لبعد احبتي عيل اصطباري

فمن لي بالوقوف على الديار

My patience is tested by the absence of my loved ones

Who can I stand still with at the abode?

فاسكب عندها دمعا فيغني

ذراها عن اذى جرف السواري

I shed tears there which satisfy me

Protecting it from the harm of torrents

لعل الدمع يبرد حر شوق

توقد في فؤادي كالاوار

Perhaps the tears will cool the heat of yearning

Kindled in my heart like fires

لعل رجيم وسواسي عليه

مجار منه ترمي بالجمار

Perhaps my prayers against him will help me

Take shelter from him and pelt him with pebbles

لعل الظاعنين يسوءهم ما

بحالي من خضوع وانكسار

Perhaps those who blame me will regret

My state of submission and dejection

وكنت اعز اهل الارض نفسا

بقربهم واعرف بالبدار

I was the most honourable soul on earth

Due to their proximity, I am known amongst the houses

فصرت ارى السلامة في التواني

وحظي في الخمول وفي التوارى

So I see safety in hesitance

And my share is in reticence and avoidance

ابيت على فراش من هموم

واصبح والتفكن من دثاري

I spend the night on a bed of worries

And I wake up with my cover having slipped

وفي قلبي من الاشجان جيش

يغير على الضعيف من اصطباري

In my heart is an army of sorrows

Assaulting the weak remainder of my patience

فكل اسى ويأس فيه راس

وكل اساء آس عنه سار

So every misery and despair has a chief

And each cause of anguish has spread from it

هل الايام تطمع ان تراني

عييا او تنازعني شعاري

Can the days hope to see me exhausted

Or take away my qualities?

فلا اهوى لاسماعيل مدحا

ومدحته انتجاعي وافتخاري

I do not prefer praise for Ismail

My praise of him is my pride

هو الصديق ةالمثنى عليه

يصدق مثل تصديق البخارى

He is the truthful and the one praised

His truthfulness equals that of Bukhari

فقد ظهرت مآثره عيانا

فلبست عن بصير في استتار

His achievements have clearly appeared

They are too evident to remain veiled

ولما ان تولى المال طابت

نفوس ذوي التعامل والتجار

And when he took responsibility of wealth

The hearts of businessmen and traders flourished

وكانوا مشفقين من التدلي

الى عسر شديد واضطرار

They were worried about falling

Into severe hardship and distress

فعادوا والبشائر في انتشار

وفي الليل التهاني والنهار

They returned with glad tidings spreading

Congratulations in the night and day

بان وظائف الارزاق صبت

على طلابها غدق النضار

The means of sustenance poured

Generously onto those who sought it

فان الحزم يصلح كل امر

والف الجد يسبق من يجارى

For wisdom rectifies every matter

And serious effort outruns competitors

ومن قبل الاقاليم استتبت

بمسعاه كذلك في يسار

The regions became stable under his efforts

On both left and right

فحيته المنازل والمغاني

واطرته الكبار مع الصغار

Houses and songs congratulated him

As did the great and the small

فلو قال امرؤ هذي بلاد

ثراها عسجد حج الممارى

If someone said “this is a country”

Its prosperity rivals those performing Hajj

لقد عرف العزيز له مزايا

كما عرفت دجى الليل الدراري

The Mighty One recognized his traits

As the dark night recognizes the full moon

تضوع نشرها في كل ناد

وهب على المدائن والبراري

Whose diffusion is known by all groups

It touches towns and wildernesses

فكل من حديث علاه راو

وزند بيانه في القول وار

So everyone who tells his story

Weighs his eloquence in speech

وها ان الجوائب في ثناه

تجوب الارض دارا بعد دار

And the answers to his praise

Travel the earth, land after land

وترجو ان يدوم لها ملاذا

بعز وافتخار واقتدار

Hoping his refuge will last

With honour, pride and power