مولاي أنت المالك الحر

وأنا الأسير ونعم ذا الأسر

My lord, you are the free master,

and I am the captive—how fine this captivity!

فنداك ناداني وقيدني

يا حبذا صفد به اليسر

Your bounty called me and bound me;

ah, how lovely is Safad, where ease abides!

أكسبته شرفا فأنت به

فخر له ولأهله ذخر

You have given it honor, for within it you are

its pride, and a treasure for its people.

ومتى حللت بمنزل يمنت

أقطاره وتيسر القطر

Whenever you settle in a dwelling, blessed are

its surroundings, and rain comes readily.

وإذا نزلت بقفزة أهلت

لكن يفارق أهلها الفقر

And when you settle in a barren tract [reading uncertain], it becomes inhabited,

yet poverty departs from its people.

تحيا ويخضر اليبيس بها

فكأنما قد حلها الخضر

It comes alive, and dry growth turns green within it,

as though al-Khidr had settled there.

أنت الأمير حقيقة فإذا

قيل الأمير لك ارتقى الفكر

You are truly the emir; and when

you are called 'the emir,' thought rises high.

ولك السيادة قد نشأت بها

وكذا السعادة فيك والقدر

Yours is lordship, in which you were raised,

and in you are felicity and high standing as well.

فسلالة ابن المرتضى حسن

سبط النبي ولا كذا فخر

For you are a scion of Hasan, son of al-Murtada,

the Prophet's grandson—no glory equals this!

وسلافة العصر الذي نشرت

فيه العوارف منك والبر

And the choicest vintage of the age in which have spread

the benefactions and benevolence that come from you.

ولك المهابة والوقار معا

وتواضع ينفي به الكبر

Yours are awe-inspiring presence and dignity together,

and humility through which arrogance is banished.

والعلم والحلم اللذان هما

طود وبحر راسخ غمر

And knowledge and forbearance, which are

a steadfast mountain and a deep sea.

والجود جود سائل غدقا

للسائلين وما به نهر

And generosity—a bounty flowing copiously

to petitioners, with no rebuff.

يا سيدا عاش البديع به

والشعر جل وناله سعر

O master, through whom rhetorical artistry has flourished,

and poetry has risen high and gained in value.

ما زاد بالشعر العلاء به

لكنه ازدان به الشعر

His eminence was not increased by poetry;

rather, through him poetry has been adorned.

مولى لحضرته الورى شهدوا

حضراً وبدوا انه البدر

A lord whose august person all people acclaim—

townsfolk and nomads—as the full moon.

يهدي البيان إلى جلالته

فينال مهديه به الوفر

One offers eloquence to his majesty,

and its giver gains abundance through it.

ويدوم للأقصى تعهده

والرفد للوفد الذي يعرو

His care endures for those farthest away,

and his bounty for the visitors who come calling.

مولاي إني والأنام معي

تدعو بأن يزكي لك العمر

My lord, I, with all mankind beside me,

pray that your years may be blessed.

أهديت لي ثوبين عوضهما

حسن الثواب ومثله الأجر

You gave me two robes; may their recompense be

a goodly reward and recompense to match.

وبطي ما أهديت لي نعم

قد فاح منها طيبا نشر

And folded within what you gave me are blessings;

a sweet fragrance has wafted from them.

أنسيتني فضل الأولى سلفوا

فلدي ليس لمن مضى ذكر

You have made me forget the bounty of those who went before,

so I have no remembrance of those who have passed.

لا زلت برا بالعفاة يرى

عذبا لديهم جودك البحر

May you ever be kind to supplicants, who find

your ocean of bounty sweet.

تهدي إليهم من لديك ندى

وإليك يهدي منهم الشكر

You bestow on them bounty from your store,

and to you their gratitude is offered.

ويرى رقيقا من تكاتبه

مع انه بين الورى حر

Whoever you write to is deemed a bondsman,

though among mankind he is free.

إن قيل من كملت علاه يقل

مولاي عبد القادر البر

If asked, 'Whose eminence is complete?' the answer is:

'My lord, Abd al-Qadir, the benevolent.'

وصفاتك الحسن حلت وحكت

زهر النجوم فما لها حصر

Your beautiful qualities are sweet and resemble

the brilliant stars—there is no numbering them.

والخير فيك وفي بنيك فهم

أقمار أفلاك العلا الغر

And goodness is in you and in your sons, for they are

radiant moons in the spheres of eminence.

لا زلت ترفل بالحبور وهم

مع من يحبك أيها الحبر

May you ever trail your robes in gladness, and they too,

along with those who love you, O learned scholar.

فلك الكمال بعصرنا ولهم

دمتم جميعا ما بدا بدر

Perfection in our age is yours, and theirs;

may you all endure as long as a full moon appears.