1. لِعَلياك مَدحي بِالفَضائل واجبُ

    وَلِلغَير في كُل المَحافل وَاجبُ

    My praise of your eminence's virtues is a duty,

    and a duty for others too, in every assembly.

  2. فَإِنَّك سُلطان رَؤوفٌ مؤيدٌ

    لَكَ العَدل في الأَحكام بالشَرع صاحب

    For you are a compassionate sultan, upheld and strengthened;

    justice is your companion in judgments under sacred law.

  3. وَأَنتَ الإِمام الصادق الواثق الَّذي

    أَضاءَت بِنور الوَجه مِنكَ المَغارب

    And you are the truthful, confident imam whose

    face's light has illumined the western lands.

  4. وَفي تُونس الخَضرا عَلى الخَلق كُلِّهم

    أَياديك مِن قَبل السؤال سَواكب

    And in green Tunis, upon all the people,

    your favors pour forth before they are asked for.

  5. وَسَيفُك في الهَيجاء وَهوَ مهند

    لَهُ تَسجدُ الأَعداء وَهيَ كَتائب

    And your sword in battle, forged of Indian steel—

    enemies prostrate themselves before it, though arrayed in battalions.

  6. وَأَنتَ لِدين اللَه وَالملك ناصر

    وَجَيشك في كُل الوَقائع غالب

    And you champion God's religion and the realm,

    and your army is victorious in every battle.

  7. فَيا عز مَن وَافاك وَهوُ مُسالمٌ

    وَياذلّ مَن لاقاك وَهوَ مُحارب

    What honor for whoever comes to you in peace,

    and what humiliation for whoever meets you in war!

  8. لَقَد باء في الدارين بِالخُزي وَاللظى

    وَضاقَت عَلَيهِ في الفرار المَذاهب

    He has indeed incurred disgrace and blazing fire in both worlds,

    and the paths of flight have narrowed about him.

  9. وَصَبت عَلى مَن خانَ أَو جار وَاِعتَدى

    بِعَزمك في يَوم النِزال المَصايب

    And upon whoever betrayed, or oppressed and transgressed,

    calamities poured down through your resolve on the day of combat.

  10. وَيا خَصب أَوطان لَها أَنتَ سَيدٌ

    لَقَد عَمَّها مِن راحتيك المَواهب

    And what plenty for lands whose lord you are!

    Gifts from your two palms have indeed filled them.

  11. وَما قَدر مَدحي فيك يا واحد العُلا

    وَفيكَ عَن الإِحصاء جَلت مَناقب

    And what is my praise worth, O peerless one in eminence,

    when your virtues are too great to count?

  12. وَدُونك في جاه وَمَجد وَرفعة

    سَماء مَعال زينتها الكَواكب

    And beneath you in prestige, glory, and loftiness

    lies a sky of high honors, adorned with stars.

  13. وَإِني وَإِن كُنت الأَديب بمصره

    وَلي طابَ في عَذب القَوافي مَشارب

    And though I am a man of letters in my own Egypt,

    and have savored draughts of sweet rhyme,

  14. وَما أَنظم الأَشعار إِلا تَأدّبا

    وَلا حَرّكتني لِلقَريض المَكاسب

    I compose poetry only to cultivate refinement,

    nor has profit ever stirred me to verse.

  15. لِأَني عَزيز في بِلادي مقرّب

    وَلي أَذعنت بِالسَبق فيها الأَجانب

    For I am esteemed in my country and held in favor,

    and foreigners there have acknowledged my preeminence.

  16. وَلَست بِمُحتاج وَلا أَطلُب الغِنى

    وَلا أَوقعتني في الغُرور المَناصب

    And I am not in need, nor do I seek wealth,

    nor have offices led me into conceit.

  17. فَإِني عَن تَهذيب مدَحك عاجز

    خُمول ضَعيف الفكر عَما يُناسب

    For I am unable to polish the praise of you,

    obscure, with thoughts too feeble for what befits you.

  18. وَلَكن حُبي في علاك هُوَ الَّذي

    بِهِ فَتحت لي في ثَناك المَطالب

    But my love for your eminence is what

    has opened to me the avenues of praising you.

