هذا المنى فانعم بطيب وِصال

فلطالما أضناك طول مِطَال

Here is your heart's desire; delight in sweet reunion.

For so long, prolonged delay has worn you down.

ماذا وكم أوليتَني يا مُخبِري

بقدومه من منّةٍ ونَوَالِ

What gifts, how many, you have granted me, O herald

of his arrival—such favor and bounty!

بشّرتَني بابن الرّسول لَوَ انّما

روحي ملكتُ بذلتُها في الحال

You heralded the Messenger's son; if all I owned

were my soul, I would offer it at once.

بشّرتَني بحياتيَ العظمى التي

قد كنتُ أحسَبُها حديثَ خيال

You brought me news of my life supreme, which

I had thought was merely a tale of fancy.

بشّرتَني بسُلالةِ الخلفاءِ مَنْ

أمداحهم تُثْني بكلّ مقال

You heralded the caliphs' scion—those whose

praises sing out in every utterance.

مَنْ حُبَّهم فَرَضَ الكتابُ ألا تَرَى

إلاّ المودّةَ حين يتلو التالي

Those whose love the Book enjoined—do you not see

only affection when the reciter recites?

مَنْ ضَمَّهُمْ شَمْلُ العَباء وأُذهِبُوا

رِجْساً فيال لك من مقامٍ عَالِ

Those gathered beneath the cloak and cleansed

of defilement—what a lofty station is yours!

مَنْ قَوَّمُوا أَوَدَ المكارم بعدما

شادوا الهدى بمعارف ونبال

Those who straightened virtue's crooked course, after

they built up guidance through knowledge and arrows.

لَوْلاَهُمُ كان الورى في ظُلْمَةٍ

مرّت غَيَاهِبُها بكلّ ضلاَل

Without them, humankind would be in darkness,

its deepest shadows sweeping along with every error.

آباءَكَ الأطهارَ أَقْصِدُ يا أبا

إسحاقَ يا نَجْلَ المليك العالي

I mean your pure forefathers, O Abu

Ishaq, O son of the exalted king!

يا حِبَّهُ وصَفِيَّهُ من قومه

وخيارَه من سائر الأنجال

O his beloved, his chosen one among his people,

and his choicest among all his sons!

لو لم تكن أَهْلاً لِصَفْوِ وِدَادِه

لم يَسْتَنِبْكَ لجدّكَ المفضال

Had you not been worthy of his pure affection,

he would not have sent you as deputy to your munificent forefather.

لكن تَوَسَّمَ فيكَ كلَّ فضيلة

فَحَبَا يمينَك رايةَ الإقبال

But he discerned every virtue in you,

so he bestowed on your right hand the banner of good fortune.

وأقام جودَكَ بل وُجُودُكَ زَادُ مَنْ

يبغي ببيت اللّه حَطَّ رِحال

And made your bounty—nay, your very presence—the provision of whoever

seeks to lay down his traveling gear at God's House.

أنت استطاعَتُهُمْ فما عُذْرُ الذي

ترك الزّيارةَ خِيفةَ الإقلال

You are their means; what excuse has the one who

abandons the visit for fear of poverty?

وبك المشاعرُ أُطْرِبَتْ طَرَبَ التي

وجدت على وَلَهٍ فَقِيدَ فصال

Through you the holy sites were gladdened with the joy of her

who, frantic with longing, has found her lost weanling.

ووصلتَها رَحِماً هناك قطيعةً

دهراً مضى وبَلَلْتَهَا ببلال

You restored their bond of kinship, severed there

for an age gone by, and watered it with dew.

وتَأَنَّسَ الَرَمانِ منك بطلعةٍ

أَغْنَتْهما عن وابلٍ هطّال

And the two sanctuaries took comfort in your appearance,

which made a torrential downpour needless to them.

كَرَمٌ لَكُمْ أدريه يَوْمَ أَفاضَهُ

عنّي سليمَانٌ بأيّ سجال

Your generosity I know, from the day it was poured forth

for me by Sulayman—what brimming bucketfuls!

وَهَبَ الألوفَ وكان أكرمَ مُنْزِلٍ

يُسْلِي الغريبَ بِبِرّه المتوالي

He gave thousands and was the most generous host,

consoling the stranger with his unceasing kindness.

