لَئِنْ كَانَ وَرْدُ الْخَدِّ أَبْدَعَ فِي الصَّبْغِ

وَحَاطَتْهُ حَيَّاتٌ تَدَلَّتْ مِنَ الصُّدْغِ

Though the rose of the cheek may be wondrous in its hue,

Encircled by serpentine curls dangling from the temple,

وَذَادَتْ نِبَالُ اللَّحْظِ دُونَ اقْتِطَافِهِ

وَبَانَتْ عَلَى مَنْ سَامَهُ سِمَةَ الصَّدْغِ

And guarded fiercely from plucking by the arrows of glances,

Leaving the mark of a heavy blow upon whoever seeks it—

فَفِي قَطْفِ وَرْدِ الْمَدْحِ مَدْحِ مُحَمَّدٍ

عَلَيْهِ صَلاَةُ اللهِ أَمْنٌ مِنَ الَّلدْغِ

Yet in plucking the rose of praise, the praise of Muhammad,

Upon whom be the prayers of Allah, lies absolute safety from the sting.

أَدِمْ قَطْفَهُ تَظْهَرْ عَلَى كُلِّ حَاسِدٍ

وَتَظْفَرْ بِأَسْنَى مَا تُرِيدُ وَمَا تَبْغِي

Continue to pluck it, and you shall overcome every envier,

And triumph with the most radiant of your desires and pursuits.

فَفِي قَطْفِهِ قَطْفُ الْمُنَى دُونَ مَا عَنَا

وَهَصْرُ غُصُونِ الْبِرِّ مِنْ دَوْحَةِ الرَّفْغِ

For in plucking it is the harvesting of hopes without hardship,

And the bending of righteous branches from a fertile, spacious orchard.

فَحُكْ فِيهِ مِنْ حَرِّ الثَّنَاءِ مَطَارِفاً

مُنَمْنَمَةَ الأَعْلاَمِ بَاهِرَةَ الصَّبْغِ

So weave for him, from the purest silk of praise, splendid cloaks,

With exquisitely patterned borders, dazzling in their colors.

وَقُلْ وَاعْتَرِفْ بِالْعَجْزِ فِيهِ قَصِيدَةً

وَإِنْ كُنْتَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الإِجَادَةِ وَالنَّبْغِ

And recite a poem confessing your utter inability to praise him fully,

Even if you are among the masters of eloquence and genius.

فَقَدْ أَفْصَحَ الذِّكْرُ الْحَكِيمُ بِمَدْحِهِ

وَمَدْحُكَ مِنْهُ فِي الْحَقِيقَةِ كَالنَّشْغِ

For the Wise Remembrance has already articulated his praise,

And your praise, compared to it, is in truth like a fleeting gasp.

وَلَكِنَّهُ صَلَّى الإِلَهُ عَلَيْهِ مَا

حَلاَ ذِكْرُهُ يُولِي الْجَزِيلَ مِنَ الْوَشْغِ

But he—may God bless him for as long as

His memory remains sweet—bestows abundant grace upon a meager effort.

وَكُنْ ذَا خُضُوعٍ فِي خِطَابِ جَلاَلِهِ

فَإِنَّهُ لِلْمُثْنِي عَلَى مَجْدِهِ مُصْغِ

And be possessed of deep humility when addressing his majesty,

For he listens closely to the one who exalts his glory.

فَإِنْ كَانَ ذَا ذُلٍّ فَسَمْعٌ مُبْلَّغٌ

وَإِلاَّ فَسَمْعٌ لاَ يُضَافُ إِلَى بَلْغِ

If one is truly humble, the hearing is successfully conveyed,

Otherwise, it is a hearing that does not lead to attainment.

بِجَاهِكَ عِنْدَ اللهِ يَا أَصْلَ أَصْلِهِ

فَآدَمُ لَوْلاَكَ مَا فَازَ بِالنَّبْغِ

By your high station with Allah, O source of all existence,

For Adam, were it not for you, would never have achieved his emergence.

وَحَقَّ أَبِي بَكْرٍ لَدَيْكَ وَبِنْتِهِ

وَبِضْعَتِكَ الزَّهْرَا اكْفِنَا كُلَّمَا مِلْغِ

And by the right of Abu Bakr with you, and his daughter,

And your flesh and blood, al-Zahra, spare us from every vile soul.

