يا أبا الفضل كلَّما قلتَ شعرا

يا أبا الفضل كلَّما قلتَ شعرا

فيه أودعتَ من بيانك سحرا

فيه أودعتَ من بيانك سحرا

O Abu al-Fadl, whenever you utter verse,

O Abu al-Fadl, whenever you recite poetry

You lodge within it magic from your eloquence.

In it you instill the magic of your eloquence

وإذا ما بعثتَ غائصَ فكرٍ

وإذا ما بعثتَ غائصَ فكرٍ

في بحور القريض أبرزتَ درَّا

في بحور القريض أبرزتَ درَّا

And whenever you send forth a diver of thought

And when you dispatch a diving thought

Into the seas of poetry, you bring forth pearls.

In the oceans of verse you bring out a pearl

كم تعاطيتَ غايةً جئتَ فيها

كم تعاطيتَ غايةً جئتَ فيها

سابق الحلبتين نظماً ونثرا

سابق الحلبتين نظماً ونثرا

How many a goal you have pursued, emerging there

How much you have attempted a feat in which

First in both arenas, in verse and prose!

You were ahead of both assemblies in prose and verse

لكَ حرٌّ من النظامِ رقيقٌ

لكَ حرٌّ من النظامِ رقيقٌ

ورقيق النظام ما كانَ حرَّا

ورقيق النظام ما كانَ حرَّا

Yours is noble verse, delicate;

You have free verse that is delicate

And delicate verse is that which is noble.

And delicate verse was never free

إن تصفَّحته تجد كلَّ شطرٍ

إن تصفَّحته تجد كلَّ شطرٍ

فيه يحوي من المحاسن شطرا

فيه يحوي من المحاسن شطرا

If you peruse it, you find that every half-line

If you browse it you find every verse

Within it holds a share of beauty.

Contains half of its beautiful qualities

لفَّ في نشره بديع القوافي

لفَّ في نشره بديع القوافي

ببديع ترويه لفًّا ونشرا

ببديع ترويه لفًّا ونشرا

In its unfolding it enfolds wondrous rhymes,

Woven in its diffusion is the unique rhyme

With wondrous art you recount as folding and unfolding.

With the unique flowing of its rhyme, woven and diffused

كلِمٌ كلّه سبائكُ تبرٍ

كلِمٌ كلّه سبائكُ تبرٍ

ما سبكنَ الأفكار شرواه تبرا

ما سبكنَ الأفكار شرواه تبرا

Words, all of them ingots of gold;

Every word is ingots of pure gold

No thoughts have cast their equal in gold.

Thoughts not cast by minds, their ingots pure gold

صغته باهرَ المعاني فقلنا

صغته باهرَ المعاني فقلنا

إنَّ للهِ في معانيك سرَّا

إنَّ للهِ في معانيك سرَّا

You fashioned it with dazzling meanings, so we said:

We listened, dazzled by its sublime ideas

Indeed, God has a secret in your meanings.

Saying: God has a mystery in your ideas

قد تجلَّى بدرُ نظمك عصرٌ

قد تجلَّى بدرُ نظمك عصرٌ

جئتَ فرداً به فناهيكَ عصرا

جئتَ فرداً به فناهيكَ عصرا

The full moon of your verse has shone in an age

The full moon of your verse has shone an age

In which you came peerless—what an age!

You came alone with it, so you are matchless in your age

وهدت قالة القريض نجومٌ

وهدت قالة القريض نجومٌ

طلعت في سماءِ طرسكَ زُهرا

طلعت في سماءِ طرسكَ زُهرا

And stars guided those who speak in verse,

It has guided the stars of verse, stars

That rose bright in the sky of your page.

That rose in your poetry's sky as flowers

ذكرتنا ذكرى حبيبٍ فقلنا

ذكرتنا ذكرى حبيبٍ فقلنا

إنَّ في هذه القوافي لذكرى

إنَّ في هذه القوافي لذكرى

They recalled to us the memory of Habib, so we said:

It reminded us of a beloved, so we said

Indeed, in these rhymes there is remembrance.

There is in these rhymes a reminder

وسقتنا غيث الوليد فقلنا

وسقتنا غيث الوليد فقلنا

أنت بالانسجام يا غيث أحرى

أنت بالانسجام يا غيث أحرى

And they gave us al-Walid's rain to drink, so we said:

It gave us rain of revival, so we said

You, O rain, are worthier of harmonious flow.

You are more apt in composition, O rain

وتلت مُعجزاً لأحمد يدعو

وتلت مُعجزاً لأحمد يدعو

مَن وعاه آمنتُ سرًّا وجهرا

مَن وعاه آمنتُ سرًّا وجهرا

And they recited a miracle of Ahmad, calling on

It recited miraculously, calling on Ahmad

Whoever understands it to say, “I believe, in secret and openly.”

Whoever perceives it, I believe secretly and openly

فاجتنينا للأُنسِ زهرة روضٍ

فاجتنينا للأُنسِ زهرة روضٍ

واجتلينا كالشمس عذراء بكرا

واجتلينا كالشمس عذراء بكرا

So we plucked, for delight, a garden's flower,

So we picked flowers of companionship

And beheld a virgin maiden, like the sun.

And faced it like the rising virgin sun

ينثني العقلُ حين تتلى كأَنَّ ال

ينثني العقلُ حين تتلى كأَنَّ ال

لفظ كأسٌ والسمع يرتاح سكرا

لفظ كأسٌ والسمع يرتاح سكرا

The mind yields when they are recited, as though the

The mind swoons when recited as if

wording were a cup, and hearing delights in intoxication.

The words a cup, the hearing intoxicated

فأرى الخضر أنت لكن لديه

فأرى الخضر أنت لكن لديه

عين ماء الحياة تنبع خمرا

عين ماء الحياة تنبع خمرا

So I see you as al-Khidr, yet he has

So I see you as Al-Khidr, but he has

A spring of the water of life that wells up as wine.

The water of life's eye that pours wine

هي آياتُ مرسلٍ بالقوافي

هي آياتُ مرسلٍ بالقوافي

ربُّها قد أحاطَ بالنظم خبرا

ربُّها قد أحاطَ بالنظم خبرا

They are verses of a messenger sent with rhymes;

They are verses of a Messenger in rhyme

Their master has full knowledge of versification.

Their Lord has encompassed verse with wisdom

قد قرأنا عزائم الشعر منها

قد قرأنا عزائم الشعر منها

وسجدنا لله حمداً وشكرا

وسجدنا لله حمداً وشكرا

We have read from them the incantations of poetry,

We have read the resolves of poetry therein

And prostrated ourselves to God in praise and thanks.

And bowed to God in thanks and praise