إلى الله في كشف المهمات نرغب

ونسأله الفضل العظيم ونطلب

To God we turn for the lifting of pressing troubles,

and we ask Him for immense bounty and seek it.

فذو العرش أولى بالجميل ولطفه

وآلاؤه الحسنى بها تنقلب

For the Lord of the Throne is foremost in gracious deeds; His kindness

and His fairest blessings—amid them you move.

ليكشف عنا الهم والغم والأسى

فنحن على أوصابها نترقب

May He lift from us worry, grief, and sorrow,

for amid their afflictions we await

من الله إفراجاً ولطفاً ورحمة

فلولاه ما كنت عن الإلف نذهب

relief, kindness, and mercy from God.

Were it not for Him, I would not leave familiar company,

ولا عن رياض المجد والدين والهدى

إلى بلد فيها من الكفر أضرب

nor the gardens of glory, religion, and guidance,

for a land containing many forms of unbelief.

ولكننا نرجو رضاه وعفوه

وإحسانه والله بالخير أقرب

But we hope for His favor and pardon,

and His beneficence; God is nearest to goodness.

ولولا رجاء الله جل ثناؤه

لما كنت للبحرين في الفلك أركب

Were it not for hope in God—exalted be His praise—

I would not have boarded a ship bound for Bahrain.

وقد صابنا من خوفه وركوبه

غموم وأهمام عضال وأكرب

The fear of it, and sailing upon it, had afflicted us

with griefs, intractable worries, and anguish,

إلى أن وصلنا دختراً ذاد راية

ومعرفة في الطب والحذق منجب

until we reached a doctor possessed of expertise

and knowledge of medicine, skilled and accomplished.

فقرب أهوالاً لدينا مخونة

وكرخانة من نارها تتلهب

He brought before us terrifying things that aroused distrust,

and a workshop ablaze with its fire,

وأشياء لا ندري بها غير أنها

يحار بها العقل السليم ويعجب

and things we knew nothing about, except that

the sound mind is bewildered and amazed by them.

فغسل من اجفاننا قبل ضربها

بادوية شتى بها يتقلب

He washed our eyelids before operating on them,

with various medicines that he used in turn.

فميل يسر العين مني بميله

وميل من عثمان من كان يصحب

He probed my left eye with his probe,

and probed the eye of ʿUthman, who accompanied me,

كمثيل وإرجأنا ليال قليلة

لينتظر البرء الذي هو يطلب

in the same way; he made us wait a few nights,

to await the recovery he sought.

وأبصرت من كف الحكيم أناملاً

يحركها من بعد أن كان يضرب

I saw the fingertips of the physician's hand,

which he moved after he had operated.

وعثمان بعد الضرب وجهه

وكفاً له يسمو بها ويصوب

And ʿUthman, after the operation, saw his face

and his hand, which he raised and lowered.

وقد جاء هذا بأشياء لم يكن

ليفعلها من كان للقدح ينسب

This man did things that

the man known for cataract couching would not have done.

فشد على العينين منا خرقة

لتسعة أيام تشد وتعصب

He bound a cloth over our two eyes,

to be kept tied and bandaged for nine days.

وألزمنا أن لا نزيل عصائباً

إلى أن يجيء الوقت ذاك المرتب

He required us not to remove the bandages

until that appointed time arrived.

وما كان هذا فعل من كان قد اتى

إلى أرضنا من حجزه يتطبب

This was not the practice of the man who had come

to our land from his seclusion [reading uncertain], practising medicine.

ولا كان هذا شأنه وصنيعه

ولا كان هذا حاله حين يضرب

Nor was this his manner or his handiwork,

nor his way when operating.

فهاذ الذي قد كان من بعض شأنه

علي إنما نخفيه من ذاك أعجب

This was only part of what he did

to me; what we conceal of it is more astonishing still.

وأما الذي قد كان من شأن خالد

فأمر وروى ما كانت النفس تحسب

As for what happened in Khalid's case,

it was something beyond what the soul had imagined.

رأى منه صبراً في حدوثه سنة

وقد كان منه دائماً يتعجب

He saw patience in him in his tender years,

and he constantly marveled at him.

فقص الذي من عينه قد أشانها

وأصلح ما يؤذيه منها ويتعب

He cut away what had disfigured his eye,

and corrected what in it hurt and wearied him.

