أبثك ما عندي فهل أنت سامع

وادعوك للجلى فهل أنت دافع

I confide to you what is within me—will you listen?

And call on you against calamity—will you ward it off?

هززتك عضبا لا يرى الفل حده

وما كل عضب هزه المرء قاطع

I have brandished you as a keen sword whose edge knows no blunting;

Yet not every keen sword a man brandishes will cut.

وقد طال عهدي باكرام ولم أجد

سواك فتى تثنى عليه الاصابع

I have long known generosity, yet have found

No noble youth but you for whom fingers fold in reckoning.

أمير له في كل أرض بحلها

حديث لاعلام المكارم رافع

An emir who, in every land he inhabits [reading uncertain],

Has a tale that raises the banners of noble deeds.

أمير زكت احسابه واصوله

وطيب زكاء الفرع للأصل تابع

An emir whose ancestral honors and roots are pure;

And the branch's wholesome growth follows from the root.

أبوه الذي للّه قد كان سعيه

واخلاقه منها العلا والتواضع

His father was one whose striving was for God,

And his virtues included loftiness and humility.

فجاء على مضماره غير خاسر

وفاق الا للّه ما هو صانع

He followed his father's course without defeat,

And excelled—by God, what deeds he does!

ولما استهلت بالنجابة ذاته

واغذته من در الكمال المراضع

And when his being first shone forth with nobility,

And wet nurses fed him on perfection's milk,

رأته المعالي فاصطفته لنفسها

خليلاً يحامي دونها ويمانع

Glory saw him and chose him for herself,

A dear friend who shields and defends her.

فصار اسمه الوضاح في الناس مصطفى

وضاءت به الاحساب وهي سواطع

So his radiant name among men became Mustafa,

And noble lineages shone through him, already radiant.

فدى لاميري كل من بات حاسداً

وقلبٌ شناه لاحوته الاضالع

May all who pass the night in envy be ransom for my emir,

And a heart that hates him—may no ribs enclose it!

احبك يا عز الكرام وكيف لا

وعندي للاحسان منك تتابع

I love you, O pride of the noble—and how could I not,

When kindness from you reaches me time after time?

واضرع في حبي اليك وما انا

لغيرك انساناً من الناس ضارع

And I humble myself before you in my love, yet I am not

One among men who humbles himself before anyone else.

وقد جاء شهر الصوم والكيس فارغ

وداري ولم أحلف يمينا بلاقع

And the month of fasting has come, while my purse is empty,

And my house, though I have sworn no oath, lies desolate.

فخذني لغرس الجود تستثمر الثنا

فنحن اناس للكرام مزارع

So take me as a field for generosity, and harvest praise;

For we are folk who are fields for the generous.

بنا الحمد يبقى مثل ما الذم يتقى

وكل مصون ما خلا الحمد ضائع

Through us praise endures, just as blame is kept at bay,

And all that is preserved, except praise, is lost.

ودونكها في جبهة المجد غرة

عليها رواق من مديحك لامع

And take her, a white blaze upon glory's brow,

Above her a gleaming canopy of praise for you.

تشيع من دهم السطور بمنقب

اليك برغم الحاسدين تسارع

She is escorted from the blackness of the lines [final word unclear],

Hastening toward you despite the envious.

نثرت عليها من مديحك رونقاً

كما نثرت وسط السماء الطوالع

I scattered over her the brilliance of praise for you,

As rising stars are scattered across the sky.

من الفتح بكران بدت تسحر النبي

وتومي إليها بالسجود المسامع

From victory, two virgins appeared, enchanting the Prophet [text uncertain],

And ears bow toward her in prostration.

فعش ابدا غوثا وغيثا ودم وصم

وأفطر بحال فوق ما انت طامع

So live forever as succor and rain; endure and fast,

And break your fast in a state surpassing all your hopes.

عدوك مخذول وجارك في حمى

ونجمك مسعود وعبثك يانع

May your enemy be forsaken, and your neighbor sheltered,

And your star auspicious, and your playfulness flourishing.