1. بَشير التَهاني بِالسُرور حَباني

    فَأَطلقت بِالشُكر الجَميل لِساني

    The herald of congratulations favored me with joy,

    So I loosened my tongue in graceful thanks.

  2. وَقَد كُنت قاطَعتُ الغَرام وَأَهله

    عَلى رَغم لبي في الهَوى وَجِناني

    And I had severed ties with passion and its devotees,

    Despite my mind and heart's devotion to love.

  3. وَحاصرتُ حُصن الصَبر حَتّى مَلكته

    وَلَم أَكتَرث بِالنَوم حينَ جَفاني

    And I besieged patience's fortress until I captured it,

    And cared nothing for sleep when it forsook me.

  4. وَعلقت آمال العذول بسلوة

    لِذَنب جَناه مَن رَنا فَرَماني

    And I pinned the reproacher's hopes on forgetting love,

    For a wrong committed by the one who gazed and shot me.

  5. وَما ذاكَ إِلّا أَنَّهُ خانَ عَهدَهُ

    وَواعد غَيري في الهَوى بِتَداني

    And that was nothing but his betrayal of his pledge,

    And his promising another closeness in love.

  6. وَلَو أَنَّ لي طَرفاً يُلِمُّ بِهِ الكَرى

    وَيَطرقني طَيفٌ لَهُ لَكَفاني

    And if I had an eye upon which slumber alighted,

    And a dream-image of him visited me by night, that would suffice.

  7. وَكَيفَ يَزور الطَيف مثلي وَإِنَّني

    حَليفُ سهاد لِلصُدود أُعاني

    And how could a dream-image visit one like me, when I am

    An ally of sleeplessness, suffering from rejection?

  8. وَلَو دامَ مَن أَهوى عَلى الغَدر لاشتفى

    بإتلاف رُوحي في الصَبابة شاني

    And had the one I love persisted in betrayal, it would have gratified

    My foe through the ruin of my soul in ardent longing.

  9. وَلَكنهُ لَمّا وَفى بَعد هَجره

    وَأَنعم لي بِالوَصل قَبل هَواني

    But when he proved faithful after his desertion,

    And granted me union before my abasement,

  10. وَعاهَدته أَن لا يُغادر بَعدَها

    وَبايَعَني طَوعاً وَقامَ بَشاني

    And I covenanted with him that he would never leave again,

    And he willingly pledged himself to me and tended to my affairs,

  11. صَبَوتُ إِلَيهِ صَبوة عامريةً

    وَقاطَعت خلّاً في هَواه لحاني

    I yearned for him with an 'Amiri passion,

    And broke with a friend who rebuked me for loving him.

  12. فَيا لائِمي كفَّ المَلامة وَاِنتَهي

    فَما اللَوم يُجدي في صَريع غَواني

    So, my reproacher, cease your reproach and desist!

    For reproach is no use to one laid low by beautiful women.

  13. وَفي مَذهَبي أَن الغَرام هُوَ الهُدى

    وَأن الَّذي يَنهاكَ عَنهُ لَجاني

    My creed is that passionate love is true guidance,

    And that whoever keeps you from it is surely a wrongdoer.

  14. وَأَعجَب شَيء أَن يصدّك في الهَوى

    عَن الرُشد ضلّيل بِزور بَيان

    And strangest of all is that, in love, you are turned

    From right guidance by one deeply astray, through false speech.

  15. أَبى اللَه إلّا أَن أَعيش مُتَيَّماً

    مُجيباً لِداعي الحُب حَيث دَعاني

    God willed nothing but that I live enslaved by love,

    Answering love's caller wherever he calls me,

  16. مُطيعاً لِأَحكام الهَوى وَمُخالِفاً

    لِرَأي سَفيهٍ بِالغَرام هَجاني

    Obeying passion's decrees and opposing

    The judgment of a fool who reviled me for my love.

  17. عَلى أَنَّني ما ملتُ قَط لسلوة

    وَإِن ظَنّ هَذا مَن وَشى وَنَهاني

    Yet I have never once inclined to forgetting love,

    Even if the one who slandered and forbade me thought so.

  18. فَلَولا الهَوى لَم تَنتَشر ليَ رايةٌ

    وَلَولا الهَوى ما كانَ عزُّ مَكاني

    For without love, no banner of mine would have unfurled,

    And without love, my station would have had no honor.

  19. وَلَولاه ما نالَ السَعادةَ عَنتَرٌ

    وَقَد أَرهَب الأَبطالَ يَوم طِعان

    And without it, Antar would not have attained happiness,

    Though he terrified champions on the day of spear combat,

  20. وَذلت لعزته المُلوك وَأَصبَحوا

    عَبيداً لخطِّيٍّ لَهُ وَيَمان

    And kings bowed to his might and became

    Slaves to his Khatti spear and Yemeni sword.

