1. أيّ جمع هذا وأيّ اتِّفاق

    وصحابٍ أماجد ورفاق

    What a gathering this is, and what concord!

    And what noble companions and comrades!

  2. خالفوا داعي الشّقاق وشقُّوا

    بالتئام منه عصيّ الشّقاق

    They opposed the instigator of discord and split

    the rods of discord through the unity it brought.

  3. كلّ فرد منهم من الفضل كنز

    ليس يخشى الإِملاق في الإِنفاق

    Each one of them is a treasure of excellence,

    fearing no poverty in his giving.

  4. أيّ ناد نادي الأَجلّ شها

    ب الدِّين بحر العلوم مفتي العراق

    What an assembly is that of the most illustrious Shihab

    al-Din, ocean of learning, Mufti of Iraq!

  5. لو أفضيت علومه في البرايا

    شمل العالمين بالإِغراق

    If his learning were poured out among humankind,

    it would engulf all the worlds in a flood.

  6. محرقٌ حجَّة الغياد ولا بدْعة

    فإنَّ الشهاب للإحراق

    He burns away the argument of al-ghiyad [unclear], and no wonder:

    for a meteor serves to burn.

  7. كاشف الغمّ إنْ توالت غموم

    فارج الهمِّ عند ضيق الخناق

    He dispels distress when sorrows follow one another,

    relieving anxiety when the noose tightens.

  8. فإلى فضله تهادى المطايا

    وإلى ربعه حنين النياق

    So toward his bounty the riding camels sway,

    and toward his dwelling rises the she-camels' yearning cry.

  9. فهو إذ ذاك ملجأ النَّاس طرًّا

    وأجلّ الورى على الإِطلاق

    So then he is the refuge of all people,

    and the most exalted of humankind, without qualification.

  10. فتأمَّل فيما حوى اليوم نادي

    ه ففيه مكارم الأَخلاق

    So consider what his assembly has gathered today:

    for within it are the noblest virtues.

  11. جمعوا بين شدَّة البأس في

    الجدّ وفي الهزل رقَّة العشَّاق

    They combined fierce courage in

    earnestness with lovers' tenderness in jest.

  12. إنَّما السَّاعة الَّتي جمعتهم

    جمعت لي محاسن الآفاق

    The very hour that brought them together

    gathered for me the beauties of every horizon.

  13. فغدتْ مثل روضة باكرتها

    غاديات بالوابل المهراق

    So it became like a garden visited at dawn

    by morning clouds pouring down torrential rain.

  14. فكأَنَّ الحديث فيه مدام

    حملتها إليَّ كفُّ السَّاقي

    So it was as though the conversation there were wine,

    brought to me by the cupbearer's hand.

  15. مجلس ما انطوى على غير أُنسٍ

    وخلى من تحاسد ونفاق

    A gathering that held nothing but fellowship,

    and was free of mutual envy and hypocrisy.

  16. يا له مجلس بأحمد قد أش

    رق في الحُسن غاية الإِشراق

    What a gathering! With Ahmad it has

    shone in beauty with the utmost brilliance.

  17. دبَّ فيه السُّرور من كلّ وجهٍ

    بأديب الزَّمان عبد الباقي

    Joy crept through it from every quarter,

    through the age's man of letters, Abd al-Baqi.

  18. وتعالى إلى المعالي عليٌّ

    وبالعوالي وبالسيوف الرقاق

    And Ali rose toward lofty honors,

    and with tall lances and slender swords.

  19. وعلا قدره بقدر عليٍّ

    وتسامى فكان في الفخر راقي

    And its stature rose with Ali's stature,

    and it soared, becoming exalted in glory.

  20. قلَّد النَّاس أيدياً من نداه

    فهي مثل الأَطواق في الأَعناق

    He adorned people with favors from his bounty;

    they are like necklaces around their necks.

  21. كم شكرنا غداة يقتسم الوفد

    نداه مقسّم الأَرزاق

    How heartily we thanked—on the morning the delegation shared

    his bounty—the Apportioner of sustenance!

  22. أسعد الله السَّعيد لديهم

    كلّ عذب الكلام حلو المذاق

    May God gladden al-Sa'id among them;

    each one is sweet of speech and sweet to the taste.

  23. فأراعوا هذا الزَّمان بجمع

    لا أُريعوا من بعدها بالفراق

    So they startled this age with a gathering;

    may they never afterward be startled by separation.