سلام اللَه ما هبّ النسيم

وما جنّ الدجا الليل البهيم

God’s peace, as long as the breeze blows,

And as long as the darkness of pitch-black night descends—

يحاكي الزهر نشرا وابتساما

إذا ما الروض باكره الرهيم

A peace that rivals flowers in fragrance and smiling bloom

Whenever gentle rain comes early to the garden;

يفوق المسك عطرا وانتشاقا

به يشفي من البلوى السقيم

It surpasses musk in perfume and every breath,

And by it the afflicted sick are healed;

يضاهي الشهد ذوقاً ثم يحيي

نبات الأرض ان رمّ الهشيم

It rivals honey in taste, then gives life to

The earth’s vegetation when the dry brush has crumbled.

سلام في سلام في سلام

سلاما دائما أبدا يدوم

Peace upon peace upon peace—

A peace enduring always and forever—

عدد ذرّ الرمال وقد تناهى

فلا يحصى له عددا فهيم

As many as the grains of sand, however far they stretch,

A number no discerning mind can count—

على الندب النجيب الليث بأسا

وللأعداء ضرغام غشوم

Upon the gallant nobleman, valiant in battle,

And, against his enemies, a fierce and crushing lion.

رعاه اللَه من ولد حبيب

ودام له المسرّة والنعيم

May God preserve him, the offspring of a beloved one,

And may gladness and delight endure for him;

وطال له البقا في خير عيش

وسلمه لنا البرّ الرّحيم

May his life be long and lived in goodness,

And may the Gracious, Merciful One keep him safe for us;

ودام له السرور وكلّ عزّ

كريم ماجد شهم حشيم

May joy and every honor endure for him—

Generous, illustrious, courageous, and dignified.

ولولا الضعف مع شوق شديد

إلى رؤياه ما اغنتنى العلوم

Were it not for weakness, though my yearning is fierce,

Learning would not avail me in reaching the sight of him.

عجبت لعائق قد عاق عنه

وفي قلبي له شوق عظيم

I marvel at a barrier that has kept me from him,

While immense longing for him fills my heart—

كشوق الهيم ان عدمت ورودا

وشوق الأمّ إن فقد الفطيم

Like the yearning of thirst-maddened camels denied their watering place,

And a mother’s yearning when she has lost her weaned child.

ولكن الدعا والسرّ يسرى

له منا إذا انعكر العتيم

Yet prayer—and the secret—travels by night

From us to him whenever darkness thickens.

حبيب من حبيب من حبيب

له قد أسس الودّ القديم

Beloved from beloved from beloved:

Love for him was founded long ago.

فهم فقراؤنا أب وجدّ

كذاك الأم نهج مستقيم

They are our fuqarāʾ—father and grandfather,

And likewise the mother: an upright path.

هم منا وفينا بل علينا

لهم حقّ وان حسد اللئيم

They are from us and among us—indeed, over us—

And they possess a right, though the base-born envy it.

ألا يا ناصر الدين المسمى

بنصر الدين أكفيت الهموم

Behold this one named Nasir al-Din;

Through Nasr al-Din, you have been spared all cares.

نصرت على الجميع بنصر ربي

وأعطاك المهيمن ما تروم

You triumphed over all through my Lord’s aid,

And the Guardian granted you what you desire.

ولا زالت لك الأيام سعدا

وأيام الذي يشناك شوم

May your days never cease to be fortunate,

While the days of whoever hates you are ill-starred.

إذا كانت لك الأقطاب جندا

باذن اللَه من لهم يقوم

If the spiritual poles are soldiers in your service,

Who, by God’s permission, could stand against them?

فطب نفساً بما قد قلت حقا

بهذا القول قد حكم الحكيم

So take heart in what I have truly said:

By this pronouncement the All-Wise has judged.

يقابل من جرى من سوء فعل

من المقدور يغفره الحليم

Whoever commits an evil deed is requited

By what is decreed; the Forbearing One forgives it.

