ما غابَ بَدْرُ دُجًى منكم ولا غربا

إلاَّ وأَشْرقَ بدرٌ كانَ مُحتجبا

Never has a full moon of yours vanished into darkness or set

But another radiant moon, once veiled, has risen.

لا ينزع الله مجداً كانَ مُعطيَه

آل النبيّ ولا فضلاً ولا أدبا

God does not take away a glory He once bestowed—

Not from the Prophet’s house, nor merit, nor refinement.

الكاشفون ظلام الخطب ما برحوا

بيض الوجوه وإنْ صالوا فبيض ظبا

They have never ceased to scatter the darkness of calamity;

Fair are their faces—and, when they charge, fair are their blades.

من كلّ أَبلَجَ يزهو بهجةً وسناً

تخاله بضياء الصُّبح منتقبا

Each is radiant, resplendent in his splendor and worldly grace;

In the morning’s brilliance, you would think him veiled in light.

قد أنفَقوا في سبيل الله ما ملكوا

واستَسْهلوا في طِلاب العزّ ما صَعبا

They spent in God’s path all that they possessed,

And deemed easy every hardship in the pursuit of honor.

هم الجبال اشمخرَّتْ رفعةً وعُلًى

هم الجبال وأَمَّا غيرهم فربا

They are mountains, towering in loftiness and height;

They are the mountains—all others are mere hillocks.

أبناء جدٍّ فما تدنو نفوسهُم

من الدنيَّة لا جدًّا ولا لعبا

Sons of one forefather, their souls will never stoop

To baseness, whether in earnestness or play.

عارون من كلّ ما يزري ملابسه

يكسوهم الحُسن أبراداً لهم قُشُبا

They are free of every fault that might disgrace their garb;

Beauty clothes them in fresh and splendid robes.

ومُنْيَةً قد حثَثْناها فتحسبها

نجائباً لا وجًى تشكو ولا لغبا

We drove our cherished quest onward until you would think it

A train of noble she-camels complaining neither weariness nor fatigue.

إلى عليٍّ عليِّ القدر مرجعها

نقيبُ أَشرافٍ غرّ السَّادة النُّجبا

Toward ʿAlī—destiny’s chosen one—lay its destination:

The chief of illustrious nobles, the glory of eminent lords.

الواهب المال جمًّا غير مكترثٍ

والمستقلّ مع الإِكثار ما وهبا

He gives wealth in abundance, utterly unconcerned,

And however much he grants, he counts the gift as little.

يريك وفر العطايا من مكارمه

يوم النوال وإنْ عاديتَه العطبا

The fullness of his bounty reveals his noble nature;

On the day of giving, even his enemy beholds the wonder.

قد شرَّف الله فرعاً للنبيّ سما

إلى السَّماء إلى أنْ طاولَ الشُّهبا

God has raised a branch of the Prophet so high

That it reached the heavens and rivaled the shooting stars.

لِمْ لَمْ يُشرَّف على الدُّنيا بأجمعها

من كانَ أشرف هذي الكائنات إبا

How could he not be exalted above the whole world,

When the noblest of all creation is his forefather?

هذا هو المُجد مجدٌ غير مكتسب

وإنَّما هو ميراثٌ أباً فأبا

This is true glory—glory never newly acquired;

It is an inheritance handed down from father to father.

من راح يحكيهم بين الورى نشباً

فليس يحكيهم بين الورى نسبا

Whoever among mankind claims a lineage like theirs

Will find no lineage among mankind that equals theirs.

أنتُم رؤوس بني الدُّنيا وسادتها

إنْ عُدَّ رأسُ سواكم لاغتدى ذنبا

You are the chiefs of the people of this world and its masters;

If another is counted a head beside you, let him be counted a tail.

لكم خوارق عادات متى ظهرت

على العوالم كادتْ تخرق الحجبا

You possess wonders that, whenever they appear,

Would almost pierce the veils spread over all the worlds.

رقَّتْ شمائِلُكَ اللاّتي ترقُّ لنا

حتَّى كأَنَّك مخلوق نسيم صبا

So gentle are your qualities, which soften themselves toward us,

That one might think you were created from the morning breeze.

وفيك والدَّهر يخشى من حوادثه

ويرتجى رهباً إذ ذاك أو رغبا

In you is firmness when men fear the accidents of time,

And in you they place their hopes, whether in dread or desire.

صلابةٌ قطّ ما لانتْ لحادثةٍ

وقد تلين خطوب الدَّهر ما صلبا

A hardness that has never yielded to calamity,

Though even the hardest trials of time may soften.

وعزمةٍ مثل ورْي الزّند لو لمست

مَوْجاً من اليمّ أضحى موجه لهبا

And a resolve like a spark struck blazing from the firestone:

Were it to touch the surging sea, its waves would turn to flame.

تجنَّب البخل بالطَّبع الكريم كما

تجنَّب الهجر والفحشاء واجتنبا

By his noble nature he shuns avarice, just as

He shuns desertion, obscenity, and every shameful act.

