ترى عند نجم الدين علم بما عندي

ترى عند نجم الدين علم بما عندي

له من جزيل الحمد أو خالص الود

له من جزيل الحمد أو خالص الود

Do you think Najm al-Din knows what I hold

Does Najm al-Din know that I have abundant praise

For him of abundant praise or pure affection?

And sincere affection for his great virtue?

وهل عنده أني خطيب لمجده

وهل عنده أني خطيب لمجده

وأني على عليائه غير معتد

وأني على عليائه غير معتد

And does he know that I am an orator for his glory,

Does he know that I am a poet for his glory

And that I do not transgress against his exalted station?

And not pretentious about his high rank?

ولكن وداد سره مثل جهره

ولكن وداد سره مثل جهره

فباطن ما أخفي كظاهر ما أبدي

فباطن ما أخفي كظاهر ما أبدي

Rather, it is affection, the same in secret as in public;

But his secret affection is like his overt one,

So the inward part of what I conceal matches the outward part of what I reveal.

So what I conceal is like what I express.

عفا الله عني في مديح معاشر

عفا الله عني في مديح معاشر

عفا عنهم ذمي وعاتبهم حمدي

عفا عنهم ذمي وعاتبهم حمدي

May God pardon me for praising people

May God forgive me for praising a group

Whom my censure spared, while my praise reproached them.

Whose blame I shared and whose praise I reproached.

أؤلف زور القول فيهم وقد أبت

أؤلف زور القول فيهم وقد أبت

مساعيك لي أن توقع الغي بالرشد

مساعيك لي أن توقع الغي بالرشد

I compose false speech about them, though

Shall I fabricate false words about them when

Your deeds on my behalf forbid setting error against right guidance.

My efforts to guide you have failed?

ومدحك عندي يا مؤيد طاعة

ومدحك عندي يا مؤيد طاعة

تقربني من طاعة الله والمجد

تقربني من طاعة الله والمجد

And praising you, O Mu'ayyad, is to me an act of obedience

And praising you, O champion of obedience,

That brings me nearer to obedience to God and to glory.

Draws me nearer to obeying God and glory.

ولم لا وفيك البأس والدين والندى

ولم لا وفيك البأس والدين والندى

وفضلك لا يحصى بحصر ولا عد

وفضلك لا يحصى بحصر ولا عد

And why not, when in you are valor, faith, and generosity?

Why not, when you have might, religion and dew,

And your excellence cannot be encompassed by tally or count.

With endless, boundless superior merit?

وبيتك من عليا عقيل بن عامر

وبيتك من عليا عقيل بن عامر

إذا عدت الأنساب واسطة العقد

إذا عدت الأنساب واسطة العقد

And your house, of the nobility of ʿUqayl ibn ʿAmir,

Your house stems from Ali bin Aamir

Is the necklace's central jewel when lineages are reckoned.

When genealogies are recounted as proof.

ولولا حياء الشعر من جودك الذي سرى

ولولا حياء الشعر من جودك الذي سرى

وافداً في كل أرض إلى الوفد

وافداً في كل أرض إلى الوفد

And were poetry not bashful before your generosity, which has traveled

If poetry were not too shy of your generosity that spread

As a delegate to the delegations in every land,

As visitors to every land and delegation,

لقلت سقى الرحمن أيام جودكم

لقلت سقى الرحمن أيام جودكم

فقد بعدت عني وطال بها عهدي

فقد بعدت عني وطال بها عهدي

I would say: “May the Merciful water the days of your bounty,

I would say: during your days of generosity

For they have grown distant from me, and long has it been since them.”

God watered the days though they're now remote from me.

فلا زالت الأعياد يلقاك وفدها

فلا زالت الأعياد يلقاك وفدها

وأنت علي الجد مقتبل السعد

وأنت علي الجد مقتبل السعد

So may festivals never cease, their delegations coming to meet you,

So the feasts continue to find you welcoming them

While you stand high in fortune, with happiness newly dawning.

While you keep the bond ever flourishing.