أمرٌ مُطاعٌ أتاني

من الهُمامِ الحُلاحل

A command obeyed has come to me

From the protectors, pure and sublime,

من فارسِ الجودِ والبأ

سِ والنُّهى والفضائل

From the knight of generosity, grace,

And forbidding evil, excelling in rhyme,

في نظم شِعْرٍ فَصيحٍ

كأنه سِحْرُ بابلْ

In eloquent, lucid verse,

As if it were Babylonian magic lines,

أتى وعِندي بهمِّي

من الزَّمانِ شواغِلْ

It came while my mind

Was preoccupied with the burdens of time,

وخاطري كحُسامٍ

قد أغْفلتهه الصَّياقِلْ

And my thoughts like an unpolished sword

Neglected among the blades that shine,

فكِدتُ أُمْسك لولا

عُلوُّ قدْرِ المُسائلْ

I almost refrained, were it not

For the loftiness of the question divine,

وحامِلٌ لِعلومٍ

أصابَ فيها الأوائلْ

Borne by one knowing truths

And excelling over all in his prime,

يُدعى بتقويمِ حقٍّ

وجُلُّ ما فيه باطلْ

Called for correcting what is right

Though most of it is false and malign.