على ميم وادي الرقمتين سلامي

وحسبي به في رحلتي ومقامي

Upon Mim of the valley of al-Raqmatayn be my greeting,

And it suffices me in my journey and my stay.

من الغانيات القاصرات محجب

بعيد المرامي لا ترام لرامي

A veiled one among the beautiful, modest maidens,

Far out of reach, unattainable to any seeker.

عزيزة وصل قد سباني جمالها

بحسن وإحسان ورعى ذمام

Her union is hard to win; her beauty has captured me,

With beauty, kindness, and fidelity to a pledge.

وقد غصين البان يحكي اعتداله

ووجه كبدر التم تحت ظلام

And a stature whose straightness a tender bān branch mirrors,

And a face like the moon at its fullest beneath darkness.

وخد شقيق الورد في وجناته

وطرف به سحر ورشق سهام

And a cheek, the rose's twin, upon his cheekbones,

And a gaze with enchantment and a volley of arrows.

وثغر يفوح المسك في هفواته

به سلسبيل خير كل مدام

And a mouth whose slips of speech waft musk,

In it is Salsabil, better than any wine.

جيد كإبريق من الورق خالص

وصدر به رمانة المتنام

A neck like a pitcher of pure silver,

And a breast bearing a swelling pomegranate.

وخصر طواه الخمص عند اختياره

وأحشاء لم تعني بأكل طعام

And a waist that leanness folded at its choosing,

And a belly unconcerned with eating food.

لا تغرقن في وصف حور كأنها

من القاصرات الطرف حور خيام

Do not go too far in describing fair-eyed beauties, as though they were

Among the downcast-eyed houris of the tents.

نمتها القرون الصيد من آل هاشم

إذا انتسبت جاءت بكل همام

The proud generations of Hashim's house begot her;

When she traces her lineage, she brings forth every noble hero.

من الفاطميين الدعاة إلى الهدى

قد انتهجوا في نهج خير إمام

From Fatimah's descendants, the callers to guidance,

They have followed the path of the finest imam:

نبي الهدى بحر الندى سيد الورى

وسامي الماحي لكل ظلام

The Prophet of guidance, ocean of generosity, master of creation,

And the exalted effacer of every darkness.

وخير وصي بعده وابن عمه

علي الرضى الجالي لكل قتام

And the finest legatee after him, his paternal cousin:

Ali, the well-pleasing, dispeller of every gloom.

وحمزة والعباس مع جعفر أخي ال

جناحين طيار بدار مقام

And Hamzah and al-Abbas, with Ja'far, bearer of the

Two wings, flying in the lasting abode.

وجاءت بأم المؤمنين خديجة

وزهرا العلا تعلو بمسك ختام

And she brought the Mother of the Believers, Khadijah,

And Zahra of the heights, rising with a seal of musk.

وسيطي رسول اللَه مع زين عابد

وباقرهم والصادق المتسامي

And the two grandsons of God's Messenger, with Zayn the worshipper,

And their Baqir and the exalted al-Sadiq.

وعززه بنور الدين ثم بنجله

وعيسى يليه السيد المتحامي

And he strengthened him with Nur al-Din, then with his son,

And Isa, followed by the lord who kept himself apart.

تحامى عن الدنيا وهاجر فاررا

إلى اللَه والأجداث ذات ضرام

He kept aloof from the world and emigrated, fleeing

To God, while the graves were aflame.

من البصرة الخضراء يخترق القرى

ويلحق أغواراً لها بآكام

From verdant Basra, passing through the villages,

And linking their lowlands with their hills,

إلى أن أتى الوادي المبارك فارتضى

ومد به أطنابه لخيام

Until he reached the blessed valley and chose it,

And there stretched out the guy ropes of his tents.

فأصبح فيه ثاوياً متوطناً

بذرية مزمومة بزمام

Thus he dwelt there, settled and at home,

With offspring held fast by a rein

من البرو والتقوى وحسن شمائل

كرام السجايا أردفت بكرام

Of righteousness, piety, and fine character:

Noble in disposition, succeeded by noble ones.

بهم أصبح الوادي أنيساً وعامراً

أميناً وحمياً بغير حسام

Through them the valley became welcoming and well peopled,

Safe and protected, without a sword.

وجاء عبيد اللَه لا يأل أسوة

بوالده الراقي لكل سنام

And Ubayd Allah came, untiring in emulating

His father, who rose to every pinnacle.

وسار على آثارهم علويهم

وبصريهم جد التقى بسلام

And their Alawi walked in their footsteps,

And their Basri, forefather of piety, in peace.

كذاك جديد جد حافظ عصره

على المعالي للشريعة حامي

Likewise Jadid, ancestor of the guardian of his age,

Upon the heights, a protector of the sacred law.

