لقد شطت فأنحلنا الهيام

متى شطّت أميمة والغرام

She has indeed gone far away, and yearning has wasted us,

when Umayma went far away—and ardent love has wasted us too.

ودمع العين يجرى بانسجام

وما طاب القعود ولا القيام

And the eye's tears flow in a steady stream.

And neither sitting nor standing brought comfort.

ودام الحزن والافراح ولّت

ودام السهد وامتنع المنام

And sorrow endured, while joys departed.

And sleeplessness endured, and sleep was denied.

وما طاب المذاق عليذ كلا

وما طاب السكوت والا الكلام

Nor did taste bring pleasure—[unclear word]—no indeed.

And neither silence nor speech brought comfort.

إذا رئيت يفوح المسك منها

قبيل الصبح والريق المدام

When she is seen, musk wafts from her,

just before dawn; her saliva is wine.

لها ليل وصبح لو تبدّى

لشمس الصبح كان لها الظلام

She has a night and a dawn; were her dawn to appear

before the morning sun, the sun would be left in darkness.

وردف مثل دعص من كثيب

تلبّد بالنّدى منه الهيام

And a rump like a sand mound from a dune,

whose loose sand has been compacted by dew.

وعين للمهاة وجيد ظبي

ترود وظلّ مكنسها البشام

And an oryx's eye, and a gazelle's neck;

she roams, and balsam trees shade her shelter.

وألمي ثغره مثل الأقاحي

يزينه إذا افترّ ابتسام

And a dark-lipped beauty whose teeth are like daisies;

a smile adorns that mouth whenever its lips part.

هيامى لا يماثل من رواها

كحبر لاتماثله الكرام

The thirsty—none can match the one who quenched them,

like a scholar whom the generous cannot equal.

فذا ماء العيون له مقام

مقام لا يماثله مقام

So this is Ma al-Uyun; he holds a station,

a station no other station can equal.

وذا ماء العيون حماه ربّي

وهذا الخبر والبطل الهمام

And this is Ma al-Uyun—may my Lord protect him—

and this is the knowledgeable man and the valiant hero.

لقد حاز العلوم وحاز فضلا

على كل الأنام كما يرام

He has indeed mastered the sciences and gained distinction

over all humankind, as one would wish.

وكان العلم ليس له دعام

وحين أتاه كان له الدعام

And learning once had no support,

and when he came to it, it gained its support.

وكان الجود لي له سنام

وحين أتاه كان له السنام

And generosity once had no summit,

and when he came to it, it gained its summit.

وكان العدل ليس له مقام

وحين أتاه كان له المقام

And justice once had no standing,

and when he came to it, it gained its standing.

وكان الدين ليس له قوام

وحين أتاه كان له القوام

And religion once had no sustaining foundation,

and when he came to it, it gained its foundation.

وكان الحق ليس له إمام

وحين أتاه كان له إمام

And truth once had no leader,

and when he came to it, it gained a leader.

وكان الجهل ليس له انعدام

وحين أتاه كان له انعدام

And ignorance once knew no end,

and when he came to it, it came to an end.

لقد حاز المكارم والمعالي

أبي ماء العين مذ بلغ الفطام

He has indeed attained noble virtues and lofty honors—

my father, Ma al-Ayn, since he reached weaning age.

ويطعم للوفود ولليتامى

طعاما لا يماثله طعام

And he feeds visiting delegations and orphans

food no other food can equal.

ويسقيهم ويكسوهم دواما

وغير الشيخ يغلبه الدوام

And he gives them drink and clothes them continually,

and constancy wears down anyone but the Sheikh.

وبذل الشيخ ليس له ملال

وبذل الشيخ أيسره انسجام

And the Sheikh's giving knows no weariness,

and even the least of his giving pours forth in a stream.

لحبل الخير يجلب كل خير

وحبل الشر كان له انصرام

To the cord of goodness he draws every good thing,

and the cord of evil has been severed.

وبحر لاتكدره دلاء

تقاصر له كل فتى يرام

And he is a sea that buckets cannot muddy;

every sought-after young man fell short beside him.

وزهد للأرامل والعوافي

ومجد لا يفارقه انتظام

And self-denial for widows and seekers of sustenance,

and glory that never loses its order.

وحلم لا يغيره عذول

وصبر لا تغيره الأنام

And forbearance no reproacher can alter,

and patience humankind cannot change.

فماء العينين مولاه اجتباه

له قد آذن الملك السلام

So Ma al-Aynayn—his Lord has chosen him;

the Sovereign, the Source of Peace, has indeed announced it to him.

مطيع أوامر الرحمن غيث

غيور النفس ما انتهك الحرام

Obedient to the Merciful's commands, he is life-giving rain,

zealous in spirit, he has never violated sacred bounds.

وللاعداء والباغين منه

حريق القلب والسيف الحسام

And for enemies and aggressors, from him come

a burning in the heart and a keen-edged sword.

على كل الأيام يداك طول

بذلك للانام بها دوام

At all times, your two hands are bountiful,

your giving to humankind through them never ceases.

ترى العافين وفدا بعد وفد

لهم في رحب منزله ازدحام

You see seekers of bounty, delegation after delegation,

crowding the spacious expanse of his home.

ألا يا سائلي عن ماء عيني

متى ما جئت يخبرك المقام

Listen, you who ask me about 'Water of My Eye':

whenever you come, the place itself will tell you.

لقد أدّى حقوقا ما عليه

تكفّلها فليس له ملام

He has indeed discharged obligations not incumbent on him;

he undertook them, and so no blame attaches to him.

فلو كان السماء والأرض طرّا

قراطيسا والأشجار أقلام

So if the sky and the earth, in their entirety, were

sheets of paper, and the trees were pens,

وكل الناس تكتب من بحار

وما بهم الفتور والا المنام

and all people wrote, drawing from seas,

with neither weariness nor sleep overtaking them,

لما من فضله جاءوا بعشر

ففضل القطب ليس له تمام

they would not produce a tenth of his excellence,

for the Qutb's excellence has no end.

فيا شيخ الشيوخ عيك مني

سلام لا يماثله سلام

So, O Sheikh of sheikhs, to you from me comes

a greeting of peace no other greeting can equal.

رجوت بجاهكم علما ودينا

وتغفر لي خطاياي العظام

Through your honored rank, I have hoped for knowledge and faith,

and that my grievous sins may be forgiven me.

صلاة الله يتلوها سلام

لمن بالرسل كان به الختام

God's blessing, followed by peace,

upon him with whom the line of messengers came to its close.