1. بنهج الصواب عقود الدرر

    فيا درر النهج أنت الغرر

    In the Way of Rightness lie necklaces of pearls.

    So, O pearls of the Way, you are the finest gems!

  2. حديقة فضل لأحداقنا

    تروق ازاهيرها والثمر

    A garden of excellence for our eyes,

    Its blossoms and fruit delight.

  3. طرائف تملك طرف الاديب

    فما شامها الطرف الأ انحسر

    Rare delights that captivate the man of letters' gaze;

    For no eye has beheld them without growing weary.

  4. نفائس فيهن أنس النفوس

    وبهجتها وجلاء النظر

    Treasures in which souls find solace,

    And their delight, and clarity of sight.

  5. فلله سفر البيان البديع

    بحسن المعاني علينا سفر

    God be praised for the volume of wondrous eloquence!

    With the beauty of its meanings, it shone upon us.

  6. فيا كاتب العصر هذا الكتاب

    نشيدة من قد مضى أو غبر

    So, O writer of the age, this book

    Is the treasure sought by those who have gone or remain.

  7. كتاب هو الرّاح للمنشئين

    بنشوته كل منش يسر

    A book that is wine for writers;

    Its intoxication gladdens every writer.

  8. به صور الحسن قد مثلت

    فلله صانع تلك الصور

    In it, the forms of beauty have been portrayed.

    God be praised for the maker of those forms!

  9. لقد حاز فضلا جلي الظهور

    على المثل السائر المشتهر

    It has indeed gained a plainly evident superiority

    Over the widespread, celebrated proverb.

  10. به قد جرى فلك دائر

    تلوح دراريه ملء البصر

    Within it, a revolving sphere runs its course;

    Its brilliant stars gleam, filling the sight.

  11. إذ زينت طرّة غرّة

    فذي غرر زينتها طرر

    As a forelock adorns a radiant brow,

    So these are radiant brows adorned by forelocks.

  12. سبائك رصفها بالفريد

    فريد المزايا جليل الخطر

    Ingots, arrayed with choice pearls

    By one peerless in virtues, great in standing.

  13. فكم لمؤلفها من يد

    على العلم يشكرها من شكر

    And how many favors its author has bestowed

    Upon learning—favors acknowledged by the grateful!

  14. علي الرضا نجل موسى بن

    جعفر ذاك الامام الاغر

    Ali al-Rida, son of Musa ibn

    Ja'far, that radiant imam.

  15. نجوم سماء العلا الزاهرات

    فنجم تجلى ونجم زهر

    The shining stars of glory's sky:

    So one star has appeared, and another has shone.

  16. شموس فضائلهم لا تزال

    تجري وبيتهم المستقر

    The suns of their virtues never cease

    Coursing, with their house as their resting place.

  17. بأوج المعالي تجلى له

    محيا يباهي سناه القمر

    At the zenith of glory, there shone for him

    A countenance whose radiance rivals the moon.

  18. يحاول وصف علاه البليغ

    فيحصر وهو أمين الحصر

    The eloquent man attempts to describe his eminence,

    Yet falters, though trusted to encompass it.

  19. هو البحر يروي الصدا علمه

    فيصدر ريان من قد صدر

    He is the sea; his knowledge quenches thirst,

    So whoever departs leaves with his thirst quenched.

  20. وفي كل علم له آية

    تدل على محكمات السور

    And in every branch of knowledge he has a sign

    That points to the unambiguous verses of the surahs.

  21. ينير الغوامض ان اشكلت

    بلامعة من وميض الفكر

    He illumines obscurities if they prove difficult,

    With a gleam from the flash of thought.

  22. فصفو قريحته كافل

    بحل المسائل ذات النظر

    For the clarity of his innate genius guarantees

    The solution of questions requiring reflection.

  23. له قلم بارع مبدع

    إذا هو انشئ وشى الحبر

    He has a masterly, inventive pen;

    When he composes, he embroiders the ink.

  24. أنامله الخمس تجري به

    فيملك عشر عقول البشر

    His five fingertips set it moving,

    And so he commands a tenth of humanity's minds.

  25. ولما رأيتك بيت القصيد

    معنى جلالته مبتكر

    And when I saw you as the poem's crowning verse,

    A meaning of unprecedented majesty,

  26. حمدت روية دهر اجاد

    وجاد بمثلك لما شعر

    I praised the deliberation of an age that excelled,

    And bestowed your like when it composed verse.