تَأَمَّلْ نُجومَ الأفقِ لَيلاً وَإِذ تسري

تَنالُ سُرورَ القَلبِ وَالشّرح للصدرِ

Gaze at the horizon's stars in the night as they move,

Bringing joy to the heart and expansiveness to the chest,

وَشاهِد جَمالَ البدرِ في اللّيل طالعاً

فَإِنَّ سَنِيَّ الحُسنِ في طَلعَةِ البدرِ

And witness the beauty of the moon rising in the night,

For the radiance of its beauty is in the rising of the full moon.

وَحَدِّق إِلى زُهرِ السّماءِ فَإِنّها

بِجنحِ الدّجى تَزهو إِلى مَطلعِ الفَجرِ

Look closely at the flowers of the sky, for they

Blossom in the wings of night towards the rise of dawn.

وَما هِيَ إِلّا البدرُ حَيثُ تَجمّعت

وَما كَوكب مِنها سِوى الكوكب الدّرّي

They are but the full moon gathered together,

And not a star among them but the bright celestial one.

فَمَن قالَ زُهر الأفق لَيسَت بِبَدرهِ

فَدَعهُ فَإنّ البدرَ لَيسَ سِوى الزُّهرِ

So let him who says the flowers of the sky are not the moon,

Leave him be, for the full moon is none other than the flower.

أَخو العِلم صِنو الفَضل خدن مَعارفٍ

يَموجُ بِهِ العرفانُ وَالفضل كالبحرِ

A brother of knowledge, a protector of virtue, a servant of wisdom,

With which insight surges like an ocean and virtue like a sea,

بِحُسنِ كَمالٍ في جَمالٍ بِهيبةٍ

بِحُسنِ طِباعٍ فَوقه لُطفها يجري

With the beauty of perfect grace and awe-inspiring beauty,

With the goodness of excellent manners flowing above it,

بِرقّةِ آدابٍ بِمَجد مُوطّدٍ

بِسُؤدد أَصلٍ زانَه حلية الفخرِ

With the softness of fine morals and established glory,

The lineage adorned with the mantle of pride,

بِحلّة أَوصافٍ تَجلّ حميدة

بِحُسنِ خِصالٍ صاحبت رفعة القدرِ

In a garb of brilliant traits shining praiseworthy,

With the goodness of attributes accompanying the loftiness of worth,

بِثَوب تَقيّ لَيس يَبلى جَديدهُ

وَحيكَ مِنَ الإِخلاصِ في السرِّ وَالجهرِ

In a robe of piety whose newness does not fade,

Woven with sincerity in secret and openly,

وَقَد طيَّبَ الأَسحارَ في عِطر وَدّه

وَعَطَّرَ في أَذكارِهِ حَلَقَ الذّكرِ

He has perfumed the predawn hours with the scent of his affection,

And filled the circles of remembrance with the fragrance of praise,

هُوَ الفاضِل الفَخم اللّبيبُ أَخو الذّكا

يُزيحُ قِناعَ الخدرِ عَن غادَةِ الفكرِ

He is the esteemed, the magnificent, the brilliant, brother of the wise,

Dispelling the veil of confusion from the beauty of thought,

هُوَ الكامِلُ الفذُّ الّذي في كَمالِهِ

يَفوقُ كَمالَ البدرِ في لَيلةِ البدرِ

He is the perfect, the exceptional, whose perfection

Surpasses the perfection of the full moon on the night of the full moon.

مُحمّدٌ المَحمود في الدّهرِ دَيدنا

هُوَ الجَهبذُ اليافيّ وَالخلوَتي البكري

Muhammad, forever praised in time, is our way,

He is the intrepid, fulfilling one, and my intimate, the chaste.

بَليغُ بَيانٍ في بَديعِ بَلاغةٍ

بِها تاهَ ما يَحوي البيان مِنَ السّحرِ

Eloquent in speech, excelling in the wonders of rhetoric,

With which the very best of eloquence is confounded,

فَلَو شامَ سَحبان جواهرَ لَفظهِ

لَظَلَّ أَخَا عِيٍّ عَنِ النّظمِ وَالنّثرِ

Were the clouds to hear the jewels of his words,

They would remain blind and deaf to prose and verse,

وَدامَ عَلى تِلكَ الجَواهِرِ تالِياً

بِحُسنِ اِحتِرامٍ سورَةَ الحَمدِ وَالشّكرِ

And remain reciting those jewels respectfully,

The Surah of Praise and Gratitude.

لَهُ اللَّه مِن شَهمٍ همامِ مهذّبٍ

غَدا رَجلَ الدّنيا غَدا واحِدَ الدّهرِ

To him belongs self-respect, courageous, refined,

Who has made the world his carpet and himself its unique master.

فَيا أَيّها المَولى الّذي طابَ صيتهُ

وَمَن قَد حَوى طيبَ السّريرةِ وَالسرِّ

So O Master, whose reputation is pure,

And who has contained goodness of conduct and secrets,

وَحَلَّ مِنَ العَلياءِ مَوضِعَ رأسِها

وَبَين صُدور النّاس في مَوضِعِ الصدرِ

And assumed among the exalted the place of its head,

And between the hearts of the people the place of the breast,

إِلَيكَ لَقَد أَهديت غَيداءَ غادَة

وَبِكراً مِنَ الأَبكارِ ناهيكَ مِن بكرِ

To you I have gifted a fresh, brilliant pearl,

And a prime selection from among the prime, not to mention the finest,

فَريدَةُ عقدٍ وَهيَ عقدُ نَظيمة

لَقَد أَرخَصت قدرَ الثّمينِ مِنَ الدرِّ

A unique string of pearls, woven strands,

I have discounted the value of this precious jewel.

مُخدّرة في الفِكرِ وَالفكرُ خِدرها

وَما ظَهَرَت إِلّا عَلَيك مِنَ الخدرِ

Bewildered in thought, and thought bewildered by it,

Revealing itself only to you in its bewilderment,

فَأَقبِل عَلَيها بِالقَبولِ أَخا النّدى

فَتِلكَ إِلى الإِقبالِ في غايَةِ الفقرِ

So accept it with acceptance, O brother of dew,

For that is in utmost need of acceptance.

وَفي مثلك الإِقبال يا حرُّ شيمةٌ

وَأَنتَ تَرى الإِقبالَ مِن شِيَمِ الحرِّ

And for one like you, acceptance is a matter of dignity,

For you see acceptance as a trait of the noble.

وَدُم في حِفاظِ اللَّهِ ما لاحَ كَوكَبٌ

وَما فَوقَ غُصنِ الرّوضِ قَد صدحَ القمري

Remain in God's protection as long as a star shines,

And above the branch of the garden the moon glows.

وَما بِلسانِ الطيبِ أَبدَت ثَناءها

بِعطر عَلى رَوضِ الرّبى نفحةَ الزّهرِ

With the tongue of fragrance, she expressed her praise

With the scent of the flower wafting over the garden of the Lord,

وَما الفَتحُ فَتحُ اللَّه أَنشد قائلاً

تَأمّلْ نُجومَ الأفقِ لَيلاً وإذْ تسري

And not the opening, the opening of God, reciting,

Gaze at the horizon's stars in the night as they move.