يا خليلي إن تسيرا فجوزا — Mufti Fathallah

يا خَليليَّ إِن تَسيرا فَجوزا

أَرضَ دمياطَ فَهيَ إِحدى الجنانِ

O my two dear friends, if you travel, pass through

The land of Damietta, for it is one of the gardens of Paradise.

وَاِقصداها فَإِنّها ذاتُ ثَغرٍ

ذي اِبتِسامٍ مُبشّرٍ بِالأَماني

And make for it, for it has a mouth,

Whose smile brings glad tidings of hopes fulfilled.

وَاِدخُلاها فَإِنّها دونَ رَيبٍ

ذاتُ أَمنٍ لِخائِفٍ وَأَمانِ

And enter it, for it is, without a doubt,

A place of security and safety for the fearful.

حَيثُ فيها لِلفَضلِ كَعبَةُ علمٍ

وَبِها لِلمعالِ رُكنٌ يَماني

Where excellence has a Kaaba of learning,

And there lofty attainments have a Yemeni Corner.

فَهوَ أُستاذنا الإِمامُ عليٌّ

كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجهَهُ كُلَّ آنِ

For he is our master, the Imam Ali—

May God honor his face at every moment.

يَمِّماهُ وَبَلِّغاهُ سَلاماً

مِن مَشوقٍ إِلى اللّقا وَالتّداني

Seek him out and convey a greeting of peace

From one longing for a meeting and closeness.

ثُمَّ عَنّي اِلثُما شَريفَ يَديهِ

ثُمَّ عودا بِذِكرِهِ عَلِّلاني

Then, on my behalf, kiss his noble hands;

Then return, and comfort me with talk of him.

وَعَليَّ اِتْلوا الأَلذَّ لِسَمعي

وَلِعَقلي وَمُهجَتي وَجَناني

And recite to me what is sweetest to my hearing,

And to my mind, my soul, and my heart,

مِن خِصالٍ كَريمَةٍ وَمَزايا

وَصِفاتٍ حَميدَةٍ وَحِسانِ

Of noble qualities and merits,

And praiseworthy, beautiful traits,

وَجَمالٍ مُجمَّلٍ بِجَلالٍ

وَكَمالٍ لَقَد خَلا عَن مُدانِ

And beauty adorned with majesty,

And perfection truly without a peer,

وَسَجايا شَريفَة لا تُضاهَى

هِيَ في ذا الإِمامِ فَرد الزّمانِ

And noble dispositions beyond compare:

They are in this imam, the peerless one of the age.

بَحرُ عِلمٍ وَكَنزُ كلّ غَريبٍ

مِن نُكاتٍ بَديعَةٍ وَمَعانِ

An ocean of knowledge, a treasury of every rarity

Of ingenious insights and meanings.

فاضِلُ الوقتِ عالِمُ العَصرِ فَرداً

عارِفُ الدّهرِ وَهوَ شَيخُ الأوانِ

The time's eminent man, the age's scholar, peerless,

The era's sage, and the master of his time.

شَمسُ عِلمٍ مِنها البدورُ اِستَمَدَّت

خَيرَ نورٍ كَالفضلِ وَالعِرفانِ

A sun of knowledge from which the full moons have drawn

The finest light, like excellence and understanding.

علمٌ مُفردٌ لَهُ الفتحُ نادى

أَنّهُ مُختصٌّ بِرَفعِ الشانِ

A peerless luminary; triumph has proclaimed for him

That he is singled out for exalted rank.

أَلمَعِيٌّ وَجَهبَذٌ لَوذَعيّ

أَوحَدِيّ ما إِنْ لهُ الدّهرَ ثانِ

Keen-witted, a master scholar, incisively wise,

Peerless: in all time he has no equal.

نُخبَةُ العزِّ بَهجَةُ المَجدِ حُسناً

نَفحَةُ الفَخرِ رَوضةُ الإحسانِ

Honor's choicest, glory's delight in beauty,

The fragrance of pride, the garden of benevolence.

إِنّما المَجدُ وَالأَماجِدُ عينٌ

هوَ فيها لا رَيبَ كالإنسانِ

Glory and its illustrious men are but an eye;

Within it he is, without doubt, like the pupil.

