قلْ لمُستَصْغِرِنا عن حَسَدٍ

نحن من زَعمِكَ غَيباً أَكبَرُ

Tell the one disparaging us out of envy

We are greater than your assumption, unknown one

غرَّكَ المَشهودُ من هيْئَتِنا

يا أَخا الجهلِ المَعاني تُسْتَرُ

You have been fooled by our appearance

Oh ignorant brother, meanings are hidden

تَبغي قَوَّالاً نَطوقاً أَنِقاً

وله زِيقٌ وَسيعٌ أَخضَرُ

You want an eloquent smooth talker

With a spacious, lush residence

أَو له قصرٌ رَفيعٌ شامِخٌ

والمَعاني أَنْتَ منها أَقصَرُ

Or a lofty, towering palace

Yet you are shorter than us in meaning, oh ignorant one

يا أَخا الجهلِ تنبَّهْ وانتَصِحْ

خِرقَةٌ تُبلى وقصرٌ يُدْثَرُ

Wake up and come to your senses, o brother of ignorance

A worn garment will decay while a palace crumbles

أَنْتَ ظنَّيتَ بنا ما لم يكنْ

كم عَجولٍ حينَ يَمشي يَعْثُرُ

You assumed about us what was not true

Like a reckless foal stumbling as it walks

أَرأَيْتَ اللُبَّ من باطِنِنا

والَّذي في كَنزِهِ يدَّخَرُ

Have you seen our essence within?

And that which is stored secretly in our treasure?

رُبَّ حالٍ صِينَ في خِرْقَتِنا

دونَهُ البحرُ إذا ينهَمِرُ

Many a refined pearl lies beneath our rags

When the sea rages furiously

رُبَّ عينٍ قد لفتْناها إلى

ذي انْكِسارٍ وهو المُنْجَبِرُ

Many an eye have we averted

To one broken, yet he is the triumphant

نحنُ قومٌ قد تَوارَثْنا الخَفا

إِنَّما اللهُ تَعالى المُظْهِرُ

We are a people who inherited concealment

But Allah alone is the ultimate revealer

قد طوَيْنا سرَّنا في سِرِّنا

وهو رَغماً للأَعادي يُنْشَرُ

We have folded our secret within our secret

To the dismay of enemies, it unfolds

وحَبانا اللهُ طوْراً عامِراً

ويداً طائِلُها لا يُقْصَرُ

Allah has granted us a prosperous time

And a hand whose reach is unlimited

سَلَفٌ ورَّثَ حالاً خَلَفاً

صدرُهُ المُزَمِّلُ المُدَّثِرُ

An ancestor bequeathed a successor his state

His chest wrapped and covered

وعلى واسِطَةِ النَّظمِ بهم

أَحمدُ القومِ الإمامَ الأَكبَرُ

And in poetic verse through them

Ahmad, the greatest leader of the people

كَبُرَتْ نوبَتهُمْ في كونِهِمْ

فتيقَّظْ أيُّها المُسْتَصْغِرُ

Their prominence in their existence grew

So wake up, you who belittle

كم بِنا من عارِفٍ ذي طلعَةٍ

بسَمَواتِ المَعالي تُزْهِرُ

Within us are many enlightened souls

With ascensions to the heavens blossoming

كم بِنا من رَبِّ قلبٍ ساكِتٍ

منه آياتُ الهُدى تنفَجِرُ

Within us are many silent hearts

From which springs of guidance burst forth

كم بِنا من ناطِقٍ عن أَدَبٍ

بمَعانيهِ تُبَزُّ الدُّرَرُ

Within us are many speakers of refinement

With meanings that dazzle pearls

كلَّما غيَّبْتَ قومي بَرَزوا

كلَّما أصغرْتَ قومي كَبُروا

Whenever you concealed my people, they appeared

Whenever you deemed my people lowly, they became great

أَنْتَ يا مسكينُ فيهم جاهِلٌ

هم أُناسٌ حيثُ غابوا حَضَروا

You poor soul are ignorant of them

They are people who, when absent, are present

مَدٌ عالِ وسِرٌّ ظاهِرٌ

وقُلوبٌ حالُها لا يفتُرُ

Extended influence, and a manifest secret

And hearts whose state never wanes

وعلى الجمعِ بفرقٍ باذِخٍ

ذُكِرَ اللهُ إذا ما ذُكِروا

And though separated on the outside

God is remembered when they are recalled

وإذا أُبْطِنَ منهم واحِدٌ

في الثَّرى بينَ البَرايا يظهَرُ

And if one of them becomes veiled

In the earth among ruins, he emerges

مَدٌ لم يَجْحَدَنْهُ عاقِلٌ

وله قَسراً يُقِرُّ المُنْكِرُ

An extension none can deny

And it has an effect the denier acknowledges

تشهَدُ الأَعداءُ من أَحوالِنا

حالَ غيبٍ ظاهِرٍ لا يُسْتَرُ

Even enemies witness our states

Of an absent presence not hidden

وقُلوبُ النَّاسِ تنْقادُ لنا

وهي في محفَلِنا لا تشعُرُ

And people's hearts are led by us

Unaware, while in our company

لوْحُ محفوظُ العَما في طَيِّ ما

قامَ بالغيْبِ بهذا يُسْطَرُ

A guarded tablet whose contents

Are established by the unseen in this text

كتَبَ اللهُ تَعالى أنَّنا

أَهلُ عزٍّ عنَّا لا يُحْتَقَرُ

God most high has written that we

Are people of might, by none belittled

فضلُهُ في خلْقِهِ لا يُحجَرُ

ونَداهُ الجَمُّ لا ينحَصِرُ

His grace in creation cannot be limited

And his call is never fully comprehended

وهو للحادِثِ منَّا مُظْهِرٌ

وكذا الحادِثُ منَّا مظهَرُ

He reveals the events from us

And events from us reveal Him

فالَّذي أَغْناهُ في آزالِهِ

بجُحودِ النَّاسِ لا يفتَقِرُ

The one who enriched us in His support

Does not need, despite people's rejection

والَّذي أَكبَرَهُ في بابِهِ

بينَ أَبوابِ المَلا لا يصغُرُ

And the one who exalted us in His court

Among the doors of greatness is not made small

نحنُ أَغْنانا وقد أَكْبَرَنا

نعمَةُ اللهِ تَعالى تُشْكَرُ

We were enriched, we were exalted

The blessing of God Almighty is thanked