1. You came with good news and glad tidings,
And visited us, so welcome to the visitor.
١. قَدِمْتَ بالبِشرِ وبالبَشائِر
وزُرتَنا فحبَّذا من زائرِ
2. And you came with kindness to us,
To each absentee and each one present.
٢. وجئت بالخير عليناً مقبلاً
لكلِّ بادٍ ولكلِّ حاضر
3. You were like the clouds, determined to rain,
And you were like a garden, beautiful to the beholder.
٣. فكنتَ كالمزن همت بماطر
وكنتَ كالرَّوض زها لناظر
4. If the beholder looked at what you have done,
He would compile it in the book of glorious deeds.
٤. لو نَظَرَ الناظرُ ما صنَعْتَه
نمَّقه بدفتر المفاخر
5. You launched the ship of lofty determination for development,
And developed every ruined place.
٥. أنضيتَ للعمران فُلْكَ همَّةٍ
فَعَمَّرت كلَّ مكانٍ داثر
6. And this development today is for you,
The shelter for tribes with glories.
٦. وهذه العمارةُ اليوم لكم
معمورةُ الأَكتاف بالعشائر
7. You organized its system with management,
With a unifier of justice, not a scatterer.
٧. نَظَّمت بالتدبير منط شملها
بناظمٍ للعدلِ غير ناثر
8. It only surrendered to the rule of a just one,
And the obstinate did not surrender to an unjust one.
٨. وإنَّما دانتْ لحكم عادلٍ
ولم يدن ممتنع لجائر
9. You secured it from the evil that befalls it,
With people in safety, goodness and abundance.
٩. أمَّنْتَها من شرِّ ما ينوبها
بالنَّاس في أمنٍ وخيرٍ وافر
10. And you did not betray the covenant of one you covenanted with,
You were cautious of the covenant of the treacherous betrayer.
١٠. ولم تَخُنْ عهدَ امرئٍ عاهدته
حوشيتَ من عهد الخؤون الغادر
11. You healed with fairness what was broken for it,
None other than you could heal what was between them.
١١. جَبَرْتَ بالإِنصاف كسراً ما له
غيرك فيما بينهم من جابر
12. You forgave their elders out of generosity,
This is of the morals of the greatest.
١٢. عَفَوْتَ عن كبارهم تكرُّماً
وهذه من شِيَمَ الأَكابر
13. You took the position of glorious immovable mountains,
While you are more guided than those with insight.
١٣. وقمت في الحكم مقام نامقٍ
وأنت أهدى لذوي البصائر
14. Sometimes you deter with preachings,
And sometimes you spear with deterrents.
١٤. فتارةً تزجر في مواعظٍ
وتارةً تطعن بالزواجر
15. If you shook the pens with your fingers,
It made you not need to shake the blunt swords.
١٥. إذا هَزَزْتَ بالبنان قلماً
أغناك عن هزِّ الحسام الباتر
16. You are one singular being,
Who suffices instead of thousands of soldiers.
١٦. هذا وأنت واحدٌ منفردٌ
تغني عن الأَلْفِ من العساكر
17. An opinion shows you with the brilliance of your wit,
The essence of things as their appearances.
١٧. يريك رأيٌ بشهاب فطنة
بواطن الأَشياء كالظواهر
18. You conquered with kindness a group,
More impregnable than a roaring, attacking lion.
١٨. مَلَكْتَ باللُّطفِ رقابَ عُصْبَةٍ
أمْنَع من لَيثٍ هصُور خادر
19. So how many at that time will praise you,
And how many at that time will thank you.
١٩. فكم لكُمْ حينئذٍ من حامدٍ
وكم لكم يومئذٍ من شاكر
20. You developed it, so it became developed,
As you wished, to the contentment of minds.
٢٠. عَمَّرتُموها فغدتْ عِمارةً
كما أرَدْتُم لمرادِ الخاطر
21. So say to whoever asks about its date,
It was developed in the days of Abdul Qadir.
٢١. فقلْ لمنْ يسأَلُ عن تاريخها
قَدْ عُمِّرت أيَّامَ عبد القادر