1. فنيت غَراماً هَل من الغيد منصف

    يرق لمحزون وَبالوصل يسعف

    I am consumed by love; is there a fair maiden who will be just,

    Who will pity one in sorrow and grant him union?

  2. فَراق الغَواني لا يُقاس بمحنة

    وَما فوقَ هجران الحسان تكلف

    Parting from beautiful women cannot be measured against any ordeal,

    And no hardship exceeds the abandonment of the lovely.

  3. فَتكن بِقَلبي بعد قرب وألفة

    أَما آنَ منهم نظرة وَتعطف

    They have settled in my heart after closeness and intimacy;

    Is it not time for a glance and a little tenderness from them?

  4. فقدت رقادي عندما سار ظعنهم

    وأودعت قَلبي حين حق التخلف

    I lost my sleep when their traveling company departed,

    And surrendered my heart when I had to stay behind.

  5. فَريق من الآرام شطوا واورثوا

    سيول دموع لا تَغيض وَتنشف

    A company of gazelles went far away and left behind

    Floods of tears that neither subside nor dry.

  6. فؤادي كليم من حَبيب فقدته

    وَلست بيَعقوب وَذلك يوسف

    My heart is wounded by a beloved I have lost;

    I am no Jacob, nor is that beloved Joseph.

  7. فَعَيناي مبيضان حزناً لفقده

    واني كَظيم زاد مني التأسف

    Yet my eyes have grown white with grief at the loss,

    And I am stifling sorrow, my regret ever growing.

  8. فَواصِل لحظ منه للقَلب فصلت

    وَشك فؤادي رمح قد مثقف

    A succession of glances from that beloved has cut through my heart,

    And pierced it like a well-shaped spear.

  9. فضاضة قَلب الغانيات غَريزة

    فأني لهم للعاشقين تألف

    Hardness of heart is in the nature of beautiful women;

    How, then, could they feel affection for lovers?

  10. فدآء لهم قَلبي الكَئيب وَمُهجَتي

    وان صدهم عني العَذول المعنف

    My sorrowful heart and my very soul are a ransom for them,

    Though the harsh reproacher keeps them from me.

  11. فكلي إِلى مغناهم متشوق

    وَبعضي الى لقياهم متشوف

    All of me longs for their dwelling,

    And part of me yearns to meet them.

  12. فتور بعينيهم لنا منه فترة

    أَلَست تَرى منها الوَرى تتخوف

    There is languor in their eyes, from which we get a moment’s respite;

    Do you not see how people fear those eyes?

  13. فَعال الظَبي دون اللحاظ اذا رنت

    وَيَعلو طعان السمر قد مهفهف

    A gazelle falls short of their glances when they gaze,

    And a slender figure rises above the thrust of dark spears.

  14. فَما قَبل من أَهوى كسى البدر حلة

    وَلا قبل وَالينا حوى الطود رفرف

    Before the one I love, no one had clothed the moon in a robe,

    And before our patron, no mountain had borne a fluttering banner.

  15. فَريد المَعالي أَحمد الحلم من به

    تكف صروف الحادِثات وَتصرف

    Ahmad, peerless in noble qualities and forbearance, is the one by whom

    The turns of misfortune are checked and turned away.

  16. فطين له حزم سديد ومنعه

    مجد عَلى كل الأَماجيد مشرف

    He is perceptive, with sound judgment, and his power

    Is a glory that towers over every other noble man.

  17. فضيل له عزم شديد وَعِفَّة

    وَحلم واقدام وقدر مشرّف

    He is virtuous, with firm resolve and chastity,

    Forbearance, courage, and an honored rank.

  18. فضائله في صفحة الدهر أَثبَتَت

    وما دونها شيء سخيف مزخرف

    His virtues are inscribed on the page of time,

    And anything less than them is flimsy ornament.

  19. فواضله بين الأَنام شهيرة

    لكل عَديم أَرمَل تتضعف

    His generous gifts are famed among humankind;

    They reach every destitute and widowed person in need.

  20. فرى سيفه كبد العداة وجوده

    الى كل محتاج له يتلطف

    His sword cleaves the livers of his foes, while his generosity

    Extends kindly to everyone who needs him.

  21. فخار بني الدنيا جَميعاً كقطرة

    لدى فخره من وابل الغيث تذرف

    The pride of all the people of the world is but a drop

    Beside his pride, a downpour of rain.

  22. فَرائض انعام لنا سن بذله

    مسائلها بالمكرمات تألف

    He has made his gifts to us like obligations, establishing his bounty;

    Those who ask for them find gracious gifts.

  23. فشا خيره بين الأَنام فاصبحت

    الى فضل ناديه الرَكائِب تعسف

    His goodness spread among the people, so that

    Mounts began to make their way to the bounty of his gathering place.

  24. فصاحة قس مع جسارة خالد

    له اثبتت قدماً وَبالرأي آصف

    The eloquence of Quss and the daring of Khalid

    Are firmly his, and so is Asaf’s wisdom in counsel.

  25. فنونا لنا يبدي من الطعن كفه

    اذا اصبحت ريح الوقائِع تعصف

    His hand displays many kinds of spear thrust for us

    When the winds of battle begin to rage.

  26. فضا البيد مملوّ بقتلى عداته

    عليهم تَرى العقبان وَالطير تعكف

    The open desert is filled with his slain enemies;

    Over them you see eagles and other birds gather.

  27. فراش له ظهر الحصان وَكَم نَرى

    يطيب لغمر القوم خدر مسجف

    The horse’s back is his bed; how often we see

    A curtained chamber delight an inexperienced man.

  28. فصوص نظامى في عقود مديحه

    مرصعة فيها الزَمان يشنف

    The gems I have strung in necklaces of praise for him

    Are set as ornaments with which time adorns its ears.

  29. فَلا زالَ في أَمن مدى الدهر ما بدت

    مر ناث ورق في ذر الأَيك تهتف

    May he remain secure for all time, so long as

    Doves appear, calling among the grove’s branches.