استنبط العلم وزك العملا

ولا تعش بغرة سبهللا

He deduced knowledge and purified deeds,

And do not live heedlessly,

لا تترك الأنفاس في الهزْل سدى

أدركَ من جد وفي الجد العُلى

Do not waste your breath in vain play,

Attain excellence through hard work and the highest excellence.

جوهرة النفس إذا ضيعتها

في لعب لم تلق منها بدلا

The jewel of the soul, if you lose it

In play, you will not find a substitute for it.

رشحك الحق لأمر جلل

تدركه إذا ركبت الجللا

May God guide you to a momentous matter,

You will attain it if you embark on the ships.

لو لم يرد قربك من جنابه

لم يهب العقل ويهد السبلا

If He had not wanted your nearness to His side,

He would not have granted reason and guided the ways.

فإن توجهت إلى حضرته

فرافق العلم يقود الجملا

So if you head towards His court,

Let knowledge accompany you leading the camels.

فخير ما رافقت علماً نافعاً

وشافعاً مشفعاً في يوم لا

The best company is beneficial knowledge,

An intercessor interceding on a day when intercession is denied.

إن العلوم كالنجوم كثرة

فاعتنق الشمس وغادر زحلا

Knowledge is like numerous stars,

So hold on to the sun and leave Saturn.

عليك بالشرع فلست عائذاً

بموئل أكنف منه موئلا

Hold on to Sacred Law, you have no refuge,

More comfortable than it as a refuge.

نور من الله إذا كساكه

أصبحت سلطاناً على من جهلا

Light from God, if it covers you,

You become a sultan over the ignorant.

أنت من الله على شأن إذا

خلفت بالعلم نبياً مرسلا

You are of such stature from God, if

You inherit knowledge, a messenger apostle.

سدد وقارب واحتجز جوامعاً

منه فلن تحصره مفصلا

Be steadfast, draw near, and hold fast

To its essential points, for you cannot encompass it fully.

ودونك السفر الذي ترقى به

مدارج الكمال مرقى موصلا

Below you is the journey by which you ascend

The steps of perfection, ascending and arriving.

سحابة وطفاء إلا أنه

يمطر نوراً ويمج عسلا

A cloud but bright, though

It rains light and pours forth honey.

نقطة نور صبها الوهب على

امداده قلب من الله انجلا

A speck of light which the Giver poured upon

The replenishment of a heart from God enkindled.

تجسم النور على طباقه

فلاح فيها جوهراً مفصلا

The light assumed physical form within it

So a subtle essence shone forth in it.

ينفث روح العلم من ثغوره

كنفث روح القدس للوحي علا

It breathes the spirit of knowledge from its apertures

As the Holy Spirit breathed revelation from on high.

كان نثاراً كالنجوم فانبرى

لصوغه عقداً جمال النبلا

It was scattered like the stars and so it strove

To string it into a necklace, the beauty of nobility.

موفق النزعة كشاف العمى

مستوعب عشر العقول ابن جلا

Upright in purpose, unveiling blindness,

Comprehending the minds of men, son of majesty.

قدوتنا الممدود من مصادر

رقى إليها فتلقى واجتلى

Our exemplar extended from the sources

To which he ascended and drew near.

خبيئة الله لنصر دينه

وحجة الله على من أبطلا

God's treasure to aid His religion

And God's proof against those who invalidated.

السالمي ابن حميد الذي

قام لقيوم السماء فيصلا

As-Suyūṭī son of Ḥumayd who

Stood in devotion to the pillar of heaven pleading.

صار على البطل شهاباً قبساً

فأي شيطان به ما انجدلا

He became a flaming meteor

Against the invalidator, so which devil can resist him.

أيده الله وأبقاه لنا

موفقاً مسدداً مجللا

May God support him and maintain him for us

Successful, guided, majestic.

وحيث من الله بالطبع لما

أبرزه بنوره مكللا

And wherever he is singled out by God through innate disposition

For what He produced him with, crowned with His light.

بهمة السلطان ذي الهم الذي

تصاعقت له الملوك ذللا

With the resolve of the sultan, whose care

Made kings tremble, humbled.

مؤيد الدين الذي صفاته

وذكره المحمود سارت مثلا

Supporter of the religion whose traits

And whose praiseworthy mention circulated as an exemplar.

أبى على مصدر الفضل فتى

محمد حمود قمقام العلا

My father, source of virtue, youth

Muḥammad Ḥumūd, pillar of the lofty.

ذي العزة القعساء في شئونه

لا ترتضي إلا النجوم خولا

Of awe-inspiring glory in his affairs,

Who would not be satisfied save by the stars as servants.

أكرم من سارية غادية

صبت عزاليها فطمت الملا

More generous than a departing cloud

Which poured its rains so the meadows bloomed.

تهلل الكون بما أسعده

من يمنه كما به تهللا

The universe rejoices at what gladdened it

Through his blessings, as it rejoiced through Him.

فقمت أشدو ثملاً بحمده

ولست وحدي بالحميا ثملا

So I began to sing his praises,

And I am not alone in praise or full of praise.

أبشر الناس بسفر زاهر

كأنه بنوره تجللا

I give good tidings to people of a blossoming journey,

As if by its light he is crowned.

أرخته صدقاً هيا بشراكم

مدارج الكمال طبعاً كملا

I dated it truthfully, come give me good news,

Of the steps of perfection, completely perfected.