خَليفَةَ اللَهِ أَنتَ في الدينِ وَال

دُنيا وَأَمرُ الإِسلامِ مُضطَلِعُ

O Caliph of Allah in religion and the world

And the affairs of Islam are in your charge

أَنتَ لِما سَنَّهُ الأَئِمَّةُ أَع

لامُ الهُدى مُقتَفٍ وَمُتَّبِعُ

You are a symbol of guidance for what the Imams legislated

A follower and practitioner of their ways

قَد عُدِمَ العُدمُ في زَمانِكَ وَال

جَورُ مَعاً وَالخِلافُ وَالبِدَعُ

In your time, injustice and conflicts have ceased

As well as religious innovations and deviation

فَالناسُ في العَدلِ وَالسِياسَةِ وَال

إِحسانِ وَالشَرعِ كُلُّهُم شَرَعُ

The people in justice, governance, benevolence

And the entirety of Sacred Law have become your followers

يا مَلِكاً يَردَعُ الحَوادِثَ وَال

أَيّامَ مِن ظُلمِنا فَتَرتَدِعُ

O king who holds back tribulations and days

From our oppression, so they recoil

يامَن لَهُ أَنعُمٌ مُكَرَّرَةٌ

لَنا مَصيفٌ مِنها وَمُرتَبَعُ

O you who has repeated favors for us

A summer home and place of leisure from them

أَرضِيَ قَد أَجدَبَت وَليسَ لِمَن

أَجدَبَ يَوماً سِواكَ مُنتَجَعُ

My land has become barren and there is none

Who can make barren land fertile but you

وَلي عِيالٌ لا دَرَّ دَرُّهُمُ

قَد أَكَلوني دَهري وَما شَبِعوا

And I have dependents, ceaselessly

Consuming me, never satiated

لَو وَسَموني وَسمَ العَبيدِ وَبا

عوني بِسوقِ الأَعرابِ ما قَنِعوا

If I were branded and sold in the markets

Like slaves, they still would not be content

إِذا رَأَوني ذا ثَروَةٍ جَلَسوا

حَولي وَمالوا إِلَيَّ وَاِجتَمَعوا

When they see I have wealth, they gather

And incline towards me, congregating

وَطالَما قَطَّعوا حِبالِيَ إِع

راضاً إِذا لَم يَكُن مَعي قِطَعُ

How often they have severed my ropes out of

Greed, if there were no cash with me

يَمشونَ حَولي شَتّىً كَأَنَّهُمُ

عَقارِبٌ كُلَّما سَعوا لَسَعوا

They walk around me diversely, as if

They are scorpions, whenever they move, they sting

فَمِنهُمُ الطِفلُ وَالمُراهِقُ وَال

مُرضَعُ يَحبو وَالكَهلُ وَاليَفَعُ

Among them are infants, adolescents

And suckling babes who crawl, old men and youth

لا قارِحٌ مِنهُمُ أُؤَمَّلُ أَن

يَنالَني خَيرُهُ وَلا جَذَعُ

I have no hope that any mature one among them

Will benefit me, nor any strong one

لَهُم حُلوقٌ تُفضي إِلى مِعَدٍّ

تَحَمِلُ في الأَكلِ فَوقَ ما تَسَعُ

They have throats leading to bellies

That carry more food than they can contain

مِن كُلِّ رَحبِ المِعاءِ أَجوَفَ نا

ريِّ الحَشا لا يَمَسُّهُ الشَبَعُ

With every breadth of intestines, hollow

Voracious fires, untouched by satiety

لا يُحسِنُ المَضغَ فَهوَ يَطرَحُ في

فيهِ بِلا كُلفَةٍ وَيَبتَلِعُ

They don’t know how to chew, so they just

Throw it in their mouths and swallow

وَلي حَديثٌ يُلهي وَيُعجِبُ مَن

يوسِعُ لي خُلقَهُ فَيَتَّسِعُ

And I have a conversation that entertains and impresses

Whoever makes his manners spacious, so he expands

نَقَلتُ رَسمي جَهلاً إِلى وُلُدٍ

لَستُ بِهِم ما حَيِيتُ أَنتَفِعُ

I have ignorantly passed down my allowance to my sons

While I live, I will not benefit from them

نَظَرتُ في نَفعِهِم وَما أَنا في اِج

تِلابِ نَفعِ الأَولادِ مُبتَدِعُ

I considered their benefit and I am not amongst

Those who innovate benefit from children

وَقُلتُ هَذا بَعدي يَكونُ لَكُم

فَما أَطاعوا أَمري وَلا سَمِعوا

And I said this will be for you after me

But they did not obey my command, nor listen

وَاِختَلَسوهُ مِنّي فَما تَرَكوا

عَيني عَليهِ وَلا يَدي تَقَعُ

And they stole it from me, leaving not

A glance over it, nor a hand taking it

فَبِئسَ وَاللَهِ ما صَنَعتُ فَأَضرَ

رتُ بِنَفسي وَبِئسَ ما صَنَعوا

How awful is what I have done, hurting

Myself! And how awful is what they have done!

فَإِن أَرَدتُم أَمراً يَزولُ بِهِ

الخِصامُ مِن بَينِنا وَيَرتَفِعُ

So if you want something to remove

Conflict between us and ascend

فَاِستَأنِفوا لي رَسماً أَعوذُ عَلى

ضَنكِ مَعاشي بِهِ فَأَتَّسِعُ

Then renew for me an allowance by which I can seek

Refuge from the constraints of my livelihood and expand

وَإِن زَعَمتُم أَنّي أَتَيتُ بِها

خَديعَةٍ فَالكَريمُ مُنخَدِعُ

And if you claim I have come with

Deception, the noble one is susceptible to being deceived

حاشى لِرَسمي القَديمِ يُنسَخُ مِن

نَسخِ دَواوينِكُم وَيَنقَطِعُ

Far be it that my old allowance is abolished

From the annulment of your records and cut off

فَوَقِّعوا لي بِما سَأَلتُ فَقَد

أَطمَعتُ نَفسي وَاِستَحكَمَ الطَمَعُ

So authorize what I have asked, for I have

Made my soul covetous and greed has taken hold

وَلا تُطيلوا مَعي فَلَستُ وَلَو

دَفَعتُموني بِالراحِ أَندَفِعُ

And do not prolong with me, for even if

You were to drive me away, I would not budge

وَحَلَّفوني أَن لا تَعودَ يَدي

تَرفَعُ في نَقلِهِ وَلا تَضَعُ

And they made me swear not to raise my hand again

In transferring it, nor place it down