وَحُطْنِي وَأَهْلِي مِنْ عِدَاتِكَ وَاسْقِنَا

بِسَجْلٍ مِنَ الإِحْسَانِ مُتَّسِعِ الْفَرْغِ

And protect me and my family from your enemies, and give us to drink

From a bucket of benevolence with a vast, outpouring mouth.

حَنَانَيْكَ قُدْنَا لِلسَّعَادَةِ وَاهْدِنَا

فَذَاكَ الذِي نَرْجُو وَذَاكَ الذِي نَبْغِي

Have mercy upon us, lead us to happiness and guide us,

For that is what we hope for, and that is what we seek.

لَقِينَا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَأَنْيَابِ بُؤْسِنَا

نَظِيرَ الذِي يَلْقَى الْهَشِيشُ مِنَ الْمَضْغِ

We have suffered from the world and the fangs of our misery

The likes of what dry, brittle stalks endure from being chewed.

وَغَيَّرَنَا فِيهَا قَبِيحُ ذُنُوبِنَا

كَمَا غَيَّرَتْ بِيضَ الثِّيَابِ حُلَى الصَّبْغِ

And the ugliness of our sins has deformed us within it,

Just as colorful dyes alter the whiteness of pristine garments.

فَأَنْقِذْ نُهَانَا مِنْ هَوَانَا فَإِنَّهُ

شَجَاهَا كَمَا يَشْجُو الْفَتَى وَرَمُ الرَّفْغِ

So rescue our intellects from our desires, for indeed,

It has distressed them, just as a swelling in the groin agonizes a young man.

عَلَيْكَ صَلاَةُ اللهِ يَا مُرْسِلاً إِلَى

جَمِيعِ الْوَرَى مَا اسْتُؤْصِلَتْ شَأْفَةُ النَّزْغِ

Upon you be the prayers of Allah, O you who were sent to

All of creation, as long as the roots of discord are uprooted,

وَمَا مَحَقَ الْبُهْتَانَ نُورُ رَشَادِكُمْ

وَأَرْدَى الْهُدَى رَأْسَ الضَّلاَلَةِ بِالْفَدْغِ

And as long as the light of your guidance obliterates falsehood,

And guidance crushes the head of misguidance with a shattering blow,

وَمَا نَوَّهَ الذِّكْرُ الْحَكِِيمُ بِمَدْحِكُمْ

وَمَا رَاقَ تَدْبِيجُ الْقَرَاطِيسِ بِالصَّمْغِ

And as long as the Wise Remembrance exalts your praise,

And as long as the embellishment of scrolls with ink remains beautiful,

وَمَا نِيلَ مِنْ جَرَّاكُمُ فَضْلُ رَبِّنَا

وَمَا عَرَّجَ الْبَدْرُ الْمُنِيرُ عَلَى فَرْغِ

And as long as the grace of our Lord is attained for your sake,

And as long as the luminous full moon ascends towards its celestial stations.

كَذَا الآلُ أَقْمَارُ الْهُدَى وَالصِّحَابُ

مِنْ أَبَارُوا عُدَاةَ الدِّينِ بِالضَّرْبِ وَالنَّدْغِ

And likewise upon the family, the moons of guidance, and the companions,

Who decimated the enemies of religion with heavy strikes and piercing thrusts,

كَسَوْهُمْ جَلاَبِيبَ الدِّمَا بَعْدَ بَزِّهِمْ

فَحَاكُوا جُلوُدَ الشَّاءِ عُلَّتْ مِنَ الدَّبْغِ

They clothed them in cloaks of blood after stripping them of their armor,

Until they resembled the skins of sheep intensely tanned.

وَحَابُوا بِهِمْ كُلَّ الْوُحُوشِ تَكَرٍّماً

فَأَفْنَوْا وَمَا كَادُوا الُّلحُومَ مِنَ الْمَشْغِ

And generously they offered them up as gifts to all the wild beasts,

Who devoured them entirely, barely leaving any flesh behind from their tearing.

وَخَضَّبَ تَحْجْيلَ الْجِيَادِ نَجِيعُهُمْ

فَتَحْسِبُ يَاقُوتاً تَنَاسَقَ فِي الرُّسْغِ

And their lifeblood dyed the white markings on the legs of the warhorses,

So that you would think them rubies harmoniously arranged upon the pasterns.