وَإِذا قَرَأتَ كَلامَهُ قَدَّرتَهُ

سَحبانَ أَو يوفي عَلى سَحبانِ

When you read his words, you would judge him

to be Sahban—or one who surpasses Sahban.

لَو كانَ شاهَدَهُ مَعَدٌّ خاطِباً

وَذوو الفَصاحَةِ مِن بَني قَحطانِ

Had Ma‘add witnessed him speaking as an orator,

together with the eloquent men of Banu Qahtan,

لَأَقَرَّ كُلٌّ طائِعينَ بِأَنَّهُ

أَولاهُمُ بِفَصاحَةٍ وَبَيانِ

all would willingly have acknowledged that he

was foremost among them in eloquence and exposition:

هادي الأَنامِ مِنَ الضَلالَةِ وَالعَمى

وَمُجيرُها مِن جاحِمِ النيرانِ

a guide of humankind out of error and blindness,

and its deliverer from the inferno of the fires;

رَبُّ العُلومِ إِذا أَجالَ قِداحَهُ

لَم يَختَلِف في فَوزهنَّ اِثنانِ

master of the sciences—when he casts his shafts,

no two dispute their victory;

ذو فِطنَةٍ في المُشكِلاتِ وَخاطِرٍ

أَمضى وَأَنفَذ مِن شَباةِ سِنانِ

possessed of insight into difficult questions, and a mind

keener and more penetrating than a spearpoint.

وَإِذا تَفَكَّرَ عالِمٌ في كُتبِهِ

يَبغي التُقى وَشَرائِطَ الإيمانِ

And when a scholar reflects upon his books,

seeking piety and the conditions of faith,

مُتَبَيِّناً لِلدينِ غَيرَ مُقَلِّدٍ

يَسمو بِهِمَّتِهِ إِلى الرضوانِ

discerning religion for himself, not merely imitating,

he aspires with high resolve toward divine approval;

أَضحَت وُجوهُ الحَقِّ في صَفَحاتِها

تَرمي إِلَيهِ بِواضِحِ البُرهانِ

the faces of truth upon their pages appear,

confronting him with manifest demonstration—

مِن حُجَّةٍ ضَمِنَ الوَفاءَ بِنَصرِها

نَصُّ الرَسولِ وَمُحكَمُ القُرآنِ

from a proof whose full vindication is guaranteed

by the Messenger’s explicit text and the decisive Qur’an;

وَدلالَةٍ تَجلو مَطالِعَ سَيرِها

غُرُّ القَرائِحِ مِن ذَوي الأَذهانِ

and from a demonstration whose unfolding course is disclosed

by the brightest minds among people of understanding—

حَتّى تَرى مُتَبَصِّراً في دينِهِ

مَفلولَ غَربِ الشَكِّ بِالإيقانِ

until you see him clear-sighted in his faith,

the keen edge of doubt blunted by certainty.

اللَهُ وَفَّقَهُ اِتِّباعَ رَسولِهِ

وَكِتابِهِ الأَصلَينِ في التِبيانِ

God granted him success in following His Messenger

and His Book—the twin foundations of elucidation—

وَأَمَدَّهُ مِن عِندِهِ بِمَعونَةٍ

حَتّى أَنافَ بِها عَنِ الأَعيانِ

and sustained him with aid from Himself,

until through it he towered above the eminent;

وَأَراهُ بُطلانَ المَذاهِبِ قَبلهُ

مِمَّن قَضى بِالرَأيِ وَالحُسبانِ

and showed him the falsity of the doctrines before him,

those of whoever judged by opinion and conjecture.