1. يا عصمةً لستُ منها باغياً بدلا

    يا نعمةً لست عنها باغياً حِوَلا

    O refuge, I seek no substitute for you.

    O blessing, I seek no change away from you.

  2. يا ابنَ الوزيرينِ يا مَنْ لا انصرافَ له

    عن سدّه خَللاً أو عفوِه جَللا

    O son of the two viziers, O one who never turns away

    From mending a breach or pardoning a grave offense.

  3. يا مَنْ إذا قلتُ فيه القولَ سدَّدني

    إجلالُهُ فكُفيت الزَّيغ والخطلا

    O one of whom, whenever I speak, I am set aright

    By reverence for him, and thus spared deviation and error.

  4. ومنْ إذا ما فعلْتُ الفعلَ أيَّدني

    إقبالُهُ فُوقيت العَثْرَ والزللا

    And one who, whenever I act, lends me support

    Through his favor, so I am protected from stumbling and slips.

  5. كم فعلةٍ لك بي أرسلتَها مثلاً

    ومدحةٍ فيك لي أرسلتُها مثلا

    How many deeds of yours toward me you have made proverbial,

    And praise-poems of mine about you I have made proverbial!

  6. أحللْتَني قُلل الآمال في دَعَةٍ

    أحلَّك اللَّه من آمالِك القُللا

    You lodged me on the summits of hope in ease;

    May God lodge you on the summits of your hopes.

  7. للَّه طولٌ سيجزي غيرَ ما كذبٍ

    طَوْلاً قصرتُ به ساعاتِيَ الطُّوَلا

    God possesses bounty and will surely recompense, without falsehood,

    The bounty through which I shortened my long hours.

  8. تُبخّلُ البحرَ نفسي ما عرضتَ لها

    أو تزدري البدرَ أو تستصغر الجبلا

    My soul calls the sea miserly whenever you come before it,

    Or scorns the full moon, or deems the mountain small.

  9. بل كلُّ ذلك يجري في خواطرها

    وما جهلتُ ولا ضاهيتُ مَنْ جهلا

    Indeed, all of this passes through its thoughts,

    Yet I was not ignorant, nor did I resemble the ignorant.

  10. وسائلين بحالي كيف صُورتُها

    فقلت قد نطقت حالي لمن عقلا

    To those who asked what my condition looked like,

    I said, 'My condition has spoken to whoever understands.'

  11. قالوا أتأملُ مأمولاً فقلتُ لهم

    يؤمّل المرءُ ما لم يبلغِ الأملا

    They said, 'Do you hope for anything?' I told them:

    'A person hopes so long as he has not reached his hope,

  12. مثلُ المسافرِ لا ينفكُّ من سفرٍ

    حتى إذا هو وافَى رَحْلَه نزلا

    Like a traveler who does not cease traveling

    Until he reaches his lodging and alights.'

  13. وقد بلغْتُ الذي أملتُ من أملٍ

    يا ابن الوزيرِ وما أعطى وما بذلا

    I have attained the hope for which I hoped,

    O son of the vizier—and what he gave and bestowed!

  14. فما أؤمِّلُ إلا طولَ مُدته

    أطالها اللَّه حتى يُرغمَ الأجلا

    So I hope only for its long continuance;

    May God prolong it until it humbles death.

  15. أبى الحسين أخي الحُسنى وفاعلها

    تمَّ البيان تمامَ البدرِ بل فضلا

    Abu al-Husayn, companion of goodness and its doer—

    The description is complete as the full moon, indeed surpassing it.

  16. لا تجمعنّ إلى ذكراه نِسبَتَه

    فقد كفاكَ مكان النسبةِ ابنُ جلا

    Do not add his lineage when mentioning him:

    'Ibn Jala' suffices you in place of a pedigree.

  17. هل يطلبُ الصبحَ بالمصباحِ طالبُه

    ما استُهلك الصبحُ عن عين ولا خملا

    Does one seeking dawn seek it with a lamp?

    Dawn has not vanished from sight or fallen into obscurity.

