أتت مهنّئةً فليهنَ مهديها

جلّت تراكيبها دقّت معانيها

She came with congratulations, so let us congratulate her guide,

It came bearing congratulations, so let its giver rejoice,

Her compositions are magnificent, her meanings subtle,

Majestic in its composition, subtle in its meanings.

تدلّ بالحسن والإدلال حق لها

فما حوت مثلها يوما مغانيها

She indicates beauty and favor, as is her right,

It parades its beauty with pride, a pride that is its right,

Never have her songs contained the likes of her.

For never have its dwellings held the likes of it before.

ودبّ في الجسم من أنفاسها طربٌ

دبيب حبي لهذا الخير منشيها

From her breaths spread in the body a musical tremor,

A rapture crept through the body from its very breath,

The creeping of love for this good thing, its stimulant,

Like the flow of my love for this virtuous man, its author.

ليهننا بك عيد أنت شاهده

عيد النفوس إذا نالت أمانيها

Let her congratulate us on a feast of which she is witness,

Let us rejoice in you, on a feast day you attend,

The feast of the souls when they attain their wishes.

A feast for souls when they have attained their desires.

يا يوسف ردّ لي من قربكم نظرا

كردّه بقميص أنت مهديها

O Yusuf, give me from your nearness a look

O Yusuf, cast back a glance to me from your nearness,

Cast back, as you are her guide.

Restoring sight like the shirt that you bestow.

لينشرح صدرك المملوء من حكمٍ

وطيب النفس شهيّها ومنيّها

So your breast may relax, filled as it is with wisdom

That your heart, filled with wisdom, may find relief,

And pleasantness of soul, making it yearn.

And goodness of soul—its most cherished and sweet delights.

فأنت بين أخلاء لهم أربٌ

تبقى وإن مات قاصيها ودانيها

For you are among intimates who have cares for you

For you are among intimate friends who share a bond,

That will remain even if absent ones far and near die.

That endures, though the farthest and nearest may perish.

ولتعطنا من زكاة العلم واجبة

أنت المشيد دار العلم بانيها

And give us from the alms of knowledge what is due,

Pay us the alms of knowledge, for it is a sacred duty,

You who built the house of knowledge and founded it.

You who raised the House of Knowledge, its very builder.

أبقاك ربّ العلا في نشر حكمتها

رغماً لأنف معاديها وشانيها

May the Lord of Loftiness make you live to spread His wisdom,

May the Lord of Glory preserve you to spread its wisdom,

Despite the hostility of those who oppose and hate you.

To the spite of those who oppose and revile it.