أَلاَ أَيُّهَا الْقَائِدُ الْمُجْتَبَى

وَمَنْ حَازَ فِي الْمَجْدِ أَسْنَى مَقَامْ

O chosen leader

O you, the chosen leader,

And the one who attained the highest glory

And you who have attained the most exalted station of glory,

وَمَنْ هُوَ فِي فَاسَ بَدْرُ دُجىً

يُطَاوِلُ بِالأُفْقِ بَدْرَ التَّمَامْ

And the one who is the full moon of Duja in Fez

You who are the full moon piercing the darkness in Fez,

Rising to the horizon like the full moon

Stretching high across the horizon to rival the perfect moon.

فَزَعْتُ إِلَيْكُمْ وَقَدْ شَفَّنِي امْ

تِدَادُ مَقَامِي بِهَذَا الْمَقَامْ

I have come rushing to you

I have sought refuge with you, exhausted by the

As my stay in this place was prolonged

prolongation of my stay in this station,

وَقَدْ شِبْتُ مِمَّا قُذِفْتُ بِهِ

بِإِثْرِ اثْنَتَيْنِ وَعِشْرِينَ عَامْ

And I have grown old from what I was cast into

And my hair has turned white from the accusations hurled at me,

After twenty two years

In the wake of twenty-two years.

وَيَا لَيْتَ مَنْ هُوَ مِثْلِي شَجٍ

يَصِيرُ خَبِيئَةَ إِحْدَى الرَِّجَامْ

And I wish that one who is like me, mature,

Would that a man as grief-stricken as I,

Would become ruined like one of the pillars

Could become hidden within one of the tombs.

فَلاَ تَأْخُذَنِّي بِقَوْلِ الْعِدَى

وَإِنْ أَكْثَرُوا فِيَّ زُورَ الْكَلاَمْ

So do not take me for the words of hostility

So do not hold me accountable for the words of my enemies,

Even if they speak much falsehood about me

Even if they multiply their false claims against me.

فَمَا جِئْتُ شَيْئاً أُلاَمُ بهِ

سِوَى أَنَّنِي بِالْعُلاَ مُسْتَهَامْ

I have come with nothing to blame

For I have committed nothing worthy of blame,

Except that I am obsessed with supremacy

Save that I am utterly infatuated with nobility.

أَخُوضُ بِحَارَ الْعُلُُومِ مَدىً

وَأُسْحَرُ طَوْراً بِدُرِّ النِّظَامْ

I traverse the sea of knowledge for a period

I continually plunge into the oceans of knowledge,

And I become fascinated for a while by the shining system

And am enchanted, at times, by the pearls of poetry.

وَهَبْنِي اقْتَرَفْتُ ذُنُوباً طَغَتْ

فَمِثْلُكَ يُولِي الذُّنُوبَ الْعِظَامْ

And it was granted, I committed sins that transgressed

And even if you suppose I have committed overwhelming sins,

So one like you pardons major sins

A man like you pardons even the gravest of offenses.

فَحِلْمُكَ قَدْ عَمَّ كُلَّ الْوَرَى

وَأَصْلَحَ مَا بَيْنَ خَاصٍ وَعَامْ

For your forbearance has covered all people

For your forbearance has encompassed all of creation,

And reformed what was between private and public

And mended the rifts between the elite and the commoners.

وَجُدْ لِي بِعَفْوِكَ يَا رَبَّهُ

فَعَفْوُكَ عِنْدِي الْمُنَى وَالْمَرَامْ

So, grant me my lord, with your forgiveness

So bestow upon me your generous pardon, O master of forgiveness,

For your forgiveness is my wish and purpose

For your pardon is my ultimate wish and my greatest goal.

فَمَنْ لِابْنِ زَاكُورَ مِنْ مُنْجِدٍ

سِوَاكَ إِذَا حَارَبَتْهُ اللِّئَامْ

Who is there for the son of Zakur except you

For who else can rescue Ibn Zakour,

To help him when faced by the wicked

But you, when the vile wage war against him?

فَلاَ زِلْتَ تَرْقَى سَمَاءَ الْعُلاَ

وَكَهْفاً يَلُوذُ بِهِ مَنْ يُضَامْ

You continue to rise to the heaven of supremacy

May you never cease ascending the heavens of eminence,

And a cave in which one who is wronged takes refuge

Remaining a sheltering cave where the wronged seek refuge.