  21. فَكَم مِن جَهول هَذَّب الحُبُّ طَبعَه

    وَعلَّمه ظَرفاً وَحُسنَ مَعاني

    For many an ignorant man, love has refined his nature

    And taught him elegance and beauty of thought.

  22. وَكَم مِن سَفيه بِالهَوى فاقَ أَحنَفاً

    وَأَضحى لَهُ يُومَى بِكُلِّ بَنان

    And how many a fool has surpassed Ahnaf through love,

    And come to be pointed out by every finger!

  23. فَحتّام في دين الصَبابة وَالهَوى

    يُعاندني فيمَن أُحبُّ زَماني

    So how long, in the faith of longing and love,

    Will my days thwart me over the one I love?

  24. وَما لِفُؤادي جَنة غَير وَصله

    وَلَو فَوق جَمر الهَجر مِنهُ قَلاني

    My heart has no paradise but union with him,

    Even if he roasted me on the coals of his estrangement.

  25. أَأرغَب عَنهُ وَهوَ في الحُسن مُفرَدٌ

    نَبيُّ جَمالٍ لا يُقاس بِثاني

    Should I turn away from him, when he is peerless in beauty,

    A prophet of beauty, whom no other can match?

  26. كَما في السَخا وَالحلم وَالعلم وَالوَفا

    أَميري عَليٌّ صارِمي وَسِناني

    Just as, in generosity, forbearance, learning, and fidelity,

    My prince Ali is peerless—my keen sword and spearhead.

  27. أَمير بِهِ دار العُلوم تَفاخَرَت

    وَلِلفَضل فيهِ شادَ خَيرَ مَباني

    A prince in whom Dar al-Ulum has taken pride,

    And who raised there the finest edifices for excellence.

  28. فَأَما لِساني فَهوَ إِن رمت مَنعه

    عَن الشُكر لِلمَولى الأَجل عَصاني

    As for my tongue, if I sought to restrain it

    From thanking the most exalted lord, it would disobey me.

  29. وَأَما جناني فَهوَ مغرىً بِمَدحه

    فَإِن ضَلَّ لبِّي عَن ثَناه هَداني

    And as for my heart, it is devoted to his praise;

    If my mind strayed from praising him, it would guide me.

  30. وَيا لَيتَ شِعري هَل أَقوم بِشُكر من

    بِسائر أَنواع الهِبات حَباني

    And would that I knew: can I duly thank the one

    Who favored me with every kind of gift?

  31. فَيا قُطب دائرة السِياسة وَالذَكا

    وَيا دُرّة تَزهو بِعقد جُمان

    So, O pivot of the circle of statecraft and intelligence,

    And O pearl resplendent in a necklace of pearls,

  32. وَيا واحد الأَيّام يا مَن بِهِ سَمَت

    محافلُنا الغَرا بِدُون تَواني

    And O peerless one of the age, O you through whom have risen

    Our splendid assemblies, without delay,

  33. وَيا كَعبةً يَسعى لحجِّك جَمعُنا

    لِكسب فُنون كُلّهنَّ حِسان

    And O Kaaba, to whom our company hastens on pilgrimage

    To acquire arts, all of them beautiful,

  34. وَيا سَيداً لا زلتَ فينا مُوَفَّقاً

    إِلى بَثِّ عرفان مَدى المَلَوان

    And O master, may you ever be granted success among us

    In spreading knowledge as long as night and day endure.

  35. تَهنأ بِعيد الفطر يا حاتم الوَرى

    فَقد نِلت كُلَّ الأَجر في رَمَضان

    May you delight in Eid al-Fitr, O Hatim of humankind,

    For you have gained the full reward in Ramadan.

  36. وَدُونك بكراً يَملك القَلبَ حُسنُها

    كَما تَملك الأَلبابَ بِنتُ دنان

    And take this maiden, whose beauty possesses the heart,

    As the daughter of wine-jars captivates minds.

  37. وَما مَهرُها إِلّا القبول فحيِّها

    بِأَسمى تَحيات وَحُسن تَهاني

    Her dowry is nothing but acceptance; so greet her

    With the loftiest salutations and finest congratulations.

  38. فَلا زلتَ مَسروراً مُطاعاً مُبارَكاً

    تقاد لَكَ العليا بِغَير عِنان

    May you ever be joyful, obeyed, and blessed,

    With lofty glory led to you without a rein.

  39. وَلا زلتَ يا اِبن الأَكرَمين مؤيداً

    مِن اللَه في حفظ لَهُ وَأَمان

    And may you ever, O son of the noblest, be supported

    By God, in His protection and safety.