يومَ التشرّفِ لي بلَثم يمينه

وتمتّعي مِنْ وجهه بجمال

On the day I was honored to kiss his right hand,

and to delight in the beauty of his face,

وتلذُّذي بخطابه المعسول إِذْ

حَفَّتْ به للدَّرس أيُّ رجال

and savor his honeyed speech, when

what men gathered about him for study!

لم أَنْسَهُ يوماً حسِبتُ نعيمَه

للذائذ الجنّات ضَرْبَ مِثال

I have not forgotten that day, whose bliss I thought

an image of the pleasures of Paradise.

عَجَباً له يُحْيِي القلوب بعلمه

ويُمِيتُ جندَ الفقرِ منه بمال

How wondrous he is: he revives hearts with his knowledge,

and with wealth from his hand slays poverty's army.

وإذا تقلّد للوغى فَحُسَامُهُ

تَعْنُو الرِّقَابُ له بغير قتال

And when he girds himself for battle, his sword—

necks bow before it without a fight.

يتلوه بالفَتح المبين عساكرٌ

قد أرْهَفَتْ بالنّصر حدّ نِصال

Armies follow him with manifest victory,

having whetted their blades' edges with triumph.

تخشى الملوكُ مَقَامَهُ ولذكره

رُعْباً تطير فَرَائِصُ الأبطال

Kings fear his presence, and at his mention

heroes' flank-muscles flutter in terror.

وينال آملُه لخفضِ جَناحه

ما ليس يخطُرُ منه قطّ بِبَال

And as he humbly lowers his wing, his suppliant gains

what never once crossed his mind to receive from him.

حتّى سعى لِصَفا مناهله الأُلَى

يسعى لِمَرْوَتِهم ذَوُو الأثقال

Even those sought the purity of his springs

whose nobility the heavy-laden seek.

وأتت لمغربه الشريف مشارقٌ

والشمس تغرب لاِقتضاء كمال

And eastern lands came to his noble Maghrib,

as the sun sets in pursuit of perfection.

لمّا تكدّر صَفْوُها بضلالةٍ

جاءته كيما ترتوي بزُلال

When their purity was clouded by error,

they came to him to drink their fill of pure water.

ومتى تخلّف عاجزٌ فبقلبه

يسعى لفعل شعائر الإجلال

And whenever someone unable to travel stays behind, in his heart

he strives to perform the rites of reverence.

أُمْنِيَّةٌ وقعت أَشَرْتُ لذكرها

في مَدْحِهِ قِدْماً بصدق مقال

A wish came true, whose mention I had foreshadowed

long ago in praising him, with truthful words:

تهوى المشارق أن تكون مغاربا

لِتنالَ من جدواه أيّ منال

The eastern lands long to become western lands,

to win from his bounty—what a prize!

يا فَخرَ دين اللّه منه بناصرٍ

وسعادةَ الدّنيا به من وَالِ

How proud God's religion is of him as champion,

and how happy the world in him as ruler!

لا تفتخِرْ فاسٌ ولا مَرّاكشٌ

بولائه كلُّ الأنام مُوالِ

Let neither Fez nor Marrakesh boast

of loyalty to him: all mankind is loyal.

أَوَليس في كلّ البقاع ثناؤُه

وِرْدَ البُكورِ وسَحَّة الآصال

Is not praise of him in every land

the morning litany and the evenings' outpouring?

أوَلم يَشِدْ للدّين والعلماء والأ

شراف والصّلحاءِ صَرْحَ مَعَال

Has he not raised for religion, scholars, and the

nobles and the righteous a lofty edifice of honor?

أوَليس أحيى سُنَّةَ العُمَرَيْنِ في

زمنٍ إلى بِدَعِ الهوى ميّال

Has he not revived the practice of the two Umars in

an age inclined to the innovations of caprice?

أوَلَم يَعُمَّ بجودِه أقطارَها

لا فَرْقَ بين جَنوبها وشمال

Has he not spread his bounty through all its regions,

with no distinction between its south and north?

أَوَلَمْ تَسِرْ رُكْبَانُها بمحاسنٍ

ضاءت لهم سُرُجاً بجنح ليال

Have not its riders traveled bearing accounts of virtues

that shone for them as lamps in the depths of night?

شِيَمٌ يهزّ الرّاسياتِ سماعُها

ويَفُحْنَ في أنف الزمان غَوَال

Qualities whose very telling shakes the steadfast mountains,

and waft, like precious perfumes, into time's nostrils.

