1. وَحَقِّ مَن لا سِواهُم عِندِيَ القَسَمُ

    وَمَن بِغَيرِ هَواهُم لَيسَ لي قَسَمُ

    By the sanctity of those by whom alone I swear,

    And by those whose love alone I swear by,

  2. وَمَن أُمَوَّهُ بِالذِكرى لِغَيرِهِمُ

    مُعَرِّضاً بِسِواهُمِ وَالمُرادُ هُمُ

    And by those I veil by mentioning others,

    Alluding to others, though it is they I mean.

  3. أَهوى جُحودَ الهَوى لا بَل أُدينُ بِهِ

    وَإِن أَقَرَّ بِهِ التَبريحُ وَالسَقَمُ

    I love denying love—nay, I make it my creed,

    Though torment and sickness acknowledge my love.

  4. ما كُلُّ مَن صانَ إِجلالاً لِمالِكِهِ

    غَرامَهُ في صَفاءِ الوُدِّ مُتَّهَمُ

    Not everyone who conceals, out of reverence for his master,

    His passion is suspected of insincerity in love.

  5. اِستَودِعُ اللَهُ قَوماً ما أُفارِقُهُم

    إِلّا وَتُدنيهِمُ الأَفكارُ وَالحُلُمُ

    I entrust to God a people from whom I never part

    Without thoughts and dreams bringing them near.

  6. وَمَن لِكَثرَةِ تَمثيلي لِشَخصِهِمُ

    أَظُنُّ في كُلِّ يَومٍ أَنَّهُم قَدِموا

    And those whose forms I picture so often

    That every day I think they have arrived.

  7. أَظُنُّهُم ما دَرَوا ما بي وَقَد رَحَلوا

    تَاللَهِ لَو عَلِموا حالي بِهِم رَحِموا

    I think they did not know my plight when they departed;

    By God, had they known my plight over them, they would have pitied me.

  8. سادوا وَقَد تَرَكوا جِسمي بِلا رَمَقٍ

    عِندي لِيَندُبَهُم وَالقَلبُ عِندَهُمُ

    They held sway, leaving my body without a breath of life

    With me to lament them, while my heart is with them.

  9. صادوا فُؤادي وَحِلُّ الصَيدِ مُمتَنَعٌ

    لَهُم وَقَد عَلِموا أَنَّ الهَوى حَرَمُ

    They hunted my heart, though permission to hunt is denied

    To them; they knew that love is a sacred sanctuary.

  10. يا غائِبينَ وَما غابَت مَحاسِنُهُم

    وَنازِحينَ وَأَقصى بَينَهُم أَمَمُ

    O absent ones, whose charms have not vanished,

    And far-off ones, whose utmost distance is still near!

  11. نُمتُم وَلَم تَحلَموا بي في رُقادِكُمُ

    وَمَع سُهادي بِكُم يَقظانُ أَحتَلِمُ

    You slept and did not dream of me in your slumber,

    Yet despite my sleeplessness over you, I dream awake.

  12. وَحَقِّ موثَقِ عَهدٍ كُنتُ أَعهَدُهُ

    وَصُحبَةٍ خِلتُ جَهلاً أَنَّها رَحِمُ

    By the sanctity of a binding covenant I once knew,

    And a companionship I foolishly thought was kinship,

  13. ما لَذَّ لي العَيشُ مُذ غابَت مَحاسِنُكُم

    وَلا حَلَت بَعدَ رُؤياكُم لِيَ النِعَمُ

    Life has held no sweetness for me since your charms vanished,

    Nor have blessings tasted sweet to me after a vision of you.

  14. قَد كانَ لَيلي نَهاراً مِن ضِيائِكُمُ

    فَاليَومَ ضَوءُ نَهاري بَعدَكُم ظُلَمُ

    My night was daylight through your radiance;

    But today the light of my day, since you left, is darkness.

  15. عَشِقتُكُم لِخِلالٍ كُنتُ أَعرِفُها

    وَإِنَّما تُعشَقُ الأَخلاقُ وَالشِيَمُ

    I loved you for qualities I knew in you;

    For only character and virtues are loved.

  16. لا تَنقَضوا ذِمَمَي بَعدَ الوَفاءِ بِها

    إِنَّ الكِرامَ لَدَيها تُحفَظُ الذِمَمُ

    Do not break my covenants after honoring them;

    For in the keeping of the noble, covenants are preserved.

  17. لا ذَنبَ لي يوجِبُ الهِجرانَ عِندَكُمُ

    وَهَبهُ كانَ فَأَينَ العَفوُ وَالكَرَمُ

    I have no fault that warrants estrangement in your eyes;

    And suppose there were one—where are pardon and generosity?

  18. أَعطى الزَمانُ نَفيساً مِن وِصالِكُمُ

    فَاِرتَدَّهُ وَعَداهُ بَعدَهُ نَدَمُ

    Time bestowed the precious gift of union with you,

    Then he reclaimed it, and remorse passed him by afterward.

  19. إِلى مَنِ المُشتَكى إِن عَزَّ قُربُكُمُ

    مِمّا جَنى الدَهرُ وَهوَ الخَصمُ وَالحَكَمُ

    To whom can I complain, if nearness to you is hard to attain,

    Of Time's wrongs, when he is both adversary and judge?

  20. قَد كُنتُ أَقهَرُ صَرفَ الحادِثاتِ بِكُم

    فَاليَومَ أَصبَحَ صَرفُ الدَهرِ يَنتَقِمُ

    I once overcame the turns of misfortune through you;

    But today the turns of Time have begun to take revenge.

  21. كَم قَد بَكيتُ وَقَد سارَت رَكائِبُكُم

    فَالدَمعُ يَسفَحُ وَالأَحشاءُ تَضطَرِمُ

    How much I wept when your mounts had set out!

    So tears pour down, while my entrails blaze.

  22. ما لِلمَدامِعِ لا تُطفي لَظى كَبِدي

    وَيُغرِقُ الرَكبَ مِنها سيلُها العَرِمُ

    What ails these tears, that they do not quench the blaze in my liver,

    Though their raging torrent drowns the caravan?

  23. وَقَفتُ أُظهِرُ لِلعُذّالِ مَعذِرَةً

    عَنكُم وَإِن صَحَّ عِندَ الناسِ ما زَعَموا

    I stood presenting an excuse to the reproachers

    On your behalf, even if their claims were true in people's eyes.

  24. قالوا غَدا مُغرَماً طولَ الزَمانِ بِهِم

    وَاللَهُ يَعلَمُ أَنّي مُغرَمٌ بِكُمُ

    They said, “He has become enamored of them for all time,”

    And God knows that I am enamored of you.