لقد راقني في الليل دمع الغمائم

كما شاقني في الصبح سجع الحمائم

The clouds' tears by night have truly delighted me,

just as the doves' cooing at dawn has stirred my longing.

فمن اجل هذا ادمعي في تحدر

ونحبي راق من غرام ملازمي

So, because of this, my tears are streaming down,

and my sobbing rises from a passion clinging to me.

فيا ايها البين المشتت شملنا

رويدك اني في حمى ابن الاكارم

So, O separation, shattering our togetherness,

restrain yourself: I am under the protection of the son of noble men,

محمد توفيق وزير مكرم

له خلق ما شانه ذأم ذائم

Muhammad Tawfiq, an honored minister.

His character is unblemished by any censurer's blame.

متى برقت منه اسرة نبله

تيقنت ان الشبل نجل الضبارم

Whenever the lineaments of his nobility flash forth,

I know for certain that the cub is the offspring of fierce lions.

لئن نظرت عيناك في السن مثله

فما رأتا في مجده من مزاحم

Even if your eyes have seen his equal in age,

they have seen no rival to his glory.

حباه مليك العصر ارفع رتبة

واسمى له شانا باسنى العلائم

The sovereign of the age bestowed on him the loftiest rank,

and exalted his standing with the most splendid insignia.

فصار مشيرا وهو بعد مراهق

ولكنه في الحزم شيخ لحازم

So he became a marshal while still an adolescent,

yet in prudence he is an elder even to the prudent.

وهذه سن البدر عند تمامه

ولكن في البدرين فرقا لعاجم

This is the age of the moon when it reaches fullness,

but an examiner finds a difference between these two full moons:

فبدر المعالي حسنه غير حائل

وبدر الليالي حسنه غير دائم

the full moon of lofty honors has a beauty that does not fade,

whereas the night-time moon's beauty does not last.

ولله اسرار فكم من فتى له

دراية شخ بالمسائل عالم

God has His secrets: how many a youth possesses

the understanding of an elder well versed in questions!

وكان اياس يوم ان ولى القضا

صغيرا وعند الصل افقه حاكم

Iyas, on the day he assumed the judgeship, was

young, yet in adjudication the most learned of judges.

وكاين ترى من شهرب وهو جاهل

فليس الحجا في السن اوفى العمائم

And how many an aged man you see who is ignorant!

For wisdom lies neither in age nor in turbans.

لقد آثر الله العليم اميرنا

باطهر اخلاق وزكى عزائم

The All-Knowing God has indeed favored our prince

with the purest character and pure resolves.

ستنظر منه مصر ملكا سميذعا

يبؤوها في العز اعلى المعالم

Egypt will behold in him a magnanimous sovereign

who will set her at glory's loftiest landmarks.

ويبقى لها ما سنه من مفاخر

ابوه بها او من مساع كريم

And for her will remain the glories established

there by his father, or the endeavors of a noble man.

وهذا الذي يبنى لتذكار آله

نجوم الهدى بيتا قوى الدعائم

And this is he who builds, in remembrance of his family—

those stars of guidance—a house with sturdy pillars.

تتيه المعالي كلما حمد اسمه

وتفتر من ذكراه عن ثغر باسم

Lofty honors exult whenever his name is praised,

and at his mention reveal a smiling mouth,

لان مناها ان يزيد نموه

نماء بها يؤتى جنى المغانم

for their wish is that his growth should bring

further growth, through them yielding the harvest of gains.

ارى الدهر وافانا بكل رغيبة

وقد طالما عاصت اماني حالم

I see that time has brought us every desired gift,

though a dreamer's wishes have so often proved elusive.

فهل هو الاخير خدن مسالم

وهل من لحاه غير عاد مخاصم

Is it not, then, the best of peaceable companions?

And is anyone who censures it anything but a quarrelsome aggressor?

رأينا به نجل العزيز مقلدا

مشيرية عظمى طلاب الاعاظم

In it we saw the son of al-Aziz invested

with the highest marshalship, the object of the great men's quest.

اتت نحوه نسعى وكل فتى لها

يطوف ويسعى حائما حوم هائم

It came toward him while we strove, and every youth for it

circles and strives, circling like a bewildered wanderer.

فحلت بصدر منه مثل فنائه

رحيب وقدر جل عن لوم لائم

So it settled on a breast of his that, like his courtyard,

is spacious, and on a dignity beyond any critic's blame.

وفي ذلك الصدر الشريف تنوعت

فنون لغات العرب ثم الاعاجم

And within that noble breast are diverse

forms of the languages of Arabs and then of non-Arabs.

وفي ذلك الوجه الجميل اسرة

على النبل تغنى عن لسان التراجم

And on that handsome face are radiant lineaments

of nobility, needing no interpreter's tongue.

شمائله في كل حي ومنتدى

فؤول المنادى او شمول المنادم

His qualities in every neighborhood and assembly

are good omens for the caller, or wine for the boon companion.

اذا نحن اثنينا عليه فانما

نزيل به الاشجان عن قلب واجم

When we praise him, we only

dispel through him the sorrows of a dejected heart,

ونحمل من يشكو الزمان على الرضى

بما قدر الرحمن رب العوالم

and bring whoever complains of time to contentment

with what the All-Merciful, Lord of all worlds, has ordained.

لنعم زمان قد ارانا محمدا

يوفق للتقوى وفعل المكارم

Excellent indeed is an age that has shown us Muhammad

granted success in piety and the doing of noble deeds!

فلا زال ذا غنم بما هو قاصد

فيذكر في تاريخه قصد غانم

May he always gain from whatever he pursues,

so his chronicle records the quest of a successful man.

له الله ما احلى حلاه وشيمه

فهل بعد هذا من مزيد لرائم

God bless him! How sweet his graces and character!

After this, is there anything more for a seeker?

له الله من شهم يسرك قوله

وافعاله اكرم بها من توائم

God bless him! What a noble man, whose words delight you!

And his deeds—what noble twins they make!

وما كل من يلهيك حسن حديثه

ومنظره يرضيك عند العظائم

Not everyone who delights you with fine speech

and handsome looks will satisfy you in momentous affairs.

ادام عليه الله نعمة جده

ووالده ما لاح برق لشائم

May God perpetuate for him the blessing of his grandfather

and his father, as long as lightning flashes for a watcher.

ودامت به عين العزيز قريرة

وبالاهل طرا في جميع المواسم

And may al-Aziz's eye remain gladdened by him,

and by all the family, throughout every season.

فيا سامع الداعين كن خير سامع

لنا عند امساك وافطار صائم

So, O Hearer of those who pray, be the best of hearers

for us, when the fasting person abstains and breaks the fast.