إِن عَبد الرَحمَن مَولى المَعالي

إِن عَبد الرَحمَن مَولى المَعالي

وَعَديم النَظير وَالأَمثال

وَعَديم النَظير وَالأَمثال

Indeed, Abd al-Rahman is the master of lofty virtues,

Abdul Rahman, lord of glories untold,

And has neither peer nor equal.

Peerless, unmatched, as legends foretold,

قَد حَوى الفَضل لَم يَدعُ مِنهُ شَيئاً

قَد حَوى الفَضل لَم يَدعُ مِنهُ شَيئاً

لِسِواهُ إِلّا خَيال الخَيال

لِسِواهُ إِلّا خَيال الخَيال

He has gathered all excellence, leaving none of it

Has grasped all virtue, left nothing behind,

For anyone else, save the shadow of a shadow.

For any but he, save fancied in mind.

سَيد وَابن سَيد وَحَسيب

سَيد وَابن سَيد وَحَسيب

مِن حَسيب مُقَدس الأَفعال

مِن حَسيب مُقَدس الأَفعال

A lord, the son of a lord, and a man of noble lineage,

A chief, son of chiefs, of purest descent,

Descended from a nobleman whose deeds are hallowed.

From ancestors holy, of noble intent,

إِن تَذَكرت عَنهُ تَأخير مَدحي

إِن تَذَكرت عَنهُ تَأخير مَدحي

قُلت ما قيلَ في الزَمان الخالي

قُلت ما قيلَ في الزَمان الخالي

If I recall my delay in praising him,

If I delayed singing his praise as due,

I say what was said in times gone by:

I'd say, as in ages devoid and untrue,

ما تَشكَكت في الزَمان وَلَكن

ما تَشكَكت في الزَمان وَلَكن

غَلَطي كانَ في إِختيار الرِجال

غَلَطي كانَ في إِختيار الرِجال

I did not doubt the times, but

I doubted not eras, but my mistake

My error lay in choosing men.

In choice of mean souls praise to partake.

إِن ذكر الكِرام ذكر جَميل

إِن ذكر الكِرام ذكر جَميل

لَيسَ يُبلى وَكُل شَيءِ بالي

لَيسَ يُبلى وَكُل شَيءِ بالي

Indeed, remembrance of the noble is a beautiful remembrance,

To speak of the great, is sweetness sublime,

Which does not wear away, though everything wears out.

Unfading, while all else fades in time.