1. أهلُ التُّقَى والعِلمِ أهلُ السُّؤْدُدِ

    فأَخُو السِّيَادَةِ أحمدُ بنُ مُحَمَّدِ

    The people of piety and learning are the people of eminence.

    Thus the man of lordship is Ahmad son of Muhammad.

  2. الصاحبُ ابن الصاحب ابن الصاحب ال

    حبْرُ الهُمَامُ السَّيِّدُ ابنُ السَّيِّدِ

    The Sahib, son of the Sahib, son of the Sahib, the

    scholar, the magnanimous master, son of a master.

  3. لا تُشْرِكَنَّ به امرأ في وَصْفِهِ

    فتكونَ قد خالفْتَ كلَّ مُوَحِّدِ

    Do not set any man beside him in describing him,

    for then you would have contradicted every monotheist.

  4. الشَّمسُ طالعةٌ فهل من مُبْصِرٍ

    والحَقُّ مُتَّضِحٌ فهل من مُهْتَدِي

    The sun has risen—is there anyone who sees?

    And truth is clear—is there anyone rightly guided?

  5. إنَّ الفَتَى مَنْ سَوَّدَتْهُ نفْسُهُ

    بالفضلِ لا مَنْ سادَ غيرَ مُسوَّدِ

    Indeed, the true man is one whom his own self ennobles

    through merit, not one who rules without being ennobled.

  6. والناسُ مُخْتَلِفُوا المذاهِبِ في العُلا

    والمَذْهَبُ المُخْتارُ مذْهَبُ أحمدِ

    People differ in their paths to greatness,

    and the chosen path is Ahmad's path.

  7. وفَّى عُلومَ الأوّلين حُقوقَها

    والآخِرِينَ وَفاءَ مَنْ لم يَجْحَدِ

    He paid the learning of the ancients its full due,

    and that of their successors, with the fidelity of one who denies no due.

  8. فكأنَّه فينا خليفةُ آدمٍ

    أوْ آدَمٌ لو أنَّهُ لم يُولَدِ

    So he is among us as Adam's successor,

    or Adam himself, had he not been born.

  9. أفضَى به علْمُ اليَقِينِ لعَيْنِهِ

    وَرَآهُ حَاسِدُهُ بعَيْنَيْ أَرْمَدِ

    Knowledge of certainty led him to the eye of certainty,

    and his envier saw him with the eyes of a sore-eyed man.

  10. كُشِفَ الغِطَاءُ لهُ فليسَ كحائرٍ

    في دينِهِ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ مُتَرَدّدِ

    The veil was lifted for him, so he is not like one bewildered

    in his faith, wavering over his affairs.

  11. قد كانَ يَحكمُ في الأُمورِ بِعِلْمِهِ

    شَهِدَ المُحقُّ لديْهِ أَمْ لم يَشْهَدِ

    He used to judge affairs through his knowledge,

    whether the rightful claimant testified before him or not.

  12. لولا يُخاطِبُنَا بِقَدْرِ عُقُولِنَا

    جَاءتْ معارفُهُ بما لم نَعْهَدِ

    Were he not addressing us according to our minds,

    his insights would have brought what we had never known.

  13. ورِثَ النُّبُوَّة فَلْيَقُم كَقِيامِهِ

    مَنْ حَاوَلَ الميراثَ أَوْ فَلْيَقْعُدِ

    He inherited prophethood; let him rise as he rises

    who seeks that inheritance—or else let him sit.

  14. فلِسَانُهُ العَضْبُ الحُسامُ المَنْتَضَى

    وَبَيَانُهُ بَحْرٌ خِضَمُّ المُزْبِدِ

    For his tongue is the keen, cutting sword, unsheathed,

    and his eloquence a vast, foaming sea.

  15. وَبَصِيرَةٌ باللَّهِ يُشْرِقُ نورُها

    ويُضِيءُ مثلَ الكَوْكَبِ المُتَوَقِّدِ

    And insight into God whose light shines forth

    and glows like a blazing star.

  16. وخَلائِق ما شابَها مَنْ شانَها

    فأتَتْ كماءِ المُزْنِ في قَلْبِ الصَّدِي

    And virtues untainted by those who would mar them,

    so they came like rain-cloud water into a thirsty man's heart.

  17. فَلِبَابِ زَيْنِ الدِّينِ أحمدَ فلْيَسِر

    مَنْ كانَ بالأَعْذَار غيرَ مُقَيَّدِ

    So to the door of Zayn al-Din Ahmad let him journey,

    whoever is not shackled by excuses.

  18. هوَ كعْبَةُ الفضلِ الذي قُصَّادُهُ

    قد حَقَّقُوا منه بُلوغَ المَقْصِدِ

    He is the Kaaba of excellence, whose seekers

    have secured through him the attainment of their aim.