وما خاف لما رأى منه ما دهى

ولا كان من أهواله يتهيب

He felt no fear when he saw the ordeal at his hands,

nor did he shrink from its terrors.

فقلنا له هذا سلالة ماجد

ونسل ملوكٍ لا تخاف وترهب

We told him: this is the scion of a noble man,

the offspring of kings who neither fear nor cower:

غطارفة شوس مساعير في الوغى

مداعيس في الهيجا إذا هي تنشب

noble chiefs, fierce warriors, kindlers of battle,

bold thrusting fighters in the fray when it breaks out.

وقد أن عبد الله في حال ضربه

لأعيننا من خيفة يترقب

ʿAbd Allah groaned while the doctor operated

on our eyes, watching anxiously in fear.

فغسل جفن العين منه وشقها

بمقراضه والعين تهمي وتسكب

He washed his eyelid and cut into it

with his scissors, while the eye streamed and shed

دماً بدموع وهو في ذاك كله

له مستكين خاضع يتقلب

blood with tears; throughout it all,

he moved about, meek and submissive before him.

وخيط ما قد شقه وأصاره

إلى حلة يرضى بها المتطبب

He stitched what he had cut and brought it

to a condition that satisfied the physician.

وها نحن في هم وغم وكربت

من القدح اليماني وإنا لنرغب

Here we are in worry, grief, and anguish

from Yemeni cataract couching; we earnestly turn

إلى الله في كشف المهمات كلها

وعاجل ما نرجو وما نتطلب

to God to lift all our pressing troubles,

and for the swift fulfillment of what we hope and seek.

فيا من هو العالي على كل خلقه

على العرش ما شيء من الخلق يعزب

O You who are exalted above all Your creation,

above the Throne—nothing in creation escapes You,

ولا ذرة أو حبة في سمائه

وفي أرضه عن علمه تتغيب

not a mote or a grain in Your heaven

or upon Your earth is hidden from Your knowledge.

بأسمائك الحسنى وأوصافك العلى

وألطافك اللاتي بها تتحبب

by Your fairest names and loftiest attributes,

and Your kindnesses, through which You make Yourself beloved,

أنل ملكاً فاق الملوك وسادها

رضاك وبلغه الذي هو يطلب

grant a king who surpassed kings and became their foremost

Your favor, and bring him to what he seeks.

وذاك هو الشهم الهمام الذي له

تضعضعت الملك بل منه ترهب

He is that gallant, resolute man before whom

royal power has faltered—indeed, it fears him:

إمام الهدى عبد العزيز أخو الندى

مذيق العدى كأس الردى حين ينكب

the imam of guidance, ʿAbd al-ʿAziz, brother of generosity,

who makes enemies taste death's cup when he lays them low.

حليف العلى بحر الندى معدن الوفى

إمام به نار الوغى تتلهب

Ally of lofty rank, sea of generosity, mine of fidelity,

an imam through whom the fire of battle blazes:

فيصلي العدى منها سعيراً ويسقهم

كؤوس الردى منها وفيها يكبكب

he scorches enemies in its blaze and gives them to drink

cups of death from it, hurling them headlong into it.

سعى جهده في برئنا من سقامنا

لدى دكتر ذي خبرة يتطبب

He exerted all his effort to heal us of our illnesses,

with an experienced doctor practising medicine.

فما آل جهداً في تطلب برئنا

وما كان يرضى ربه ويقرب

He spared no effort in seeking our recovery

and what pleased his Lord and brought him near.

فلا زال رضوان الإله يمده

بعز وإسعاف به يتقلب

May God's favor ever sustain him

with honor and aid amid which he moves.

ولا زال في عز أطيد مؤمل

يلاحظه الإقبال إيان يذهب

May he ever remain in firm honor, looked to with hope,

with good fortune watching over him whenever he goes forth.

وأحسن ما يحلو الختام بذكره

صلاة وتسليم بها تتقرب

The finest thing whose mention sweetens the ending

is blessing and salutation, through which you draw near,

على السيد المعصوم والآل كلهم

وأصحابه ما لاح في الجو كوكب

upon the sinless master and all his family,

and his companions, as long as a star shines in the sky,

وما حن رعد أو تألق بارق

وما انهل صوب ودقة يتحلب

as long as thunder rumbles or lightning flashes,

and as long as a shower pours down in streaming raindrops.