1. فديتك لو لم تكن لي قريبا

    وكنت أمرأ أجنبياً غريبا

    May I be your ransom! Even if you were not my kinsman,

    and were an unrelated man, a stranger,

  2. مع البر منك وما تنجز

    به مستخفاً اليك اللبيبا

    with your kindness and what you fulfill,

    drawing the discerning man swiftly to you thereby,

  3. لما أن جعلت لخلقٍ سوا

    ك مثل نصيبك مني نصيبا

    I would not have allotted to anyone other than

    you a share from me equal to yours.

  4. وكنت المقدم ممن أود

    وازداد حقك عندي وجوبا

    And you would be foremost among those I love,

    and your claim upon me would grow more binding.

  5. تلطف لما قد تكلمت فيه

    فما زلت في الحاج شهماً نجيبا

    Deal gently with the matter I have spoken of,

    for you have always been gallant and noble in meeting needs.

  6. وراوض أبا حسنٍ ان رأيت

    واحتل برفقك حتى يجيبا

    And coax Abu Hasan, if you see fit,

    and contrive with your gentleness until he assents.

  7. فان هو صار الى ما تريد

    والا استعنت عليه الحبيبا

    Then if he comes round to what you want—

    otherwise, seek the beloved's help against him.

  8. ومن لا يخالف ما أشتهيه

    لتلفيه من غير شكٍ مجيبا

    And the one who does not oppose what I desire,

    you will surely find responsive, without doubt.

  9. يودك خاقان وداً عجيبا

    كذاك الأديب يود الاديبا

    Khaqan loves you with a wondrous love;

    thus one man of letters loves another.

  10. وانت تكافيه لابل تزيـ

    ـد عليه وتجمع فيه ضروبا

    And you repay him—no, rather you out—

    —do him, combining many forms of kindness toward him.

  11. تثيب أخاك على الود منه

    وذو اللب يأنف ألا يثيبا

    You reward your brother for the love he gives,

    and a man of sense disdains leaving it unrepaid.

  12. ولا سيما اذ براه الاله كالبدر

    يدعو اليه القلوبا

    And especially since God fashioned him like the full moon,

    calling hearts toward him.

  13. يرى المتمني له ردفه

    كثيباً وأعلاه يحكي القضيبا

    The one who longs for him sees his rump

    as a sand dune, while his upper body resembles a slender branch.

  14. وقد فاق في العلم والفهم منه

    كما تم ملحاً وحسناً وطيبا

    And he has excelled in his learning and understanding,

    just as he is perfect in charm, beauty, and sweetness.

  15. ويبلغ فيما يقولون ليس

    يعاف اذا ناولوه القضيبا

    And it is reported, as they say, that he does not

    disdain the rod when they offer it to him.

  16. ولكنه وافق الزاهدين

    فخاب وقد ظن أن لن يخيبا

    But he fell in with the ascetics,

    and was disappointed, though he had thought he would not be.

  17. وان ركب المرء فيه هواه

    عاث فتطهيره ان يتوبا

    And if a man rides his passion for him,

    he wreaks havoc; his purification is to repent.

  18. اذ زارت الشاة ذئباً طبيبا

    فلا تأمنن على الشاة ذيبا

    When the sheep visited a wolf as physician,

    never trust a wolf with the sheep.

  19. وعند الطبيب شفاء السقيم

    اذا أعتل يوماً وجاء الطبيبا

    And with the physician lies the sick man's cure,

    when one day he falls ill and comes to the physician.

  20. ولست ترى فارساً في الأنا

    م الا وثوبا يجيد الركوبا

    And you see no horseman among man—

    —kind but one quick to leap who rides skillfully.