  19. لَمَّا وَرَدْتُ عَلَى كَرِيمِ جَنَابِهِ

    فوَرَدْتُ بَحْرَ الْجُودِ عَذْبَ المَوْرِدِ

    When I came to his gracious presence,

    I reached generosity's sea, sweet at its watering place.

  20. ورَأَيْتُ وَجْهَاً أَشْرَقَتْ أَنْوَارُهُ

    فأَضَاءَ مثلَ الكوكَبِ المُتَوَقِّدِ

    And I saw a face whose lights shone forth,

    and it shone like a blazing star.

  21. أعْرَضْتُ عَنْ لهْوِ الحَدِيثِ وقُلْتُ يا

    مَدْحَ الوَرَى عنِّي فمَا أَنَا مِنْ دَدِ

    I turned away from idle talk and said, 'O

    praise of mortals, away from me! I have no part in frivolity.'

  22. وَعَزَمْتُ في يَوْمِي عَلَى العَمَلِ الّذي

    ألقاهُ لي نعْمَ الذَّخيرةُ في غَدِ

    And I resolved today upon the deed that

    I shall find a splendid treasure for myself tomorrow:

  23. مَدْحٌ إذَا أعْمَلْتُ فيه مِقْوَلِي

    جَاهَدْتُ عن دينِ الهُدَى بِمُهَنَّدِ

    praise, in which, when I set my tongue to work,

    I fight for the faith of guidance with an Indian-steel sword.

  24. أَبْقَى لهُ الذِّكْرَ المُخَلَّدَ عِلْمُهُ

    أنْ ليس في الدُّنْيَا امرُؤٌ بِمُخَلَّدِ

    His knowledge preserved for him an undying remembrance:

    that no man in this world is immortal.

  25. فَاسْتُنْفِدَتْ بوجودِهِ آمالُهُ

    وَاخْتَارَ عندَ اللَّهِ ما لم يَنْفَدِ

    Thus his hopes were exhausted through his existence,

    and he chose what is with God and never runs out.

  26. شُغِفَتْ بِهِ الدُّنْيَا وآثَرَ أُخْتَهَا

    حُبَّاً فَأَوْهَمَ رَغْبَةً بِتَزَهُّدِ

    The world was enamored of him, but he preferred its sister

    out of love, thus giving the impression of desire through renunciation.

  27. وأتى عليها جُودُه فكأَنّها

    لهَوانِهَا في نفسه لم تُوجَدِ

    And his generosity consumed it, as though,

    because he held it so cheap, it had never existed.

  28. فإذَا نَظَرْتَ إلى مقاصِدِهِ بهَا

    أَبْدَتْ إليكَ حَقيقةَ المُتَجَرِّدِ

    So when you consider his purposes with it,

    it reveals to you the true nature of one detached from the world.

  29. كلِفٌ بمَا يَعْنِيهِ مِنْ إسعادِ ذِي ال

    حَاجَاتِ في الزَّمَنِ القَليلِ المُسْعِدِ

    Intent on what concerns him: aiding those with

    needs, in an age that offers little aid.

  30. يَطْوِي مِنَ التَّقْوَى حَشَاهُ عَلَى الطَّوَى

    وَيَبِيتُ سَهْرَانَاً مُقَضَّ المَرْقَدِ

    Out of piety he folds his belly over hunger,

    and spends the night awake, with a bed that affords no rest.

  31. وَيَغُضُّ مِنْ مَغْسُولَتَيْنِ بِدَمْعِهِ

    مَكْحُولَتَيْنِ مِنَ الظَّلامِ بإثْمِدِ

    And he lowers the gaze of two eyes washed with his tears,

    kohled with darkness's antimony.

  32. عَوِّلَ عليه في الأُمورِ فإنَّهُ

    أهلُ الغَرِيبِ وبَيْتُ مالِ المُجْتَدِي

    Rely on him in affairs, for he is

    the stranger's family and the supplicant's treasury.

  33. وَاسْتَمْطِرِ البركاتِ مِنْ دَعَوَاتِهِ

    حيث استقَلَّ سحَابُ راحَتِهِ النَّدِي

    And seek a rain of blessings from his prayers,

    where the dew-laden cloud of his palm rises.

  34. واسمعْ لِمَا يُوحَى مِنَ الذِّكْرِ الَّذِي

    يُشْجِي القلوبَ لَوَ انَّها مِنْ جَلْمَدِ

    And listen to the inspired remembrance that

    touches hearts with sorrow, even were they of solid rock.

  35. صَدَرَتْ جَواهِرُ لفظِهِ مِنْ باطِنِ

    صافِي التُّقَى مِثْلِ الحُسامِ الْمُغْمَدِ

    The jewels of his utterance emerged from an inner self

    pure in piety, like a sheathed sword.

  36. فأراكَهُ سِحر البيانِ مُنَضَّدَاً

    بِيَدِ البَلاغَةِ وَهْوَ غيرُ مُنَضَّدِ

    So the magic of expression showed it to you arrayed

    by eloquence's hand, though it was unarranged.

