إَنَّ الشَّمَائِلَ أَزْهَارٌ وَأَنْوَارُ

أَرِيجُهَا فِي أُنُوفِ الذَّوْقِ مِعْطَارُ

The sublime qualities are flowers and lights,

Indeed, the Prophet's noble traits are blooming flowers and radiant lights,

Their fragrance delights the nose of discernment.

Their fragrance heavily perfumes the noses of refined taste,

إِذَا تَهُبُّ شَمَالاَتُ الْعُقُولِ بِهَا

يَضُوعُ مِنْهَا بِرَوْضِ الدَّرْسِ أَسْرَارُ

When the winds of intellect blow upon them,

When the northern winds of the intellect blow through them,

Secrets pour forth in the garden of learning.

Secrets diffuse from them within the garden of study.

فَمَا جِنَانُ الرُّبَى هَبَّتْ عَلَيْهَا صَبَا

مِنْ بَعْدِ أَنْ عَلَّهَا بِالرَّيِّ مِدْرَارُ

No garden of bliss was ever breathed upon by the morning breeze

For neither the gardens of the hills when the east wind blows upon them,

After being watered by a flowing stream,

After pouring rain has quenched them with a copious downpour,

وَأَيْقَظَتْ نَائِمَ النّوَُّارِ نَشْوَتُهُ

بِالطَّلِّ إِذْ بَشَّرَتْ بِالصُّبْحِ أَطْيَارُ

And awakened the slumber of the fire of yearning

And its intoxicating moisture has awakened the slumbering blossoms,

With the dew, when at dawn birds gave glad tidings,

With morning dew, as the birds herald the coming of dawn;

أَوْ فَارَةٌ مِنْ أَحَمِّ الْمِسْكِ شَقَّقَهَا

عِنْدَ مَهَبِّ الصَّبَا الْمِعْطَارِ عَطَّارُ

Or a piece of ambergris, cleft asunder

Nor a pod of the darkest, richest musk, split open

By the fragrant breath of the east wind, the perfumer,

By a perfumer as the fragrant east wind blows;

أَوْ مُنْتَقَى قُسْطِ أَظْفَارٍ وَقَدْ عَلِقَتْ

بِهِ مِنَ الْجَمْرِ أَنْيَابٌ وَأَظْفَارُ

Or a choice handful of claws that caught

Nor the finest selected costus and cloves, when there clings

Upon them bits of live coals and claws,

To them the piercing fangs and claws of burning embers;

أَوْ عَرْفُ نَارِ عَدِيٍّ بَاتَ يَرْقُبُهَا

وَفِي نَوِاجِذِهَا الْهِنْدِيُّ وَالْغَارُ

Or the fragrance of a fire kept overnight

Nor the scent of the hospitable fire of 'Adi, which he spent the night watching,

By a Bedouin, with embers and ashes in its hearth,

While Indian aloe-wood and laurel burn within its biting flames;

أَذْكَى وَأَلْطَفُ مِنْ نَشْرِ الشَّمَائِلِ إِذْ

هَبَّتْ عَلَيْهَا مِنَ الأَفْهَامِ إِعْصَارُ

More delightful and gentler than the diffusion of sublime qualities

Are more fragrant and delicate than the diffused scent of the Shama'il, when

When the winds of perception blow upon them.

A whirlwind of deep understanding sweeps across them.

أَقْرَأَنَاهَا بِتَحْقِيقٍ أَخُو ثِقَةٍ

فِي وَجْهِهِ مِنْ سُطُوعِ الْبِشْرِ أَنْوَارُ

He recited them to us with care, a trusted brother

A trustworthy brother read it to us with meticulous verification,

Upon whose face shine the lights of good news.

Upon whose face the lights of radiant joy shine bright.

