بك المناصب في العلياء تفتخر

وذكر مجدك في الآفاق منتشر

In the heights of glory, offices take pride in you.

And the fame of your glory spreads across the horizons.

وحزت في فلك العلياء منزلة

من دونها المشتري والأنجم الزهر

And in the sphere of glory you have attained a station

beneath which lie Jupiter and the radiant stars.

نعم وطابت بك الأيام واعتدلت

والدهر مما جنى قد جاء يعتذر

Yes: through you the days have grown pleasant and harmonious,

and Time has come apologizing for the wrongs it wrought.

وما برحت يحمد الله منتصرا

ولم يخب من بحمد الله ينتصر

And you have remained victorious—God be praised—

nor has one who triumphs with praise of God ever failed.

يكفيك أن العدا من مكرهم رجعوا

بغيظهم وبهم قد حاق ما مكروا

It is enough for you that the enemies returned from their plotting

with their fury, and the schemes they devised have engulfed them.

ابشر فسعدك وافى بيت عاشره

والعز حل به والنصر والظفر

Rejoice: your good fortune has reached its tenth house,

and honor has settled there, with victory and triumph.

فقل لمن في العلا اضحى بناظره

أقصر فعنديَ فيما قلته نظر

So tell whoever now directs his gaze toward the heights:

Desist: I have reservations about what you have said.

هذا سماء أياديه تفيض لنا

منها النوال وسحب الجود تتهمر

This man is a heaven; his benefactions overflow for us—

bounty flows from it, and clouds of generosity pour down.

بحر حلا موردا طابت مصادره

والعذب يحمد منه الورد والصدر

A sea, sweet to approach, pleasant to depart from,

whose sweet waters are praised in both coming and going.

بالقول والفعل قد ابدى مطالعة

فاللفظ منتظم والدر منتثر

In word and deed he has displayed his learning:

so his words are strung in order, and his pearls are scattered.

قالوا فمن ذا الذي تعنى فقلت لهم

مولى هو الروح وهو السمع والبصر

They asked, 'Who is this you mean?' I told them:

A patron who is the soul, who is hearing and sight:

قاضي القضاة ولي الدين من شهدت

بفضله وعلاه البدو الحضر

The chief judge, Wali al-Din, whose

merit and eminence are attested by Bedouins and townsfolk.

بحر الوفا روضة العليا وبهجتها

حاوي رياض المعاني روضها النضر

A sea of fidelity, the garden of eminence and its delight,

embracing the gardens of meanings, their verdant meadow.

قطب المعالي بديع في محاسنه

مطول المدح في معناه مختصر

The axis of lofty virtues, peerless in his excellences,

even lengthy praise is but an abridgment of his worth.

كهف الندى من اليه تهرع الشعرا

في العسر كالنمل احزابا وهم زمر

A refuge of generosity, to whom poets hasten

in hardship, like ants in companies, band upon band.

يقل عند اياديه ونائلها

يوم الندى الاجودان البحر والمطر

Beside his benefactions and their bounty, there dwindle,

on the day of giving, the two most generous: sea and rain.

تخاله عند بذل المكرمات وقد

تهلل الوجه منه انه التمر

You would think, as he bestows generous gifts and

his face beams, that he is the date-fruit [as written].

بحمد سيرته الامثال قد ضريت

أهذه سيرٌ في المجد ام سور

Proverbs have grown accustomed to praising his conduct:

Are these accounts of glory, or Qur'anic chapters?

ومن جميل عطاياه وسؤدده

يعطي الكثير لراجيه ويعتذر

Among the beauties of his gifts and his nobility:

he gives abundantly to those who hope in him, and apologizes.

كل المحاسن في اوصافه انحصرت

لكن سيب عطاه ليس ينحصر

All virtues are encompassed in his qualities,

but the flood of his giving knows no bounds.

لا عيب فيه سوى ان السخاء به

طبع ويمناه لا تبقي ولا نذر

He has no fault, save that generosity in him

is innate; his right hand leaves nothing, nor do we leave [as written].

بالجود أقلامه قد اينعت وزهت

محاسنا وعطاياه لها ثمر

Through generosity his pens have ripened and blossomed

with beauties, and his gifts are their fruit.

يمينه في الندى تروي حديث عطا

وبشر مرآه عنه بصدق الخبر

His right hand, in generosity, relates the tradition of ʿAta (giving),

and his cheerful countenance gives a true report of him.

مولاي يا واحد العليا وفاضلها

ومن به تشرق الدنيا وتفتخر

My lord, O peerless one of eminence, its finest,

and you through whom the world shines and takes pride,

خذها حروف قواف لا نظير لها

بديعة في المعاني كلها غرر

accept her: letters of rhyme that have no equal,

marvelous in meaning, all radiant beauties.

بكر اليك سعت من خدرها ادبا

وكل بيت لها معناه مبتكر

A virgin, she hastened to you from her secluded chamber, courteously,

and every verse of hers has a newly conceived meaning.

جاءت تهنيك بالعام المبارك بل

جاءت سرورا تهنيها بك البشر

She came to congratulate you on the blessed year—nay,

she came rejoicing; humankind congratulates her on you.

فانعم بها وبامداح موشعة

روض العبير كساها نشرك العطر

So delight in her and in embroidered praises:

your fragrant scent has clothed her in a garden of perfume.

لا زلت بالامن في حفظ وفي دعة

وعيشك الحلو صاف ما به كدر

May you ever dwell in safety, protection, and ease,

your sweet life clear, untouched by trouble.

ولا برحت مدى الأيام منشرحا

وقلب ضدك حتى الحشر منفطر

May you remain joyful throughout your days,

and your foe's heart be broken until the Resurrection,

ما حرك العود قمري الرياض وما

غنى وأطرب ما لم يطرب الوتر

as long as the gardens' turtledove stirs the bough, and as long as

it sings and charms as no string has ever charmed.