الحمد لله قد سرت بك الأمم

والمجد عوفى مذ عوفيت والكرم

Praise be to God: the nations have been gladdened by you.

Glory and generosity have recovered since you recovered.

لك الهنا ونهني فيك انفسنا

اذا سلمت فكل الناس قد سلموا

Joy be yours; in you we congratulate ourselves.

If you are safe, all people are indeed safe.

وعدت بالامن في خير وعافيه

وزال عنك الى اعدائك السقم

You returned in safety, in well-being and good health.

And sickness departed from you to your enemies.

وجئت كالغيث فابتلت جوانحها

وعمها الاجودان الفضل والنعم

You came like rain, and their breasts were drenched.

And the two most generous—bounty and blessings—enveloped them.

وكان عودك عبدا واعتياد هنا

صباحه عنه ثغر البشر يبتسم

Your return was a feast and a renewal of joy,

At whose dawn the mouth of gladness smiles because of it.

وحزت في فلك العلياء منزلة

بالسعد ما نالها عرب ولا عجم

You attained, in the firmament of glory, a station

Through good fortune; neither Arab nor non-Arab has attained it.

وقمت في منصب اعلامه رفعت

مجدا لانك فيه المفرد العلم

You stood in an office whose banners were raised

In glory, for there you are the peerless beacon.

وكنت بالله في مسراك معتصما

ولم يخب من بحبل الله يعتصم

On your night journey, you sought refuge in God,

And whoever holds fast to God's rope does not fail.

وصلت صولة ليث ما جد يقظ

بهمة عندها تستصغر الهمم

You charged like a noble, vigilant lion,

With resolve beside which other resolves seem small.

وخصك الله بالرأي السديد وقد

اطاعك الماضيان السيف والقلم

God singled you out for sound judgment; indeed,

The two keen instruments—the sword and the pen—obeyed you.

اقسمت انك في العلياء واحدها

وقد كفاك وحق الله ذا القسم

I swore that you are peerless in the heights of glory,

And, by God, this oath suffices you.

وان جودك جود غير مكتسب

عليه قد دلت الاخلاق والشيم

And that your generosity is not something acquired;

Your character and innate qualities bear witness to it.

شكرا لايديك من ايدا لفت بها

بذل النوال ومنها ينبع الكرم

Thanks to your hands—hands through which I came to know

The bestowal of bounty, and from which generosity springs.

ابد اذا ما همت جودا سحائبها

ثقل عند عطايا جودها الديم

Hands whose clouds, whenever they rain generosity,

Make steady rains seem scant beside their lavish gifts.

مولاي يا حرما تأوي اليه ومن

نأتي الى بيته سعيا ونزدحم

My lord, O sanctuary where one takes refuge, and one

To whose house we come hastening and crowd together.

ومن عطاياه عنها ليس يأخذه

حاشاه كل ولا من ولا سلم

And one whom nothing draws away from his gifts:

Far be it from him!—neither weariness, nor reproach, nor boredom.

خذها اليك قصيدا لا نظير لها

بديعة الوصف حلى درها الكلم

Take it for yourself—a poem without equal,

Wondrous in description, its words adorn its pearls.

فريدة لمعاني الحسن جامعة

موشعاً نظمها واللفظ منسجم

A unique gem, gathering the meanings of beauty,

Its composition embroidered and its wording harmonious.

نظمتها بك درا في مدائحها

والدر ليس بغير التاج ينتظم

I strung it as pearls in its praises of you,

And pearls are strung on nothing but a crown.

يتيمة وبها فقر لعل اذا

ما صال جودك عنها الفقر ينهزم

An orphan pearl, and poor—perhaps, when

Your generosity charges, poverty will flee from it.

فاستجلها مدحة وافى السرور بها

وطاب مفتتح منها ومختتم

So behold it—a panegyric with which joy has arrived,

Whose opening and ending are both delightful.

لا زال سعدك بالاقبال متصلا

مجدداً كل يوم ليس ينصرم

May your good fortune remain joined to prosperity,

Renewed each day, never coming to an end.

ودمت بالامن في حفظ وفي دعة

والدهر عبد لكم ايامه خدم

And may you remain safe, protected, and at ease,

With time your slave, and its days your servants.