1. سلامٌ مِن لَدُن رَوضِ السلام

    يَخُصُّ ذَراكَ يا نَجلَ الإِمَامِ

    A greeting from the garden of peace

    Singles out your lofty abode, O son of the Imam.

  2. يَهُبُّ مَعَ النَّوَاسِمِ كُلّ صُبحٍ

    وَيَسرِي بِالعَشِيِّ مَعَ الغَمامِ

    It wafts with the gentle breezes every morning

    And journeys at dusk with the clouds.

  3. إذَا اعتَكَرَ الظلامُ عَلَيهِ أَورَى

    زِنَادَ البَرقِ في غَسَقِ الظّلامِ

    When darkness thickens over it, it kindles

    The flints of lightning in the deep gloom of night,

  4. لِيُخبِرَ عَن فُؤَادٍ فيكَ صَبٍّ

    عَمِيدٍ مُنذُ بَينِك مُستَهامِ

    To tell of a heart enamored of you,

    Stricken since your departure, distraught with love;

  5. وعَن عَهدٍ نَأى مَولاهُ عَنهُ

    فلاحَ القَلبُ مِنهُ فِي غَرَامِ

    And of a bond whose lord has gone far from it,

    So the heart wastes away for it in longing.

  6. تَمرُّ لَهُ المَطاعِمُ وَهيَ شَهدٌ

    وَيضنَى بالشّرابِ وبالطّعامِ

    Food tastes bitter to him, though it is honey,

    And drink and food leave him wasted.

  7. تَهَيّأ كَي يَطيرَ هَوىً وَشَوقاً

    إِلَيكَ فَعَأقَهُ سُوقُ الحَمَامِ

    He readied himself to fly, out of love and longing,

    Toward you, but the doves' legs held him back.

  8. وَلِي زُغبٌ كَزُغب الطَّيرِ فُلّت

    بِهِنّ شَباةُ حَدِّي واعتِزَامِي

    And I have fledglings, like birds' fledglings; blunted

    By them are my sharp edge and my resolve.

  9. فإِن أَقصِر فمن عَدَم المُوَالي

    وإن السَّهم بِالرِّيش اللُّؤامِ

    So if I fall short, it is for lack of a supporter;

    For an arrow depends on closely fitted feathers.

  10. وَمَن رَامَ النُّهوضَ بلا جَنَاحٍ

    كَمَن رَكِبَ الجَموحَ بلا لِجَامِ

    And whoever seeks to rise without a wing

    Is like one who rides a headstrong horse without a bridle.

  11. وَإنِّي لا غِنًى لِي مِن مَسيرٍ

    يَبُذُّ إلَيكُمُ رَتكَ النّعامِ

    And I cannot do without a journey

    Toward you, outstripping the ostriches' swift gait.

  12. فَعِزِّي في الوُفودِ على ذَراكُم

    وذلّي في الإِقامَةِ فِي مُقَامِي

    My honor lies in coming to your lofty abode,

    And my abasement in remaining in my dwelling.

  13. ذَوَى لِبِعَادِكُم نَورُ القَوَافِي

    وَجَفّ لِبَنِكُم مَاءُ الكلامِ

    The blossoms of rhyme have withered in your absence,

    And the water of speech has dried up at your parting.

  14. فَمَا تَحكِي لَنَا الألفَاظُ مَعنَى

    ولا يَجرِي القَرِيضُ عَلَى نِظامِ

    So words convey no meaning to us,

    Nor does poetry flow in ordered form.

  15. لَقينَا الدَّهرَ بَعدَك أيَّ دَهرٍ

    وَهَذَا العَامُ بَعدكَ أيُّ عَام

    Since you left, we have faced an age—what an age!

    And this year since you left—what a year!

  16. بَعِيدٌ نَفعُهُ دانٍ أذَاهُ

    ظَهيرٌ لِلّئامِ عَلَى الكِرَامِ

    Its benefit distant, its harm close at hand,

    An ally of the ignoble against the noble.

  17. أخَاف حِمَى بَلَنسِيَةٍ وَكَانَت

    تَطِيرُ بِهَا البُزاة عَلَى الحَمَامِ

    It has terrorized Valencia's sanctuary, though once

    Hawks swooped there upon the doves.

