1. أهلاً بنظم جواهر وزمرّد

    وسبايك مصنوعة من عسجد

    Welcome to a string of jewels and emeralds,

    And ingots fashioned from gold,

  2. ورياض زهر لاعبت ريح الصبا

    فيها معاطب كلّ غصن أملد

    And gardens of flowers that sported with the east wind;

    Within them lie the perils of every supple bough.

  3. راقت معانيه وفاق نظامه

    وحكت بدائع سمطه الزهر الندى

    Its meanings delighted, and its arrangement excelled,

    And the marvels of its necklace resembled dewy blossoms.

  4. ما أنشدت أبياته في مجلس

    إلا ولذ بها مقال المنشد

    Never were its verses recited in an assembly

    Without making the reciter's words delightful.

  5. لا غرو ان راقت معاني نظمه

    وجلت طوالع نوره القلب الصدى

    No wonder the meanings of his verse delighted,

    And the rising beams of his light burnished the rusted heart.

  6. أو ليس قد أهداء من أنفاسه

    من فيض أنفاس النبيّ محمد

    Or has he not offered something of his own breaths,

    From the overflow of the breaths of the Prophet Muhammad?

  7. سبط النبوّة وارث السرّ الذي

    يهدي به من لم يكن بالمهتدي

    A scion of prophethood, heir to the secret by which

    He guides whoever had not found guidance.

  8. جمّ الفضائل عابد الرحمن من

    أنواره كالكوكب المتوقد

    Rich in virtues, a worshipper of the Merciful, whose

    Lights are like a blazing star.

  9. عيني الني عين اليقين أرى بها

    ويدي التي تسطو إذا كانت يدي

    My eye, through which I see with the eye of certainty,

    And my hand that strikes whenever I have a hand,

  10. ولسان نطقي الذي ان عبرت

    بغرائب الحكم التي لم توجد

    And the tongue of my speech, if I express myself

    In wondrous sayings of wisdom never found before.

  11. وأخي الذي صدق الإخا أوليته

    وخصصته مني بصدق تودّدي

    And my brother, to whom I have shown sincere brotherhood,

    And whom I have singled out with my sincere affection.

  12. ساد الورى في المهد طفلاً وارتدى

    ثوب الصلاح وكان نعم المرتدي

    He was master of humankind as a babe in the cradle, and donned

    The robe of righteousness—a splendid wearer indeed.

  13. وغذى بألبان المعارف والنهى

    وحظي بنيل الواردات السرمدي

    And he was nourished on the milk of knowledge and reason,

    And blessed with the everlasting reception of spiritual inspirations.

  14. يا وارثاً سرّ الولاية والعلا

    من شيخنا أعنى عليا سيدي

    O heir to the secret of sainthood and eminence,

    From our shaykh—I mean Ali, my master.

  15. أنت الذي في القلب مني حاضر

    واذا بعدت فلست منك بمبعد

    You are the one present within my heart,

    And though you are far away, I am not removed from you.

  16. ان لم تشاهدك العيون فباطني

    لك شاهد ما غبت منه بمشهد

    If the eyes do not see you, my inward self

    Beholds you; you have not vanished from its sight.

  17. ولقد شرحت من البلاد حوادثاً

    كانت بقطر بلادنا لم تعهد

    And you have indeed described events from the lands

    That befell our region, never known before.

  18. واها على تلك البلاد وأهلها

    من حادث الدهر المقيم المقعد

    Alas for those lands and their people,

    For time's calamity that makes one rise and sit!

  19. واها على تلك المنازل والرّبا

    ومواطن الطاعات للمتعبد

    Alas for those dwellings and hills,

    And the sites of devotion for the worshipper.

  20. سقيا لها ما كان أطيب عيشها

    وألذّ مشربها الهنى المورد

    May rain bless it! How sweet was life there,

    And how delicious its pleasant drink at the watering place!

  21. كانت تقرّ بها العيون إذا رأت

    فيها المنازل آنسات المعهد

    The eyes found comfort there whenever they beheld

    Its dwellings, welcoming in their familiar precincts.

  22. وبها من الصلحا الكرام مشايخ

    تجلى برؤيتهم عيون الأرمد

    And there were shaykhs among the noble righteous,

    Seeing them cleared the eyes of the sore-eyed.

  23. قوم إذا جنّ الظلام رأيتهم

    مثل الكواكب في الظلام الأسود

    A people whom, when darkness fell, you saw

    Like stars in the black darkness.

  24. مثل الإمام العيدروس وصنوه

    عمى عليا ذي المقام المفرد

    Such as Imam al-Aydarus and his brother,

    My uncle Ali, whose station was unique.

  25. بحر الحقائق والدقائق والنهى

    أكرم من بحر علم مزبد

    An ocean of truths, subtleties, and reason,

    More generous than a foaming sea of knowledge.

  26. غوث الأنام غياث كلّ ملمة

    قطب الولاية عمدة المسترشد

    Succor of humankind, relief in every calamity,

    The pole of sainthood, the mainstay of the seeker of guidance.

  27. ما كان إلا كوكبا للمهتدي

    ما كان إلا قدوة للمقتدى

    He was nothing but a star for the rightly guided,

    He was nothing but an example for the follower.

  28. واها عليه ما أمرّ فراقه

    واحسرتي من بعده وتنكدي

    Alas for him! How bitter the parting from him!

    And oh, my grief after him, and my misery!

  29. قد كنت ذا صبر لكلّ رزية

    ففنى اصطباري بعده وتجلدي

    I had indeed been patient through every calamity,

    But after him my patience and fortitude were spent.

  30. يا عين جودي بالدموع وان فنت

    منك الدموع فبالدماء فاسعدي

    O eye, pour forth tears; and if there are no more

    Tears in you, then aid my mourning with blood.

  31. فلقد بكته مصاحف وصحائف

    ومراكع ومساجد للسجد

    For Qur'an volumes and written pages have wept for him,

    And places of bowing, and mosques for those who prostrate,

  32. وصيام أيام تحرّي صومها

    وقيام لبل بغية المنهجد

    And the fasting of days he took care to fast,

    And night prayer, the night worshipper's aspiration,

  33. ونفائس كشف الحجاب لطالب

    عنها فأدركها بغير تردّد

    And precious treasures—for a seeker he lifted the veil

    From them, so the seeker attained them without hesitation.

  34. واسودّت الدنيا عليه وأوحشت

    من بعده رتب العلا والسؤدد

    And the world grew dark in mourning for him; desolate were

    After him the ranks of eminence and lordship.

  35. فاللَه يرحمه ويرحمنا به

    ويلف فرقة شملنا المتبدّد

    So may God have mercy on him, and through him have mercy on us,

    And reunite our divided, scattered company.

  36. ويزيد ما في حضرموت من البلا

    فضلاً ويصلح كلّ أمر مفسد

    And may He increase the affliction in Hadramawt,

    Out of grace, and set right every corrupted affair.

  37. وعليك والأهل الجميع تحية

    مسكية الأنفاس ذات تجدّد

    And upon you and the whole family be a greeting

    Of musk-scented breaths, ever renewed.

  38. ثم الصلاة مع التحية دائماً

    تترى على الهادي الشفيع محمد

    Then may blessings, together with greetings, forever

    Follow one another upon the guide and intercessor, Muhammad.