روحي فداك من الملّم المعتري

ولَوَ انّهُ يُبْتاع كنتُ المشتري

My soul is yours to take, to free me of this vexing blight,

And were it something I could buy, I'd be the eager buyer,

وأنا الذي بتخلّفي أصبحتُ في

نَدَمٍ فيا ويلاه إنْ لم تَغْفِرِ

For it is I whose flaws have left me filled with deep remorse,

Oh woe to me, if you do not grant forgiveness, my lord.

يا خَيْرَ مَنْ حسد العقودُ قريضَه

فتناثرت منها صِحَاحُ الجوهر

O finest of those envied for their prose so fair,

That jewel-studded necklaces scattered when compared,

وأجَلَّ مَنْ دان القريضُ لطبعه

وبنثره سَحَرَ النّهى إنْ يُنْثَرِ

O greatest whose natural talent was confessed,

Whose casting of pearls enchants if ever cast,

وأرقُّ مِنْ ساري النّسيم إذا انْبَرَى

لُطْفاً وأَسْوَغُ مِنْ زُلال الكوثر

More gentle than the passing breeze when it stirs,

More smooth than the pure water of al-Kawthar,

أعني الهُمَامَ ابنَ الفقيه محمّداً

شيخَ الهُداةِ وقِدْوَةَ المستبصر

I speak of the resolute son of the jurist Muhammad,

Sheikh of the righteous, exemplar of the discerning.

وَمَنِ العلومُ بنقده وذكائه

تزهو على الحور الحِسَانِ وتجتري

And he whose knowledge and wit make sciences

Seem greater than the lovely eyed houris,

الدّرس لا يَهْوَى سوى تقريرِه

وسواه لا تَهْوَى مراقي المنبر

Loves no lesson but expounding its complexities,

All else but the minbar’s platforms he does not love.

وإذا لِثَامُ الجهل غطّى مشكلا

كشف اللّثامَ عن الجبين المسفِر

When veils of ignorance obscured some problem,

He lifted the veil to reveal an enlightened mind,

ببراعةٍ من دونِ نَيْلِ أقلّها

حربُ البسوس وهَوْلُ يوم المحشر

With a skill even war with spears and Judgment Day’s horrors

Are too little to parallel its least part.

يا عاذلي في حبّه قَصِّرْ فما

أنا عن هواه المستلّذّ بِمُقْصِرِ

My critic in loving him, make your rebuke brief,

For I cannot blame myself for relishing his love,

ما كنت فيه مُقلِّداً غَيْرَ الهوى

فَأَطِلْ ملامك بعد ذا أو قَصِّرِ

I have imitated none but passion for him,

So cease your blame or make it brief from now on.

إن كنتَ تسمعُ ما سمعتُ فإنّني

من حسنه أبصرتُ ما لم تُبْصِرِ

If you can hear what I have heard, know that I

Through his beauty have seen what you cannot see.

تُسليك منه فكاهةٌ فكأنّها

راحٌ براحة أغيدٍ مُتَبَخْتِرِ

His wit brings you joy, as if it were

The delight of chatter from a cheerful drunkard.

ليس الغريبُ بأنسه في غُرْبَةٍ

بل مَنْ برؤية وجهه لم يظفر

In his company a stranger feels no estrangement,

But rather one who sees his face attains what is sought.

حيَّى معاهدَ أنسه برقُ الحيا

وسَقَى سَلاَ صوبُ الأغرّ المُمْطِرِ

He has made his companionship as bright as life itself,

And watered a thirsty ground with ample rain.

بَلَدٌ به سطعت لوامع نوره

فَغَدَا بِوَجْهٍ ضاحكٍ مُسْتَبْشِرِ

A land in which the beacons of his light have shone,

Turning it into one of cheer and glad tidings,

لا زال منه الغربُ مَشْرِقَ شمسِه

وسَلاَ به أبْهى وأبْهَجَ منظر

The west has not ceased to be lit by his sun,

Watering it with more beautiful and brilliant scenes.

وعليه من مَحْضِ الوِدادِ تحيَّةٌ

أذكى من المسك العتيق وعنبر

And it holds nothing but sincere affection for him,

More fragrant than aged musk and ambergris.

ما قال ذو وَجْدٍ بحبّك داعيا

روحي فداك من الملمّ المعتري

No lover in rapture has said as I say,

My soul is yours to take, to free me of this vexing blight.