1. نَعَم لِقُلوبِ العاشِقينَ عُيونُ

    يَبينُ لَها ما لا يَكادُ يَبينُ

    Yes, lovers' hearts have eyes,

    To which what scarcely appears is clear.

  2. نَظَرنا بِها ما كانَ قَبلُ مِنَ الهَوى

    فَدَلَّ عَلى ما بَعدَها سَيَكونُ

    Through them we saw what had passed before in love,

    And it showed what would come thereafter.

  3. نَهانا النُهى عَنها فَلَجَّت قُلوبُنا

    فَقُلنا اِقدُمي إِنَّ الجُنونَ فُنونُ

    Reason warned us away from them, but our hearts persisted;

    So we said, "Advance! Madness has many forms."

  4. نَغُضُّ وَنَعفو لِلغَرامِ إِذا جَنى

    وَيَقسو عَلَينا حُكمُهُ فَنَلينُ

    We overlook and forgive passion when it does wrong,

    And its rule is harsh on us, yet we soften.

  5. نَرُدُّ حُدودَ المُرهَفاتِ كَلَيلَةً

    وَتَفتُكُ فينا أَعيُنٌ وَجُفونُ

    We turn the edges of keen swords blunt,

    Yet eyes and eyelids slay us.

  6. نُهَوِّنُ في سُبلِ الغَرامِ نُفوسَنا

    وَما عادَةً قَبلَ الغَرامِ تَهونُ

    We hold our lives cheap on the paths of passion,

    Though before passion they were not ordinarily held cheap.

  7. نُطيعُ رِماحاً فَوقَهُنَّ أَهِلَّةً

    وَكُثبانَ رَملٍ فَوقَهُنَّ غُصونُ

    We obey spears with crescents above them,

    And dunes of sand with branches above them.

  8. نَواعِمُ شَنَّت في المُحِبّينَ غارَةً

    بِها اللُدنُ قَدٌّ وَالسِهامُ عُيونُ

    Tender beauties have launched a raid upon lovers,

    In it, supple spears are figures, and arrows are eyes.

  9. نِبالٌ وَلَكِنَّ القِسِيَّ حَواجِبٌ

    نِصالٌ وَلَكِنَّ الجُفونَ جُفونُ

    Arrows, but the bows are eyebrows;

    Blades, but the sheaths are eyelids.

  10. نَهَبنَ قُلوبَ العاشِقينَ وَغادَرَت

    بِجِسمي ضَنىً لِلقَلبِ مِنهُ شُجونُ

    They plundered lovers' hearts and left

    A wasting sickness in my body, a source of sorrow to the heart.

  11. نُحولٌ وَصَبرٌ قاطِنٌ وَمُقَوَّضٌ

    وَدَمعٌ وَقَلبٌ مُطلَقٌ وَرَهينُ

    Wasting and patience—one settled, the other with camp struck;

    And tears and a heart—one unrestrained, the other captive.

  12. نُسَهِّلُ أَحوالَ الغَرامِ تَجَلُّداً

    وَإِنَّ سُهولَ العاشِقينَ حُزونُ

    We make passion's trials seem easy by steeling ourselves,

    Though lovers' plains are rugged ground.

  13. نُتابِعُهُ طَوراً وَلا عُروَةُ الهَوى

    بِوُثقى وَلا حَبلُ الزَمانِ مَتينُ

    We follow it awhile, though love's handhold is not

    Secure, nor is time's rope strong.

  14. نَظُنُّ جَميلاً في الزَمانِ وَإِنَّهُ

    زَمانٌ لِتَصديعِ القُلوبِ ضَمينُ

    We expect kindness from time, though it is

    A time pledged to shattering hearts.

  15. نَرومُ وُعودَ الجودِ مِنهُ وَقَد غَدَت

    لَدى المَلِكِ المَنصورِ وَهيَ دُيونُ

    We seek promises of bounty from it; now they rest

    With King al-Mansur, as debts.

