1. لكَ الحَمدُ يا من خصّ أهل الطريقةِ

    بكشفِ خفيّات علومِ الحقيقةِ

    To You belongs praise, O You who singled out the people of the Path

    by unveiling the hidden mysteries of the sciences of Reality,

  2. وَروّحهم من رَوح كلّ مكوّنٍ

    وَأَورثهم أسراره النبويّةِ

    and refreshed them with the breath of every created being,

    and bequeathed them His prophetic secrets.

  3. مُحمّد عينُ الحمدِ شمس جمالهِ

    فمنه بدورُ الأنبياءِ اِستمدّتِ

    Muhammad, the essence of praise, the sun of His beauty—

    from him the full moons of the prophets drew their light.

  4. فصلّى عليه اللّه قدماً منزّها

    لِطلعته روحاً وجسماً برحمةِ

    So God blessed him of old, sanctifying

    his countenance, in spirit and body, with mercy;

  5. وآلٍ وصحبٍ ما اِهتدى لطريقهم

    مُريدٌ بنورِ العصمة الشاذليّةِ

    and his family and companions, so long as their path is found

    by a seeker through the light of Shadhili protection.

  6. وبعدُ فحمد اللّه أوّل واجبٍ

    على نعم الأرواح والبشريّةِ

    To proceed: praising God is the first duty

    for the blessings of spirits and humanity.

  7. وَهيهات والنعماء ذات تجرّدٍ

    يحيط بها حمد بكلّ طريقةِ

    Yet how impossible, when blessings are immaterial,

    for praise to encompass them by any means!

  8. وَلمّا أراد اللّه جلّ جلاله

    هدائي بنظمي في سلوك الطريقةِ

    And when God—exalted be His majesty—willed

    to guide me by drawing me into the practice of the Path,

  9. رَأيت الّذي قد كُنت أسمَعُ بعضه

    وَشاهدت أَسرار الغيوب الخفيّةِ

    I saw what I had previously heard in part,

    and witnessed the hidden secrets of the unseen.

  10. إِذا لم أجد للحمدِ وهو فريضة

    لسانَ مقالٍ قادرٍ أو سريرةِ

    When I could find, for praise—though it is a duty—no

    capable tongue of speech or of inward thought,

  11. فَأَيقَنت أنّ الحمد منه لنفسهِ

    وحقّقتُ أنّ العجز غاية قدرتي

    I became certain that praise comes from Him for Himself,

    and realized that helplessness is the utmost of my power.

  12. فَأوّلهم حبرٌ إمامٌ معظّمٌ

    وليٌّ تقيٌّ عالمٌ بالشريعةِ

    The first of them is a learned scholar, a revered imam,

    a pious saint, learned in the Sacred Law.

  13. هو السيّد البشير نجل عزيزةٍ

    وفرع أصولٍ طيّبات رفيعةِ

    He is Sayyid al-Bashir, the son of Aziza,

    and an offshoot of pure, exalted roots.

  14. وَشيخُه مفتي العصرِ أعني محمّداً

    هو الشاذليّ بن المؤدّب ثيقةِ

    His shaykh is the age's mufti—I mean Muhammad:

    he is al-Shadhili ibn al-Mu'addib, the trustworthy.

  15. وَوالده أولاه فاِذكره قائلاً

    أيا عمر حيّيت خير تحيّةِ

    And his father bestowed it on him; remember him, saying:

    O Umar, may you receive the finest greeting!

  16. وأهّله الدرديرُ فيها وشيخهُ

    عَليّ الصعيدي ذو العلوم السنيّةِ

    And al-Dardir qualified him in it, as did his shaykh,

    Ali al-Sa'idi, master of the lofty sciences.

  17. عن الشيخِ نور الدين عن شمسه ذروا

    بها أحمد الفيّاض في كلّ وجهةِ

    From Shaykh Nur al-Din, from his sun, preeminent

    in it: Ahmad, bountiful in every direction.

  18. وَعن شيخه اِبن المرابط واِسمهُ

    محمّد وهو عن أبيه سمايةِ

    And from his shaykh Ibn al-Murabit, whose name

    is Muhammad; he, in turn, from his father Samaya.

  19. وشيخُه اِبن القاسم أعني محمّداً

    ورضوانُ قد رقّاه أوج الحقيقةِ

    And his shaykh is Ibn al-Qasim—I mean Muhammad—

    and Ridwan raised him to the pinnacle of Reality.

  20. عن القلفتي عن شيخهِ الواسطي من

    سُقي قلبه الميّودُ وَكأسُ المودّةِ

    From al-Qalfati, from his shaykh al-Wasiti, whose

    swaying heart and cup of affection were given drink;

  21. عَن الكاملِ المرسي عن الشاذلي الّذي

    بِأنوارهِ ضاءت نجوم الولايةِ

    from the perfected al-Mursi, from al-Shadhili, whose

    lights made the stars of sainthood shine.

