1. كُتِبْتُ غيباً على ما قامَ في الأَزَلِ

    عبدَ الرِّفاعِيِّ شيخِ الأُمَّةِ البَطَلِ

    I was inscribed in the unseen, as established in beginningless eternity,

    As servant of al-Rifa'i, the community's heroic shaykh.

  2. فَحْلُ الشُّيوخِ صُدورِ الدِّينِ سيِّدُهُمْ

    كَنْزُ الحَقائِقِ بحرُ العلمِ والعَمَلِ

    The stallion among the shaykhs, those leaders of faith—their master,

    Treasure of truths, ocean of knowledge and practice.

  3. فتًى أَقامَ شِراعَ المجدِ فانْتَظَمَتْ

    لمجدِدِهِ دَوْلَةُ الإِرْشادِ في المِلَلِ

    A youth who raised glory's sail, and so was arrayed

    For its renewer the realm of guidance among the faiths.

  4. كأنَّهُ فوقَ كُرسِيِّ الخِطابَةِ في

    صَدْرِ المَحافِلِ موْلانا الإِمامُ عَلي

    As though he were, upon the preacher's chair, at

    The forefront of assemblies, our master, Imam Ali.

  5. حَذا بسيرَتِهِ العَليا ومذْهَبِهِ

    حَذْوَ الرَّسولِ وحَذْوَ السَّادَةِ الأُوَلِ

    He followed, in his lofty conduct and his way,

    The Messenger's example and that of the earliest masters.

  6. من أَهْلِ بيتٍ لَهُمْ في كلِّ زاوِيَةٍ

    سِرٌّ خَفِيٌّ وشأْنٌ كالصَّباحِ جَلي

    From a household whose members have, in every corner,

    A hidden mystery and a stature clear as morning.

  7. مُحَجَّبٌ من أُسودِ اللهِ ذو مَدَدٍ

    سارٍ تصرُّفُهُ في الكَوْنِ لم يَزُلِ

    Veiled, one of God's lions, endowed with spiritual aid,

    His sway pervades the universe and has never ceased.

  8. وشيخُ نهجٍ كَريمٍ في تَنَقُّلِهِ

    عم مذهبِ الهاشِمِيِّ الطُّهْرِ لم يَحُلِ

    And a shaykh of a noble path, who in his movement

    Never strayed from the pure Hashimite's way.

  9. فَخْرُ العَصائبِ من بيتِ الرَّسولِ أَبو ال

    عَبَّاسِ شمسُ المَعالي مُنتهَى الأَمَلِ

    Pride of the clans, from the Messenger's household, Abu al-

    'Abbas, sun of lofty honors, the utmost hope.

  10. بابُ الشُّهودِ مُفيضُ الجُودِ فجرُ سَما

    ءِ الفَخْرِ رَحْبُ الحِمى سُلطانُ كلِّ وَلي

    Gate of witnessing, outpourer of bounty, dawn of the sky

    Of glory, with a vast sanctuary, sovereign of every saint.

  11. رُكنُ الشَّريعَةِ ممْدوحُ الطَّريقَةِ كَشَّ

    افُ الحَقيقَةِ غوْثُ الخائِفِ الوَجِلِ

    Pillar of sacred law, praised in the spiritual path, unveiler

    Of truth, succor of the fearful and trembling.

  12. تُنْمى المَعالي لبيتٍ كانَ سيِّدَهُ

    حقًّا وينْحَطُّ عن عَلياهُ كلُّ عَلي

    Lofty honors are ascribed to a house whose master he was,

    Truly; every exalted one falls below his eminence.

  13. طَوْدٌ من السُنَّةِ السَّمْحاءِ قامَ له

    شأْنٌ عَلا ذَيْلُهُ عن قُبَّةِ الحَمَلِ

    A mountain of the gracious Sunnah; there arose for him

    A stature whose hem rose above the dome of Aries.

  14. آثارُهُ في جِباهِ الفخرِ لامِعَةٌ

    وطَوْرُهُ صِينَ عن شَطْحٍ وعن زَلَلِ

    His traces shine upon the brows of glory,

    And his state was guarded from ecstatic excess and from error.

  15. مُبارَكُ الوجهِ محمودُ الجَنابِ وفي ال

    هَيْجاءِ قُطبُ الرَّحى السَّامي عن المَثَلِ

    Blessed of face, praiseworthy in presence, and in the

    Fray, the millstone's pivot, exalted beyond compare.

