1. سلامٌ مِن لَدُن رَوضِ السلام

    يَخُصُّ ذَراكَ يا نَجلَ الإِمَامِ

    A greeting from the garden of peace

    singles out your lofty abode, O son of the Imam.

  2. يَهُبُّ مَعَ النَّوَاسِمِ كُلّ صُبحٍ

    وَيَسرِي بِالعَشِيِّ مَعَ الغَمامِ

    It blows with the gentle breezes every morning

    and travels at evening with the clouds.

  3. إذَا اعتَكَرَ الظلامُ عَلَيهِ أَورَى

    زِنَادَ البَرقِ في غَسَقِ الظّلامِ

    When darkness thickens around it, it kindles

    lightning's fire-flints in the depth of darkness,

  4. لِيُخبِرَ عَن فُؤَادٍ فيكَ صَبٍّ

    عَمِيدٍ مُنذُ بَينِك مُستَهامِ

    to tell of a heart passionately devoted to you,

    stricken and love-distraught since your departure;

  5. وعَن عَهدٍ نَأى مَولاهُ عَنهُ

    فلاحَ القَلبُ مِنهُ فِي غَرَامِ

    and of a bond whose lord has gone far from it,

    so the heart blazes with longing on its account.

  6. تَمرُّ لَهُ المَطاعِمُ وَهيَ شَهدٌ

    وَيضنَى بالشّرابِ وبالطّعامِ

    Foods taste bitter to it, though they are honey,

    and it wastes away from drink and food.

  7. تَهَيّأ كَي يَطيرَ هَوىً وَشَوقاً

    إِلَيكَ فَعَأقَهُ سُوقُ الحَمَامِ

    It readied itself to fly out of love and longing

    to you, but the doves' legs held it back.

  8. وَلِي زُغبٌ كَزُغب الطَّيرِ فُلّت

    بِهِنّ شَباةُ حَدِّي واعتِزَامِي

    And I have downy young, like birds' nestlings; they have blunted

    the keen edge of my vigor and my resolve.

  9. فإِن أَقصِر فمن عَدَم المُوَالي

    وإن السَّهم بِالرِّيش اللُّؤامِ

    If I fall short, it is for lack of supporters,

    and an arrow depends on well-matched feathers.

  10. وَمَن رَامَ النُّهوضَ بلا جَنَاحٍ

    كَمَن رَكِبَ الجَموحَ بلا لِجَامِ

    Whoever seeks to rise without a wing

    is like one who rides a headstrong mount without a bridle.

  11. وَإنِّي لا غِنًى لِي مِن مَسيرٍ

    يَبُذُّ إلَيكُمُ رَتكَ النّعامِ

    And I cannot do without a journey

    to you that outstrips the ostriches' swift gait.

  12. فَعِزِّي في الوُفودِ على ذَراكُم

    وذلّي في الإِقامَةِ فِي مُقَامِي

    My honor lies in coming as a guest to your lofty abode,

    and my humiliation in remaining where I am.

  13. ذَوَى لِبِعَادِكُم نَورُ القَوَافِي

    وَجَفّ لِبَنِكُم مَاءُ الكلامِ

    The blossom of rhyme has withered at your remoteness,

    and the water of speech has dried up at your parting.

  14. فَمَا تَحكِي لَنَا الألفَاظُ مَعنَى

    ولا يَجرِي القَرِيضُ عَلَى نِظامِ

    Words no longer convey a meaning to us,

    nor does verse flow in due order.

  15. لَقينَا الدَّهرَ بَعدَك أيَّ دَهرٍ

    وَهَذَا العَامُ بَعدكَ أيُّ عَام

    We have faced time since you left—what a time!

    And this year since you left—what a year!

  16. بَعِيدٌ نَفعُهُ دانٍ أذَاهُ

    ظَهيرٌ لِلّئامِ عَلَى الكِرَامِ

    Its benefit is distant, its harm close at hand,

    an ally of the base against the noble.

  17. أخَاف حِمَى بَلَنسِيَةٍ وَكَانَت

    تَطِيرُ بِهَا البُزاة عَلَى الحَمَامِ

    It has brought fear to Valencia's protected realm, where once

    falcons swooped upon doves.

