1. رحلوا كما رحل الكرى عن ماقي

    وخلا الحمى عن ساحر الاحداق

    They departed as sleep departed from the corner of my eye.

    And the sanctuary lay empty of the one whose eyes bewitch.

  2. امن العميد من العيون اصابة

    وشكا البطالة والفراغ الراقي

    The love-stricken man was safe from wounds dealt by eyes,

    and the charm-healer complained of idleness and leisure.

  3. ولطالما مرت به اسد فلم

    تتخط منه مصارع العشاق

    And how often lions passed through it, yet they did not

    step beyond the places there where lovers fell dead.

  4. لم يبق فيه غير مبعث عرفهم

    يغرى خلي البال بالاشواق

    Nothing remained there but the source of their fragrance,

    enticing the carefree heart into longing.

  5. فكانه اوصاف عبد اللَه ا

    تثنى عليه السن الآفاق

    So it is like the virtues of ʿAbd Allāh—

    whom tongues across the horizons praise.

  6. حبر تزين بالفضائل زينة ال

    افنان بالاثمار والاوراق

    A scholar adorned with virtues, as are the

    branches with fruits and leaves.

  7. ولذا تواضع من علاء مقامه

    لمديح مثلي وهو اسمى راق

    And so, from the height of his station, he humbled himself

    to praise one like me, though none rises higher than he.

  8. اهدى الى من اللآلئ ما خلت

    عنه صنوف قلائد الاعناق

    He gave me pearls of a kind missing

    from every variety of necklace worn about the neck.

  9. عجبا لبحر وهو عنك محجب

    ياتيك جوهره على اطباق

    How wondrous—a sea, though hidden from you,

    whose jewels come to you upon platters!

  10. هو ذلك الكنز الذي لم يعله

    صدأ ولم ينفد على الانفاق

    He is that treasure never coated

    with rust, nor exhausted by spending.

  11. شهم يزين مقاله بفعاله

    فهما لعمرك توأما الارفاق

    A noble man who adorns his speech with his deeds;

    thus, by your life, the two are twins in kindness.

  12. وافي الخلاق من المكارم والعلى

    صافي الخلاق مهذب الاخلاق

    Full is his share of noble qualities and eminence,

    pure his nature, refined his character.

  13. يا حبذا الحدباء كم قد اطلعت

    من بدر مجد باهر الاشراق

    Ah, how lovely is al-Ḥadbāʾ! How often she has raised

    a full moon of glory, dazzling in radiance!

  14. ولكم حوت في حيها وربوعها

    من بحر علم زاخر دفاق

    And how often she has held within her quarter and dwellings

    a sea of knowledge, brimming and pouring forth!

  15. وعلى فيضي منهم فياضة

    آلاؤه فجزت عن الاغداق

    And ʿAlī Fayḍī is among them—overflowing

    are his favors, surpassing lavish giving.

  16. فهو المجلى ان تسابقت النهى

    في الفضل والآداب يوم سباق

    Thus he is the victor, should intellects race

    in excellence and letters on a day of racing.

  17. تلك المحامد عن ابيه وجده

    موروثة طبعا بالاستحقاق

    Those virtues, from his father and grandfather,

    are inherited by nature and by right.

  18. وردت مجلته فقام وجودها

    عندي مقام صحيفة الميثاق

    His journal arrived, and its presence was

    to me as a written covenant.

  19. فهي الغنى لي والغناء وانها

    اشهى من الصهباء والترياق

    Thus it is wealth to me and song, and it is

    more delightful than tawny wine and the antidote.

  20. نزهت طرفي في محاسنها التي

    قد آنقته ايما ايناق

    I let my gaze stroll among its beauties, which

    have delighted it beyond all measure.

  21. فطربت من انشائها وعجبت من

    ايشائها لبيان عبد الباقي

    So I was enraptured by its composition, and marveled at

    its embellishment of ʿAbd al-Bāqī’s eloquence.

  22. هذي اليد البيضاء قيد جوارحي

    بالشكر ما احبى على الاطلاق

    This white hand has bound my limbs

    in gratitude for what he has bestowed without restraint.

  23. فيقل في لجى بحر غنائها

    لي منشآت المدح بالاغراق

    Thus, in the depths of its sea of bounty, of little account are

    my vessels of praise, even with hyperbole.

  24. ليس الذي يولي الجميل مصادقا

    مثل الذي يوليه ضمن نفاق

    One who bestows kindness in friendship is not

    like one who bestows it in hypocrisy.

  25. والبر ممن لا تراه اجل من

    بر الذي ترميه بالحملاق

    And kindness from one you do not see is nobler than

    the kindness of one you look upon with your eye.

  26. ذي عادة الكرماء ان يغنوا وهم

    مغنون عن سعي ووخد نياق

    Such is the way of the generous: they enrich, while they

    spare one toil and the swift tread of she-camels.

  27. يا سيدا قد عمنى احسانه

    واختصني بثنائه الرواق

    O master, whose kindness has encompassed me

    and who singled me out with his pleasing praise,

  28. فملكت قلبي كله وشغلته

    عن ان يرجى من سواك تلاقي

    so you have won my whole heart and diverted it

    from hoping for a meeting with anyone but you.

  29. من الف ميل جاء صوتك داعيا

    اياء وهو على جواب وفاق

    From a thousand miles, your voice came calling

    me—and it is met with a reply of accord.

  30. واليك مصداقا على ما قلته

    هذي السطور فقدك من مصداق

    And here, for you, as proof of what I have said,

    are these lines—proof enough for you.