1. يا نسيماً هبّ من ذاك الُحمي

    فاعاد الروح والقلب اليّ

    O breeze that blew from that sanctuary,

    and brought my soul and heart back to me,

  2. ان تُعد بالله ذاك الحي حيّ

    آل ودي واقرِهم مني السلام

    if you return to that quarter, for God's sake greet

    my loved ones, and convey my greetings to them.

  3. صف لهم ما حال جسمي والشَجَنْ

    وحنيني نحو ذياك الوطن

    Describe to them the state of my body and my grief,

    and my yearning for that homeland.

  4. قل فتاكم ليس يدري ما

    الوَسَنْ والنوى البسَهُ ثوب السقام

    Say: your young man does not know what

    drowsiness is; separation has clothed him in a robe of sickness.

  5. مضرم الوجد غريقاً بالدموعْ

    منشداً أين الحمى أين الربوع

    Aflame with longing, drowning in tears,

    chanting: Where is the sanctuary? Where are the dwellings?

  6. يا لقومي هل اليكم من رجوعْ

    أو ترى عيني ترى ذاك المقام

    O my people, is there any returning to you?

    Or will my eye, I wonder, behold that abode?

  7. حبذا مصرٌ ومغناها الفريد

    ورياض عمّها النيل السعيد

    How lovely is Egypt, and its matchless dwelling-place,

    and gardens flooded by the blessed Nile!

  8. يجلب الخيرات من ذاك الصعيد

    زانه حسن الوفا في كل عام

    It brings bounty from that Upper Egyptian land;

    the beauty of its full flood adorns it each year.

  9. حبذا المقياس والروض الانيسْ

    ونداً يعلوه كالدُر النفيس

    How lovely the Nilometer and the inviting garden,

    and the dew that crowns it like precious pearls,

  10. وصبا تسري واغصانٌ تميسْ

    كنشاوى بات يسقيها الغمام

    and an east breeze wafting, and branches swaying,

    like drunkards whom the clouds have plied with drink all night!

  11. واريجٌ عرفُهُ عند الصباح

    ينعش الأرواح اذ كالمسك فاح

    And a fragrance whose scent, at dawn,

    revives the spirits as it wafts like musk;

  12. وزهور الوض تزهو والاقاح

    حوله القمري يغني والحمام

    and the garden's flowers bloom, and the daisies.

    Around it sing the turtledove and the doves.

  13. وهزار البشر بالركب شدا

    فسبى العشاق لما رصدا

    And the human nightingale sang amid the caravan,

    and captivated the lovers as it lay in wait.

  14. والصبا كم أشجى صباًّ لصدى

    نغمة القانون والصنطير هام

    How often the east breeze stirred a lover's sorrow at the echo

    of the qanun and santir's melody, leaving him enraptured!

  15. وكؤوسٌ وندامى تحتسي

    وعروسٌ تنجلي في المجلس

    And goblets, and drinking companions sipping,

    and a bride unveiled in the gathering:

  16. انبة العنقود روح الانفسِ

    تحت ظلّ الورد ما بين الخزام

    the daughter of the grape-cluster, the spirit of souls,

    beneath the shade of roses, amid lavender.

  17. فاجلها خلّي لقد غاب الرقيبْ

    واسقني وانشد على ذكر الحبيب

    So unveil her, my dear friend: the watcher has gone.

    And give me drink, and sing in remembrance of the beloved;

  18. واغتنمها بشروقٍ ومغيب

    فالصفا وافى وزال الاغتمام

    and make the most of her at sunrise and sunset,

    for serenity has come, and grief has passed.

  19. ولك البشر فذاكَ الضد باد

    ومنى قلبي على الحساد ساد

    And glad tidings to you: that adversary is no more,

    and my heart's desire has prevailed over the envious:

  20. سيدي المشهور ما بين العباد

    بالتقى والفضل من نسل الكرام

    my lord, renowned among the people

    for piety and virtue, descended from the noble.

  21. يوسف الكسّاب من قارنهُ

    جهذٌ بالفضل قد وازنهُ

    Yusuf al-Kassab—the one who joined him

    is a master of virtue who has proved his equal:

  22. يوسف المرثى لمن آمنه

    وهو فرعونٌ على الاعدا الليام

    Yusuf al-Marthā to those he keeps safe,

    and a Pharaoh against base enemies.

  23. اقرَناَ رأيهما واتحدا

    فاكادا بالورى من حسدا

    They joined their counsels and united,

    and so outwitted those among mankind who envied them.

  24. وعلى رغم العدى قد سعدا

    وتما ذكرهما بين الأنام

    Despite their foes, they have prospered,

    and their renown reached its fullness among mankind.

  25. ضاء في أوج الذرى مجدهما

    ورقى هام السها سعدهما

    Their glory shone at the summit of the heights,

    and their good fortune ascended to the crown of Suha.

  26. رفعا قدراً وكُلٌّ منهما اخلص

    الذمة مع حفظ الذمام

    They rose in rank, and each of them kept faith

    with his pledge, preserving the bonds of honor.

  27. بشر المنصب يا صاح بمنْ

    بدَّد الاكدار عنه والغبن

    Give the office glad tidings, my friend, of him

    who banished its troubles and injustice:

  28. يوسف العصر الملاذ المؤتمنْ

    منهال الظمآن غوث المستضام

    the Yusuf of this age, the trusted refuge,

    the thirsty one's watering-place, the succor of the oppressed.

  29. كم انالا طالبا ما أثرا

    أشادا قصر عز دثرا

    How often the two gave a petitioner what he desired!

    They rebuilt a palace of glory that had fallen into ruin.

  30. بل وكم قد ربيا بين الورى

    من فتى فاق كمالا واحتشام

    Indeed, how many have they nurtured among mankind—

    young men excelling in perfection and decorum!

  31. زدهما الله سموًّا وعلا

    وفخاراً شامخاً بين الملا

    God, increase them both in loftiness and eminence,

    and towering glory among the assembly.

  32. وارفع اللهم أنواع البلا

    عنهما واكسبهما فوز المرام

    And remove, O God, all kinds of affliction

    from them both, and grant them attainment of their goal.

  33. اجزل الأنعام ربي لهما

    واغن فقر الترك من جودهما

    Bestow abundant favors on them both, my Lord,

    and relieve al-Turk's poverty through their generosity.

  34. بدء تمداحى تغالى فيهما

    وبتاريخي زها حسن الختام

    The opening of my praise was lavish in honoring them both,

    and with my chronogram, the beauty of the close shone.