1. لي بالتجائي للإمام الشافعي

    حظ يبشرني بأسعد طالع

    Through my seeking refuge with Imam al-Shafi‘i, I have

    good fortune that heralds for me the happiest rising star.

  2. وأراه ينظرني بعين ملؤها

    حدب أرتني منه أكثر شافع

    And I see him looking upon me with an eye filled with

    tender care; it showed me in him the greatest intercessor.

  3. وسمعت من فمه حديث مسرتي

    فملأت من حسن الحديث مسامعي

    And from his mouth I heard tidings of my joy,

    so I filled my ears with the beauty of his words.

  4. فافترّ لي ثغر السعادة باسما

    عن ضوء عز بالمسرة لامع

    Then happiness's mouth parted for me in a smile,

    revealing a light of honor, shining with joy.

  5. وغدوت أنتظر العلا مترقبا

    إشراق بدر بالمعالى ساطع

    And I began to await exaltation, watching for

    the radiance of a full moon, shining with lofty honors.

  6. كم لا بن إدريس الإمام مكارم

    وصلت إلى من الرحاب الواسع

    How many noble deeds of Imam Ibn Idris

    have reached me from the spacious precincts!

  7. ولكم كساني بالقبول ملابسا

    قد طرزت بيد الجمال الراثع

    And how often he clothed me, through acceptance, in garments

    embroidered by the hand of [splendid?] beauty.

  8. وكم اتقيت بجاهه يد معتد

    لولاه لانفرطت عقود مدامعي

    And how often, through his standing, I warded off an aggressor's hand;

    without him, the necklaces of my tears would have come unstrung.

  9. إني وجدت من الإمام رعاية

    هطلت عليّ كوبل غيث هامع

    Indeed, I found care from the imam

    that poured upon me like a downpour of streaming rain.

  10. ورأيت منه ما أنوء بحمله

    حمدا وشكرا من حباه اليانع

    And I beheld from him what makes me stagger beneath its weight,

    in praise and thanks for his ripened gifts.

  11. ووجدته يسطو على نحر العدا

    بمضاء سيفا للحناجر قاطع

    And I found him striking at the necks of enemies,

    with a keen edge—a sword that severs throats.

  12. ووجدته الحصن الحصين من الأذى

    وأعز ملتجأ وأقوى مانع

    And I found him an impregnable fortress against harm,

    and the mightiest refuge and strongest protector.

  13. هذا هو الجاه العريض فمن به

    لاذ استجار من العذاب الواقع

    This is far-reaching prestige; whoever through it

    takes refuge seeks protection from the torment that befalls.

  14. وسما السماء معزة ومهابة

    حتى ارتقى أوج المدار السابع

    And he surpassed the sky in honor and awe,

    until he ascended to the zenith of the seventh sphere.

  15. إن الإمام الشافعي وسيلتي

    وبه أنال مقاصدي ومطامعي

    Indeed, Imam al-Shafi‘i is my means of approach,

    and through him I attain my aims and ambitions.

  16. وبه أصول على العداة وأتقى

    كيد الألى نبذوا نصوص الشارع

    And through him I assail enemies and ward off

    the plots of those who cast aside the Lawgiver's texts.

  17. لم يرقبوا في مؤمن إلا ولا

    راعوا لذمة خاضع أو خاشع

    They respected no bond of kinship toward a believer, nor

    did they heed the covenant of anyone humble or reverent.

  18. خذ يابن عم المصطفى وسميه

    بيدي ولا تهمل نداء الخاضع

    Take, O cousin and namesake of the Chosen One,

    my hand, and do not neglect the humble one's call.

  19. من فرط حبي في جنابك قيل لي

    سد أنت محسبو الإمام الشافعي

    Because of my overflowing love for your honored presence, I was told:

    “Be foremost—you are [a follower of?] Imam al-Shafi‘i.”

  20. فجعلت أرفل في ثياب مسرتي

    وأتيه لكن مع تام تواضعي

    So I began to strut in the robes of my joy,

    and to exult, yet with my humility wholly intact.

  21. إني اتخذتك بعد آل المصطفى

    والمصطفى سندا لكل منافعي

    Indeed, I have taken you, after the Chosen One's family

    and the Chosen One, as support for all that benefits me.

  22. من يلتجىء للمصطفى ولآله

    والشافعي فليس قط بضائع

    Whoever seeks refuge with the Chosen One and his family,

    and al-Shafi‘i, is never lost.

  23. يا بحر علم قد علته سفينة

    ركب النواوي فوقها والرافعي

    O sea of knowledge, a ship has ridden upon you,

    aboard which al-Nawawi and al-Rafi‘i embarked.

  24. وبهم على بر المفاخر قد رست

    بشراع مجد كالشريعة ناصع

    And with them it has anchored on the shore of glorious deeds,

    with a sail of glory, bright as the sacred law.

  25. أنظر إليّ بعين مولى لم يزل

    يولى الجميل بسحب غيث نائع

    Look upon me with the eye of a patron who has never ceased

    to bestow kindness through clouds of [beneficial?] rain.

  26. واحفظ بفضلك يا إمام كرامتي

    من أن أهون لجاحد أو طائع

    And by your grace, O imam, preserve my dignity

    from being belittled by one who denies or one who obeys.

  27. لا زلت للرحمات أشرف مهبط

    لك في سماء الجود أشرف طالع

    May you ever be the noblest place where mercies descend;

    yours, in the heaven of generosity, is the noblest rising star.