  18. رحلْتُ ظني إلى جدواه بل ثقتي

    فأخَّر الوعدَ لكنْ قدم النَّفلا

    I sent my expectation journeying toward his bounty—rather, my certainty;

    He postponed the promise but brought the gift forward.

  19. سُقْياً لها رحلةً ما كان أسعدَها

    لقد كفتْني طوالَ المُسندِ الرِّحلا

    Blessings upon that journey—how fortunate it was!

    It spared me the long journeys of Time.

  20. صادفْتُ منه بليغاً في مواهبهِ

    تعطي يداه تفاريقَ الغنى جُملا

    I found in him a man eloquent in his gifts:

    His hands bestow in heaps wealth otherwise gathered piecemeal.

  21. وليس يقنعُ مَنْ تمَّتْ بلاغتُه

    أن يوجزَ القولَ حتى يوجزَ العملا

    One whose eloquence is complete is not content

    To be concise in speech without being concise in action too.

  22. جرى نداه إلى غاياته طَلَقاً

    سرَّ العفاة وساء السادةَ النُّبلا

    His generosity ran freely to its furthest limits,

    Delighting suppliants and distressing distinguished lords.

  23. ما زلتُ في بدَرٍ منه وفي حُللٍ

    لم تمتثل عِذراً منهم ولا عللا

    I was ever amid his purses of money and robes,

    With no heed paid to their excuses or pretexts,

  24. حتى اكتسى من مديحي فيه أوشِيةً

    شتَّى فرُحْنا جميعاً نسحبُ الحُلَلا

    Until he clothed himself in embroideries of my praise of him,

    Of many kinds, and we went together, trailing our robes.

  25. فتىً وإن كان كهلاً في جلالته

    كهلٌ وإن كان غضّاً غصنه خَضِلا

    A youth, though mature in his dignity;

    A mature man, though his branch is tender and lush.

  26. ما ظُنَّ يوماً به إتيانُ سيئةٍ

    حُقَّتْ ولا ظُنّ فيه صالح بطلا

    No suspicion that he would ever commit an evil deed

    Came true, nor did any good imagined in him prove false.

  27. وما رجا فضله راجٍ فأخلفه

    ولا تمنّاه إلا قالَ قد حصلا

    No hopeful man hoped for his bounty and was disappointed;

    None wished for it without saying, 'It is attained.'

  28. إذا التقى سيبُهُ والطالبُونَ لهُ

    لاقَوهُ بحراً ولاقى شكرهم وشلا

    When his bounty meets those seeking it,

    They meet a sea, while it meets their gratitude as a trickle.

  29. يلقى الوجوهَ بوجهٍ ماؤهُ غَدِقٌ

    لا تسأمُ العينُ منه النهلَ والعَللا

    He meets faces with a face whose waters are abundant;

    The eye never tires of first and repeated draughts from it.

  30. المالُ غائبُهُ والحمدُ آئبُهُ

    والمجدُ صاحبُهُ إنْ قال أو فعلا

    Wealth departs from him, and praise returns to him;

    Glory is his companion, whether he speaks or acts.

  31. لم يُزهَ بالدولةِ الزهراءِ حاشَ له

    مِنْ شيمةٍ تستحقُّ اللومَ والعذلا

    His radiant power did not make him conceited—far be it from him

    To have a trait deserving blame and reproach.

  32. وكيفَ يلقاك مزهوّاً بدولَتِهِ

    منْ صانه اللَّه كي تُزهي به الدولا

    How could one meet you conceited through his power,

    Whom God preserved so that states might take pride in him?

  33. يا ربّ زِدْ في معاني ما تُخَوِّلُهُ

    ولا تزدْ في معانيه فقد كَمُلا

    Lord, increase the qualities of what You bestow on him,

    But do not increase his qualities: he is already perfect.

  34. قلْ للإمام أدامَ اللَّهُ غبطتَهُ

    لا محَّ نورك مِنْ بدرٍ ولا أفلا

    Say to the imam—may God perpetuate his felicity—

    May your full-moon light neither fade nor set.

