1. للعلم أهلٌ لهام الفضل تيجان

    والدين حصن وهم للحصن أركان

    Learning has its adepts, crowns upon the heads of excellence.

    And religion is a fortress, and they are its pillars.

  2. قوم بخدمتهم للشرع قد رفعوا

    بين البرية قدرا أينما كانوا

    A people who, through their service to sacred law, have been raised

    in rank among humankind, wherever they may be.

  3. بهديهم كل من في الكون معتصم

    إن الحياة بغير العلم خسران

    All who dwell in the universe hold fast to their guidance.

    Indeed, life without learning is loss.

  4. من شب في العلم حتى شاب مفرقه

    فإنه في الورى لا شك إنسان

    Whoever grows up in learning until the parting of his hair turns gray

    is, without doubt, a human being among humankind.

  5. فالناس في هذه الدنيا مقسمة

    إلى ثلاث وهذا القول ميزان

    People in this world are divided

    into three classes, and this saying is a measure:

  6. مال وجاه ونور العلم ثالثها

    وكل قسم له في الناس خلان

    wealth, rank, and the light of learning as the third.

    Each class has its friends among the people.

  7. فصاحب المال قارون بثروته

    وصاحب الجاه إن حققت هامان

    The man of wealth is Qarun in his riches;

    and the man of rank, if you examine closely, is Haman.

  8. وصاحب العلم مغبوط بنعمته

    أما سواه فمكروب وحيران

    The man of learning is enviable for his blessing;

    as for anyone else, he is distressed and bewildered.

  9. يسير ذو العلم والأنوار تقدمه

    لأنه بجمال العلم مزدان

    The learned man walks with lights going before him,

    for he is adorned with the beauty of learning.

  10. أهل العلوم لهم بالعلم منزلة

    من دونها في العلا كسرى وساسان

    The people of learning possess, through learning, a station

    below which, in loftiness, stand Kisra and Sasan.

  11. بالعلم في الناس أحياء وإن قبروا

    لا يعتريهم مدى الأزمان نسيان

    Through learning they live among people, even when buried;

    no forgetfulness overtakes them throughout the ages.

  12. هذا الإمام إمام الفضل قاطبة

    الشافعيّ على ما قلت برهان

    This imam is the leader of excellence in its entirety;

    al-Shafi'i is proof of what I have said.

  13. هذا الإمام له في كل معترك

    من الشريعة تحقيق وتبيان

    This imam has, in every arena

    of sacred law, thorough inquiry and clear exposition.

  14. كم أسهر الطرف في حل العويص وفي

    فهم الحديث وقلب الغمر تومان

    How often he kept his eyes awake to solve difficult questions and to

    understand the hadith, while the novice's heart lay [apparently asleep].

  15. وكم أبان بآي الذكر من حكم

    أثنى عليه بها شرع وقرآن

    And how many rulings he made clear through verses of the Remembrance,

    for which sacred law and the Qur'an praised him.

  16. هذا هو القرشي المعتلى نسبا

    أبوه فهو معد ثم عدنان

    This is the Qurashi, exalted in lineage;

    his forefather is Ma'add, then Adnan.

  17. من معشر طهر الرحمن محتدهم

    فهم أصول وهم روح وريحان

    From a people whose lineage the Most Merciful purified,

    they are roots, and they are repose and sweet basil.

  18. من يبتهم ظهر الإسلام فانتكست

    لعصبة الشرك أصنام وأوثان

    From their house Islam arose, and toppled were

    the idols and graven images of the band of polytheists.

  19. هذا هو البحر تجرى فوق لجّته

    سفينة العلم فيها النور ريان

    He is the sea, across whose depths sails

    the ship of learning, with light brimming within.

  20. شراعها الشرع والإسلام رائدها

    وكل محمولها أمن وإيمان

    Its sail is sacred law, and Islam is its guide;

    all its cargo is safety and faith.

  21. رست على ساحل الجوديّ ثابتة

    فلا يزعزعها في الناس طوفان

    It anchored firmly on the shore of al-Judi,

    so no flood among humankind can shake it.

  22. يا قوم هذا الإمام الشافعي لهو

    في دوحة الفضل أثمار وأفنان

    O people, this imam, al-Shafi'i, is indeed

    fruit and boughs in the spreading tree of excellence.

  23. قاضى الشريعة والحبر الذي شهدت

    بفضل مذهبه شيب وشبان

    The judge of sacred law and the scholar whose

    school's excellence is attested by graybeards and youths.

  24. من علم هذا طباق الأرض قد ملئت

    إن الحديث على هذا لبرهان

    The earth's expanses have been filled with this man's learning;

    indeed, the hadith is proof of this.

  25. من قبل مولده صح الحديث به

    هذا هو الفخر لا تاج ونيشان

    Before his birth, the hadith concerning him was established as sound.

    This is glory, not a crown or a medal.

  26. رحب الرحاب غزير الجود صيبه

    جم التوال وبالأمداد هتان

    Wide are his courts; his rain is rich in generosity;

    abundant is his bounty, and his aid pours steadily down.

  27. لا يدخل العائذ الملهوف ساحته

    إلا وكان له من جوده شان

    The anguished seeker of refuge never enters his courtyard

    without his generosity granting him distinction.

  28. فانظر إلينا فقد عودتنا كرما

    إن الجميع بهذا الحفل ضيقان

    So look upon us: you have accustomed us to generosity;

    everyone at this gathering is hard-pressed.

  29. مصر بكم وبآل البيت قد شرفت

    فليس يشبهها في المجد بلدان

    Egypt has been honored by you and by the Prophet's household;

    no other lands resemble her in glory.

  30. أستغفر الله إلا طيبة فلها

    بالمصطفى شرف يزهو ويزدان

    I ask God's forgiveness—except Taybah, for she has

    through al-Mustafa an honor that shines and is adorned.

  31. يا قوم هذا الإمام الشافعي على

    حوادث الدهر للزوار معوان

    O people, this imam, al-Shafi'i, against

    the calamities of time, is a great helper to his visitors.

  32. فكم ملوك على أعتابه وقفت

    وكم له بنجاح القصد قد دانوا

    How many kings have stood upon his thresholds,

    and how many have paid him homage for the fulfillment of their aims.

  33. كل ينال على مقدار نيته

    فنية الخير للخيرات قربان

    Each receives according to the measure of his intention;

    for a good intention is an offering that draws blessings near.

  34. بالله زوروا وجافوا كل معترض

    ففي عقيدتهم زيغ ونقصان

    By God, visit him and shun every objector,

    for in their creed are deviation and deficiency.

  35. يا معشر القوم إن الشافعي له

    في مصركم هذه عز وسلطان

    O company of people, al-Shafi'i possesses

    in this Egypt of yours, might and authority.

  36. في كل عام لنا أنس بمولده

    إن جاءنا رجب أو هل شعبان

    Each year we find joy in his birth-celebration,

    when Rajab comes to us or Sha'ban begins.

  37. رعى المهيمن من قاموا بخدمته

    ومن به احتفلوا فالكل إخوان

    May the Guardian protect those who have served him,

    and those who have celebrated him, for all are brothers.

  38. وأيد الشرع وارفع أهله فهم

    للدين والشرع أنصار وأعوان

    And strengthen sacred law and exalt its people, for they

    are supporters and helpers of religion and sacred law.

  39. واختم بخير لكل الحاضرين وقل

    حسن الجزاء لكم صفح وغفران

    And grant a good ending to all those present, and say:

    Your good reward is pardon and forgiveness.