1. سألتُ منِ الناهي عن البدعِ التي

    يظلُّ لها المنطيقُ وَهْوَ صموتُ

    I asked: Who forbids the innovations before which

    even the eloquent speaker remains silent?

  2. هوَ ابنُ الزَّمَلْكاني الهمامُ الذي له

    تُقى وفنونٌ جمَّة وقنوتُ

    He is the noble Ibn al-Zamalkani, endowed with

    piety, manifold learning, and devotion.

  3. إمامٌ متى يذكرْهُ في العلمِ ذاكرٌ

    تقرُّ لهُ في المعضلاتِ رتوتُ

    An imam—whenever anyone mentions him in matters of learning,

    the great masters acknowledge his authority in difficult questions.

  4. أولو الفضل والآدابِ والعلمِ والحجا

    لديْهِ إذا جدَّ الجدالِ سُكوتُ

    Those endowed with excellence, letters, learning, and reason

    are silent in his presence when debate grows earnest.

  5. وما تنفعُ الآدابُ والعلمُ والحجا

    وصاحبُها عندَ الكمالِ يموتُ

    And what use are letters, learning, and reason,

    when their possessor dies upon attaining perfection?