  18. وجالَت حَولَها خَيلُ النَّصَارَى

    وَكَانَت قَد حَماهَا مِنكَ حَامِ

    And Christian cavalry ranged around it,

    though it once had a protector in you.

  19. وَمَرّوا آمِنينَ بِجَنبَتَيهَا

    وَكَانُوا يَرهبونَكَ فِي المَنَامِ

    They passed in safety along its two flanks,

    though once they feared you even in their dreams.

  20. وَمَا يُخشَى العَرِينُ بِغَيرِ لَيثٍ

    وهَل يُخشَى القُرَابُ بلا حُسَامِ

    And a lion's den is not feared without a lion;

    is a scabbard feared without a sharp sword?

  21. وَكَانَت لا يُخَافُ الهَرجُ فِيهَا

    كَأَن المَرء فِي البَلَدِ الحَرَامِ

    And once no turmoil was feared within it,

    as though one were in the Sacred City.

  22. فَأضحَت لا حَيَاةَ لِسَاكِنِيهَا

    بِهَا إلا حياة كالحِمام

    Now its inhabitants have no life

    there except a life like death.

  23. أسَيِّدَنا أبَا زَيدٍ رَضَعنَا

    ثُدِي البِرِّ وَالنِّعَمِ الجِسَامِ

    O our lord Abu Zayd, we suckled

    the breasts of benevolence and mighty blessings.

  24. فَصِرنَا بَعدَ رِحلَتِهِ كُهولاً

    أُعِيدَ عَلَيهِمُ مُرُّ الفِطَامُ

    Then after his departure we became middle-aged men

    on whom the bitterness of weaning was imposed anew.

  25. سَمَا وَحَمى الثّغورَ عَلَى الأعَادِي

    رَعَاهُ اللهُ مِن سَامٍ وَحَامِ

    He rose high and defended the frontier strongholds against enemies;

    may God preserve him—so exalted, such a protector!

  26. فَيَا ابنَ خليفَةِ اللهِ المُصَفَّى

    وَصِنوَ إِمَامِنَا خَيرِ الأنَامِ

    O son of God's chosen caliph,

    and brother of our Imam, the best of humankind,

  27. لَكُم عُرِفَ اقتِنَاءُ المَجدِ قِدماً

    وَتَكشِيفُ المُلِمَّاتِ العِظَامِ

    you have long been known for winning glory

    and dispelling great calamities,

  28. وَرَفعُ المَعلُومَاتِ عَلَى رَوَاسٍ

    مُؤطّدَةٍ وَإيضاحُ المَعَامِي

    and raising knowledge upon firm foundations,

    securely established, and making obscure matters clear.

  29. وَمَا مَن قَيسُ عَيلانٍ أبُوهُ

    بنابٍ فِي الأُمُورِ وَلا كَهام

    And one whose father is Qays ʿAylan

    is neither ineffectual in affairs nor dull-edged.

  30. لَعَلَّ العَبدَ يَغلَطُ فِيهِ وَقتٌ

    فَيُسعِفُهُ بِإدرَاكِ المَرَامش

    Perhaps time will err in this servant's favor,

    and help him attain his desire,

  31. وَيُنجِدُهُ عَلَى غَولِ الفَيَافِي

    بِصهوَةِ وَاخِدٍ سَلِسِ الزَّمَام

    and aid him against the wastelands' devouring peril,

    on the back of a swift-striding mount, yielding to the rein,

  32. لِيُبلِغَنِي استلامَ بَنانِ مَلكٍ

    تُقِرُّ بِفَضلِ نِعمَتِهِ عِظَامِي

    to bring me to touch a king's fingertips reverently,

    whose gracious bounty my very bones acknowledge,

  33. وَألثُمُ تُربَ نَعلَيه فأَقضِي

    بِلَثمِ تُرَابِهَا بَعضَ الذِّمَامِ

    and I kiss the dust of his sandals, thus fulfilling,

    by kissing their dust, part of the duty I owe.