حوى مُرْشِدٌ وابناه غُرَّ المَناقِبِ

وحَلُّوا من العَلياء أَعلى المَراتِبِ

A mentor and his two sons adorned with virtues,

Attained the highest of high ranks.

ذوائبُ مجدٍ ما علمتَ بأَنهم

من العلم أَيضاً في الذُّرى والذوائبِ

Tails of glory - though you know them not -

In knowledge, they are leaders of mankind.

أَتَتْ مِنْ علّي روضةٌ جاد رَوْضَها

سحائبُ فضلٍ لا كَجَوْدِ السَّحائب

From Ali came a garden, pouring its abundance,

Clouds of merit, not mere clouds of rain.

أَلم تر أَنّ المُزْن فاضت فَنُوِّلَتْ

رَبابٌ وأَروى منه حَلْيَ الكواعب

Have you not seen - the ladle overflowed and poured forth,

Quenching more than a bowl of wine.

بأَبياتِ نظمٍ أَفحمتْ كلَّ شاعرٍ

وآياتِ نثَرٍ أَعجمتْ كُلَّ خاطِب

With lines of verse it rendered speechless every poet,

And prose of such eloquence as muted every orator.

وغُرِّ مَعان أَعْجَزَتْ كلّ عالمٍ

وأَسطرِ خَطٍّ أَرعشتْ كلَّ كاتب

With strange meanings it exhausted every scholar,

And lines of script that shook every scribe.

ربيعٌ بِوَرْدٍ وافدٍ لمُطالعٍ

ورَبْعٌ لوَفْدٍ وارد بمطالب

A spring with roses in bloom for dawns,

And a highland for pilgrims come to plead.

وخو درمت بالسحر عن قوس حاجب

لها في العلى فخرٌ على قوسِ حاجِب

With magic it drew smiles from frowning brows,

Pride for it in the Highest - above the arch of eyebrows.

فلو قَطَبَتْ راحا لما قطَّبتْ لها

وُجوهٌ ولا غطّت على حِلْم شارب

Had it frowned - no faces would beam,

Nor cover its forbearance with a drinker's veil.

مناقبُ نَدْبٍ قال جدّي ابن مُنقذٍ

عليٌ وعمي نجمه ذو المناقب

My grandfather Ibn Munqidh said virtues are Ali's,

He whose star shines with virtues.

وبيتي كبيتي في القريض مُؤَسَّس

بغير دَخيلٍ فهو إِحدى العجائب

My home, like his, established in poetry

With no outsider - a wonder it is!

بنى منقذٌ مجداً تلاه مُقَلَّدٌ

وقصّ عليٌّ نهجَه في المذاهب

Munqidh built glory, succeeded by Muqallad,

And Ali exemplified its path in creeds.

ولم يأْلُ جهداً مُرْشِدٌ في اقتفائهم

وأَبناءُ ذاك البدر زُهْرُ الكواكب

Murshid spared no effort emulating them,

And the sons of that full moon - the stars glow.

إِليهم نوى إِرْقالَه كلُّ خائفٍ

ومنهم حوى آمالَه كلُّ راغب

To them flees every fearful soul,

And in them places its hopes every desirer.

وفيهم روى أوصافَه كلُّ مادحٍ

وعنهم زوى أَوْهامَه كلُّ عائبِ

About them speaks every praiser,

And from them turns away every detractor.

لهم نارُ حربٍ أَطفأَت حربَ وائلٍ

ونارُ قرىً أَوْفَتْ على نار غالب

Their fire of war extinguishes the flames of battle,

And their hearth's fire stokes the fire of the victors.

مغارِسُهم طابَتْ وطابَ حديثُهم

وأطيبُ مَسْمُوع حديثُ الأَطايب

Sweet are their orchards and their tales,

Sweeter than tales are their words.

مناسِبُهم غُرٌّ وأَكثَرُ فخرهِم

بما استأْثروه لا بِغُرِّ المَناسِب

Their virtues are strange, and greater is their pride

In what they exclusively attained, not mere strange virtues.

مكاسِبُهم حُسْنُ الثَّناء فما ابَتَغْوا

به كبني الرعي دَنيَّ المَكاسِب

Their gains are praise - they sought not

Base worldly gains, the gains of shepherds.

متاعب دُنْيا أَوْ بقَتْ بمَتاعها

وأَيُّ سُرورٍ في مَتاعِ مَتاعب

Goods of the world either remain with their goods,

Or what joy is there in the goods of goods?

رآني عليٌّ لاعِباً بقرائنٍ

فجاء بأُخرى مثلِها غيرَ لاعب

Ali saw me playing with poems,

So he brought forth more, though not a player.

تحدّى كلامي فاعْترفتُ بفَضْلِه

وأَين الحِقاق من مِصاع المَصاعِب

I confessed his superiority, challenged by his words -

But how can the deserving compare with towering tribulations?