أوصافُ والدِكَ الإمامِ المرتضى

للدّين والدّنيا بحسن خِلال

Such are the qualities of your father, the imam chosen

for religion and the world through his noble character.

ذاك الرفيعُ أبو الربيع ومَنْ به

حَييَ الهدى وشرائعُ الإِفضال

That exalted one, Abu al-Rabi, through whom

guidance and the laws of generosity came alive.

فبه الفخرُ الكبيرُ وإنْ يَكُنْ

لك في العُلا نسجٌ على منوال

His is the great glory, though you too

weave on his loom in the heights of honor.

كلُّ الكمال له وأنت مَقَرُّه

والفرعُ عَيْنُ الأصل عند مَآل

All perfection is his, and you are its dwelling;

the branch is the very root in the end.

يا ابْنَ المليك ابنِ المليك ابن الملي

ك ابنِ المليك سُلالَةَ الأَقْيَال

O son of a king, son of a king, son of a

king, son of a king, scion of sovereigns!

أَنْسَيْتُمُ ذِكرَ العبابسةِ الأُولَى

زالوا وما زالوا بعين جلال

You have made men forget the early Abbasids,

who passed away, yet remain in reverent sight.

ولو المراونةُ أهْتَدَوا لتَأَخَّرُوا

عمّا يحقّ لكم بغير جدال

Had the Marwanids found guidance, they would have stepped back

from what belongs to you, beyond dispute.

لَكُمُ الفخارُ حقيقةً وسِوَاكُمُ

مُسْتَمْسِكٌ من شمسِه بظلال

True glory belongs to you; all others

cling to mere shadows cast by its sun.

وَلِيَ الفخارُ بأن نسجتُ مديحَكم

حُلَلاً تَجِدُّ وكُلُّ شَيْءٍ بَالِ

And mine is the honor of having woven your praise

into robes ever renewed, while all things wear out.

أَمْلَى معانيه عليّ ودادُكُمُ

فجرى به طبعي كما السّلسال

Love for you dictated its meanings to me,

so my poetic gift flowed with it like limpid water.

وَلَوَ أنّني حاولتُ مدحَ سِوَاكُمُ

عَقَلَ القريحةَ عنه أيُّ عِقال

Were I to attempt to praise anyone but you,

what a fetter would hold my inspiration back!

فكأنّما طبعي شريف حيثما

لا يهتدي لِسِوَى مديحِ الآل

It is as though my poetic gift were nobly born, since

it finds its way only to praising the Prophet's family.

أَوْ أنّه وَرِعُ النّظام فلم يَكُنْ

بذلُ المديح لغيركم بحلال

Or it is scrupulous in verse, and so

praise bestowed on anyone but you would not be lawful.

أَوْ قد درى أنَّ المديحَ تعرّضٌ

وَسِوَاكُمُ لا يُرْتَضَى لسؤال

Or it knows that praise is a plea for favor,

and no one but you is fit to be petitioned.

أبقاكمُ كهفاً يُلاذُ بمجده

مُخْتَارُكم لإنالة الآمال

May He preserve you as a refuge in whose glory shelter is sought—

He who chose you to fulfill hopes.

وأدام للإسلام والدَك الذي

هُوَ رَحْمَةٌ وَسِعَتْ بغير جِدَال

And preserve for Islam your father, who

is a mercy that has spread far, beyond dispute.

وعليكمُ وعلى الذي يهواكمُ

أزكى الرّضى من حضرة المتعالي

And upon you, and upon him who loves you,

may the purest favor come from the presence of the Most High.

وأدامَكُمْ رُحْمىَ فإنّ بقاءَكُمْ

مِنْ فَيْضِ رَحْمَةِ سيِّدِ الإرسال

And may He keep you merciful, for your continuance

springs from the abundant mercy of the master of the prophetic mission.

ما دام ذكركمُ بكلّ صحيفةٍ

تبعاً لأَِحْمَدَ سيّدِ الإرسال

As long as mention of you appears on every page,

following Ahmad, master of the prophetic mission—

صلّى عليه مُسَلِّماً ربُّ الورى

وعلى مقدّمِ حِزبِه والتَالي

may the Lord of creation bless him and grant him peace,

and the foremost of his company and those who follow.