1. أَيا ناصِرَ الدينِ اِنفَرَدت بِمَنشأٍ

    مِن النَثرِ ما فيهِ انتِقادٌ لِناقِدِ

    O Nasir al-Din, you stand unrivaled in your composition

    Of prose in which no critic can find a fault.

  2. قَلائد عقيان تُحاكي وَإِنَّهُ

    فَرائدُ ياقوتٍ لتلكَ القَلائِدِ

    With it you rival necklaces of pure gold, and indeed it is

    Choice rubies for those necklaces.

  3. فَرائدُ لَو كانَت تجسَّدُ نُظِّمَت

    عُقوداً لأَجيادِ الغَواني النَّواهِدِ

    Choice gems that, if given bodily form, would be strung

    As necklaces for the necks of budding-breasted beauties.

  4. هُوَ الأَدَبُ الغَضُّ الجَنيُّ أَتَت بِهِ

    قَريحَةُ فكرٍ واقِدٍ غَيرِ خامِدِ

    It is literature, tender and freshly picked, brought forth

    By the creative genius of a blazing, unquenched mind.

  5. شَفَعتَ بِها إِحسانَها فَكَأَنَّما

    شَفَعتَ الدَراري بِالشُموسِ الخَوالِدِ

    You paired its excellence with these, as though

    You had paired brilliant stars with everlasting suns.

  6. خَوالدُ لا تبلى عَلى الدَهرِ جِدَّةً

    إِذا تُليَت جاءَت لَكُم بِالمَحامِدِ

    Everlasting—their freshness never fades with time;

    When recited, they bring you praise.

  7. سِوارٍ إِلى الآفاقِ يَزهى بِسَمعِها

    ذوو النَثرِ مِن نقادِّنا وَالقَصائِدِ

    They journey by night to the horizons; proud to hear them are

    The masters of prose and verse among our critics.

  8. غَدا شافِع في العلمِ وَالفَضلِ واحِداً

    فَأَعظِم بِهِ مِن شافِعٍ فيهِ واحِدِ

    Shafiʿ has become peerless in learning and excellence;

    So how great he is—a peerless intercessor therein!