غُذِيتُ بعلم النَحو إِذ دَرَّ لي ثَديا

فَجسمي بِهِ ينمى وَروحي بِهِ تَحيا

I was nurtured with grammar when its breast flowed for me,

So my body grows by it, and my soul lives by it.

وَقَد طالَ تَضرابي لزيدٍ وَعَمرِهِ

وَما اِقتَرفا ذَنباً وَلا تَبعا غَيّا

Long have I parsed for Zayd and his companion,

Though they committed no sin, nor followed any misguidance.

وَما نِلتُ مِن ضَربيهما غَيرَ شُهرةٍ

بِفَنٍ وَما يُجدي اِشتهاري بِهِ شَيّا

I gained naught from analyzing them except notoriety

In a skill which brings no benefit by making me renowned.

أَلا إِنَّ علمَ النَحو قَد بادَ أَهلُهُ

فَما أَن تَرى في الحَي مِن بَعدهم حَيّا

Alas! The people of grammar are now extinct,

So you see no one alive among them afterwards.

سَأتركه تَركَ الغَزالِ لظله

وَأُتبِعُه هَجراً وَأُوسِعُه نَأيا

I will forsake it, like a deer forsaking its shade,

And I will abandon it, distancing myself from it.

وَأَسمو إِلى الفِقه المُبارَكِ إِنَّهُ

ليُرضيكَ في الأُخرى وَيُحظيك في الدُنيا

I will ascend to the blessed jurisprudence, for it

Will please you in the hereafter and grant you well-being in this life.

وَما الفِقهُ إِلا أَصلُ دينِ محمدٍ

فَجَرِّد لَهُ عَزماً وَجَدِّد لَهُ سَعيا

What is jurisprudence but the foundation of Muhammad's faith?

So dedicate strong resolve to it, and renew your effort for it!

وَكُن تابِعاً للشافعيّ وَسالِكاً

طَريقتَه تبلُغ بِه الغايةَ القُصيا

Be a follower of al-Shāfiʿī, adhering

To his way, so you may attain the farthest goal.

أَلا يا ابن إدريس قَد اتضحَ الهُدى

وَكَم غامضٍ أَبدى وَكَم دارسٍ أَحيا

Behold! The guidance is now clear, O Ibn Idrīs,

And how much ambiguity it has elucidated, and how many students it has revived!

سمي الرَسول المُصطفى وابن عَمه

فَناهيك مَجداً قَد سَما الرتبة العليا

Name the Chosen Prophet and his cousin,

For indeed they have attained the highest rank of glory.

هُوَ استنبط الأصول فاكتسى بِهِ ال

فقهَ مِن ديباجِ إِنشائِه وَشيا

It is he who extracted the principles, and thereby obtained

The intricacies of jurisprudence from the brocade of his composition.