1. أَنا الطَبيب الماهر المَشهورُ

    الأَلمعيّ الشاطر المَشكورُ

    I am the skilled, renowned physician,

    The keen-witted, clever, much-praised one,

  2. ربّ الذكا وَالفهم وَاليَراعه

    وَمَن لَهُ في طبه بَراعه

    Master of intelligence, understanding, and the reed pen,

    And one with mastery in his medical practice.

  3. ما يَطلبوني لِعلاج الداء

    عِندَ تَعاصيهِ عَن الدَواء

    Whenever they summon me to treat disease,

    When it resists medicine,

  4. إِلّا قدمت بِالعَوافي وَالشفا

    لِمَن رَمى بَينَ البَرايا بِالعَفا

    I come bearing health and healing

    For one it has struck with ruin among humankind.

  5. فَكَم سَحابة عَلى العُيون

    أَزلتها بِأَحسَن الفُنون

    How many a cloud upon the eyes

    Have I removed through the finest arts!

  6. وَكَم هَزمت مِن جُيوش لِلوَبا

    بِهمة وَمَهرُ فكري ما كَبا

    And how many armies of pestilence have I routed,

    With resolve—and the colt of my thought never stumbled.

  7. وَدودة القرح إِذا عالجتها

    دَقيقة ماتَت وَما راجعتها

    And the ulcer-worm, when I treated it,

    Within a minute it died, and I did not revisit it.

  8. أَما الجُنون وَالجذام وَالجربْ

    فَإِنَّها في الداء مِن أَدنى الرُتبْ

    As for madness, leprosy, and scabies,

    For they rank among the lowest of diseases.

  9. وَإِن أَردت فَسَلِ الطاعونا

    عَني تَراه قَد مَضى مَغبونا

    And if you wish, ask the plague

    About me: you will see it has already departed, worsted.

  10. وَالقيلة المُزمنة اللحميَّهْ

    عالجتها وَفُزت بِالأمنيَّهْ

    And the chronic, fleshy scrotal swelling,

    I treated it and attained my wish.

  11. وَالآلة البازلة الخَفيفهْ

    حرّكتها بإِصبعي اللَطيفهْ

    And the light puncturing instrument

    I moved with my delicate finger.

  12. بِها قَطعت دابر الاستسقا

    وَمَن يُجاريني وَاَنا اِبنُ العنقا

    With it I cut off the last remnant of dropsy,

    And who can rival me, when I am the son of al-ʿAnqāʾ?

  13. أَنا الَّذي في الطب لي دَستور

    يَعرفهُ كُل فَتىً مَشهور

    I am the one who has a medical manual,

    Which every renowned young man knows.

  14. من قاسني بِالغَير في الجِراحَهْ

    أَخطا وَقَد بالغ في الوَقاحهْ

    Whoever compared me with others in surgery

    Has erred and gone to extremes in impudence.

  15. أَما الحصاة فَأَنا في ثانيهْ

    أَعملها حالاً أَمام شانيهْ

    As for the stone, in a single second I

    Operate on it at once before my detractor.

  16. وَشهرتي في باطن الأَمراضِ

    خالية في الكَون عَن أَغراضِ

    And my renown in internal medicine

    Is free of ulterior motives throughout the universe.

  17. وَوَجع الأَضراس وَالصداعُ

    وَالسل وَالرَبو كَذا القراعُ

    And pain in the molars and headache,

    And consumption and asthma, and scalp ringworm too,

  18. واسيتها بِالحَزم وَالسِياسهْ

    وَفُزت في العِلاج بِالرياسهْ

    I treated them with firmness and prudent management,

    And won preeminence in treatment.

  19. وَزادَ شُكري الآن في البِلادِ

    وَعرَفتني سائر العِبادِ

    And praise for me has now grown throughout the lands,

    And all people have come to know me.

  20. فَما أَنا إِلّا أَمير الطبِّ

    وَالمُرتجى لِكُل داء صَعبِ

    So I am none other than the prince of medicine,

    And the one looked to for every difficult disease.

  21. أَنا الَّذي كُل عِلاجي نافعُ

    وَلَيسَ لي في شُهرتي مُنازعُ

    I am the one whose every treatment is beneficial,

    And I have no rival in my renown.

  22. وَهَذِهِ نَصيحَتي يا صاحِ

    قَد نشرت في سائر النَواحي

    And this is my advice, O friend:

    It has already been published throughout all regions.

  23. فَاكتب حُروفَها بِماء الذَهَبِ

    بِالأَرمني وَالفارسي وَالعَربي

    So write its letters in liquid gold,

    In Armenian, Persian, and Arabic.