1. روحي فداك من الملّم المعتري

    ولَوَ انّهُ يُبْتاع كنتُ المشتري

    May my soul be your ransom from the affliction that assails you;

    And if it could be bought, I would be the buyer.

  2. وأنا الذي بتخلّفي أصبحتُ في

    نَدَمٍ فيا ويلاه إنْ لم تَغْفِرِ

    And I am the one who, through staying behind, has fallen into

    Regret—so woe to me if you do not forgive me!

  3. يا خَيْرَ مَنْ حسد العقودُ قريضَه

    فتناثرت منها صِحَاحُ الجوهر

    O best of those whose verse the necklaces envied,

    So flawless gems scattered from them.

  4. وأجَلَّ مَنْ دان القريضُ لطبعه

    وبنثره سَحَرَ النّهى إنْ يُنْثَرِ

    And noblest of those to whose innate talent verse bowed,

    And with his prose he enchanted minds whenever it was recited.

  5. وأرقُّ مِنْ ساري النّسيم إذا انْبَرَى

    لُطْفاً وأَسْوَغُ مِنْ زُلال الكوثر

    And more delicate than the night-wandering breeze when it stirs,

    In gentleness, and more pleasant to drink than al-Kawthar’s pure water.

  6. أعني الهُمَامَ ابنَ الفقيه محمّداً

    شيخَ الهُداةِ وقِدْوَةَ المستبصر

    I mean the noble Muhammad ibn al-Faqih,

    Master of guides and exemplar of the clear-sighted;

  7. وَمَنِ العلومُ بنقده وذكائه

    تزهو على الحور الحِسَانِ وتجتري

    And he through whose discernment and intelligence the sciences

    Boast of surpassing the lovely houris and grow bold.

  8. الدّرس لا يَهْوَى سوى تقريرِه

    وسواه لا تَهْوَى مراقي المنبر

    The lesson longs for his exposition alone;

    And the pulpit’s steps long for none but him.

  9. وإذا لِثَامُ الجهل غطّى مشكلا

    كشف اللّثامَ عن الجبين المسفِر

    And when the veil of ignorance covers a difficult matter,

    He lifts the veil from the radiant brow,

  10. ببراعةٍ من دونِ نَيْلِ أقلّها

    حربُ البسوس وهَوْلُ يوم المحشر

    With a mastery whose least degree lies beyond

    The War of al-Basus and the terror of the Day of Gathering.

  11. يا عاذلي في حبّه قَصِّرْ فما

    أنا عن هواه المستلّذّ بِمُقْصِرِ

    O you who reproach me for loving him, desist; for

    I do not draw back from my delightful love for him.

  12. ما كنت فيه مُقلِّداً غَيْرَ الهوى

    فَأَطِلْ ملامك بعد ذا أو قَصِّرِ

    In this I have followed nothing but love;

    So prolong your reproach after this, or cut it short.

  13. إن كنتَ تسمعُ ما سمعتُ فإنّني

    من حسنه أبصرتُ ما لم تُبْصِرِ

    If you hear what I have heard, then I

    Have seen in his beauty what you have not seen.

  14. تُسليك منه فكاهةٌ فكأنّها

    راحٌ براحة أغيدٍ مُتَبَخْتِرِ

    A pleasantry from him cheers you, as though it were

    Wine in the palm of a supple, swaggering youth.

  15. ليس الغريبُ بأنسه في غُرْبَةٍ

    بل مَنْ برؤية وجهه لم يظفر

    In his company, the stranger feels no estrangement;

    Rather, the stranger is he who has not beheld his face.

  16. حيَّى معاهدَ أنسه برقُ الحيا

    وسَقَى سَلاَ صوبُ الأغرّ المُمْطِرِ

    May rain’s lightning greet the haunts of his companionship,

    And may the bright, rain-bearing cloud’s downpour water Salé.

  17. بَلَدٌ به سطعت لوامع نوره

    فَغَدَا بِوَجْهٍ ضاحكٍ مُسْتَبْشِرِ

    A town where the gleams of his light shone forth,

    And so it took on a smiling, joyful face.

  18. لا زال منه الغربُ مَشْرِقَ شمسِه

    وسَلاَ به أبْهى وأبْهَجَ منظر

    May the West, through him, never cease to be his sun’s rising-place,

    And may Salé, through him, be more splendid and more delightful to behold.

  19. وعليه من مَحْضِ الوِدادِ تحيَّةٌ

    أذكى من المسك العتيق وعنبر

    And upon him be a greeting of pure affection,

    More fragrant than aged musk and ambergris,

  20. ما قال ذو وَجْدٍ بحبّك داعيا

    روحي فداك من الملمّ المعتري

    As long as one who yearns with love for you says in prayer:

    May my soul be your ransom from the affliction that assails you.