برِحَ الخفاءُ فما ذكاءُ إِياسِ

برِحَ الخفاءُ فما ذكاءُ إِياسِ

فيما نراهُ بأوْحدٍ في النّاسِ

فيما نراهُ بأوْحدٍ في النّاسِ

Obscurity has lifted: Iyas’s intelligence is not

Gone is subtlety, for what cleverness remains

in our view, unrivaled among people.

In what we see with isolation among people?

إِنَّ الذكاءَ الأوحدِيَّ ذكاءُ مَنْ

إِنَّ الذكاءَ الأوحدِيَّ ذكاءُ مَنْ

جَلَّتْ مداركُهُ عن الأجناسِ

جَلَّتْ مداركُهُ عن الأجناسِ

Indeed, peerless intelligence is the intelligence of one

True wit belongs to one whose intellect

whose faculties of understanding transcend all categories:

Transcends the masses and their ways.

قاضي دِمَشقَ الأصمعيّ محمد

قاضي دِمَشقَ الأصمعيّ محمد

تِرْبُ الندى طَوْدُ العلوم الراسي

تِرْبُ الندى طَوْدُ العلوم الراسي

Muhammad al-Asma‘i, judge of Damascus,

Judge of Damascus, scholar al-Asma'i

generosity’s companion, the firmly rooted mountain of learning.

Whose wisdom flows like dew, steadfast and lofty

قَامَتْ على فضْلِ الأواخر حُجَّةٌ

قَامَتْ على فضْلِ الأواخر حُجَّةٌ

منه تَمُتُّ بشاهدٍ وقياس

منه تَمُتُّ بشاهدٍ وقياس

A proof has arisen of the later generations’ superiority,

His excellence refutes the recent ages -

drawn from him, supported by evidence and analogy:

With proof and method he enlightens minds.

فَهْمٌ تعلَّق بالثرّيا مُسْفِراً

فَهْمٌ تعلَّق بالثرّيا مُسْفِراً

عن خِبْرَةٍ ودراية ومراس

عن خِبْرَةٍ ودراية ومراس

an understanding reaching the Pleiades, revealing

Grasping threads of tradition, revealing

experience, knowledge, and practiced skill;

Knowledge, experience and skillful care;

وبَصارة في المُشْكِلاتِ تكفّلَتْ

وبَصارة في المُشْكِلاتِ تكفّلَتْ

منها بدفعِ مواقِعِ الإِلباس

منها بدفعِ مواقِعِ الإِلباس

and insight into difficult questions, undertaking

Keen eyes penetrate quandaries, sweeping

to dispel their sources of confusion;

Aside perplexities that would ensnare.

وبديع نقْدٍ لا يُشَقُّ غبارُهُ

وبديع نقْدٍ لا يُشَقُّ غبارُهُ

وملاحِظٌ نورية المقابس

وملاحِظٌ نورية المقابس

and wondrous critical judgment whose dust none can pierce,

Judicious criticism none can penetrate,

and observations with luminous firebrands.

And clear illumination of subtle ties;

جاءَتْ بتدقيقٍ نجيٍّ وحيُه

جاءَتْ بتدقيقٍ نجيٍّ وحيُه

خلاّبِ ألباب الورى خلاّسِ

خلاّبِ ألباب الورى خلاّسِ

They came with fine scrutiny, whose inspiration is whispered,

With meticulous purity his wisdom came

bewitching the minds of humankind, snatching them away.

To capture minds and rapture spirits wise.

طيباً لآثارٍ له ومآثرٍ

طيباً لآثارٍ له ومآثرٍ

مسْكية الأرواح والأنفاسِ

مسْكية الأرواح والأنفاسِ

How fragrant his works and noble deeds—

Fair are his traces and his feats that render

their spirits and breaths scented with musk!

Souls fragrant - with them memory never dies.