يا أبا الفضل وابنه وأخاه

وسناه وحليه وحُلاَهُ

O Abu al-Fadl—father, son and brother of excellence,

Its radiance, its adornment and its graces,

وشبيهاً بأوّليهِ فإن لا

ح حسبنا جدَّه وأباه

And resembling his two forebears—for if he

Appears, we take him for his grandfather and father.

عَلَمٌ تحسر اللواحظ عنه

سفحه الجود والعلا مرتقاه

A mountain before which gazing eyes grow weary;

Its foot is generosity, and glory its summit.

لم أزل سامعاً بفضلك حتى

حقق اللَّحظ عنك ما قد رواه

I had never ceased hearing of your excellence, until

Sight confirmed what had already been told about you.

أنت من أنت فضل طبع وارث

طابق الفرع أصله وحكاه

You are who you are—an heir to inborn excellence;

The branch has matched its root and mirrored it.

أنف من تقلَّد الكبر وصفا

ولك الموجبان مال وجاه

Scornful of whoever wears arrogance as a trait,

Though you have both its grounds—wealth and rank.

وأخو العقل إن أسف لنقص

من مهاوي الهوى نَهتهُ نُهَاهُ

And a brother of reason, should he stoop to a failing,

Is restrained by his reason from the abysses of desire.

سرّني القرب منك والدهر دأباً

مازج طيب وصله بنواه

Closeness to you delighted me, though time ever

Mingles the sweetness of its union with its parting.

وسواء لديه جبلة غدر

نالنا منه خيره أو سواه

To it, treacherous by nature, it is all the same

Whether its good reaches us, or something else.

أنا مُغرىً بكُتبِ جَدِّك علما

إنه البحر والجميع رداه

I am enamored of your grandfather's books for their learning:

He is the sea, and all the rest are pools.

فإذا أُبتَ سالماً فأَعِرهَا

من يكافيك شكره وثناه

So when you return safely, lend them

To one whose thanks and praise will repay you.

ولَبَثُّ العلوم أعظمُ فضلٍ

فاغتنمهُ فقد حويت مداه

And surely spreading knowledge is the greatest virtue;

So seize it, for you have attained its fullest measure.

ولتَسِر ولتَؤُوب مَرقَى

تسمع الخير دائباً وتراه

May you journey and return, uplifted,

Ever hearing good and seeing it.

ولِطَرفِ المخافِ عنك اغتماضٌ

ولطرف المراد منك انتباه

And may danger's eye remain closed to you,

While the eye of what you desire stays wakeful for you,

ما طوى الروضُ سِرَّهُ جنح ليل

فأذاعته للصباح صباه

As long as the garden folds its secret beneath night's wing,

And its east breeze divulges it to the morning.