  18. وجالَت حَولَها خَيلُ النَّصَارَى

    وَكَانَت قَد حَماهَا مِنكَ حَامِ

    And the Christians' cavalry ranged around it,

    Though a guardian from you had once defended it.

  19. وَمَرّوا آمِنينَ بِجَنبَتَيهَا

    وَكَانُوا يَرهبونَكَ فِي المَنَامِ

    And they passed safely along both its sides,

    Though once they feared you in their dreams.

  20. وَمَا يُخشَى العَرِينُ بِغَيرِ لَيثٍ

    وهَل يُخشَى القُرَابُ بلا حُسَامِ

    And no den is feared without a lion;

    And is a scabbard feared without a keen sword?

  21. وَكَانَت لا يُخَافُ الهَرجُ فِيهَا

    كَأَن المَرء فِي البَلَدِ الحَرَامِ

    And once no bloodshed was feared within it,

    As though one were in the Sacred City.

  22. فَأضحَت لا حَيَاةَ لِسَاكِنِيهَا

    بِهَا إلا حياة كالحِمام

    So now its inhabitants have no life

    There, save a life that is like death.

  23. أسَيِّدَنا أبَا زَيدٍ رَضَعنَا

    ثُدِي البِرِّ وَالنِّعَمِ الجِسَامِ

    O our lord Abu Zayd, we suckled

    The breasts of kindness and immense favors.

  24. فَصِرنَا بَعدَ رِحلَتِهِ كُهولاً

    أُعِيدَ عَلَيهِمُ مُرُّ الفِطَامُ

    So after his departure, we became middle-aged men

    Upon whom the bitterness of weaning was imposed anew.

  25. سَمَا وَحَمى الثّغورَ عَلَى الأعَادِي

    رَعَاهُ اللهُ مِن سَامٍ وَحَامِ

    He rose high and guarded the frontiers against the foes;

    May God watch over him—an exalted one and a protector!

  26. فَيَا ابنَ خليفَةِ اللهِ المُصَفَّى

    وَصِنوَ إِمَامِنَا خَيرِ الأنَامِ

    So, O son of God's chosen caliph,

    And brother of our Imam, the best of humankind,

  27. لَكُم عُرِفَ اقتِنَاءُ المَجدِ قِدماً

    وَتَكشِيفُ المُلِمَّاتِ العِظَامِ

    You have long been known for acquiring glory,

    And dispelling mighty calamities,

  28. وَرَفعُ المَعلُومَاتِ عَلَى رَوَاسٍ

    مُؤطّدَةٍ وَإيضاحُ المَعَامِي

    And raising what is known upon firm foundations,

    Securely set, and clarifying obscure matters.

  29. وَمَا مَن قَيسُ عَيلانٍ أبُوهُ

    بنابٍ فِي الأُمُورِ وَلا كَهام

    And no man whose father is Qays ʿAylan

    Falters in affairs or is blunt of edge.

  30. لَعَلَّ العَبدَ يَغلَطُ فِيهِ وَقتٌ

    فَيُسعِفُهُ بِإدرَاكِ المَرَامش

    Perhaps time will err in this servant's favor,

    And grant him the attainment of his desire,

  31. وَيُنجِدُهُ عَلَى غَولِ الفَيَافِي

    بِصهوَةِ وَاخِدٍ سَلِسِ الزَّمَام

    And aid him against the ghoul of the desert wastes,

    On the back of a swift-striding camel, docile to the rein,

  32. لِيُبلِغَنِي استلامَ بَنانِ مَلكٍ

    تُقِرُّ بِفَضلِ نِعمَتِهِ عِظَامِي

    So it may bring me to kiss a king's fingertips,

    Whose gracious bounty my very bones acknowledge;

  33. وَألثُمُ تُربَ نَعلَيه فأَقضِي

    بِلَثمِ تُرَابِهَا بَعضَ الذِّمَامِ

    And I may kiss the dust of his sandals, thus discharging

    By kissing their dust, a part of the obligation I owe.