العز بالعلم لا جاه ولا مال

والفخر بالفضل لا علم ولا خال

Honor comes through knowledge, not rank or wealth.

And pride comes through excellence, not knowledge or a maternal uncle.

فكل عز بغير العلم منقطع

وكل كثير بدون الفضل إقلال

Every honor without knowledge is cut short,

And every abundance without excellence is poverty.

وكل حال حلت والجهل رائدها

فإنها لذويها بئست الحال

Any condition that arises with ignorance as its guide—

For those who live it, what a wretched condition it is!

معزّة الجهل إدبار ومنقصة

وعزّة العلم إسعاد وإقبال

The honor of ignorance brings decline and disgrace,

While the honor of knowledge brings happiness and good fortune.

يموت ذو الجهل لا ذكر ولا أثر

إن السراب ببطن البيد ختال

The ignorant die without remembrance or trace;

Indeed, the mirage in the desert's heart deceives.

بكفى ذوى الجهل في الدارين منقصة

بين الورى أتهم في الناس جهال

It is disgrace enough for the ignorant in both worlds

That, among humankind, they are ignorant among their fellows.

تموت بالموت في الأحياء سيرتهم

إن الجهول لرمز النقص تمثال

With death, their memory dies among the living;

Indeed, the ignorant are a symbol and embodiment of deficiency.

فذاك كمية في الكون مهملة

سيان والله إن داموا وإن زالوا

Such a person is a negligible quantity in the universe;

By God, it is all the same whether they remain or vanish.

لكن أولو العلم أحياء وإن قبروا

على مقابرهم نور وإجلال

But the learned are alive, even when buried;

Light and reverence rest upon their graves.

يستنشق الكل كالريحان سيرتهم

فالطيب شاف ونتن الريح قتال

Everyone inhales their memory like sweet basil;

For fragrance heals, while a foul stench kills.

أكابر الكون مهما طار طائرهم

هم الرعايا وأهل العلم أقيال

The world's great men, however high their bird may soar,

Are subjects, while the learned are kings.

هم للزمان على طول المدى حلل

لكن سواهم لهذا الدهر أسمال

They are splendid robes for time, throughout its span,

While others are mere rags upon this age.

أفعالهم من عيوب النقص سالمة

فليس فيها إذا فتشت إعلال

Their deeds are free of the flaws of imperfection,

And, if you examine them, you will find no defect.

هم الغياث إذا ما أزمة أزمت

وهم لدين النبي المصطفى آل

They are the succor when a crisis grows severe,

And they are kin to the faith of the chosen Prophet.

بالهل ما خاب يوم القصد زائرهم

ولا اعتراه وحق الحق إذلال

By God, no visitor to them was disappointed when seeking them,

Nor, by the sanctity of the Truth, did humiliation befall him.

هذا الإمام إمام الفضل من صغر

بعلمه ضربت في الناس أمثال

This imam has been the imam of excellence since childhood;

Through his knowledge, proverbs were coined among people.

بحر خضم ولكن ساغ مورده

حتى ارتوت منه أقطاب وأبطال

A vast sea, yet sweet to drink from,

Till leading figures and heroes drank their fill from him.

من ههنا الشرع والاداب قد نبعت

فالعلم من ههنا في الكون سيال

From here sprang sacred law and letters;

From here, knowledge flows throughout the world.

هذا هو ابحر سفن العلم جارية

من فوق لجته والفلك جوال

He is a multitude of seas; the ships of knowledge sail

Above his depths, and the vessels roam.

شراعها الشرع والقرآن رائدها

وسنة المصطفى المختار أحمال

Their sail is sacred law, and the Qur'an their guide;

And the Sunna of the Chosen, the Elect, is their cargo.

فانظر تر الكل مسرور بساحته

يرجو القبول وقلب الكل آمال

Look, and see everyone rejoicing in his courtyard,

Hoping for acceptance, every heart filled with hopes.

عليهم مسحة الإخلاص مشرقة

لا ينطقون وصمت الكل أقوال

A radiant touch of sincerity rests upon them;

They do not speak, yet everyone's silence speaks.

