أتاني كتابٌ لا يملّ سماعه

كتاب كوشي الروض تزهو بقاعه

A book has come to me, I never tire of hearing it

A letter came to me, the hearing of which never tires,

The book, Kushiyat Al-Rawd, its lands blossoming

A letter like the embroidery of a garden, its grounds abloom,

يزيد على الترداد طيبا ولذة

يعزّ علينا طرحه ووداع

Surpassing in sweetness and pleasure upon repetition

Increasing in fragrance and pleasure with every repetition,

We grieve to abandon and bid farewell

Hard it is for us to cast it aside or bid it farewell,

يدبّ دبيب الخمر في جسم سامع

فيطربنا إسماعه وسماعه

The wine oozes into the listener’s body

It courses through the listener's body like the creeping of wine,

Intoxicating us with its hearing and recitation

Filling us with rapture in its reciting and its hearing,

كتابُ أتاني حافظ الود وافيا

وإن الوفا أضحت يباباً رباعه

The book came to me, faithful preserver of love

A letter came to me from a keeper of affection, loyal,

Though fidelity itself has become desolate and barren

Though the courtyards of loyalty have become desolate wastelands,

كتاب أبي النصر الذي فاق منطقاً

وينفث سحرا بابليا يراعه

The book of Abu Al-Nasr, who surpassed eloquence

The letter of Abu al-Nasr, who has surpassed all in eloquence,

And exudes Babylonian sorcery that captivates

And whose reed pen breathes forth Babylonian magic,

فلا زال في أوج الكمال مخيّما

يضيء علينا نوره وشعاعه

Ever ascendant at the pinnacle of perfection

May he cease not to abide at the zenith of perfection,

Illuminating us with its light and rays

His light and his beams shining down upon us,

ولا زال من يحمي الذمار بعزّةٍ

ولو جمعوا ما يستطاع دفاعه

It still protects the wine-cups with honor

And may he cease not to protect the sacred trust with dignity,

Even if all united, none could thwart it

Even if they gathered all force that could be mustered,

ولا زال محجوج الأفاضل كعبة

وممدوحة أفعاله وطباعه

Still the most sacred shrine of nobles

And may he cease not to be a Kaaba pilgrimaged to by the virtuous,

With deeds and nature praised

With his deeds and his nature ever praised,

ولا زال سيّاراً إلى اللّه داعيا

بعلم وحلم ما يضمّ شراعه

Still roaming to God, imploring

And may he cease not to be a traveler calling unto God,

With knowledge and forbearance, none can envelop its sail

With knowledge and forbearance in all that his sail embraces,

ولا زال للعلياء أرفع رايةٍ

وبشراه مبذول لنا ومتاعه

Still the loftiest banner for the elite

And may he cease not to be the loftiest banner of glory,

Its generosity extended to us, its treasures ours

With his glad tidings and his bounty lavishly bestowed upon us,

فأبقاه من رقّاه عين زمانه

وحامل كلّ الكلّ منا وساعه

Kept sublime by the one who valued his time

So may He who raised him preserve him as the eye of his age,

Bearer of all, our ally and aid

Bearing the burden of us all with his ample capacity.