ليَهْن الرَّعايا والمناقبَ والعُلى

سرورُكم ما أنبت العُشْبَ ماطِرُ

Let the subjects rejoice and the attributes and the heights

Your joy is what the rain-watered grass grows

ولا برِحتكم غِبطةٌ ما لأوَّلٍ

حُبيتم به منها مدى الدهر آخِرُ

And your well-being is not envied as long as the first lasts

You have been loved through the ages to the last

فأنتُمْ ربيع العام أخصب أهْلُهُ

سَقته الغوادي فهو أخضرُ ناضِرُ

So you are the spring of the year, the most fertile of its people

Watered by heavy rains, so it is the greenest fresh

وشمسُ الضحى يَضْحى بها النبت نامياً

ويُرشَدُ من بعد الضَّلالة جائرُ

And the morning sun makes the growing plants flourish

And guides the straying tyrant afterwards

إذا جادَتِ الأيامُ منكَ بماجِدٍ

تَبَلَّجَ محْزونٌ وأسْفر باسِرُ

When days were generous to you with glories

The saddened one is delighted and the delighted one cheers

كما تَتوالى ديمَةٌ بعد ديمَةٍ

فتَرْوى بهنَّ الهامداتُ الدَّواثِرُ

As consecutive rains follow each other

Quenching the extinct glories

مُهودكُم مثلُ الأسِرَّةِ طاعَةً

وطِفْلُكُم من طاعة الناس كابِرُ

Your obedience is like that of baby camels

And your child surpasses people in obedience

وما سُنَّةٌ في الدين إِلا وأنْتُمُ

إليكُمْ نواهي حَدِّها والأوامِرُ

And there is no tradition in religion but you

To you belong its limits and commands

ولما استراحَ المُعْتفونَ إلى الغِنى

وصدَّهُم من خجْلة الجودِ زاجِر

And when the grateful rested assured of bounty

And were hindered by shame from generosity

فلم تَرَ منهُمْ طالِباً لرَغيبَةٍ

لِما عمَّهُم فيضُ النَّدى فهو غامِرُ

Then no seeker of favour was seen among them

Due to the overflowing stream of bounty

أبى المُستضيءُ البرُّ تعطيل ساعةٍ

من الدهر إِلا والعَطايا هَوامِرُ

The generous refused to stop giving for an hour

Except for continuous bestowals

فهيَّأ للإحْسانِ موسِمَ نِعْمَةٍ

تَعُمُّ فيَرْوى فيه بَرٌّ وفاجِرُ

So he prepared for benevolence a season of grace

Encompassing the righteous and the libertine

كصوب الحَيا السَّحَّاح سيَّان عنده

سِباخٌ وحُرٌّ فهو للكُلِّ ماطِرُ

Like rain pouring from black clouds, equal in his eyes

Torrential and barren, it rains on all

وقيلَ خِتانٌ وهو سيْلُ مكارمٍ

لدُفَّاعِه بين البُيوتِ زَماجِرُ

And it is said "circumcised" yet it is a flood of virtues

To its rushing among the houses like torrents

به يشهد الدِّيباج والوشيُ شاهِدٌ

وحَلْيُ النُّضار والعِتاقُ الضَّوامر

With it the brocade and the velvet bear witness

As well as the sheen of blossoms and plaited pearl strings

ودُرُّ بُحورٍ عادَ حصْباءَ أمْعَزٍ

تدوس سَناهُ أرْجُلٌ وحَوافِرُ

And a stream of seas returned pebbles to being carnelian

Stepped on by feet and hooves yet it is for all rain

يُباري الحَصى عدَّاً ويفضل نورهُ

نجوم الدَّآدي وهي بيضٌ زواهِر

Its number transcends pebbles and its light surpasses

The stars of the pitch-dark night though they are white flowers

فأضحت ضواحي المِصْر وهي كأنها

مجالي عروسٍ أعْلنتْها المَزاهِرُ

So the outskirts of Egypt became as if they were

The prairies of a bride adorned with flowers

مساعي إِمامٍ طبَّقَ الأرض خيرُهُ

فمن غابَ عنه فهو بالجود حاضرُ

The efforts of an Imam whose goodness encompassed the land

So whoever was absent from him was present in his generosity

إِمامٌ يخافُ اللّهَ في خَلَواتِهِ

ويسعى ليومٍ فيه تُبْلى السَّرائرُ

An Imam who fears Allah in his solitude

And works for a day when secrets are tested

ويرحمُ حتى يشمَلَ العفوُ فاحِشَ

الذُّنوب ومنْ قد أبْسَلتهُ الجرائرُ

He has mercy encompassing the grossness of sins

And those whose crimes have let loose calamities

فيُغضي عن العوْراء غيرَ مُعقِّبٍ

ويحْلُمُ عن أعْدائه وهو قادِرُ

He turns away from the disgraced without blaming

And is forbearing toward his enemies though able

ويكرُم عن إِضمار شَرٍّ وفِعْلِهِ

فأفكارُهُ مأمونَةٌ والبَوادِرُ

He refrains from conceiving evil or enacting it

So his thoughts are safe and the beginnings

إذا الخائفُ المِعْدام حلَّ بأرضِه

فلا الجدبُ عرَّاقٌ ولا الخطب عاقِر

When a frightened fugitive takes refuge in his land

Neither is the land infertile nor the times barren

يُقِرُّ لهُ باللُّطفِ والبأسِ رِقَّةُ

النَّسيمِ وأطْرافُ القَنا والبَواتِرُ

Tenderness of the breeze and tips of spears and swords

Testify to his gentleness and might

ويحْسدهُ الطَّوْدُ الأشَمُّ أناتَهُ

إذا الحلم أضحى وهو بالطَّيش طائر

The statuesque mountain envies his composure

When tolerance triumphs and rashness takes wing

ويكسر كَبَّاتِ الخميس بعزْمِه

ولكنَّهُ للفَقْر بالجود جابِرُ

He shatters the hardship of straitened times with his resolve

Yet he is magnanimous to the poor with his generosity

ويعْدِلُ ما بين الرَّعيَّة حُكْمُه

ولكنه في المال والطَّعْنِ جائرُ

His rule is just between the subjects

But with wealth and accusations he is unjust

ويُطْربُني صدقي بنظمِ مديحهِ

وإِن بات جفْني وهو للمدح ساهر

My sincerity composing his praise poem delights me

Even if my eyelids were awake while praising him until dawn

فلا زال مضَّاء الأوامر ما دَجا

ظلامٌ وما أدنى من الصبح جاشِرُ

The commands of the luminous one have not ceased to shine

Though darkness prevailed and dawn is nigh