1. أعظم بمدرسة للعلم قد وصفت

    تسمو بمنظرها الباهلي على الشّهب

    How magnificent is the school of learning thus described!

    With its Bahili aspect, it rises above the shooting stars.

  2. من غير أرجائها العليا وعرصتها

    عرف المعارف والأسرار لم يطب

    Outside its lofty precincts and its courtyard,

    the fragrance of learning and mysteries has never been sweet.

  3. ما طاف منها ببيت الذّكر ذو كرب

    إلا رأى فيه تفريجا من الكرب

    No troubled soul ever circled its house of remembrance

    without finding there relief from distress.

  4. ولا سعى نحوه ساع لنيلُ على

    إلا غدا ذكرهُ في أشرف الرّتب

    Nor did any seeker strive toward it to attain eminence

    without his renown reaching the noblest ranks.

  5. منسوبة لأبي العباس نشأتها

    ذي الفضل والعلم الباهي في النّسب

    Its founding is attributed to Abu al-Abbas,

    possessor of excellence and learning, splendid in lineage.

  6. شيخ سريٌّ سرى معرُفهُ بسما

    عُلاه بدرا لبشر الوجه منتسب

    A noble shaykh, whose benevolence spread through the sky

    of his eminence, a full moon linked to a smiling countenance.

  7. بّر تقيّ وليّ ناسك ورع

    خير زكيّ بأسرار الإلاه حبي

    A righteous, God-fearing saint, devout and scrupulous,

    good and pure, endowed with the secrets of God.

  8. شيخ يعرف عرف العارفين لنا

    منه لم ينكر التّعرف من ريب

    A shaykh—the fragrance of the mystics is known to us

    through him; no doubt has called that recognition into question.

  9. إذا شد لك قُل يا شاذُلي انا في

    حماك ذا محرّزا من سائر العطب

    When things grow hard for you, say: 'O Shadhili, I am in

    this refuge of yours, safeguarded from every peril.'

  10. أمست كراماتُه في المغرب مشرقة

    كان الدّجى منهن في حُجب

    His saintly miracles came to shine in the Maghreb;

    because of them, darkness lay behind veils.

  11. أليس في الحرمين الأشرفين بدت

    لهم كشمس الضّحى في الأفق لم تغب

    Did they not appear in the two most honored sanctuaries,

    for them, like the forenoon sun on the horizon, never setting?

  12. له بربّ العلى وصل ومعرفة

    من دونها تُقطعُ عن الطّلب

    He has communion with the Lord on high, and spiritual knowledge,

    without which you are cut off from the quest.

  13. يبكي بدمع إذا جنّ الظلام ترى

    صبيه شائبا للدمع وهو صبي

    He weeps tears when darkness falls; you see

    his boy gray-haired from tears, though still a boy.

  14. نهران من راحتيه يجريان لدى

    فقر من الفضّة البيضاء والذهب

    Two rivers flow from his palms amid

    poverty—rivers of white silver and gold.

  15. أنشأ لإحياء دين الله مدرسة

    فكان للناس محيي الدّين للعرب

    He founded a school to revive God's religion;

    thus he became, for the people, a reviver of religion for the Arabs.

  16. لرّبه مخلصا في السرّ أنشأها

    لمن يكون لأهل الدّين ذا طلب

    He founded it with inward sincerity toward his Lord,

    for anyone who seeks the people of the faith.

  17. لو لم يكن مخلصا ما لاح في حجر

    المحراب كتب جليّ غير مُكتتب

    Had he not been sincere, there would not have appeared upon the stone

    of the prayer niche a clear, unwritten inscription:

  18. اسم النبيّ وصديق النبيّ مع الفا

    روق يتلوه ذو النّورين وابن أبي

    the Prophet's name, and that of the Prophet's Siddiq, with al-Fa-

    ruq, followed by the Possessor of the Two Lights and Ibn Abi.

  19. ما ذاك إلا لسر فيه أودعه

    لهديه برسُول اللّه والصحب

    That was only because of a secret entrusted within him,

    because he was guided by God's Messenger and the Companions.

  20. عليه منيّ سلامُ ما طلعت

    شمسٌ وغرّدُ قمريٌ على القضب

    Upon him be peace from me, as long as there rises

    a sun, and a turtledove sings upon the boughs.