1. ما أمَّ ذو أملٍ حِمى اِبن عروسِ

    إلّا اِجتلى الأملَ اِجتلاء عروسِ

    No hopeful soul sought Ibn Arus's sanctuary

    Without beholding hope unveiled like a bride.

  2. قطبٌ عليه مَدارُ كلّ تصرّفٍ

    في قُطرِ تونسَ ذي الحمى المأنوسِ

    A spiritual Pole around whom every exercise of power turns

    In the land of Tunis, with its welcoming sanctuary.

  3. لَم يثنِ طائرُ صيتهِ عن جوّهِ

    طولَ الثواءِ لِجسمهِ المرموسِ

    The bird of his renown has not been turned from its sky

    By the long repose of his buried body.

  4. فَسيان حالاً موتهُ وحياتهُ

    إِذ ما الحياةُ سِوى حياة نفوسِ

    So his death and his life are alike in condition,

    For life is nothing but the life of souls.

  5. لا بَل تزحزحَ بِالمماتِ حجابهُ

    كَالسحبِ إِذ تنجابُ دونَ شموسِ

    No—rather, through death his veil moved aside,

    Like clouds that part before suns.

  6. فَبكلِّ شارقةٍ ترى زوّارهُ

    مِن فضلهِ ما في اِبتسامِ عروسِ

    So at every sunrise his visitors behold

    In his grace what a bride's smile holds.

  7. كَم عادَ عافيهم قريرَ جوانحٍ

    مِن بعدِ أَن ضمّت فؤاد يؤوسِ

    How often a supplicant among them returned with his breast at peace,

    After it had harbored a despairing heart.

  8. إيهٍ وَكَم مِن منزلٍ جلّى به

    يَعتاظُ مِنها الصبحُ عن أدموسِ

    Go on! In how many a dwelling has he shone,

    Where dawn is gained in place of dungeon-darkness.

  9. قَسمي بِمَن ولّاه نقعَ عيالهِ

    فَقدُ الأحبِّ إِليه غير غموسِ

    I swear by Him who charged him to quench His dependents' thirst:

    The loss of His dearest one is not overwhelming.

  10. إِذ ليسَ يحرمُ راغبٌ أو راهبٌ

    مِنه المُنى والأمن من موجوسِ

    For neither the hopeful nor the fearful is deprived

    By him of wishes fulfilled and safety from what is dreaded.

  11. مَغناهُ درياقُ السليمِ ومرهمُ ال

    قلبِ الكليمِ وفكُّ كلّ حبيسِ

    His abode is an antidote for the snakebitten, and a balm for the

    Wounded heart, and the release of every captive.

  12. لِم لا وَخِلعتهُ سليمانيّةٌ

    لا تَنبَغي مِن بعده لأنيسِ

    Why not, when his robe of honor is Solomonic,

    Befitting no human after him?

  13. فَالأرضُ تُطوى وَالهواء مسخّرٌ

    لمطارهِ وَكذا مطا القاموسِ

    So the earth is folded up, and the air subjugated

    For his flight—and likewise the ocean's back.

  14. أَعلامُ ضافيه نَسيجةُ وحدِها

    لَم يُستَبح منوالها للبوسِ

    The embroidered bands of his ample robe are a unique weave;

    Their pattern has never been permitted for other attire.

  15. رُقمت بِإدلالٍ يجرّ ذيولها

    بِبساطِ مَحبوبيةٍ قدموسِ

    They were embroidered with an intimate boldness that trails their hems

    Across the age-old carpet of belovedness.

  16. وَمِن المقامِ الأحمديِّ بُروزها

    فَلِذلِكم لَم تُمتَهن بدروسِ

    Their emergence is from the station of Ahmad,

    And therefore they have not been debased by wear.

  17. وَبإِرثِها قَد قال رجلي هذهِ

    مِن أولياءِ اللّه فوق رؤوسِ

    And through inheriting them he said: 'This foot of mine

    Is above the heads of God's saints.'

  18. وَغَدا يعمّ العالمينَ حنانهُ

    إِذ صارَ مظهر رحمة القدّوسِ

    And his compassion came to embrace all worlds,

    For he became the manifestation of the Holy One's mercy.

  19. يُولي عَديمهم ويحملَ كلّهم

    وَيُبادرُ الكربات بالتنفيسِ

    He gives to their destitute and supports their helpless,

    And hastens to meet afflictions with relief.

  20. يا أيّها الغوثُ المصرّف دائماً

    إِن فارقَ التصريفُ أهل رموسِ

    O Succor, ever exercising governing power,

    Even if such power forsakes those in graves.

  21. وَلِذاك لمّا أَن توارى لم تحل

    آثارُهُ عَن نهجها المحسوسِ

    And thus, when he vanished, there was no departure

    Of his effects from their perceptible course.

  22. يا ذا النوالَةِ وَالعريشِ المكتنى

    بِأبي الصرائِرِ أحمدِ بن عروسِ

    O master of the thatched hut and the bower, surnamed

    Abu al-Sara'ir, Ahmad ibn Arus.

  23. يا مَن له الجاهُ العريضُ وراثةً

    وَإِغاثةُ المُستَصرخ المبؤوسِ

    O you who possess, by inheritance, far-reaching influence,

    And succor for the wretched who cry for help.

  24. يا مَن قَدِ اِتّفقت عَلى تصريفه ال

    كلماتُ بالتجريبِ والتقسيسِ

    O you whose governing power has been affirmed by the

    Testimonies, through experience and scrutiny.

  25. يا مَن يكادُ مَزارهُ مِن بشرهِ

    لِلزّائرينَ ينمّ عن قابوسِ

    O you whose shrine, through its smiling welcome, almost

    Hints to visitors at Qabus.

  26. وَتكادُ هَيبتهُ تخيِّل أنّ من

    يَلمُم به متقحّمٌ للخيسِ

    And its majesty almost makes one imagine that whoever

    Comes to it is plunging into a lion's thicket.

  27. مُهدي الثنا مُتعرّض لنوالكم

    آلٍ إِلى معهودِ فضلك شوسِ

    The giver of praise seeks your bounty,

    Turning resolutely to your accustomed generosity.

  28. لَم يَعتَمِد إيفاءَ مدحكَ حقّهُ

    بِل قصدَ هادٍ مقتفٍ لغموسِ

    He did not aim to give your praise its full due,

    But aimed like a guide following an obscure trail.