  19. وَكَيفَ وَإني بانتمائي لتونس

    عَلت بي إِلى أَوج الفَخار المَراتب

    And how could it be otherwise, when my ties to Tunis

    have raised my standing to the summit of glory?

  20. عَلى أَن أَسلافي بِها قَد تناسَلوا

    وَقَد كانَ لي فيها ومنها أَقارب

    Moreover, my forebears had offspring there,

    and I had relatives both there and from there.

  21. لِذاك حَنيني نَحوَها في زِيادة

    وَرُوحي بِها وَالجسم في مصر راسب

    Thus my longing for it keeps increasing,

    and my soul is there, while my body lies sunk in Egypt.

  22. وَلا سيما لَما سَما بِكَ مُلكُها

    وَحَولك دارَت في حِماها المَواكب

    especially since its realm has soared through you,

    and processions circled you within its protected domain.

  23. وَشَيَّدتَ للانصاف فيها قَواعِداً

    يَقوم لَها بِالشُكر طفل وَشائب

    And you built foundations for equity there,

    for which child and graybeard rise in gratitude.

  24. وَقلدت بِالتَوكيل في مَصر حازِماً

    سَعيداً لِتنجيز الأُمور يراقب

    And you entrusted your agency in Egypt to a resolute man,

    Sa'id, who oversees the completion of affairs,

  25. لينصر مظلوماً وَيزجر ظالِماً

    وَيَقضى بِما تُمحى لَدَيهِ المَتاعب

    to aid the wronged and restrain the oppressor,

    and give rulings that clear away troubles before him.

  26. فَقامَ بِما يُرضيك عَنهُ وَإِنَّهُ

    همام جَليل حنكته التَجارب

    So he has done what earns your approval of him; indeed he is

    a resolute, eminent man whom experience has seasoned.

  27. وَسير ابن دَحمان حَميدٌ وَرَأيُه

    سَديدٌ وَمنه الذهن في الفهم ثاقب

    And Ibn Dahman's conduct is praiseworthy, and his judgment

    is sound, and his mind is penetrating in understanding.

  28. وَذاكَ اِنتِخاب فيهِ كُل موكل

    بِهِ ذو رَشاد وافر الحَزم صائب

    And that is a selection in which every person entrusted

    with it is rightly guided, rich in resolve, and sound in judgment.

  29. وَعُذري عَلى التَقصير أَرجو قبوله

    فَإِنَّك بِالتَحقيق في العَفو راغب

    And I hope you accept my apology for falling short,

    for you truly desire to forgive.

  30. وَقَد عاقَني سقمي زَماناً عَن الثَنا

    وَلَولاه مالي عَن مَديحك حاجب

    And my illness kept me from praise for a time;

    but for it, nothing would have barred me from praising you.

  31. فَأَمّا وَقَد عُوفيت فَالمَدح حاضر

    إلَيكَ بِهِ تَسعى سَريعاً رَكائب

    So now that I have recovered, the praise is ready;

    riding camels hasten swiftly to you bearing it.

  32. وَتِلكَ إِلى ناديك مني هَدية

    عَلى قَدر حالي وَاِعتِذاري مُناسب

    And this is a gift from me to your assembly,

    in keeping with my circumstances, and my apology is fitting.

  33. فَقابل مَحيّاها بِما أَنتَ أَهله

    مِن الصفح عَما لَم يُنمِّقه كاتب

    So welcome its face with what befits you:

    pardon for what a writer has left unadorned.

  34. وَقُل خادِمي إِن كانَ أَخطا فإننا

    نُقابل بِالغُفران مَن هُوَ غائب

    And say: ‘If my servant has erred, we

    receive with forgiveness whoever is absent.’

  35. وَعش رافلاً في حلة الملك واثِقا

    بِطُول البَقا ما عاش ماشٍ وَراكب

    And live resplendent in the robe of kingship, assured

    of long life, as long as walker and rider live.

  36. وَدُم لِلمَعالي آخذاً بِزمامها

    وَمِنها لَمَولانا تقاد الجَنائب

    And ever keep hold of the reins of high honors,

    and from them spare mounts are led to our lord.

  37. فَإِنك للإسلام في الغَرب كَعبةٌ

    تَتمّ بِها للطائفين المآرب

    For you are a Kaaba for Islam in the West,

    through which the wishes of those who circle it are fulfilled.