بِبَهاءِ وَجْهِكَ تُشْرِقُ الأَنْوارُ

وَبِفَضْلِ مَجْدِكَ تَفْخَرُ الأَشْعارُ

With the radiance of your face the lights shine bright,

And with your glorious favor poems boast and take pride.

آنَسْتَ أُنْسَ الدَّوْلَةِ الْمَجْدَ الَّذِي

ما زالَ فِيهِ عَنِ الأَنامِ نِفارُ

You brought ease to a state swathed in majesty that still

Repels people and days that have no sights.

بِمَكارِمٍ نَصَرَتْ يَداكَ بِها الْعُلى

إِنَّ الْمَكارِمَ لِلْعُلى أَنْصارُ

With virtues your hands have helped the sublime prevail,

For virtues are assistants of the lofty without fail.

وَإِذا الْفَتى جَعَل الْمَحامِدَ غايَةً

لِلمَكْرُماتِ فَبَذْلُها الْمِضمارُ

And when a youth makes praise his only goal,

Then generosity is the field of contention for the great.

فَاسْعَدْ وَدامَ لَكَ الْهَناءُ بِماجِدٍ

طالَتْ بِهِ الآمالُ وَهْيَ قِصارُ

So be glad and may blessings and joys long persist,

With glories making hopes stretch and woes desist.

لُوْلاهُ فِي كَرَمِ الْخَلِيقَةِ وَالنُّهى

لَمْ تَكْتَحِلْ بِشَبِيهِكَ الأَبْصارِ

If not for your generosity and fine moral prohibitions,

Sights would not adorn with one resembling your conditions.

كَمْ لَيْلةٍ لَكَ ما لَها مِنْ ضَرَّةٍ

مِنْهُ وَيَوْمٍ ما لَهُ أَنْظارُ

Many a night has passed you by without any harm from it,

And many a day has gone without sights within it.

جادَتْ أَنَامِلكُ الْغِزارُ بِهِ الْوَرى

وَمِنَ السَّحائِبِ تُغْدِقُ الأَمْطارُ

Your pouring fingers have made the land flourish,

And from the clouds pour abundant showers gush.

وَتَتَابَعَتْ قَطَراتُ غَيْثُكَ أَنْعُماً

إِنَّ الْكَرِيمَ سَماؤُهُ مِدْرارُ

And droplets of your rain have blessed as boons,

The generous indeed - their sky is always profuse.

وَأَضاءَ مَجْدُكَ بِالْحُسَيْنِ وَمَجْدِهِ

وَكَذا السَّماءُ تُنِيرُها الأَقْمارُ

And your glory illuminated al-Husayn and his pride,

As the sky is illuminated by the shinning guide of stars.

قَدْ نالَ أفْضَلَ ما يُنالُ وَقدْرُهُ

أَعْلى وَلَوْ أَنَّ النُّجُومَ نِثارُ

He attained the best of what can be attained and his worth -

Is higher even if all the stars were to rain down to earth.

وَجَرَتْ بِهِ خَيْلُ السُّرُورِ إِلى مَدى

فَرَحٍ دُخانُ النَّدِّ فِيهِ غُبارُ

The horses of joy trotted with him to limits of delight,

Where the smoke of hooves rose as dust in the light.

وَحَوى صَغِيرَ السِّنَّ غاياتِ الْعُلى

وَصِغارُ أَبْناءِ الْكِرامِ كِبارُ

The young contained the hopes of the most high,

For the young of the generous are thereby giants in stature though small in size.

يُنْبِي الْفَتى قَبْلَ الْفِطامِ بِفَضْلِه

وَيَبِينُ عِتْقُ الْخَيْلِ وَهْيَ مِهارُ

The youth gives tidings before even being weaned off milk,

And the freeing of horses also becomes clear while they still run wild.

لَمْ تَلْحَظ الأَبْصارُ يَوْمَ طَهُورِهِ

إِلاّ كُؤوساً لِلسُّرُور تُدارُ

When he was born sights glimpsed naught but cups

Of joy being passed from hand to eager hand.

فَغَدَوْتَ تَشْرَعُ فِي حَلالٍ مُسْكِرٍ

ما كُلُّ ما طَرَدَ الْهُمُومَ عُقارُ

So you set about partaking in halal intoxicants,

Not all that dispels worries can be considered a deterrent.

قَمَرٌ يُضِيءُ جَمالُهُ وَكَمالُهُ

حَتّى يُعِيدَ اللَّيْلَ وَهْوَ نَهارُ

A moon whose beauty and perfection give light,

Until the night repeats as day shining bright.

وَمِنَ الْعَجائِبِ أَنْ تَرُومَ لِمِثْلِهِ

طُهْراً وَكَيْفَ يُطَهَّرُ الأَطْهارُ

And of wonders is that you attempt to purify the like of him,

When how can the purest of all become more pristine?

قدْ طَهَّرَتْهُ أُبُوَّةٌ وَمُرُوءَةٌ

وَنَمى بِهِ فَرْعٌ وَطابَ نِجارُ

Fatherhood and manhood have purified him,

And through him a branch has grown and progeny smelled sweet.

إِنَّ الْعُرُوقَ الطَّيِّباتِ كَفِيلَةٌ

لَكَ حِينَ تُثْمِرُ أَنْ تَطِيبَ ثِمارُ

Surely good roots are guaranteed,

When they bear fruit, to have sweetest treats.

لَلَبِسْتَ مِنْ شَرَفِ الَمَناسِبِ حُلَّةً

بِالْفَخْرِ يُسْدِي نَسْجُها وَيُنارُ

You would have worn a robe of pride weaving prestige,

Which tailoring and embroidery only make more ornate.

فَطُلِ الأَنامَ وَهَلْ تَرَكْتَ لِفاخِرٍ

فَخْراً وَجَدُّكَ جَعْفَرُ الطِّيّارُ

So ask people - have you left room for any boasting?

And your ancestor is the flying one (Jafar al-Tayyar).

يَنْمِيكَ صَفْوَةُ مَعْشَرٍ لَوْلاهُمُ

ما كانَ يُرْفَعُ لِلْعَلاءِ مَنارُ

You are nurtured by the elite of a people, without whom

The banners of glory could not have been raised high.

وَلىَّ وَخَلَّفَ كُلَّ فَضْلٍ فِيكُمُ

والْغَيْثُ تُحْمَدُ بُعْدَهُ الآثارُ

He has surpassed all virtue and left it behind,

And rain is praised most when its traces have declined.

إِنِّي اقتَصَرْتُ عَلَى الثَّناءِ وَليْسَ بِي

عَنْ أَنْ تَطُولَ مَناسِبِي إِقْصارُ

I have limited myself to praise though inability

To prolong occasion is no embarrassment or deprecation of me.

وَلَرُبَّ قَوْلٍ لا يُعابُ بِأَنَّهُ

خَطَلٌ وَلكنْ عَيْبُهُ الإِكْثارُ

And there is many a saying that cannot be faulted for

Being deficient, but frequent falls into disparagement more.

وَأَراكَ وَابْنَكَ لِلسَّماحِ خُلِقْتُما

قَدْراً سواءً وَالْوَرى أَطْوارُ

I see you and your son both created for benevolence,

Equal in measure while the world is but cycles.

فَبَقِيتُما عُمُرَ الزَّمانِ مُصاحِبيْ

عَيْشٍ تَجَنَّبُ صَفْوَهُ الأَكْدارُ

So you both remained life’s time as my companions,

Partaking in untainted livelihood shunning all turbulences.