وَالمَعالي وَأَهلُها مِثل جِسمٍ

هوَ فيهِ كَالرّوحِ ثمَّ الجنانِ

And lofty virtues and their people are like a body;

Within it he is like the spirit, and then the heart.

ذو نِظامٍ بِحِكمَةٍ لا تُضاهَى

ذو بَيانٍ يَحوزُ سِحرَ البيانِ

Master of composition, with wisdom beyond compare,

Master of eloquence, possessing its enchantment,

بِمَعانٍ تَبدو سُلافَ عُقولٍ

وَمَبانٍ كالدّرِّ وَالمَرجانِ

With meanings that seem the choicest wine of minds,

And wordings like pearls and coral.

لَو رَآهُ قسٌّ وسَحبانُ كانا

مِثلَما باقِلٌ لَدَى سَحبانِ

If Quss and Sahban saw him, they would be

Just as Baqil is before Sahban.

هوَ نورٌ لِلدّينِ وَهوَ الخَفاجي

فيهِ ذِكرُ الشّهابِ طول الزَّمانِ

He is a light for the faith, and he is al-Khafaji;

In him, al-Shihab's memory lives for all time.

فَخرُ دُمياطَ حَيثُ إِن قَد حَوَت مَنْ

قَلَّ في مِثلِهِ سَماحُ الأَوانِ

Damietta's pride, for she has harbored one

Whose like the age has seldom bestowed.

هوَ فيها عَزيزُ مصر وَفيهِ

فَلتطل فَخرَها عَلى البلدانِ

In her he is Egypt's Aziz; through him,

Let her raise her pride above the lands.

يا عَليَّ الأنام قدراً وجاهاً

وَمقاماً وَاِسماً بِكلِّ مَكانِ

O you exalted above mankind in worth and prestige,

And in station and renown, in every place,

وَكَمالاً وَرُتبَةً وَمَناراً

وَجَناباً مُشيَّد الأَركانِ

And in perfection, rank, and as a beacon,

And in dignity, with its pillars loftily built.

بِكَ صيتٌ كَالمِسكِ ضمّخَ طيباً

كُلَّ مَن في الأَكوانِ وَالأكوانِ

Through you, renown like musk has sweetly perfumed

Everyone in the worlds, and the worlds themselves.

مِن حِسانِ النّظيمِ قلّدتَ جيدي

بِرَداحٍ مِن غَوالي الغَواني

From the beauties of verse, you adorned my neck

With a full-figured maiden among the most precious beauties.

بِنتُ فِكرٍ يَتيمَةٍ قَد تَغَذَّت

مِن بَليغِ البَديعِ بِالأَلبانِ

A peerless daughter of thought, who has been nourished

With milk from eloquent rhetorical artistry.

قَد أَتَتني تَميسُ مَيْسَ عَروسٍ

بِقَوامٍ يِهتَزُّ كَالخَيزُرانِ

She came to me swaying with a bride's sway,

With a figure swaying like bamboo.

إِذ أَتَتني أَخدمتها بِفَتاةٍ

ما لَها مِثلٌ في الجَواري الحِسانِ

When she came to me, I gave her a maiden to serve her,

Who has no equal among beautiful maidens.

زِنتَها في مَديحِك السّامرِ حُسناً

بِثَمينِ اللّآلِ وَالعقيانِ

You adorned her beautifully in your praise, recited by night,

With precious pearls and pure gold.

هاكَها غَيرَ كارِهٍ بَل رَضيّاً

وَاِكسُها حلّةَ الرّضا وَالتّداني

Take her, not reluctantly, but gladly,

And clothe her in a robe of approval and closeness.

وَاِسلَمِ الدّهرَ ناعِمَ العَيشِ رَغداً

بِهَناءٍ وَبَهجَةٍ وَأَمانِ

And live safe through time, enjoying ease and plenty,

In happiness, delight, and safety,

ما تَغَنّى عَلى الغُصونِ حَمامٌ

كُلَّ حينٍ بِأَحسنِ الأَلحانِ

As long as doves sing upon the boughs,

At every moment, with the sweetest melodies,

وَاِستَمالَت يَدُ الصَّبا كلَّ قدٍّ

مِن قُدودِ الزّهورِ وَالأَغصانِ

And the east wind's hand sways every slender figure

Among the figures of flowers and branches.