1. أيا زَفرَتِي زِيدي ويا عَبرتِي جُودِي

    على فاضِلِ الدُّنيا عليِّ بن مسعودِ

    O my sigh, grow stronger, and O my tear, flow freely,

    for the world's eminent man, Ali ibn Masud,

  2. على الشامخ الأبياتِ في المجدِ والعُلاَ

    على السَّابق الغاياتِ في البأسِ والجودِ

    for him whose houses tower in glory and eminence,

    for him who surpasses the utmost bounds in valor and generosity,

  3. على عُدَّةِ العصرِ التي جَمَعَت إلى

    مهابة موهوب طلاقة مَودودِ

    for the age's mainstay, who joined to

    a gifted man's awe-inspiring dignity the warmth of one beloved;

  4. على من له في المُلكِ غيرُ منازعٍ

    وزارة ميمون النقيبةِ محمود

    for him who held, unchallenged in the realm,

    the vizierate—a man of auspicious character and good repute;

  5. على من إذا عُدَّ الكرام فإنه

    بواجب فضل الحق أول معدود

    for him who, when the noble are counted,

    is, by the rightful claim of merit, the first counted.

  6. ومن كعليٍّ ذي الشجاعة والرِّضا

    لإصراخ مذعور وإيواءِ مَطرُود

    And who is like Ali, endowed with courage and goodwill,

    in rescuing the terrified and sheltering the outcast?

  7. ومن كعليٍّ ذي السماحة والنَّدى

    لإسباغِ إنعامٍ وإنجازِ موعودِ

    And who is like Ali, endowed with liberality and bounty,

    in lavishing favors and fulfilling what was promised?

  8. ومن كعليٍّ ذي الرجاحة والنهى

    لإفصاح إشكالٍ وإدراك مقصودِ

    And who is like Ali, endowed with sound judgment and reason,

    in clarifying a difficulty and attaining an aim?

  9. ومن كعليٍّ للوزارة قائماً

    عليها بتصويبٍ عليها وتَصعِيدِ

    And who is like Ali, taking charge of the vizierate,

    directing it downward and upward?

  10. ومن كعليٍّ للإدارة سالكاً

    لها نَهجَ تليينٍ مشوبٍ بتشديدِ

    And who is like Ali in administration, following

    for it a path of leniency mingled with strictness?

  11. ومن كعليٍّ للسياسةِ منفذاً

    أوامرَ تنفيذٍ وأحكام تَوطِيدِ

    And who is like Ali in statecraft, carrying out

    commands for enforcement and rulings that secure stability?

  12. ومن كعليٍّ في رِضَا الله حاكماً

    بإيجاد معدوم ولإعدام موجودِ

    And who is like Ali, judging to please God,

    by bringing the nonexistent into being and abolishing the existent?

  13. ومن كعليٍّ واصلِ الرَّحِمِ التي

    تَمُتَّ بتقريبٍ له أو بِتَبعِيدِ

    And who is like Ali, maintaining the bonds of kinship that

    link others to him, whether close or distant?

  14. أيا كافىء السلطان كلَّ عظيمةٍ

    بآراء تسديدٍ وأعمال تَمهِيدِ

    O you who meet the sultan's every great challenge,

    with sound counsel and works that smooth the way,

  15. ويا حامِيَ المُلكِ المُشِيدِ بناؤُهُ

    بصولة محذور وغرّة مقصودِ

    and O protector of the kingdom, whose edifice rises high

    through the might of one feared and the radiant brow of one sought,

  16. ويا كافِلَ الأيتام يُجري عليهِمُ

    جرايةَ نُعمَى بابها غير مَسدودِ

    and O guardian of orphans, who grants them

    an allowance of bounty, its door never barred,

  17. ذكرتُكَ في نادي الوزارة صادعاً

    بأمرٍ مطاع حُكمُهُ غير مردودِ

    I remember you in the vizierate's assembly, proclaiming openly

    an order whose ruling was obeyed, never rejected;

  18. ذكرتُكَ في صدرِ الكتيبةِ قائماً

    بخدمةِ مولى بعد طاعةش مَعبُودِ

    I remember you at the front of the battalion, standing

    in a master's service, after obedience to the One worshipped;

  19. ذكرتُكَ في المحرابِ والليلُ دامسٌ

    تُرَدِّدُ آيَ الذكرِ أطيبَ ترديدِ

    I remember you in the prayer niche, while the night was pitch-dark,

    repeating the verses of the Remembrance with the sweetest recitation;

  20. ودمعُكَ مُرفضٌ وقلبُكَ واجبٌ

    لخشيةِ يوم بينَ عينيكَ مشهودِ

    with your tears streaming and your heart pounding,

    in dread of a day witnessed before your eyes.

  21. لأظلمت الدنيا عليَّ لفَقدِه

    فها أنا أرعاها بمُقلة مَرصودِ

    The world has indeed darkened upon me at his loss,

    so here I am, watching it with the eye of one under watch.

  22. وقلّص من ظل الرَّجاء فراقه

    فضلَّ رجائي بعده غير مَمدودِ

    And his parting shrank the shade of hope,

    so my hope went astray after him, no longer outstretched.

  23. وكم سَبحَت فُلكُ المُنى في بحارها

    مواخِرَ فاليومَ استَوت بي على الجودِي

    And how often the ships of wishes sailed in its seas,

    cleaving the waves; today they have come to rest with me on al-Judi.

  24. وهوَّن عندي كلَّ خَطبٍ مصابُهُ

    فَبَعدَ عليِّ لستُ أبكي لمفقودِ

    And his loss has lightened every calamity for me,

    for after Ali, I do not weep for anyone lost.

  25. عليه سلامُ اللهِ ما ذرَّ شارقٌ

    وما صَدَعَت ورقاءُ في فَرِعِ أملُودِ

    Upon him be God's peace as long as the sun rises,

    and as long as a gray dove calls out from a supple branch;

  26. وجادت ثَرى اللَّحدِ الزَّكي سحائِبٌ

    مجددَّة الرُّحمى بأحسن تجديدِ

    and may clouds water the pure soil of his grave,

    renewing mercy with the finest renewal.