  22. فَقُل فيه كلّ العالمينَ بواحدٍ

    وَقُل طيّب الأصلين روحٍ وجثّةِ

    So say of him: all the worlds gathered in one;

    and say: pure in both origins, spirit and body.

  23. عَن اِبن مشيش القطب عن شيخهِ

    عنِ الحسنِ البصري فاز بِمُنيةِ

    From Ibn Mashish, the spiritual pole, from his shaykh,

    from al-Hasan al-Basri, he attained his desire.

  24. عَن اِبن الدقاق والأنصاري شيخه

    عنِ القطبِ إبراهيمَ عالم بصرةِ

    From Ibn al-Daqqaq, and al-Ansari, his shaykh,

    from the spiritual pole Ibrahim, the scholar of Basra;

  25. عَن العارفِ الشيخ أبي الحسن الّذي

    هَداهُ الجنيديّ إمام الطريقةِ

    from the gnostic shaykh Abu al-Hasan, whom

    al-Junaydi, imam of the Path, guided.

  26. عن العالم المراري عن جابر بن عب

    دِ اللّه إِمامِ الحكمة الكيماويةِ

    From the learned al-Marari, from Jabir ibn Abd—

    Allah, master of alchemical wisdom;

  27. عَنِ الحسنِ السبط الرفيع مكانةً

    وأوّل ثاني سيّدي أهل جنّةِ

    from al-Hasan, the grandson, exalted in rank,

    and the first of the two masters of the people of Paradise.

  28. وثمّ أبوه أعني باب مدينة ال

    علومِ عليّاً ليث يوم الكريهةِ

    Then his father—I mean the gate of the city of

    knowledge, Ali, lion of the day of battle—

  29. عَنِ المُصطفى ثمّ الأمينِ بوحيهِ

    عَنِ اللّه جلّ اللّهُ ربّ البريّةِ

    from the Chosen One, then the one entrusted with His revelation,

    from God—exalted is God, Lord of creation.

  30. فَيا حَبّذا الحبلُ المتينُ متى بهِ

    تَمسّك عبدٌ نال أوثق عروةِ

    So, how excellent the firm cord! Whenever it

    is grasped by a servant, he gains the surest handhold.

  31. وَيا رَحمةً قد أودع اللّه درّها

    بأصداف سرّ السادة الشاذليّةِ

    And O mercy, whose pearls God has deposited

    in the shells of the Shadhili masters' secret!

  32. رجالٌ ترى الأحوال من نَفَحاتِهم

    شموساً تضيء القلب قهراً بسطوةِ

    Men—from their breaths you behold spiritual states

    as suns that light the heart irresistibly, with might.

  33. كَأنّ عبيقَ المسكِ من بعضِ عَرفهم

    وَهيهاتَ أينَ المسكُ من نشر حمزةِ

    As though musk's perfume came from some of their fragrance;

    yet what a gulf! What is musk beside Hamza's fragrance?

  34. هُم القوم لا يشقى جليسهمُ همُ الس

    سَكارى بصرفِ الخمرةِ الواحديّةِ

    They are the folk whose companion is never wretched; they are

    intoxicated with the unmixed wine of divine oneness.

  35. لِمجذوبهم قد أوجبَ الصحوَ عارفٌ

    بِأنّهم من صفوِ أهلِ العنايةِ

    A knower has affirmed sobriety for their enraptured one,

    knowing they are among the choicest recipients of divine care.

  36. وَلَو لم يكن كتمُ الولاية واجباً

    مَخافةَ ميلِ الناسِ للجاهليّةِ

    Were concealing sainthood not obligatory,

    for fear that people might incline toward pre-Islamic ignorance,

  37. لَقال رسولُ اللّه للصحب مخبراً

    بِحزبِ الوليّ الشاذلي سرّ آيةِ

    God's Messenger would have told his companions, revealing

    through the saint al-Shadhili's litany the secret of a verse.

  38. وَألهمتُ ذا في النوم إذناً بقوله

    وما قلتهُ عَن محضِ عقلٍ وفكرةِ

    And I was inspired with this in sleep, with leave to utter it,

    and did not utter it from mere reason and thought.

  39. وَقَد حان أن أثني العنان وما عسى

    إِذا مدح المختار مدحي وقولتي

    And the time has come to draw in the reins; what can

    my praise and words amount to, when the Chosen One is praised?

  40. عَليه صلاةُ اللّهِ ما دام نورهُ

    بِمشكاةِ صدرِ شيخ أهل المغارةِ

    Upon him be God's blessing, as long as his light remains

    in the niche of the breast of the shaykh of the people of the cave;

  41. وَآله والأصحابِ ما دام أهلها

    بدور دياجي المجد في كلّ وجهةِ

    and upon his family and companions, while its people remain

    full moons in glory's dark nights, in every direction.