أَبا جَعفَرٍ لازِلتَ مُشتَرِكَ الرِفدِ

أَبا جَعفَرٍ لازِلتَ مُشتَرِكَ الرِفدِ

تُعيدُ مِنَ المَعروفِ أَضعافَ ما تُبدي

تُعيدُ مِنَ المَعروفِ أَضعافَ ما تُبدي

O Abu Ja‘far, may your bounty ever be open to all;

Abu Ja'far, you have always been a generous benefactor,

O Abu Ja'far, may your shared support never cease to flow,

You renew your favors many times over what you first bestow.

Repaying manifold the good you receive.

You repeat hidden kindnesses that exceed what you plainly show.

عَطاؤُكَ ذا القُربى عُلُوٌّ وَفَوقَهُ

عَطاؤُكَ ذا القُربى عُلُوٌّ وَفَوقَهُ

عَطاؤُكَ في أَهلِ الشَناءَةِ وَالبُعدِ

عَطاؤُكَ في أَهلِ الشَناءَةِ وَالبُعدِ

Your giving to a kinsman is noble, and nobler still

Your bounty to kin surpasses all,

Your giving to kinsmen is a summit of grace, yet higher still,

is your giving to the hostile and the distant.

And your bounty to strangers and the distant.

Is your bounty bestowed on those of hatred and distant will.

يُطَيِّبُ نَفسي عَن نَوالٍ تُنيلُهُ

يُطَيِّبُ نَفسي عَن نَوالٍ تُنيلُهُ

أَباعِدَهُم أَنّي قَسيمُكَ في الحَمدِ

أَباعِدَهُم أَنّي قَسيمُكَ في الحَمدِ

I am content to forgo the bounty you bestow

It gladdens my soul, despite the share I receive,

It soothes my soul regarding the gifts you grant to the far,

on the distant among them, since I share with you in praise.

That I tell them I share with you in praise.

To know that I am your partner in the praise, wherever you are.

فَإِن تَتَجاوَز بي لُهاكَ إِلَيهِمِ

فَإِن تَتَجاوَز بي لُهاكَ إِلَيهِمِ

أَجِد عِوَضي مِنها اِزدِيادي مِنَ المَجدِ

أَجِد عِوَضي مِنها اِزدِيادي مِنَ المَجدِ

So if your gifts pass me by on their way to them,

And if, in your munificence, you exceed me with them,

So if your largesse bypasses me to fall into their hands,

I find my recompense for them in my growing glory.

My recompense will be the growth of my glory.

I find my recompense in the glory that such an act commands.

لِمَن أَستَجِمُّ الشُكرَ بَعدَكَ أَو لِمَن

لِمَن أَستَجِمُّ الشُكرَ بَعدَكَ أَو لِمَن

تُؤَخَّرُ جَمّاتُ النَوافِلِ مِن بَعدي

تُؤَخَّرُ جَمّاتُ النَوافِلِ مِن بَعدي

For whom should I reserve my thanks after you, or for whom

For whom shall I give abundant thanks after you?

For whom but you should I reserve the fullness of my gratitude?

should abundant gifts be held back until after me?

Or whom shall I make my priority in supererogatory prayers after me?

Or for whom are the surplus bounties delayed and accrued?

وَقَد قُلتُ ما قَوّى الرَجاءَ سَماعُهُ

وَقَد قُلتُ ما قَوّى الرَجاءَ سَماعُهُ

وَآمَنَ باغي النُجحِ مِن خَيبَةِ المُكدي

وَآمَنَ باغي النُجحِ مِن خَيبَةِ المُكدي

And you have spoken words whose hearing strengthened hope

I have said what will strengthen hope when heard,

You have spoken words that bolster hope when they are heard,

and made the seeker of success safe from an empty-handed petitioner's disappointment.

And the seeker of success will be safe from the disappointment of the toiler,

And saved the seeker from the fear of a fruitless word.

وَلَو لَم تَعِد لَم تَنسَ حَظَّكَ في العُلا

وَلَو لَم تَعِد لَم تَنسَ حَظَّكَ في العُلا

فَكَيفَ وَقَد أَوجَبتَ جَدواكَ بِالوَعدِ

فَكَيفَ وَقَد أَوجَبتَ جَدواكَ بِالوَعدِ

And even had you not promised, you would not forget your share in high honor;

Had you not made promises, you would not forget your share of eminence,

Even without a vow, you would not neglect your claim to height,

how could you, then, when you have made your bounty binding by a promise?

So how will you neglect your pledge of generosity?

So how much more, now that a promise has bound your bounty tight?