وجاء جمال الدين يتلو أبا له

وجاء علوي بعده بنوامي

And Jamal al-Din came, following his father,

And Alawi came after him with flourishing offspring.

ويا لشيخ رد الرسول سلامه

وكان يصلي هكذا بدوام

And what a shaykh—the Messenger returned his greeting!

And he would pray like this continually.

وصاحب مرباط إمام وجامع

تفرع منه اصل كل إمام

And the master of Mirbat, a leader and unifier;

From him branched the root of every imam.

أتانا بنور الدين ثم عفيفه

جواد كهتان الغمائم سامي

He brought us Nur al-Din, then his chaste one,

An exalted giver, like the clouds' pouring rain.

وذي النور والأَسرار صاحب بيحر

محوطها من شر كل حرام

And the bearer of light and secrets, the master of Bayhar,

Guarding it from the evil of every forbidden thing.

وبالعارف السقاف شيخ معظم

وقطب مكين حاز كل مقام

And the gnostic al-Saqqaf, a revered shaykh,

And an established spiritual pole who attained every station.

وبالفخر والمحضار أكرم بسادة

هداة ومهديين سبل سلام

And al-Fakhr and al-Mihdar—how noble these masters!

Guides, and guided along paths of peace.

وبالعيدروس أستاذنا وبصنوه

ببحري هدى للمكرمات طوامي

And al-Aydarus, our teacher, and his brother,

Two seas of guidance, surging with noble deeds.

أوولئك وراث النبي ورهطه

وأولاه بالرغم للمتعامي

Those are the Prophet's heirs and his kin,

And the closest to him, to the chagrin of those who feign blindness.

موارثهم فينا وفينا علومهم

وأسرارهم فليسأل المترامي

Their legacies are among us, and among us is their knowledge,

And their secrets—so let the aspirant ask.

إذا جاء بالصدق الذي هو سلم

إلى كل خير نال كل مرام

If he comes with sincerity, which is a ladder

To every good, he will attain every goal.

وكم حكمة عنهم وحكم وكم وكم

نواميس قهر للطغاة روامي

And how much wisdom and judgment from them—and how much, and how much!

Laws of overpowering force, striking at tyrants.

يريدون أن يطفوا بأفواه زورهم

مصابيح نور قد محت لظلام

They seek to extinguish, with their lying mouths,

Lamps of light that have erased darkness,

من السلف الماضين والخلف الذي

ذكرنا كرام أعقبت بكرام

From the departed forebears and the successors whom

We have named—noble ones succeeded by noble ones.

وإنا على آثارهم وسبيلهم

وما نحن عن حق لهم بنيام

And we follow their footsteps and their path,

And we are not asleep to any right of theirs.

مقرين بالتقصير عن شأو مجدهم

وحسن مساعيهم بكل مقام

Admitting we fall short of the reach of their glory,

And the excellence of their endeavors in every station.

ولكنهم آباؤنا وأصولنا

وأسلافنا ممن مضوا بسلام

Yet they are our fathers and our roots,

And our forebears, among those who passed on in peace.

ومنا إمام حان حين خروجه

يقوم بأمر اللَه خير قيام

And from us comes an imam whose time to emerge has arrived,

He carries out God's command in the finest way.

فيملؤها بالحق والعدل والهدى

كما ملئت جوراً بظلم طغام

So he fills it with truth, justice, and guidance,

As it was filled with injustice through the rabble's oppression.

إذا قام قمنا والموفق ربنا

بنصرته إن راث حين حمام

When he rises, we rise; our Lord grants success,

In supporting him, if the hour of death is delayed.

وإلا فنرجو أن يقوم بنصره

فروع من البيت المصون توامي

Otherwise, we hope there will rise in his support

Lofty branches of the safeguarded House.

ولله رب الحمد والشكر والثنا

على نعم مشكورة بدوام

And to God, the Lord, belong praise, thanks, and acclaim,

For blessings gratefully acknowledged without cease.

ونسأل مولانا تبارك اسمه

ثباتاً وتأييداً وحسن ختام

And we ask our Master—blessed be His name—

For steadfastness, support, and a good ending.

وتمت وصلى اللَه أزكى صلاته

على أحمد ما انهل ودق غمام

And it is complete; may God grant His purest blessing

Upon Ahmad, so long as rain pours from the clouds,

وما غردت ورق على غصن دوحة

وما لاح برق النجد جنح ظلام

And so long as grey doves sing on a spreading tree's branch,

And so long as Najd's lightning flashes at the fall of darkness,

وآل وأصحاب ومن كان تابعاً

على البر والتقوى وحفظ زمام

And upon his family, companions, and all who follow

In righteousness, piety, and holding fast to the rein.