فثق باللَه ليس له شريك

بما قد قلته علم العليم

So trust in God, who has no partner;

The All-Knowing knows what I have said.

اذا كنا جنودك يا بنيّ

فمن لذرّاء علياكم يسوم

If we are your soldiers, my son,

Who could aspire to the summits of your eminence?

له من حبّ أهل البيت صدقا

توفرت العطايا والقسوم

Through true love for the Household, he has a rightful claim;

Gifts and allotted blessings have abounded.

دعائي سيدي لكم خصوصاً

على الاطلاق أو ذكر العموم

My prayer, my master, is especially for you,

Whether uttered without restriction or included in general prayer.

أتتك خريدة من نظم درّ

فما الياقوت ما الدرّ النظيم

A secluded maiden has come to you, fashioned from strung pearls;

Beside her, what are rubies, and what are ordered pearls?

زندها الود من قلب سليم

اذا وافى وفا القلب السليم

Love kindled her from a sound heart;

When the faithful one arrives, the sound heart proves faithful.

وخصّ لنا شهاب الدين حقا

فنعم القرم ان ذكر القروم

And Shihab al-Din has truly been set apart for us—

An excellent chief whenever chiefs are named.

سلاماً دائماً في كلّ حين

لعلّ بحقه يوماً نقوم

Peace forever, at every moment;

By my life, through his merit we shall one day rise.

إمام سيد حبر فريد

وعند الغيظ ذو عفو كظوم

An imam, a master, a peerless learned doctor;

When angered, he pardons and restrains his rage.

كريم الأصل من سلفى معد

جزيل الحلم ان ضاعت حلوم

Noble in origin, from the forebears of Maʿadd,

Abundant in forbearance when all other forbearance is lost.

له القدح المعلى في المعالي

وبحر ماله أحد يعوم

His is the winning arrow in the contest for eminence,

And he is a sea no one can swim across.

يجيب دعاءه ذو العرش حقا

ومن نفثاته تشفى الكلوم

The Lord of the Throne truly answers his prayer,

And through his breathings wounds are healed.

له كفّ تلقف كلّ سقم

عصا موسى النبي نعم الكليم

He has a hand that swallows every illness—

Like the staff of Moses, the prophet who spoke with God.

رعاه اللَه من ولد برير

كلاه اللَه ما طلعت نجوم

May God guard him, the offspring of a righteous man;

May God watch over him as long as stars rise.

أقرّ اللَه عيني بالتملي

برؤيته وان رغم الخصوم

May God gladden my eye with gazing its fill

Upon him, though his adversaries be galled.

وأبقانا الجميع بخير عيش

فجود إلهنا جزل عميم

May He preserve us all in a life of goodness,

For our God’s bounty is abundant and all-embracing.

فدم في نعمة ودوام عزّ

فقد تمت بخيرات تدوم

Remain, then, in blessing and enduring honor,

For the poem is complete with blessings that endure.

وصلى اللَه ربي كلّ حين

على المختار ما وكف الرديم

And may my Lord bless, at every moment,

The Chosen One, as long as steady rain pours—

غياث الخلق في يوم التنادي

له الدّين الحنيفيّ القويم

The succor of creation on the Day of Calling,

Whose is the upright Ḥanīf faith—

عدد كر الجديدين البواقي

وشرحهما هما ليل ويوم

As many times as the two enduring renewers revolve;

To explain those two: they are night and day;

وما غنت على الأغصان ورق

فأشفى صوتها سقم الأليم

And whenever gray doves sing upon the branches,

Their voices healing the sufferer’s pain;

وكلّ الآل والأصحاب جمعا

هم القوم ان ذكر بالفخر قوم

And blessings upon all the Family and Companions together—

They are the people worthy of pride whenever any people are praised.

فخذه مرقومة الطرفين تحكى

سلام اللَه ما هبّ النسيم

So take this poem, adorned at both its ends, echoing:

God’s peace, as long as the breeze blows.