هناء به شمل المعاني تنظما

وثغر المعالي بالسرور تبسما

A joy through which the company of meanings came together,

and the mouth of high honors smiled with delight.

وروض المنى بالبشر اضحى مدبجا

وابدى لنا خدا وصدغا ومعصما

The garden of wishes became brocaded with gladness,

and showed us a cheek, a sidelock, and a wrist.

وخد الشقيق الغض اينع عندما

كساه الندى بالدر حسنا ورق ما

The tender anemone's cheek bloomed when

dew clothed it with pearls for beauty and embroidery.

وحاكت يد الانوار من مزنة الحيا

لروض الهنا ثوبا بديعا مسهما

The hand of blossoms wove, from a cloud of life-giving rain,

a wondrous striped robe for the garden of joy.

وجلق من ابهى حلاك كسوتها

طرازاً بديع الحسن بالوشي معلما

And Jilliq you clothed with your finest adornments,

in fabric of wondrous beauty, adorned with embroidery.

ومربعها اخضرت حواشي بروده

وحوم فيها النبت والمجد خيما

The robes of her spring abode turned green along their hems,

and there the plants hovered, while glory pitched its tent.

واشهرها اضحت ربيعا لاننا

بطيب لياليها نسينا المحرما

Her months became spring, for we,

through the sweetness of her nights, forgot Muharram.

وقالت لنا الايام طبتم ليهنكم

لقد صار هذا اليوم عبدا وموسما

The days said to us, 'May you prosper; joy be yours!

This day has indeed become a feast and a festival.'

امولاي يا قاضي القضاة ومن به

ربيع الندى يحيى وبالفضل قد سما

O my lord, judge of judges, you through whom

the spring of bounty lives, and who have risen high through merit!

يقولون ان الغيث يحكيك في الندى

وما الغيث الا من نداك تعلما

They say the rain resembles you in generosity,

yet rain has only learned from your bounty.

لك المنة العظمى بمقدمك الذي

شفيت به منا قلوبا واعظما

Yours is the greatest favor in your arrival, through which

you healed our hearts and bones.

وبلغتنا الآمال فيك فلم تقل

لعل عسى يوما وليت وربما

You brought us to the hopes we placed in you, never saying,

'Perhaps,' 'maybe someday,' 'if only,' or 'possibly.'

وجئت يحيى الغيث والعود قد ذوى

فما كان احلى ما اتيت على ظما

You came, Yahya, as rain, when the bough had withered;

how sweet was what you brought amid thirst!

وحزت من المجد الرفيع مكانة

بها في العلا جاوزت شهيا وانجما

You attained a station in lofty glory

through which you surpassed meteors and stars in height.

وشيدت بيتا قد تسامت طباقه

لآل بني فرفور لن يتهدما

You built a house whose tiers have risen high,

for the family of Banu Farfur, never to fall.

وسدت على الأقران مذ سرت للعلا

مجدا فكنت السابق المتقدما

You ruled over your peers from the time you sought the heights

in glory, becoming the foremost, advancing before all.

يمينا بيمناك التي في التقى غدت

ابر يمين بالوفاء واكرما

I swear by your right hand, which through piety became

the truest right hand in loyalty, and the most generous.

لأنت الذي بالفضل والعلم والحجا

وآياته تسمو على من تقدما

Surely it is you who, through merit, learning, wisdom,

and its proofs, rise above those who came before.

الا يا بني الآمال حثوا ركابكم

اليه تروا في الحال مغنى ومغنما

O sons of hope, spur your mounts

toward him: at once you will find prosperity and gain.

فهذا الذي يفني النضار مواهبا

ومبتدئا يولي النوال تكرما

For this is he who spends his gold away in gifts,

and freely bestows bounty of his own accord.

جواد طويل الباع لله دره

فكم مد كفا للعصاة معصما

A generous man of far-reaching bounty—God bless him!

How often he has stretched hand and wrist to the disobedient!

بلاغته أزرت بسحبان وائل

وقس ايادر بالفصاحة افحما

His eloquence put Sahban of Wa'il to shame,

and through his fluency he silenced Quss of Iyad.

ومنطقه من نحوه الدر يجتلي

ومنه المعاني عقدها قد تنظما

His speech—pearls are revealed through its syntax,

and through it the necklace of meanings has been strung.

وكل فصيح عند معرب لفظه

تراه اذا ما اعرب النطق اعجما

And every eloquent speaker, beside his lucid diction,

you find tongue-tied whenever he speaks clearly.

وجمع السجايا الغر فيه تقسمت

فلله ما ابهاه جمعا ومقسما

All radiant virtues have been apportioned within him;

by God, how splendid he is, in whole and in part!

هو البدر عند التم والغصن في النقا

على انه ابهى وابهج منهما

He is the moon at its full, the bough upon the sandhill,

though he is lovelier and more radiant than either.

فيا كعبة الجدوى ويا حرم الرجا

حنانيك اني جئت نحوك محرما

O Kaaba of bounty, O sanctuary of hope,

have mercy on me: I have come toward you as a consecrated pilgrim.

فدونك مني اليوم مدحا جعلته

اليك طريقا في الوصول وسلما

Take, then, this praise from me today, which I have made

a path and ladder by which to reach you.

فدم في ذرى الاقبال والسعد مقبل

اليك لقد وافى سعيدا مكرما

Remain upon prosperity's summits, while good fortune comes

toward you; it has indeed arrived happy and honored.

فلا زلت بحرا للوفا متداركا

بسيط الايادي وافر الجود منعما

May you never cease to be an ocean of loyalty, bringing timely aid,

with hands outstretched, abundant in bounty, bestowing favors.

ودمت بنا برا رؤفا ومحسنا

جميل السجايا والعطايا معظما

Remain kind, compassionate, and beneficent toward us,

beautiful in character and gifts, held in honor,

حميدا سديد الرأي ما هبت الصبا

وغرد قمري الحمى وترنما

praiseworthy and sound in judgment as long as the east wind blows,

and the sanctuary's turtledove warbles and sings;

وما هام وجدا بالعراق اخو نوى

ويمم مشتاقا حجازاً وزمزما

and as long as one suffering separation roams love-struck in Iraq,

and, yearning, heads toward the Hijaz and Zamzam.