شُغفتُ بضمّ الغيد مِن عَهد نَشأتي

وَهِمتُ بِلَثم الجيد في مَهد صَبوَتي

Since my youth I have yearned to embrace the tender branch,

And dreamed of kissing the soft cheek in the cradle of my adolescence.

وَصلّيت بِالعشاق في مَسجد الهَوى

إِماماً لِزُهدي في الغَرام وَعفَّتي

I prayed with lovers in the mosque of passion,

As imam leading my abstinence in love and chastity.

وَآثرت ذلي في الصَبابة بِالَّتي

سَبتني عَلى عزي وَجاهي وَرفعَتي

I preferred the one who elevated me in my prime

Over my glory, status, and loftiness.

وَخاطَرتُ وَحدي في لقاء عَواذلٍ

تَمادوا عَلى حَربي بِروحي وَمُهجَتي

I risked myself alone to meet charming rogues

Who continued to fight me with my soul and my skull.

وَأَلقيتُ نَفسي في مَهاوي مَهالك

بِها طابَ لي كأسُ الرَدى دُونَ سَلوَتي

I flung myself into deadly abysses

Where the cup of misguidance tasted sweet without my sobriety.

وَبِالصَبر جاءَ النَصر وَالفَتح وَانقضت

لَيالي رَقيب كانَ مغرىً بِقتلتي

With patience came triumph and victory, and there passed

The nights of the sentinel who had been tempted to kill me.

وَفُزت بِوَعدٍ مِن سليمى وَإِنَّني

عَلى ثقة مِن أَنَّهُ وَعدُ عزة

And I won a promise from my Sulayma, and indeed

I am confident that it is a promise of honor, not betrayal.

وَما مطلها في مذهب الحُب عَن قلى

تَميل بِهِ في سَيرِها عَن مَودّتي

It was not her doctrine in love to turn away from my heart

Which inclined along its path away from my affection,

وَلَكنها قَد صَدّها عَن وَفائِها

مَديحي لِخَير الدين في خَير دَولة

But rather she was prevented from keeping faith

By my praising the best of religion in the best state—

لَهُ اللَه مِن صَدرٍ نَبيلٍ بِتُونسٍ

يدبّر أَمر الملك فيهِ بِهمة

To whom God gave, in the breast of Tunis,

A noble heart to manage the affairs of the kingdom with resolve

وَينصر بالآراء سُلطانها الَّذي

هُوَ الصادق السامي مَلاذ البَرية

And support its sultan’s authority—he who is truthful and sublime, sanctuary of humankind,

Successor to the Prophet’s descendants, inherited from his father and noble ancestors,

خَليفة أَبناء البتول وَراثة

لَهُ عن أَبيه وَالجُدود الأَجلة

Protector of the sanctity of his homelands with valor,

Bringing low the tyrant, hard of will,

وَحامي حِمى أَوطانه بِبَسالة

يَلين لَها الجَبار صَعب الشَكيمة

And here he is resurrecting, through it, every institution

Of Idris, its patron, the imam of imams,

وَها هُوَ قَد أَحيا بِها كُلَّ دارس

لإدريس مَولاها إِمام الأَئمة

And appointing to this breast, in the shade of his justice,

The direct execution of judgments among the people—

وَناطَ بِهَذا الصَدر في ظل عَدله

مُباشرة الأَحكام بَينَ الرَعية

So he took up the duties and governed it

As his patron desired, with wisdom and resolve.

فَقامَ لَها بِالواجِبات وَساسَها

كَما شاءَ مَولاه بِحَزم وَحكمة

And how could it not be so when he is deserving, due to his superiority,

To outstrip all peers in every faith,

وَكَيفَ وَقَد أَضحى جَديراً لِفَضله

بِسَبق عَلى الأَقران في كُل ملَّة

And, for what he was granted of knowledge, intelligence,

And support of God’s religion, the highest rank?

وَنالَ بِما أُوتي مِن العلم والذكا

وَتَأييد دين اللَه أَعظَم رتبة

So O you who surpassed all creation in virtues

Beyond enumeration, for they are too many to count,

فَيا ذا الَّذي سادَ الوَرى بِمنَاقب

تَجل عَن الإِحصاء إِذ هِيَ عُدّت

O you through whom the sun of knowledge dawned

And illuminated the cosmos in every place,

وَيا مَن بِهِ شَمس المَعارف أَشرَقَت

وَمِنها أَضاء الكَون في كُل بُقعة

O scholar whose benefit encompassed

All of God's servants universally,

وَيا عالماً في واحد عم نَفعه

جَميع عِباد اللَه في كُل وجهة

O you through whom the hand of leadership reached

Above the celestial spheres, beyond the qualified,

وَيا مَن بِهِ دست الصَدارة قَد سَما

عَلى فلك الأَفلاك فَوق الأَهلة

O you whom the assemblies constantly praise

For every servant owes clear duties,

وَيا مَن ثَناه في المحافل دائِماً

عَلى كُل عَبدٍ واجبٌ بِأَدلة

O you who, when called, answers those who come to you

With resolve to repel affliction,

وَيا مَن إِذا نودي أَجاب مَن التَجا

إليه بِإِقدام لدفع ملمة

O you whom even the fierce lion fears when

He transgresses against one under your protection,

وَيا مَن يَهاب اللَيث سَطوته إِذا

تَعدّى عَلى من فازَ مِنهُ بذمة

O you who are the rain from which, without asking,

The prosperous and distressed alike drink their fill,

وَيا مَن هُوَ الغَيث الذي مِنهُ يَرتوي

بِغَير سؤال في رَخاء وَشدّة

Congratulations for what your Lord conferred on you—

For you alone are worthy of it, beyond doubt and question.

تَهنأ بِما أَولاك ربك من علا

لَها أَنتَ أَهلٌ دُون شكٍّ وَمرية

The hearts of all beings are treasure chests

Filled with sincere love for you at all times.

فَإِن قُلوب العالمين خَزائن

لحبك بِالإِخلاص في كُل لحظة

Answer my praise of you, when it reaches you,

With something to adorn it in robes of joy.

وَقابل مَديحي فيكَ عِندَ وصوله

إِلَيكَ بما يَكسوه حلة بَهجة

It comes hastening from a distant land

Hurriedly to convey my greetings to you,

فَقَد جاءَ يَسعى مِن بلاد بَعيدة

عَلى عجل يُهدي إِلَيكَ تَحيتي

And to inform your sublimity that I

Yearn for the partisans of the noblest community,

وَيُنهي إِلى عَلياك عَنيَ أَنَّني

مشوق إِلى أَنصار أَشرف أُمة

And that you, my patron, are the first to stand

For prescribed, recommended, and voluntary worship and tradition.

وَأَنك يا مَولاي أَول قائمٍ

بِفرض وَمَندوب وَنفل وَسنة

Your justice guides its light to every believer

To thank you, enjoined before encountering you.

وَعدلك يَهدي نُورُه كُلَّ مؤمنٍ

إِلى شكرك المَفروض من قبل رؤية

So live long, commanding in the kingdom of Tunis, for as long

As complete cycles rise in the lofty heavens,

فَعش آمراً في ملك تونس ما بَدَت

بَدور تَمام في سَماء عَليّة

And for as long as Majdi’s odes at their openings

Proclaim, “Since my youth I have yearned to embrace the tender branch.”

وَما قال مَجدي في مطالع نَظمه

شغفت بضمّ الغيد من عهد نَشأتي