ومن قاس الملوك على ديوك

يُسَنّ لها الحديد فقد تجنّى

And whoever compares kings to roosters

for which iron is sharpened has acted unjustly.

وما قلنا الملوك لكي نسوّي

بلفظ الملك بين الكل معنى

Nor did we say 'kings' in order to make

them all equal in substance through the title 'king'.

أولئكَ ما لقوا في الفضل ندا

كوالدهم به لم يلق قرنا

Those men have found no equal in excellence,

just as their father found no peer in it.

ولست بواجد أخرى الليالي

كذاك موفّقين أبا وإبنا

Nor will you find, till the last of nights,

a father and son so favored with success.

على أن العوارف من أبيهم

تعرفهم أوان الخوف أمنا

Besides, their father's generous deeds

bring them safety in times of fear.

صلاة المرء تصلح من بنيه

وتدخلهم عن الأسواء حصنا

A man's prayer sets his sons aright

and brings them into a fortress against evils.

كذا فنّ القريض وإن ذكرنا

علي بن الحسين يزده فنا

Such is the art of verse; and if we mention

Ali ibn al-Husayn, he enriches its art.

همامٌ همه أقصى المعالي

وهمّ الناس منه ما تسنّى

A great-souled man intent on the highest honors,

while people seek from him whatever they can obtain.

أقلّ تكلفا وأجل حلما

وأضخم همّةً وأدقّ ذهنا

Least affected and greatest in forbearance,

grandest in aspiration and keenest in mind.

بظاهر برّه نفع البرايا

وأضعاف المشاهد قد أجنّا

Through his manifest kindness he has benefited all creation,

and kept hidden many times what is seen.

يزيدك كلّما تلقاه أخرى

على الولى من ألإحسان لونا

Whenever you meet him anew, he grants you

a further shade of kindness beyond the first.

ويحمي كل من وافى حماه

سوى من جاءه ليثير ضغنا

And he protects everyone who reaches his sanctuary,

except one who comes to stir up rancor.

فكان له على الدنيا وداد

يقاوم ملأها سهلا وحزنا

So the world owed him affection

equal to its whole expanse, level and rugged.

ولما لم تقم بأداه فورا

وكان لمعسر الغرماء هينا

And when it failed to repay him promptly,

and he was gentle with debtors in hardship,

تقاضى بعض واجبه فأغضى

وقد أبقى على الأيّام دينا

he claimed part of his due, then looked past the rest,

leaving a debt still owed by the days.

لهذه والبشاشة في التلاقي

ومهما غبت عن مرآه حنا

For this, and his cheerfulness when you meet,

and his yearning whenever you are out of his sight,

تودّ لو أن تباع له حياة

ويأخذ سائر الأحياء رهنا

you wish that life could be sold to him,

and that he could take all other living beings as collateral.

فيا ملكا يغار عليك شعري

فإن وافاك أحسن منه جنّا

O king, my verse is jealous over you:

if finer verse comes to you, it goes mad.

بفضلك لا تلمه إذا رماه

بساحرة من الشعار غنا

By your grace, do not blame it if it strikes that rival

with a sweet-voiced enchantress from among the poets;

تمُرّ به فتصرعه سريعا

إلى مثواك ما أرضاك حسنا

she passes by it and swiftly strikes it down—

that which pleased you in beauty, bound for your dwelling.

فإن فاقت فقد هذّبت قبلا

مهذّبها إلى أن صار شفنا

If she excels, you have already refined

her refiner until he became keenly observant.

وإن ظفرت بعتب منك كانت

به أعنى لتفتح منه عينا

And if she wins a rebuke from you, she will be

more attentive to it, to open an eye through it,

لبعدك أن تجيء به جزافا

وأبعد منك أن تبديه طعنا

for you are far from offering it at random,

and farther still from voicing it as an attack.

فلا زالت سعودك في ازديادٍ

بها في كل آونةٍ تهنّا

So may your good fortunes never cease to grow,

and may you enjoy them at every moment.