فنال ما نالَ آباءٌ له سلفت

ندبٌ إلى الشَّرف الأَعلى قد انتدبا

Thus he attained what his forefathers before him attained,

Advancing toward the highest honor when honor called.

إنْ كانَ آباؤه بالجود قد ذهَبوا

فقد أعاد بهذا الجود ما ذهَبا

If his forefathers departed renowned for generosity,

Through this same generosity he has restored what departed.

فانظر لأيديه إنْ جادتْ أنامله

بالصيّب الهامل الهامي ترى عجبا

Look upon his hands whenever his fingertips pour forth gifts:

In their streaming, abundant rain you will behold a marvel.

أينَ الكواكبُ من تلك المناقب إذ

تزهو كما زَهَتْ بالقطر زهر رُبا

What are the stars beside such virtues,

When those virtues bloom like flowers on rain-fed hills?

تلك المزايا كنظم العقد لو تُلِيَتْ

على الرَّواسي لهزَّت عطفها طَرَبا

Those excellences are like a necklace’s ordered pearls;

Were they scattered upon mountains, the mountains would sway with joy.

يرضى العلاء متى يرضى على أحدٍ

ويغضب الدَّهر أحياناً إذا غضبا

Sublimity is pleased whenever he is pleased with anyone,

And time itself sometimes grows angry when he is angry.

قد بلَّغت نعم العافين أنعمه

فلم تدعْ لهُمُ في غيره إرَبا

His favors have so enriched those who seek his bounty

That they have no need left to seek from anyone else.

يقول نائلُه الوافي لوافده

قد فازَ جالب آمالي بما جلبا

His ample gift says to the visitor who comes to him:

The bearer of my hopes has won all that he sought.

أكرِمْ بسيّد قومٍ لا يزال له

مكارمٌ تركت ما حاز منتهبا

How noble a master of his people, whose

Generous deeds have left every treasure as spoil for others.

نَوْءُ السَّحائب منهلٌّ على يده

فلا فقدنا به الأَنواء والسُّحبا

Rain clouds pour from his open hand;

May we never, through losing him, lose rain clouds and showers.

الكاسب الحمد في جود وبذل ندًى

يرى لكل امرئٍ في الدَّهر ما كسبا

He earns all praise through earnest purpose and lavish gifts,

Knowing that every person receives what he has earned in time.

نهزُّ غصناً رطيباً كلّ آونةٍ

يساقط الذَّهب الإِبريز لا الرّطبا

We shake a tender, fruitful branch at every moment,

And pure, refined gold falls—not ordinary dates.

فما وجدتُ إلى أيَّامه سبباً

إلاَّ وجدتُ إلى نيل الغنى سببا

Whenever I found a path leading into his days,

I found along it a path to wealth and sufficiency.

وحبَّذا القرم في أيَّام دولته

حَلَبْتُ ضرع مرام قطُّ ما حلبا

How splendid is this noble lord, in whose days

The udder of unattainable hopes has yielded what it never yielded before.

بمثله كانت الأَيَّام توعدنا

فحانَ ميعاد ذاك الوعد واقتربا

The days had long promised us a man like him;

Now the promised hour has come and drawn near.

حتَّى أجابته إذ نادى مآربه

بمنصب لو دعاه غيره لأبى

When he called upon his aspirations, they answered him

With a rank that would have refused itself to anyone else.

موفَّق للمعالي ما ابتغى طلباً

إلاَّ وأدرك بالتَّوفيق ما طلبا

Favored in every lofty aim he undertook,

He never sought a thing but, through divine favor, attained it.

سبَّاق غايات قومٍ لا لحاق له

وكم جرى إثره من سابقٌ فكبى

He is first to every finish line, beyond all overtaking;

How many a swift contender raced behind him only to stumble.

مذْ كنتَ أَنْتَ نقيباً سيِّداً سنداً

أوْضَحتَ آثار تلك السَّادة النُّقبا

From the moment you were appointed naqīb—a master and support—

You made the marks of that noble authority clear.

أَضْحكتَ بعد بكاء المجد طلعته

وقد تبسَّم مجدٌ بعد ما انتحب

Your countenance made glory laugh after its long weeping,

And glory smiled again after all its lamentation.

أحيَيْتَ ما ماتَ من فضلٍ ومن أدبٍ

فلتفتخر في معاني مدحك الأدبا

You brought back to life what had died of virtue and refinement;

Let the poets take pride in the meanings of your praise.

يا آل بيت رسول الله إنَّ لكم

عليَّ فضلاً حباني الجاه والنشبا

O household of the Messenger of God, you possess

A claim upon me: favor that granted me standing and wealth.

وأيدياً أوْجَبتْ شكري لأنعمها

فاليوم أقضي لكم بالمدح ما وجبا

You have bestowed such kindnesses that gratitude became my duty;

Today, through praise of you, I repay what I owe.