يَا بُدوراً لَسْتُ عَنْهَا بِصَاحْ

مَا لِقَلْبِي عن هَواكُمْ بَراحْ

O blossoms, I do not lament over you

O full moons, from whose love I am never sober,

My heart is not cured of its love for you

My heart has no escape from your passion.

آهِ مِنْ وَجْدِي مِنْ بَعْدِكُمْ

آهِ رَوْحُ الْمُسْطَلِي بِانْتِزاحْ

Alas for my passion after you are gone

Ah, the agony of my longing after you are gone!

Alas, my soul is departing in agony

Ah, the comfort of the burning soul has vanished in the distance!

فَوَمَا أَسْأَرْتُمُ فِي الْحَشَا

إِذْ سَقَانَا الوُدُّ رَاحاً بِراحْ

In the meadows we once gathered joyfully

By the embers you have left deep within my heart,

When love gave us soothing comfort and rest

When love poured wine for us, palm to palm,

مِنْ هَوَى نَمَّتْ بِهِ أَدْمُعِي

إِذْ وَشَى شَوْقِي بِوَجْدِي وَبَاحْ

From a love my tears grew

From a passion that my flowing tears have betrayed,

When my longing engraved my fervor and lamented loudly

As my longing exposed my agony and openly confessed.

مَا رَضِيتُ مِنْ لَدُنْ أَرْقَلَتْ

بِي النَّوَى شَيْئاً يَسُرُّ الَّلوَاحْ

Since you left I have found no pleasure

I have accepted nothing, ever since the moment

In anything that brings joy to one in good cheer

Separation drove me away, that would delight my reproachers.

وَفُؤَادِي مِنْ لَدُنْ بِنْتُمُ

فِي اغْتِبَاقٍ بِالْجَوَى وَاصْطِبَاحْ

And my heart has been yours

And my heart, ever since you departed,

Engrossed in ardour and affection since you came here

Has been drinking from the cup of agony, morning and night.

وَعَذُولِي عَذْلُهُ ضَائِعٌ

مِثْلَ مَا ضَاعَ سِرَاجُ الصَّباحْ

And my censurer’s blame goes astray

And the reproaches of my censurer are utterly wasted,

Like a lamp that is extinguished at dawn’s first light

Just as the light of a lamp is lost in the morning sun.

أَأُطِيعُ عاذِلاً فِي هَوَى

مَنْ أَنَا مِنْ حُبِّهِمْ غَيْرُ صَاحْ

Shall I obey a censurer in love

Should I obey a critic concerning the love of

When I am none but a passionate lover of them?

Those by whose love I am forever intoxicated?

لاَ وَهَذَا الْحَبْرِ مَنْ أنْجَبَتْ

بِمَعَالِيهِ سُرَاةٌ صِبَاحْ

No, by this ink which noble writers

No! I swear by this great scholar, through whose noble virtues

In the morn have extracted from pure clarity

Bright and noble masters have been begotten.

فَغَذَاهُ الفَضْلُ ذَرَّ السَّمَاحْ

وَسَقَاهُ الْحِلْمُ رَاحَ الفَلاَحْ

By merit nourished which spreads benevolence

Excellence nourished him with the very essence of generosity,

By clemency watered which brings prosperity

And forbearance poured for him the wine of success.

شَيْخُنَا الكَمَّادُ مَنْ ذِهْنُهُ

حمَلَتْ مِنْهُ الْمَعَانِي السِّلاحْ

Our Shaykh, the ingenious one, whose mind

He is our Sheikh Al-Kammad, from whose brilliant mind

Has borne meaningful thoughts like fine weapons

Meanings themselves draw their shining weapons.

الْهُمَامُ الْبَرُّ مَنْ أَشْرَقَتْ

بِسَنَا عِلْمِهِ دُهْمُ النَّوَاحْ

The virtuous one whose wisdom’s brilliance

The valiant and pious leader, whose radiant knowledge

Illuminated the darkness like the light of lamps

Has illuminated the darkest of horizons.

نَشَرَتْ هِمَّتُهُ فُوْقَهُ

رَايَةَ الْمَجْدِ الصَّمِيمِ الصُِّراحْ

His ambition raised above him

His high ambition has unfurled above him

The flag of glorious and valiant honour

The banner of pure, unadulterated glory.

وَالْعُلاَ أَلْقَتْ عَلَيْهِ مُلىً

نَسَجَتْهَا بِيَمِينِ النَّجاحْ

And excellence threw over him a mantle

Nobility has cast upon him elegant garments,

Which the right hand of success had woven

Woven by the very right hand of success.