سَمِيُّ خَيْرِ الَْوَرَى وَالْفَتْحُ لَيْسَ بِهِ

فِي الْمِيمِ باَسٌ بِفَاسٍ لاَ وَلاَ عَارُ

Master of the best of creation, the Conquest is no blemish on him,

Namesake of the best of creation, and of Al-Fath, there is no

No, nor disgrace, neither Fes nor anything else.

Harm or shame in its 'Mim' within the city of Fez.

هِلاَلُ فَاسٍ لِذَا حَازَتْهُ نِسْبَتُهُ

لَهَا كَمَا عَلَمٌ فِي رَأْسِهِ نَارُ

The crescent moon of Fes - since genealogy brought it to him

He is the crescent moon of Fez, thus his lineage has claimed it

It is as a sign for him, a star flaming on his head.

For itself, renowned as a mountain peak topped with a blazing fire.

فَإِنَّ فِي ذَاكَ إِشْعَاراً بِأَنَّ لَهُ

فَضْلاً عِلَى كُلِّ مَنْ لَهُ بِهَا دَارُ

For in that there is an indication that he has merit

For in that is a clear indication that he holds

Above all others who live there, home or abroad,

Superiority over everyone who has a dwelling within it.

وَأَنَّهُ جِدُّ وَالِيهَا وَسَيِّدِهَا

وَأَنَّهُ لِلِقَاحِ الْخَطْبِ نَحَّارُ

And that he is truly its patron and master,

And that he is the forefather of its governor and master,

And that for wedding speeches he is a ready matchmaker.

And that he is the slaughterer of the pregnant camels of calamity.

رَوَى الْعُلاَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ الْمُورِثِ الحَمْدِ عَبْ

دِ القَادِرِ الحَبْرِ مَنْ رَبَّتْهُ أَحْبَارُ

Al-'Ulā reported from his father the inheritor of praise

He inherited greatness from his father, who bequeathed him praise, 'Abd-

'Abd al-Qādir the scholarly imam reared by the learned,

-al-Qadir, the great scholar, who was raised by great scholars.

إِذْ فَاسُ لَيْسَتْ تُبَالِي إِذْ يُجَاوِرُهَا

أَلَّا يُجَاوِرَهَا إِلَّاهُ دَيَّارُ

That Fes does not care if none should dwell in it

For Fez does not care, as long as he is its neighbor,

Save he who has homesteads fit for its stature.

If no one else in the world were to dwell beside her.

أَثْكَلَهَا الدَّهْرُ فِيهِ جَنَّةٌ أَرِجَتْ

فِيَهَا الْعَجِيبَانِ أشْجَارٌ وَأَنْهَارُ

Age has burdened it - therein is a garden that gave forth

Time has bereaved her of him; a fragrant garden in which

Wondrous plants and rivers beyond compare.

Exist two wonders: towering trees and flowing rivers.

عَلَيْهِ أَزْكَى سَلاَمٍ لاَ يُنَافِحُهُ

إِلاَّ اللَّطِيفَانِ نِسْرِينٌ وَنُوَّارُ

Upon it the most fragrant greeting that none contend with

Upon him be the purest peace, its fragrance matched only

Save the two subtle beings: the basil plant and stocks.

By two delicate things: the white rose and the blossom.

وَلاَ يَزَالُ مَدَى الدُّنْيَا يُؤَنِّبُهُ

مِنْهَا النَّضِيرَان ِ أَسْجَاعٌ وَأَشْعَارُ

And as long as the world lasts, two things will reproach him:

And may he never cease, as long as the world lasts, to be eulogized

The two melodious ones, poetry and song.

By two fresh and brilliant things: rhymed prose and poetry.

وَبَارَكَ اللهُ فِي ذَا النَّجْلِ إِنَّ لَهَا

بِهِ لَدَى الْفَخْرِ إِيرَادٌ وَإِصْدَارُ

And may God bless this offspring, for through him

And may God bless this progeny, for indeed, the city has

Honor has revenue and issue.

Through him, in matters of glory, a glorious source and return.