كل إليه بحسن القصد قد هرعوا

والكل للمدد الفياض سؤال

All have hastened to him with good intentions,

And all are supplicants for overflowing aid.

وكيف لا والإمام الشافعي له

جود وفضل كغيث السحب هطال

And how could they not, when Imam al-Shafi‘i has

Generosity and bounty pouring like rain from the clouds?

فهو ابن عم رسول الله من فئة

شم الأنوف ومنها الجود ينهال

For he is a cousin of God's Messenger, from a people

With proudly lifted noses, from whom generosity pours.

غر الجوه إذا ما جئت تسألهم

بشوا وأسد الشرى في الحرب إن صالوا

Radiant of face: when you come to ask of them,

They beam; in war, when they charge, they are lions of al-Shara.

يكفى ابن إدريس فخرا ما استفاض به

صدق الحديث ولم تنكره أجيال

Ibn Idris needs no greater glory than what is widely reported of him:

A truthful account that generations have not denied.

بالعلم منه طباق الأرض قد ملئت

ومنه قد فتحت للعلم أقفال

The whole expanse of the earth has been filled with knowledge from him,

And through him the locks barring knowledge were opened.

بعلمه مالك قد كان مغتبطا

والصاحبان وقالوا فيه ما قالوا

Malik rejoiced in his knowledge,

As did the two companions; they said of him what they said.

هذي شهادة حق وهي عادلة

لا جرح فيها ولا في الصدق إعلال

This is true testimony, and it is just,

With no grounds to impugn it, nor any defect in its truth.

قولوا لمن ظن أن البعض يشبهه

أقصر فأنت بسوء الظن ختال

Tell whoever thinks that some others resemble him:

Desist! In your ill judgment, you are a deceiver.

لولا الإمام وأهل البيت بيتكم

لمزقت من بلاد النيل أوصال

Were it not for the imam and the People of the House—your household—

Limbs would have been torn from the lands of the Nile.

بالله زوروا ولا تصغوا لمعترض

فالكل لا شك للشيطان عمال

By God, visit, and do not heed anyone who objects,

For all such people are, without doubt, Satan's agents.

يا ويحهم مرقوا فالدين عندهم

في الرجل قيد وفي الأعناق أغلال

Oh, woe to them! They have gone astray; to them, religion is

A fetter on the foot and shackles around their necks.

نور الكرامة حاشى الزيغ يطفئه

فالشرع كالسيف فتاك وقتال

Far be it that error should extinguish the light of sanctity!

For sacred law is like a sword, lethal and deadly.

فيا إمام إليك الناس قد وفدوا

وعندهم من جميل الظن آمال

O imam, the people have come to you,

Bearing hopes born of their good expectations.

أموا رحابك والإخلاص رائدهم

وما ثنتهم وحق الحق أشغال

They sought your spacious courts with sincerity as their guide,

And, by the sanctity of the Truth, no occupations turned them away.

إليك مدوا بحسن الظن أيديهم

فاعطف عليهم فحسن العطف إقبال

To you they stretched their hands in good faith;

Show them compassion, for kindly compassion brings good fortune.

وانظر لمصر وأهليها ومن حضروا

فكلهم في حماك اليوم نزال

Look upon Egypt, its people, and those who have come,

For today they are all guests within your protection.

فأنت للبلد المأمون معتصم

وأنت للمشكل المعقود حلال

You are a refuge for this secure land,

And you are the unraveler of knotted difficulties.

فعن حماك جميع الناس ما عدلوا

يوما ولا عن حميد القصد قد ماللوا

All the people have remained within your protection, never turning away

Even for one day, nor swerving from their praiseworthy purpose.

يا ربنا اجعل رجال العلم في شرف

إن الجميع لنصر الدين أبطال

Our Lord, grant honor to the men of learning;

Indeed, they are all champions in defense of the faith.

واختم بخير وفرج كل كارثة

فأنت وحدك دون الكل فعال

Grant a good ending, and relieve every calamity,

For You alone, and none other, are the Doer.