في حسن رأي عبيد الله لي عِوَضٌ

في حسن رأي عبيد الله لي عِوَضٌ

وفضلُهُ بَدَلٌ من كلِّ مطلوب

وفضلُهُ بَدَلٌ من كلِّ مطلوب

In Ubayd Allah's favorable regard I find recompense,

In the good opinion of Obaydullah I have a recompense,

And his bounty is a substitute for everything sought.

And his virtue is a substitute for all I desire,

وإن صحبتُ فتأميلي لغرَّتِهِ

وإن صحبتُ فتأميلي لغرَّتِهِ

وَذِكرُهُ خَيرُ مألوفٍ ومصحوب

وَذِكرُهُ خَيرُ مألوفٍ ومصحوب

And if I keep company, then my hope is for his radiant brow,

And if I befriend him, yearn for his charm,

And remembrance of him is the finest familiar friend and companion.

And the mention of him is better than the habitual and accompanied.

بذلك الوجه تُجلى كلُّ غاشية

بذلك الوجه تُجلى كلُّ غاشية

عن ناظرٍ بوجوه اللوم محصوب

عن ناظرٍ بوجوه اللوم محصوب

By that face every veil is lifted

With that face every overwhelming darkness is illuminated

From an eye pelted with the faces of reproach.

To a beholder whose eyes are blinded by blame.

عاد المصلَّى بوضّاحٍ أسِرَّتُهُ

عاد المصلَّى بوضّاحٍ أسِرَّتُهُ

تنبيك عن خَلَدٍ بالفهم مشبوب

تنبيك عن خَلَدٍ بالفهم مشبوب

The prayer ground was renewed by a radiant man whose brow-lines

The one who prays has returned with a cheerfulness that captivates him

Tell you of a mind ablaze with understanding.

Awakening you from an eternity saturated with understanding.

فاستقبلت قبلةُ الإسلام بدرَ عُلاً

فاستقبلت قبلةُ الإسلام بدرَ عُلاً

يُمسي له البدر نجماً غير محسوب

يُمسي له البدر نجماً غير محسوب

So Islam's qibla welcomed a full moon of glory,

So I met the prayer direction of Islam with a full moon,

Beside whom the full moon becomes a star of no account at dusk,

That makes the moon a star not to be counted at night.

وغرةً تطلبُ الآمال قبلتها

وغرةً تطلبُ الآمال قبلتها

بين المحارب طرّاً والمحاريب

بين المحارب طرّاً والمحاريب

And a radiant brow that hopes seek as their qibla,

And a charm whose hopes seek its prayer direction

Among battlefields and prayer niches, one and all.

Among the warriors, a peacock, and the armored.

أدنى المؤيد إذ شطَّت منازله

أدنى المؤيد إذ شطَّت منازله

فضلاً بفضلٍ وتهذيباً بتهذيب

فضلاً بفضلٍ وتهذيباً بتهذيب

He brought al-Mu'ayyad near when his dwellings lay far away,

The lowest of the supported when his dwellings swelled

Bounty matched with bounty, and refinement with refinement.

With bounty upon bounty and cultivation upon cultivation.

كالطَّرفِ والقلبِ فيما بين ذاك وذا

كالطَّرفِ والقلبِ فيما بين ذاك وذا

مسرى الضمير وتبعيدٌ كتقريب

مسرى الضمير وتبعيدٌ كتقريب

Like the eye and the heart: between that one and this

Like the eyelid and the heart in what is between that and this

Lies the passage of thought, and distance is like nearness.

The path of conscience and approximation like separation.

فبتُّ من وصفه في غايةٍ قَذَفٍ

فبتُّ من وصفه في غايةٍ قَذَفٍ

والطبعُ ينجدني والفكرُ يسري بي

والطبعُ ينجدني والفكرُ يسري بي

So, describing him, I spent the night at a far-flung limit,

So I was in an extreme point of his description

And natural talent aids me, and thought journeys with me by night.

And my nature aided me and my thought flowed through me

كأنني واجدٌ من عَرفِ سؤدده

كأنني واجدٌ من عَرفِ سؤدده

ريحَ القميص سَرت في نفس يعقوب

ريحَ القميص سَرت في نفس يعقوب

As though I sensed, in the fragrance of his nobility,

As if I found from knowing his fragrance

The shirt's scent that wafted through Jacob's soul.

The scent of the shirt that captivated Jacob’s soul.