1. محدثي عَن فَريق فارَقوا العلما

    وأودعوني في تَوديعهم أَلَما

    You who tell me of a band who left al-ʿAlam,

    And left me pain as they bade farewell,

  2. وَزوّدوا القلب هما لا اِنقطاع له

    وَبدلوا جثَتي بالصحة السقما

    And filled the heart with grief that never ends,

    And replaced my body's health with sickness—

  3. هلا وَقَد عسفت هوج المطي بهم

    سمعتهم يَذكرون العهد وَالذمما

    Why, when the headstrong riding-camels bore them roughly away,

    Did you not hear them recall the pledge and the bonds?

  4. باتوا وَفي القلب منهم نية عرضت

    باتَت تقسمه للبين فاِنقسما

    They passed the night; a resolve of theirs arose within my heart,

    All night dividing it for parting, until it split.

  5. ما ضر سكان نجد قبل ما رَحَلوا

    أَن لا يَكون زَما الوصل مغتنما

    What harm befell the dwellers of Najd before they left,

    That the time of union should go unseized?

  6. كنا وَكانوا وكان الشمل مجتمعا

    وَالوصل متصلا وَالصرم منصرما

    We and they were together, our company united,

    And union was unbroken, and estrangement cut off.

  7. فصرت من بين اَهل البان ذا شجن

    لا يرتضى الدمع الا أَن يكون دما

    So among the people of the bān trees I became grief-stricken,

    Accepting no tears unless they were blood.

  8. قالوا ندمت عَلى ما كانَ من زمن

    فقلت مالي أَن لا أَظهر الندما

    They said, 'You regret the time that has passed.'

    So I said, 'Why should I not show regret?'

  9. جاد الغمام عَلى سفح الشام إِلى

    شعب الخزام فروى الضالوَالسلما

    May the clouds rain generously on the slopes of al-Shām, as far as

    The ravine of al-Khuzām, and water the wild lote trees and acacias.

  10. وَلا عدا الأثلات الخضر عارضه

    حَتّى يحيى رسوم الحي وَالخيما

    And may its raincloud not miss the green tamarisks,

    Until it revives the traces of the encampment and the tents.

  11. يا حادي العيس لا تَرتَع بذي سلم

    وَلا بنجد وزم الانينق الرسما

    O driver of the pale camels, do not stop for grazing at Dhū Salam,

    Nor at Najd; take the reins of the swift-striding she-camels,

  12. واقصد ربا الخيفة الغراء مقتبسا

    من نور أَبلج يَلقى الوفد مبتسما

    And head for the radiant heights of al-Khīfah, drawing

    From the light of a bright-browed man who greets the delegation smiling.

  13. ذاكَ المعلم عبد اللَه اجود من

    اعطى واشرف منفوق الثرى سيما

    That is the teacher ʿAbd Allāh, the most generous of those

    Who have given, and noblest in countenance of all upon the earth.

  14. الفاضل الكامِل المَحمود سيرته

    سامي الفخار الاغر العالم العلما

    The virtuous, the perfect, praised for his conduct,

    Lofty in glory, radiant, the learned luminary.

  15. الصائم القائم التالي اذا هجعت

    عنه العيون وجن اللَيل وادهما

    Fasting, standing in prayer, reciting when sleep has closed

    The eyes that watch him, and night has fallen and grown pitch-black.

  16. تقر عينك منه عند رؤيته

    كانه البدر في جو السَماء سما

    Your eye finds comfort in him when you behold him,

    As though he were the full moon risen high in the sky's expanse.

  17. اتى به اللَه نورا لاخفاء به

    وَكان سرا من الاسرار منكتما

    God brought him forth as a light without obscurity,

    And he had been a secret, concealed among secrets.

  18. باللَه باللَه ان شاهدت طلعته

    لا تلثم الكف حَتّى تلثم القدما

    By God, by God, if you behold his countenance,

    Do not kiss his palm until you have kissed his foot.

  19. واجعل زيارته لِلَّه خالصة

    وكن به بعد حبل اللَه معتصما

    And make your visit to him solely for God's sake,

    And, after God's rope, hold fast to him.

  20. اللَه أَكبَر هَذا خير من فخرت

    به المَذاهب هَذا سيد العلما

    God is greatest! This is the best of those in whom

    The schools of thought have taken pride; this is the master of scholars.

  21. هَذا الَّذي تظهر الاشيا فراسته

    كانه يَخفي الغيب قد علما

    This is he whose discernment brings things to light,

    As though he concealed the unseen, having already known it.