يا أبا الفضل وابنه وأخاه

وسناه وحليه وحُلاَهُ

O Abu al-Fadl, excellence’s son and brother,

its radiance, its adornment, and its virtues,

وشبيهاً بأوّليهِ فإن لا

ح حسبنا جدَّه وأباه

and one like his two forebears—for when he

appears, we take him for his grandfather and father.

عَلَمٌ تحسر اللواحظ عنه

سفحه الجود والعلا مرتقاه

A mountain before which gazes falter,

generosity is his base, and eminence his ascent.

لم أزل سامعاً بفضلك حتى

حقق اللَّحظ عنك ما قد رواه

I had always heard of your excellence, until

sight confirmed what had been reported of you.

أنت من أنت فضل طبع وارث

طابق الفرع أصله وحكاه

You are who you are—excellent by nature and inheritance;

the branch has matched its root and mirrored it.

أنف من تقلَّد الكبر وصفا

ولك الموجبان مال وجاه

You disdain donning arrogance as a trait,

though you possess both its inducements: wealth and rank.

وأخو العقل إن أسف لنقص

من مهاوي الهوى نَهتهُ نُهَاهُ

A man of reason, if some failing brings him low,

is restrained by his reason from the abysses of desire.

سرّني القرب منك والدهر دأباً

مازج طيب وصله بنواه

Being near you gladdened me, though time is ever

mixing the sweetness of its reunions with its partings.

وسواء لديه جبلة غدر

نالنا منه خيره أو سواه

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

whether we receive its good 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

Indeed, spreading knowledge is the greatest merit;

so seize it, for you possess its full measure.

ولتَسِر ولتَؤُوب مَرقَى

تسمع الخير دائباً وتراه

May you journey and return, exalted,

continually hearing good and seeing it.

ولِطَرفِ المخافِ عنك اغتماضٌ

ولطرف المراد منك انتباه

May the eye of what you fear be closed to you,

and the eye of what you seek be awake for you,

ما طوى الروضُ سِرَّهُ جنح ليل

فأذاعته للصباح صباه

as long as the garden folds its secret in night’s wing,

and its east wind reveals it to the morning.