  37. مُتَحَلِّياً بِجَوَامِعِ الكَلِمِ التي

    يُعْنَى بها حَدِبٌ عناءَ تَجَلُّدِ

    Adorned with all-embracing words that

    a caring man attends to with painstaking endurance.

  38. فالقَصُّ منه إذا أتَاكَ تَعَدَّدَتْ

    منه المعاني وَهْوَ غيرُ مُعَدَّدِ

    So when his narration reaches you, manifold become

    the meanings it yields, though it is not multiplied.

  39. قُلْ لِلإِمَامِ المُقْتَدَى بِعُلُومِهِ

    قد فَازَ مَنْ أَضْحَى بِرَأْيِكَ يَقْتَدِي

    Say to the imam whose learning is followed:

    He has triumphed who has come to follow your judgment.

  40. يَا مَنْ يُرَاعِي للفضيلةِ حَقَّهَا

    لِتَلَذُّذٍ بِالفَضْلِ لا لِتَزَيُّدِ

    O you who give virtue its rightful due,

    for delight in excellence, not for self-aggrandizement.

  41. لمْ تُصْغِ لِلْعُلَمَاءِ إِلَّا مِثْلَمَا

    أَصْغَى سُلَيْمَانٌ لِقَوْلِ الهُدْهُدِ

    You listened to scholars only as

    Sulayman listened to the hoopoe's words.

  42. عَجِبَتْ لِزُهْدِكَ في الوزارةِ مَعْشَرٌ

    فأَجَبْتُهُمْ عَجَباً إذَا لم يَزْهَدِ

    A group marveled at your renunciation of the vizierate,

    so I answered them, 'The wonder would be if he did not renounce it!'

  43. ما ضَرَّ حبرَاً قَلَّدَتْهُ أَئِمَّةٌ

    أَن لم يكنْ لِمَنَاصِبٍ بمُبَلَّدِ

    It harms no scholar whom imams follow

    that he is not tied down to official posts.

  44. وإذا سما باسْمِ العلومِ فلا تَسَلْ

    عَن حَطِّ نَفْس بالحَضِيضِ الأَوْهَدِ

    And when he rises in the name of learning, do not ask

    about sinking a soul into the lowest depths.

  45. ما المَجْدُ إِلَّا حِكْمَةٌ أُولِيتَهَا

    يَنْحَطُّ عنها قدر كلِّ ممجَّدِ

    Glory is only wisdom bestowed upon you,

    below which the rank of every exalted man sinks.

  46. يا رُتْبَةً لا تُرْتَقَى بِسَلالِمٍ

    وسيادَةً ما تُشْتَرَى بالعَسْجَدِ

    O rank that cannot be ascended by ladders,

    and lordship that cannot be bought with gold!

  47. خيرُ المناصِبِ ما العُيُونُ كَلِيلَةٌ

    عنه وما الأَيدِي له لمْ تُمْدَدِ

    The best of stations is one that eyes are too weak

    to behold, and toward which no hands have been stretched.

  48. مَوْلايَ دونَكَ مِنْ ثنائِي حُلَّةٌ

    تُبْلِي مِنَ الأَيّامِ كلَّ مُجَدَّدِ

    My lord, take this robe from my praise,

    which wears out everything the days renew.

  49. جَاءَتْ مُسَارِعَةً إليكَ بِسَاعَةٍ

    سَعِدَتْ مُطالِعَةً وإنْ لمْ تُرْصَدِ

    It came hurrying to you at an hour

    blessed as it looked upon you, though it had not been observed.

  50. يَوْمُ اتِّصَالٍ بالأَحِبَّةِ حَبَّذا

    يَوْمٌ به انْقَطَعَتْ قلوبُ الحُسَّدِ

    A day of union with loved ones—how lovely

    the day on which the hearts of enviers broke!

  51. ما سُيِّرَتْ ما بَيْنَ يوسُفَ مِثْلَمَا

    قد سُرَّ فيه أَحْمَدٌ بِمُحَمَّدِ

    What was conveyed between Yusuf [wording unclear] was not like

    Ahmad's joy that day in Muhammad.

  52. يا حَبَّذا مَدْحٌ لآِلِ مُحَمَّدٍ

    دونَ التَّغَزُّلِ في غَزَالٍ أَغْيَدِ

    How lovely is praise for the family of Muhammad,

    rather than love verse about a graceful gazelle!

  53. إنَّ الجَلالَةَ مُنْذُ رُمْتُ مَدِيحَكم

    لم تَرْضَ لي ذكرَ الحِسَانِ الخُرَّدِ

    Indeed, majesty, since I sought to praise you,

    has not permitted me to mention beautiful, bashful maidens.

  54. فاللَّهُ يَجْمَعُ شَمْلَكُمْ ساداتِنا

    جَمْعَ السلامَةِ في نعيمٍ سَرْمَدِ

    So may God unite you, our masters,

    in a union of safety, in everlasting bliss.