  35. يا خيرَ مُعتضدٍ باللَّهِ معتمدٍ

    عليه معتقدٍ ما استودَعَ المِللا

    O best of those strengthened by God and relying

    On Him, believing in what He entrusted to the faiths,

  36. لولاك لم تلبسِ الدنيا شبيبتَها

    ولا اكتسى الدينُ سيماهُ ولا اكتهلا

    Without you, the world would not have clothed itself in youth,

    Nor religion donned its distinctive mien or reached maturity.

  37. أضحى بيُمنِك دينُ المصطفى نُسكاً

    محضاً كما أضحتِ الدنيا به غزلا

    Through your blessing, the Chosen One's religion became devotion,

    Pure, while the world through it became love-play.

  38. مالتْ علينا غصونُ العيش مُثقلةً

    حملاً وقام عمودُ الحقِّ فاعتدلا

    The branches of life bent toward us, weighed down

    With fruit, and truth's pillar stood straight and upright.

  39. يا مَنْ وجدناهُ فرداً في سياسته

    إن صالَ عدَّل ميلاً أو قضى عدلا

    O one we found unrivaled in his governance:

    When he attacks, he straightens a deviation; when he judges, he is just.

  40. يا مؤنسَ الإنس والوحشِ التي ذُعرتْ

    ومن أخافَ الأُسودَ السودَ والجبلا

    O comforter of humankind and frightened wild beasts,

    And one who terrified black lions and the mountain,

  41. في قاسمٍ خادمٌ كافٍ كفاكَ به

    كأنَّه لك من بين الوَرى جُبِلا

    In Qasim you have a capable servant; he suffices for you,

    As though, among all humankind, he was fashioned for you.

  42. مباركٌ لا تمُجُّ العينُ طلعتَه

    ولا يرى الرائي في مخبوره فشلا

    Blessed, whose appearance the eye does not reject;

    The observer finds no weakness in his tested character.

  43. مثلُ الحُسامِ الذي يُرضيكَ رونقُهُ

    وإن ضربْتَ به في موطنٍ فصلا

    Like the sword whose sheen pleases you,

    And which, when you strike with it in any situation, cleaves.

  44. لو امتريتَ به الأرزاقَ أنزلها

    ولو قرعْتَ به الآجالَ ما نكلا

    If you drew sustenance forth through him, he would bring it down;

    If you struck at deaths with him, he would not flinch.

  45. ممن يُبيّن عن لُبّ بعارضةٍ

    والطِّرفُ يُعربُ عن عتقٍ إذا صهلا

    One of those who reveal their intellect through eloquence,

    As a thoroughbred reveals its noble breeding when it neighs.

  46. وإن جرى الأرقُش النضناض في يده

    جرى شجاعٌ يمجُّ السمَّ والعسلا

    When the mottled, tongue-flickering one runs in his hand,

    A serpent runs, spitting poison and honey.

  47. تجيل طرفَك فيما خطَّ حاملُهُ

    فلا ترى رهلاً فيه ولا قحلا

    You let your gaze roam over what its wielder has written,

    And see neither flabbiness nor dryness in it.

  48. كأن تعديلَ أشباهٍ يصورها

    تعديلُ أهيفَ لم يسْمُنْ ولا هَزُلا

    The balancing of the forms he draws is like

    The proportions of a slender-waisted youth, neither fat nor lean.

  49. خطٌّ إذا قابلته العينُ قابلها

    روضُ الربيع إذا ما طُلَّ أو وُبلا

    A script which, when the eye faces it, meets the eye as

    A spring meadow watered with dew or downpour.

  50. كأنّما الشكلُ والإعجامُ شاملهُ

    من البيانِ ولم يُعجَمْ ولا شُكلا

    As though vowel-marks and letter-dots encompassed it

    In its clarity, though it is neither dotted nor vowel-marked.

  51. ولو وصلتَ به التدبيرَ أمكَنَهُ

    أن يفتقَ الرتقَ أو أن يرتقَ الخللا

    If you entrusted administration to him, he would be able

    To unsew what is stitched, or stitch up the gaps.

  52. تكفي من النَّبلِ أحياناً مكايدُهُ

    وربّما خلفتْ أقلامُهُ الأسلا

    His stratagems sometimes spare the use of arrows,

    And sometimes his pens take the place of spears.

