has ceased pining for him, and no

    fighting with him or dispute remains.

  15. آنسني القُربُ ويومَ النوى

    مواهب العادل يومَ النوال

    Closeness comforted me, and on the day of separation,

    so did al-Adil's gifts on the day of largesse.

  16. الآخذُ الأَقرانِ بعد الوغى

    والواهبُ الآلافِ قبل السؤال

    The captor of matched foes after battle,

    and the giver of thousands before being asked;

  17. والطالب الأَطلابِ والسالب الأَسـ

    ـلاب والقاتلُ يوم القتال

    and the pursuer of armies, and the taker of plun-

    der, and the slayer on the day of battle;

  18. والواسع الصدرِ لدَى موقفٍ

    ضاقَ على الرَّاجلِ فيه المجَالْ

    and broad of breast in a position

    where the foot soldier has little room to move.

  19. يسير سَير السيلِ في موكبٍ

    يُريكَ أُنموذَج سَيْرِ الجبال

    He moves as a torrent moves in a procession

    that shows you an image of mountains on the move.

  20. أَخلى ديارَ الكُفْرِ أَو لم يدع

    فيها خلالاً حين جاس الخلال

    He emptied the abodes of unbelief—or rather left no

    space untouched there when he scoured their midst.

  21. وأَوثق الأَسرى فقد أَصبحت

    غدائرُ القتلى لهم كالحِبال

    And he bound the captives fast, so

    the braids of the slain have become like ropes for them.

  22. سيفٌ نضاه ذُو العلا للعلى

    كما جلاه للهدى ذو الجلال

    A sword the Possessor of Glory unsheathed for glory,

    as the Possessor of Majesty polished it for guidance.

  23. أعلى به الله هوادي الهدى

    بِه هدَّ ظِلاَلَ الضَّلال

    With it God raised the guides of guidance;

    with it He brought down the shadows of error.

  24. فأَنزل الشركَ بدار الرَّدى

    وصيَّر الكفرَ ببالِ الوبال

    Thus He lodged polytheism in the abode of death,

    and reduced unbelief to a state of ruin.

  25. فأَصبح الإِسلامُ في نُضْرةٍ

    قد طال في غُرَّته واستطال

    So Islam came into bloom,

    having risen high in his radiance and towered proudly.

  26. والخلقُ من نعماه في جَنَّة

    ومِنْ قَضَايَا عَدْلِه فِي ظلال

    And creation, through his bounty, is in a garden,

    and, through the judgments of his justice, in shade.

  27. أعمارهم بالخير معمورة

    منه كما الأحوال منهم حوال

    Their lives are filled with goodness

    from him, even as their circumstances change.

  28. يا مَلكاً لا ينبغي ملكُه

    إِلاَّ له وُقيت عينَ الكمالْ

    O king whose kingship befits

    him alone—may you be guarded from perfection's eye!

  29. وقد أَتاك العام مستبشراً

    يهزُّ عطفيه من الاختيال

    And the year has come to you rejoicing,

    swaying its flanks in proud swagger,

  30. مُبَشراً فيك بنيل المنى

    وفي الذي ترجُو بقُربِ المنالْ

    heralding for you the fulfillment of wishes,

    and, for what you hope for, attainment close at hand.

  31. فاسْعد بهذا العام في نعمةٍ

    آمنة المكثِ من الانتقال

    So rejoice in this year amid a blessing

    that abides securely, safe from passing away.

  32. ولا ذوى ملكَكَ ربٌ قضى

    له على الخلق بأَنْ لا زَوَال

    And may the Lord never let your kingdom wither, having decreed

    that, over creation, it should never pass away.