1. لقد نزل المولى العليْ وهو رافلُ

    بناسوتِ آدمْ دونه البدر آفلُ

    Indeed, the Most High Lord descended, arrayed

    in Adam's human nature, before whom the full moon fades.

  2. وأشرق من مهد الرعاة موشَّحاً

    بثوبٍ به لاهوته الحيُّ كامل

    He shone forth from the shepherds' cradle, cloaked

    in a garment in which his living divinity is complete.

  3. له في السما عرشٌ للاهوت عزِّه

    وفي الأرض عرشٌ جسمُه فيه حاصل

    In heaven he has a throne for his glorious divinity,

    and on earth a throne in which his body dwells.

  4. ملائكةٌ يا ذا كرامٌ بطاعةٍ

    لدى عرشه هُنَّا الملوكُ مواثل

    Noble angels, O you, render obedience

    at his throne; here kings stand in attendance.

  5. هناك له الأمر المطاع من الورى

    لإكرامه هُنَّا المطيعُ المجامل

    There, his command is obeyed by creation,

    to honor him; here, he is obedient and gracious.

  6. هناك المبَرَّا عن عوارضنا التي

    نراها هُنا هُنّا لها متنازِل

    There, he is free from our frailties, which

    we see here; here he stoops to undergo them.

  7. فواعجباً ممن رأيناه خاضعاً

    وفي كفه السبعانِ والحكمُ عادل

    How wondrous is he whom we saw humbled,

    while the seven heavens and seven earths lie in his palm, and his judgment is just!

  8. فمن يدعي جهلاً بسؤدده يكن

    وضيعاً ورب العز كالعبد ماثل

    Whoever claims ignorance of his sovereignty shall be

    base, while the Lord of glory stands like a servant.

  9. أيا قمراً قد حل في سفح أرضنا

    على أنه فوق السماكين نازل

    O moon that has settled on our earth's slope,

    although he dwells above the two Simāk stars!

  10. فمن بيت لحمٍ كان مطلع نوره

    وناهيك من فَلْكٍ به اللَه جائل

    For Bethlehem was where his light arose,

    and what a sphere, with God moving within it!

  11. أيا مولداً قد كان فيه فداؤنا

    جميعاً وللشيطان والإثم قاتل

    O birth that brought us redemption,

    all of us, and slew Satan and sin!

  12. لقد خمدَت نار المجوس بنوره

    وقد حطت الأوثان والكفر ذاهل

    Indeed, the Magians' fire was extinguished by his light,

    and the idols were cast down, while unbelief stood bewildered.

  13. فمولده إن كان قد حَطَّ قدرَهم

    فلا شك أن الرسْلَ فيهم زلازل

    So if his birth brought down their standing,

    then surely the apostles are earthquakes in their midst.

  14. وقد لعبت فيهم عواملُ رُسْلِه

    كما لعبت بالمعربات العوامل

    The powers of his apostles have played upon them,

    just as grammatical governors play upon inflected words.

  15. رعى اللَه فينا مولداً أولد الهدى

    إلى الناس والتصديقُ للعقل عاقل

    May God preserve among us a birth that brought forth guidance

    to humankind; belief holds reason in check.

  16. وأحسن ببكرٍ قد دعتني لوصفها

    بمولدها السريِّ والوصف طائل

    And how splendid is the virgin who called me to describe her

    through her noble childbirth—and the description is vast.

  17. فيا من تمادى في نهاية مدحها

    فعند التناهي يقصرُ المتطاول

    O you who press onward toward the utmost limit of her praise:

    at the utmost limit, the one reaching high falls short.

  18. سماءٌ ولكن ليس إلّا لواحدٍ

    وعرشٌ ولكن فوقه اللَه ماثل

    She is a heaven, but for one alone,

    and a throne, but above it God is present;

  19. وشمسٌ ولكن أَولدت نورَ شمسها

    وشرقٌ ولكن نحوه الصبح مائل

    and a sun, but she bore the light of her own sun,

    and an east, but dawn inclines toward it.

  20. هي البدر في ليلٍ من الكفر حالكٍ

    ولا غرو أن الليل بالبدر آفل

    She is the full moon in a night black with unbelief,

    and no wonder that night fades before the full moon.

  21. فآدم من عصيانه حاز لعنةً

    ومريم باليمن الرحيب تُراسل

    For Adam gained a curse through his disobedience,

    while Mary is addressed with abundant blessing.

  22. لها الفضل في كل الجهات وإنما

    إلى فضلها الممدوح تعزَى الفضائل

    Hers is excellence in every respect, and it is only

    to her celebrated excellence that virtues are attributed.

  23. فيا خائضاً بحر العروض بنظمه

    ويعجبه منه بسيطٌ وكامل

    O you who wade the sea of prosody with your verse,

    and delight in its Basīṭ and Kāmil meters:

  24. أطل في مديح البكر مريم منشداً

    سريعاً وهَزْجُ النظم يُشجيه قائل

    chant at length in praise of Mary the virgin,

    swiftly, while a reciter lends pathos to the verse's Hazaj chant.