  53. قال الأماثلُ عجباً باختياركَه

    لا فاقَ سهمُكَ من رامٍ ولا نصلا

    The eminent said, marveling at your choice of him:

    'May no archer break your arrow's nock, nor may its head fall off!'

  54. وما رميتَ ونبلُ القوم طائشةٌ

    إلّا أصبتَ وإلا قيلَ لا شللا

    You never shot, while the people's arrows went astray,

    Without hitting the mark and hearing, 'May your hand never be palsied!'

  55. ما عيبُ عبدِك إلا أنَّ قيمتَهُ

    تنهى أخا العدلِ أن يعتدَّه خولا

    Your servant's only fault is that his worth

    Forbids a just man to reckon him a menial.

  56. يكاد يحميك من أرفاقِ خدمتِهِ

    إشفاقُ نفسِكَ أن تلقاه مبتذلا

    You are almost kept from the benefits of his service

    By your heart's concern lest you see him treated as a menial.

  57. أبا الحسين ادّرعها إنَّ ملبَسَها

    باقٍ عليك إذا ما ملبسٌ سَمَلا

    Abu al-Husayn, wear it as armor: its garment

    Will endure upon you when other garments wear out.

  58. يا قابلَ الناسِ والمقبولَ عندهُمُ

    يا مقبلاً نحو باب الخير مقتبلا

    O welcomer of people, welcomed among them,

    O you advancing toward goodness's gate, welcomed there,

  59. لك القبولُ مع الإقبالِ لا ارتحلا

    عن عُقرِ دارك ما عاشا ولا انتقلا

    Acceptance and prosperity are yours; may neither depart

    From the heart of your home while they live, nor move away.

  60. يحتالُ قومٌ لرفدِ الرافدين لهم

    لكنّ رَفدَكَ مُحتالٌ ليَ الحيلا

    People contrive to obtain their benefactors' gifts,

    But your giving devises stratagems for me.

  61. ما إن يزالُ نوالٌ منك يسألني

    حمدي وأيُّ نوالٍ قبله سألا

    A gift from you never ceases asking me

    For my praise—and what gift before it ever asked?

  62. إنّي وهزّيك بالأشعار أنسُجُها

    للغافل المتعدي جدُّ مَنْ غفلا

    I, in stirring you with verses that I weave,

    Am truly the heedless, overreaching one, forefather of all the heedless,

  63. أو الشجاعُ الذي لا شيءَ يُفْزِعُه

    ولا تُردُّ عوادِيه إذا حملا

    Or the brave man whom nothing frightens,

    And whose assaults are not repulsed when he charges,

  64. إذا استُجيش من الطوفانِ ناجيةً

    ما إنْ أرى لي بها حَوْلاً ولا قِبَلا

    When aid is sought from the deluge as a means of deliverance.

    I see in them no strength or capacity for myself.

  65. أستوهبُ اللَّه حظاً من معونَتِه

    على دفاعي ندى كفَّيكَ إن حفلا

    I ask God to grant me a share of His help

    In repelling the bounty of your two hands when they brim over.

  66. لوْ أتبعَ الناسُ أمري غيرَ معتبرٍ

    إذاً لعدُّونيَ المقدامَة البطلا

    If people followed my course without reflection,

    They would deem me the bold one, the hero.

  67. كُنْ في مَدى المجدِ للأمجادِ كلِّهمُ

    صدراً وكن في مدى أغمارهِم كفَلا

    Be, in glory's field, among all the illustrious,

    At the forefront; and in the field of their novices, at the rear.

  68. تبقى ويمضون عُمراً لا انقطاع له

    مُفضَّلاً بعطاء اللَّه ما اتصلا

    Remain while they pass away, for a lifespan without end,

    Favored by God's bounty for as long as it continues.

  69. أمورُكَ الدهرَ أمثالٌ وأمثلةٌ

    إذا أمورُ أُناسٍ أصبحتْ مثلا

    Your affairs are forever proverbs and models,

    While others' affairs have become cautionary examples.