  16. نَبِيٌّ سَماحٍ قَد تُحُقَّقَ بَعثُهُ

    لَهُ الرَأيُ وَحيٌ وَالسَماحَةُ دينُ

    A prophet of generosity, whose mission has been confirmed;

    For him, judgment is revelation, and generosity religion.

  17. نَجَت فِئَةٌ لا ذَت بِهِ فَتَيَقَّنَت

    بِأَنَّ طَريقَ الحَقِّ فيهِ مُبينُ

    A band that sought refuge with him was saved, and became certain

    That the path of truth is clear in him.

  18. نَخِيٌّ لَهُ العَزمُ الشَديدُ مُصاحِبٌ

    سَخِيٌّ لَهُ الرَأيُ السَديدُ قَرينُ

    Noble-spirited, with firm resolve for a companion;

    Generous, with sound judgment as his companion.

  19. نَجيبٌ لَوَ اَنَّ البَحرَ أَشبَهَ جودَهُ

    لَما سَلِمَت مِن جانِبَيهِ سَفينُ

    Noble—if the sea resembled his bounty,

    No ships would come safely from either of its shores.

  20. نَفَت عَنهُ ما ظَنَّ العُداةُ عَزائِمٌ

    هِيَ الجَيشُ وَالجَيشُ الخَميسُ كَمينُ

    Resolves refuted what his enemies imagined of him;

    They are the army; the fivefold host lies in ambush.

  21. نَمَتهُ إِلى القَومِ الَّذينَ رِماحُهُم

    قَضَت في الوَغى أَن لا يَضيقَ طَعينُ

    They traced his descent to the people whose spears

    Decreed in battle that no pierced man be cramped.

  22. نُجومٌ لَها فَوقَ السُروجِ مَطالِعٌ

    لُيوثٌ لَها تَحتَ الرِماحِ عَرينُ

    Stars whose rising places are above the saddles,

    Lions whose den lies beneath the spears.

  23. نُفوسُهُمُ يَومَ الجِدالِ جَداوِلٌ

    وَآراؤُهُم يَومَ الجِدالِ حُصونُ

    Their souls on the day of combat are streams,

    And their counsels on the day of combat are fortresses.

  24. نَجَعنا إِلَيهِ مِن بِلادٍ بَعيدَةٍ

    وَكُلٌّ لَهُ حُسنُ الرَجاءِ ضَمينُ

    We journeyed to him from distant lands,

    And each had good hope as his guarantor.

  25. نَهَضنا لِنَستَسقي السَحابَ فَجادَنا

    سَحابُ نَدى كَفَّيهِ وَهيَ هَتونُ

    We rose to seek rain from the clouds, and we were showered

    By the clouds of bounty from his two palms, pouring abundantly.

  26. نُوافيكَ يا مَن قَد غَدَت حَرَكاتُهُ

    عَلى المُلكِ مِنها هَيبَةٌ وَسُكونُ

    We come to you, O you whose movements now bring

    Awe and stillness over the realm.

  27. نُجازى بِما نَأتي إِلَيكَ هَديَّةً

    فَنَحمِلُ دُرَّ المَدحِ وَهوَ ثَمينُ

    We are rewarded for what we bring you as a gift,

    So we carry the pearls of praise, and they are precious.

  28. نَعِمتَ وَلا زالَت رُبوعُكَ جَنَّةً

    فَمَغناكَ حِصنٌ لِلعُفاةِ حَصينُ

    May you live in bliss, and may your abodes remain a paradise;

    For your dwelling is an impregnable fortress for bounty-seekers.

  29. نَهَبتَ الثَنا وَالجودَ وَالمَجدَ وَالعُلى

    وَنِلتَ الأَماني وَالزَمانُ سُكونُ

    You have seized praise, bounty, glory, and eminence,

    And attained your wishes, with time at rest.