وَالْهُدَى أَصْلَتَ مِنْ فَهْمِهِ

بِيَمِينِ الْيُمْنِ أَمْضَى الصِّفَاحْ

And guidance rooted from his comprehension

And guidance has unsheathed from his deep understanding,

With the right hand of fortune, the most direct guide

With an auspicious right hand, the sharpest of swords.

فَغَدَا السَّعْدُ به فِي ارْتِيَاحْ

وَغَدَا الْوَجْدُ به فِي انْزِيَاحْ

So luck came to be at ease through him

Thus, good fortune found profound delight in him,

And fervour came to retire through him

And all sorrow was entirely dispelled.

فَاقَ مَا تُبْدِيهِ أَقْلاَمُهُ

أثَرَ الْبِيضِ وَسُمْرَ الرِّمَاحْ

What his pens produce surpasses

The wisdom revealed by his flowing pens surpasses

The traces of white and the strikes of spears

The piercing strikes of white swords and brown spears.

فَاضِلٌ تُنْسِيكَ أَخْلاَقُهُ

خُلُقَ الرَّوْضِ الأَنِيقِ الْبِطَاحْ

A man whose manners make you forget

A virtuous man whose noble character makes you forget

The ways of the most graceful verdant meadows

The natural beauty of lush and elegant gardens.

وَجْهُهُ يَبْرُقُ مِنْ بِشْرِهِ

مِثْلَ مَا حَيَّتْكَ خَوْدٌ رَدَاحْ

His face gleams from his joy

His face gleams with such welcoming joy,

As your cheek was made radiant by a flashing smile

As if a beautiful, graceful maiden had just greeted you.

قُلْ لِمَنْ قَدْ لَجَّ فِي مَدْحِهِ

وَهَدِيلُ الْوُرْقِ غَيْرُ النُّبَاحْ

Say to one who has plunged into his praise

Tell the one who endlessly endeavors to praise him:

That it is not but the howling of leaves

'The sweet cooing of doves is nothing like barking!'

مَنْ يَرُمْ يَحْصُرُ أَمْدَاحَهُ

حَلَّ فِي لُجَّةٍ عِيٍّ بَوَاحْ

He who attempts to limit his eulogies

Whoever attempts to encompass all his praises

Has entered into a deep and gloomy valley

Drowns in an endless sea of utter speechlessness.

أيَفَيِ شِعْرٌ بِمَدْحِ امْرِئٍ

حَازَ عِلْماً ضَاقَ عَنْهُ الْبَرَاحْ

Can poetry praise a man

Could any poetry ever suffice to praise a man

Who has gained knowledge too vast for the mind to grasp?

Who possesses knowledge for which the vast earth is too narrow?

سَعِدَتْ كُتْبُ الْبُخَارِي بِهِ

مُذْ غَدَا يُبْدِي سَنَاهَا وَراحْ

The books of al-Bukhari were fortunate through him

The books of Al-Bukhari have rejoiced in him,

Since he began to reveal its traits and set them free

Since he began revealing their radiant light, morning and night.

فَا لصَّحِيحُ نَشْرُهُ عَاطِرٌ

ضَاعَ يَوْمَ الْخَتْمِ مِسْكًا وَفاحْ

By the authentic hadiths, spreading their fragrance

Thus, Al-Sahih spreads its fragrant perfume,

On the day they were completed, musk and ambergris blew far

Emanating the scent of musk upon the day of its completion.

بَسَمَتْ غُرُّ أَحَادِيثِهِ

عَنْ وُضُوحٍ كَابْتِسَامِ الصَّبَاحْ

The narrations of hadiths smile

The noble and radiant narrations smile,

With clarity like the smile of dawn

With a pure clarity much like the dawn's first smile.

لاَ تَزَلْ تُبْرِزُ أَسْرَارَهُ

كَالصَّبَا تُذْكِي أَرِيجَ الأَقَاحْ

They never cease to reveal their secrets

May you forever continue to unveil its hidden secrets,

Like the morning breeze that rekindles the plants

Like the east wind that stirs the sweet scent of chamomile.

وَشَذَا مَدْحِكُمْ فَائِحٌ

مَا هَمَى مُزْنٌ وَهَبَّتْ رِيَاحْ

And your praise which wafts fragrantly

And the fragrance of your praise shall forever waft,

As the gentle breeze blows from a stocked perfume jar

As long as the rainclouds pour and the gentle winds blow.