1. لقد الجأتني دائرات الدوائر

    إلى أرض أهل الهند أهل الذخائر

    Indeed, the circling turns of misfortune have driven me

    To the land of the people of India, possessors of treasures.

  2. فلست ترى فيها معيناً على الهدى

    ولا آمراً فيها بفعل الأوامر

    Yet there you see no helper toward right guidance,

    Nor anyone there enjoining obedience to the commandments.

  3. وأهل الهوى واللهو في كلّ محفلٍ

    ترى الجهل منهم في ارتكاب المناكر

    And people of passion and diversion are in every gathering;

    You see their ignorance in committing wrongful deeds.

  4. ولا ناهياً عن منكر ورذالةٍ

    كما البهم تمشي حافراً بعد حافر

    Nor anyone forbidding wrongdoing and baseness;

    Like beasts, they walk hoof after hoof.

  5. فما همّهم إلا الدراهم والغنى

    ولا شغلهم إلا حساب الدفاتر

    So their concern is nothing but dirhams and wealth,

    And their occupation is nothing but reckoning the ledgers.

  6. فكنت بها في محنةٍ وكآبةٍ

    وفي ضيق أحوال وتنكيد خاطر

    So there I was in affliction and sorrow,

    And in straitened circumstances and distress of mind.

  7. وقعت بها بين الهنود محيرّاً

    ومفتكراً هل من أديب مسامر

    There I found myself among the Indians, bewildered,

    And wondering whether there was a cultivated companion for evening talk.

  8. نظرت بها شخصاً محبّاً فدلّني

    على مجلس رحب كثير المفاخر

    There I saw a friendly man, who directed me

    To a spacious assembly, rich in honors.

  9. دخلت إذا فيه رجال أئمةٍ

    وجوههم مثل النجوم الزواهر

    I entered, and behold, there were men who were imams,

    Their faces like radiant stars.

  10. وبينهم شيخ مضيء موقّر

    مهاب مجاب بل عديم النظائر

    And among them was a radiant, revered elder,

    Held in awe and heeded—indeed, without equal.

  11. فزال به الهم الممضّ مع العنا

    ونلنا المنى من فيضه المتبادر

    So through him, piercing grief and hardship vanished,

    And we attained our wishes from his swiftly flowing bounty.

  12. وأعني به إبراهيم بن محمّد

    حميد السجايا بل جميل العناصر

    And by him I mean Ibrahim ibn Muhammad,

    Praiseworthy in character, indeed noble in his origins.

  13. فللّه عضب أريحيّ مهذّب

    أديب لبيب خير ناهٍ وآمر

    By God, what a keen blade—generous-hearted and refined!

    A cultivated, discerning man, the best to forbid and command,

  14. فصيح بليغ فاضل ذو سماحةٍ

    له كرم مثل الغيوم المواطر

    Clear-spoken, eloquent, virtuous, possessed of generosity.

    His bounty is like rain-bearing clouds.

  15. فكم له من أيدٍ على كلِّ فاضلٍ

    وكم له من فضل على كل تاجر

    How many favors he has bestowed on every worthy person!

    And how much bounty he bestows on every merchant!

  16. وكم من عليل قد أتى متطبباً

    فيشفى بإذن الله أعظم قادر

    And how many sick people have come seeking treatment,

    Then are healed by leave of God, the greatest in power!

  17. فانعم به حاز الفضائل والعلى

    على غيره من كل ناء وحاضر

    How excellent he is! He has attained virtues and eminence,

    Above all others, whether far away or present.

  18. عليك به يا من يريد نجابةً

    فمغناه قد حلّته كل الأكابر

    Turn to him, you who desire excellence,

    For all the great have sojourned in his dwelling.

  19. فيا ربّ يا الله متّع به لأن

    ينالوا الورى من فضله المتكاثر

    So, O Lord, O God, grant us joy in him, so that

    Humankind may receive from his ever-increasing bounty.

  20. وأعلِ لهُ في جنّة الخلد رتبةً

    مع الأنبياء أهل العلى والمفاخر

    And raise his rank in the Garden of Eternity,

    With the prophets, possessors of eminence and glory.

  21. وخذها إليك أبن الكرامة عروسةٍ

    لقد قصرت عنها أيادي الكواكسر

    And take her to yourself, son of honor, as a bride;

    Indeed, the hands of al-kawākasir [unclear term] have fallen short of her.