يا مَوْرِداً لا يُغيضُ النَزحُ جَمَّتَهُ

يا مَوْرِداً لا يُغيضُ النَزحُ جَمَّتَهُ

ولا يَلُمُّ بِصَافي وِدِّه كَدَرُ

ولا يَلُمُّ بِصَافي وِدِّه كَدَرُ

O watering place whose pool no drawing can deplete,

O spring whose purity no turbulence can disturb

and whose pure affection no murk ever touches;

Nor can any cloudiness blemish its clarity

ويا سَحابَ نَدىً إن شِمْتَ بارقَهُ

ويا سَحابَ نَدىً إن شِمْتَ بارقَهُ

لم تُثْنِ طرفَكَ حَتّى بَلَّكَ المطرُ

لم تُثْنِ طرفَكَ حَتّى بَلَّكَ المطرُ

and O cloud of bounty—if you glimpse its lightning,

O cloud of dew, if you scent its lightning

before you can turn your gaze away, the rain drenches you;

You would not blink until the rain drenched you

ودوحةً ما زكتْ أعراقُها ونمتْ

ودوحةً ما زكتْ أعراقُها ونمتْ

إلاّ وقد طَابَ منها الظلُّ والثَّمَرُ

إلاّ وقد طَابَ منها الظلُّ والثَّمَرُ

and O spreading tree, whose roots never flourished and grew

And an orchard that did not thrive and grow

without its shade and fruit already being delightful.

Except that its shade and fruit became sweet

ماذا عَسَى يبلغُ المُثْنِي بمِدحتِهِ

ماذا عَسَى يبلغُ المُثْنِي بمِدحتِهِ

على ابنِ مَنْ أَبَواه الشمسُ والقمرُ

على ابنِ مَنْ أَبَواه الشمسُ والقمرُ

How far can a praiser reach with his praise

What can the eulogist possibly achieve with his praise

of the son of one whose parents are the sun and the moon?

Of the son of she who is sun and he who is moon

لقد رَفعْتَ أبا حَسَّانَ منزلةً

لقد رَفعْتَ أبا حَسَّانَ منزلةً

شَمَّاءَ يخسَأُ عن إدراكِها البصرُ

شَمَّاءَ يخسَأُ عن إدراكِها البصرُ

You have indeed raised Abū Ḥassān to a station

You have raised Abu Hassân to such lofty glory

so lofty that sight falls short of reaching it.

Dazzling, beyond the perception of sight

لولا تقدّمُ آباءٍ تَمُتُّ بهم

لولا تقدّمُ آباءٍ تَمُتُّ بهم

لكنتَ أكرمَ من أدلَى به مُضَرُ

لكنتَ أكرمَ من أدلَى به مُضَرُ

Were it not for the precedence of forefathers to whom you are kin,

Were it not for my noble forebears, by whom I claim ties

you would be the noblest whom Muḍar could claim.

You would be nobler than he to whom Mudar trace ancestry

فشكرُهُ لكَ موصولٌ بمدَّتِهِ

فشكرُهُ لكَ موصولٌ بمدَّتِهِ

ولا ينتهي الشكرُ حتى ينتهيْ العُمُرُ

ولا ينتهي الشكرُ حتى ينتهيْ العُمُرُ

So his gratitude to you endures throughout his lifetime,

So his gratitude to you lasts as long as his lifetime

and gratitude does not end until life ends.

And gratitude cannot end until life itself ends