أبى الله إلا أن تعز وتحمدا

ويخمد من عاداك دوماً ويكمدا

God wills nothing but that you be honored and praised,

and that whoever opposes you be forever stifled and anguished.

فقد أخلف الرحمن ما قد فقدته

من المال حتى عاد حالك أحمدا

The All-Merciful has replaced what you had lost

of wealth, until your condition grew more praiseworthy.

وقد ينثر العقد النظيم تعمدا

لينظم في جيد المليحة أجودا

A well-strung necklace may deliberately be scattered

so it may be restrung more finely upon a beauty’s neck.

على أنه لو زال مالك كله

ودمت سليماً كان ذاك لك الفدا

Yet even if all your wealth were gone,

so long as you remained safe, it would be your ransom.

ولو كانت الدنيا لديك باسرها

وزالت لما أوهت لفضلك سؤددا

Even if the whole world were in your possession

and vanished, it would not weaken the sovereignty of your merit,

ولا أوهمت منك العزائم والقوى

على حسن ما تبديه للناس مرشدا

nor enfeeble your resolution and strength

in the noble guidance you display before the people.

عليك من العرفان تاج وحلة

وعندك كنز منه يكفيك سرمدا

Knowledge crowns you and clothes you like a robe,

and you possess a treasure of it sufficient forever.

ولست كذي جهل وجاه بماله

فليس له من مكرم ان تبددا

You are not like an ignorant man whose standing rests on wealth,

for once it scatters, no source of honor remains to him.

ودمت باكرام العزيز ولم يزل

يرى مسعفاٍ للفاضلين ومسعدا

May the Almighty’s honoring of you endure, and may you ever be

a ready helper and benefactor to the worthy.

ومن يصنع المعروف صنعك يلتقي

له خلفاً اربى وأوفى وازبدا

Whoever performs kindness as you do will find

God’s recompense richer, fuller, and better.

إذا كان رب العرش للمرء ناصراً

فما حيلة العادي وما حيلة العدا

If the Lord of the Throne supports a man,

what stratagem has the aggressor—what stratagem have the foes?

وما الضر في بيت قديم مخشب

تحرق كي يبني بصخر مشيدا

What harm lies in an old house built of timber

if it burns so that one of solid stone may rise?

وانا ظننا ان يكون معوضاً

فحقق رب العرش ذاك واكدا

We had indeed thought that compensation would come,

and the Lord of the Throne fulfilled and confirmed it.

ولو بيت من عاداك بات مقوضاً

لدام باعوادٍ وخشب مسندا

But if a house belonging to your enemy lay demolished,

it would remain propped up with sticks and timber.

وبعض الورى ورى بان احتراقه

عقاب فامسى في المقال مفندا

Some people insinuated that its burning

was punishment—but that claim stood refuted.

وشد لقدح زنده فخوى كما

لرمي خفي سده فتزندا

He struck his fire-stick hard to kindle its spark, as though

firing a hidden shot—only for its barrier to spark back.

ولسنا نبالي بالنبال التي رمى

فقد طاش ما يرمي فشاط فاخردا

We care nothing for the arrows he shot:

his aim went astray, his missile veered and recoiled.

وظن بان قد نال فرصة محنق

فرام انتهازاً فانتهاراً له غدا

He thought he had gained a benefactor’s delight,

so he rushed to seize it—but tomorrow brought him rebuke.

ولما رأى نار الحريق تبدلت

ببرد سلام عاد فحما منكدا

But when he saw the blaze of the fire transformed

into “coolness and peace,” he returned as blackened charcoal.

وحاك ازاراً كي يسد عواره

فحار رداء جافياً فيه ارتدا

He wove himself a cloak to cover his nakedness,

but lost his way and donned a coarse robe instead.

افارس مضمار البلاغة لا عدا

عليك بلاء غير ما فات لا عدا

O champion rider in eloquence’s racecourse, may no harm overtake you;

may no affliction return beyond what has already passed—may it not return.

ولا زلت بحراً باللآلئ جائداً

وبراً كريماً ينبت الدهر عسجدا

May you remain a sea lavishly bestowing pearls,

and generous soil that brings forth gold through all the ages.

ولا زلت في كل المعارف قدوة

وغيرك بالتقليد دام مقلدا

May you remain an exemplar in every field of knowledge,

while everyone else remains an imitator, bound to imitation.

ولا زلت تملي في جوائبك التي

ملأت بها الدنيا معالم للهدى

May you continue dictating in your Jawāʾib,

with which you have filled the world with landmarks of guidance.

لك الصوت والصيت الجلي لدى الملا

وان الذي عاداك قد عادل الصدا

Yours are the voice and the illustrious renown among humankind,

while the one who opposed you has been left without even an echo.

يقصر عن الحام برد نسجته

ولو جاء في نسج يجئ به سدا

The fabric of his weaving falls short of completion,

and even when he tries to weave, what he produces comes to nothing.

ولو عقلت كل الجرائد وارتات

مساغاً لكانت للجوائب سجدا

If all the newspapers possessed reason and judgment,

they would bow before al-Jawāʾib in honor of your endeavors.

فتلك لها أم واحمد فارس

امام لأهليها فكل به اقتدا

For it is their mother, and Ahmad Fāris

the leader of their people, whom everyone follows.

فلا زال في أهل المعارف سيداً

كذلك في أهل العوارف والندا

May he remain a master among the people of learning,

and likewise among the people of beneficence and generosity.