  16. مُحمَّدِيُّ سلوكٍ لا يُحَدُّ لٍ

    حدٌّ وكُفْءٌ له في الشَّأْوِ لم يَصِلِ

    Muhammadan in conduct, for whom there is set no

    Limit; no peer has matched his reach.

  17. ذو رُتبَةٍ أخَذَتْ بالعِزِّ وارْتَفَعَتْ

    إلى مَقامٍ بعَزمِ الفكرِ لم يُطَل

    Possessed of a rank that took hold of glory and rose

    To a station beyond the reach of thought's resolve.

  18. مُقَبِّلُ الرَّاحَةِ البَيْضاءِ في زُمَرٍ

    غُرٍّ بساحَةِ ذاكَ المَشهَدِ الحَفِلِ

    Kisser of the white palm, amid companies

    Of radiant ones in the courtyard of that thronged gathering.

  19. كم حلَّ من عُقدَةٍ لي بِتُّ أَرهَبُها

    بهمَّةٍ لم تَزَلْ حَلاَّلَةَ العُقَلِ

    How many a knot he untied for me that I had spent the night dreading,

    With a resolve that has never ceased to untie bonds.

  20. قمْ يا أَخا الصِّدقِ وانْزِلْ رُحبَ دولَتِهِ

    والْجأْ له خالِصاً وابْهَجْ وقُلْ وطُلِ

    Rise, brother of sincerity, and settle in his realm's expanse;

    And seek refuge in him sincerely; rejoice, speak, and excel.

  21. وخُذهُ سيفاً على الأَعداءِ تُصلِتُهُ

    مُهَنَّداً من سُيوفِ المُصْطَفى وَصُلِ

    And take him as a sword to unsheathe against the enemies,

    An Indian-forged blade from the Chosen One's swords; charge!

  22. واجْعلهُ باباً لِما تَرجوهُ من أَمَلٍ

    وشافِعاً دافِعاً للمُدْهِشِ الجَلِلِ

    And make him a gate to whatever hope you cherish,

    And an intercessor warding off what is terrifying and grave.

  23. مولًى تحكَّمَ في طَوْرِ القُلُوبِ بما

    أَلقاهُ من حِكَمٍ فيها ومن زَجَلِ

    A master who governed the state of hearts through what

    He cast into them of wisdom and rhythmic verse.

  24. ردَّتْ هَوى النَّفسِ بالبُرْهانِ إذْ قَطَعَتْ

    ما سَوَّلَ الخاسِرُ الشَّيطانُ من حِيَلِ

    They repelled the soul's desire with proof, for they cut off

    The wiles the defeated Satan had made alluring.

  25. حَبلٌ غَدا من حِبالِ اللهِ عُرْوَتُهُ

    تَقِي المُحِبَّ من الآثامِ والخَلَلِ

    A rope that became one of God's ropes; its handhold

    Protects the lover from sins and faults.

  26. ووارِثُ جامِعٌ طابَتْ مَغارِسُهُ

    وطابَ مَسْراهُ في حطٍّ وفي نُقَلِ

    And an all-embracing heir whose roots were pure,

    And pure was his course, in halting and in moving on.

  27. يأوي إليه الضَّعيفُ القلبِ مُسْتنِداً

    لهُ فينْهَجُ فيهِ أَوضَحَ السُّبُلِ

    The weak of heart takes refuge in him, relying

    On him, and through him treads the clearest paths.

  28. أَنعِمْ به جَبَلاً من آلِ فاطمةٍ

    مُقدَّساً طُورُهُ ناهيكَ من جَبَلِ

    How excellent he is, a mountain of Fatimah's family,

    With his mount sanctified—what a mountain!

  29. أَخَفَ من نَسَماتِ الرِّيحِ نجدَتَهُ

    وفي التَّمكُّنِ فوقَ الطَّوْدِ بالثِّقَلِ

    Lighter than the wind's breezes is his aid,

    And in firmness he outweighs the mountain.

  30. نِظامُ بيتٍ رَفيعٍ كلُّهُ عَمَلٌ

    بَرٌّ تنزَّهَ إجْمالاً عن الكَسَلِ

    The bond of a lofty household, all of it work—

    Righteous and altogether free from sloth.

  31. عليه رِضوانُ رَبِّ العَرْشِ ما جمَعَتْ

    آياتِهِ من سُوَرُ التَّفصيلِ والجُمَلِ

    Upon him be the pleasure of the Lord of the Throne, as long as

    His verses are gathered in chapters of detail and summation.