1. With my own eyes I saw more than what I used to hear,
And one day of resurrection amazed me more,

2. As if the horizon in the morning was blocked by the like of it,
So the sunset returned from where it rises.

3. I did not know, when I bid farewell, how I would escort,
Nor when I escorted, how I would say goodbye.

4. And how do I wade into the army while the army is deep,
And I am led by time wherever it inclines?

5. Where is my place between these crowds?
My horse has no room in the desert to stand.

6. Beware! This is a crowd who has never tasted
The bitterness of life, a protected eyelid that has never slept.

7. His advice to the king blocked my paths,
And what is between the spearhead and the shaft is but a finger’s width.

8. So the pillars bowed when they saw him,
Then how can the hearts of people, and people are more yielding?

9. No army like the army of gems,
In it ten horses stumble and get up.

10. The solid mountains walk in his march,
And prostrate from the slightest rustle and kneel.

11. If he camps on a land, he builds cities in it,
And if he travels from a land, it withers and dries up.

12. I aspired to him after he left, and that escaped me,
So I swore not to blame my side for sleeping.

13. When I caught up with the tent in the darkness,
I hurried to it while torches were raised.

14. It ripped through the armor, and the armor was covered with rust.
It stirred the wave of the sea, and the sea was raging.

15. I spent the night while the army slept soundly,
Disturbing me while ghosts in the desert were sleeping.

16. At the end of the night, rumbling thunder cracked,
And at dawn, lightning flashed and shone.

17. The beasts suggested to us what Allah would do
With us and you - of the horror we hear.

18. The circling birds above us did not know
Where to flee or where to panic.

19. Until the sword of the Hashimite state appeared
With a light from Allah beaming on its face.

20. As if the shadows of waving flags before it
Were clouds of Allah's victory, seamless and pure.

21. As if the sharpened swords, when they clashed,
Were a raging sea, its waves overflowing.

22. As if the spears were vipers
With poison dripping from their fangs.

23. As if the milling troops had mares for him
Turning around neighing with yearning and fervor.

24. As if the hunting falcons when they were hooded around him
Were lions of prey who don't waver or weaken.

25. As if the galloping horses under his feet
Were floods of generosity coming in waves.

26. As if the scattered steeds were spread out to the right
On the desert - a family in the morning rising high.

27. As if the war prisoners, when humiliated before him,
Were captive kings who wore shackles and chains.

28. As if the trotting camels, when marching,
Echoed the sounds of separation echoing back.

29. Disturbing the minds of maidens, so they awoke
With pining and passion stirred up inside.

30. Glorious is the one who leads all these multitudes,
And each of the sword bearers is obedient to him.

31. The generals surround him and he is in charge,
Honored by the caliphate altogether.

32. He spreads the train of the caliphate, holding it back,
The perfume sprinkled when the faith is proclaimed.

33. For him are garments of honor, distinguished by them,
Fabrics of silk embellished and shining.

34. The robes of the Commander of the Faithful, his robes
Honor has clothed, never to be removed.

35. Before him are his horses in their saddles
With bright, decorated bridles led along.

36. His banners unfurled, his domes and curtains
Called for a purpose, swiftly set up.

37. A ruler whom other rulers see beneath his carpet,
Their necks bent down low to the ground in submission.

38. Standing on their feet, having dropped their swords,
Each obedient and humbled.

39. The houses of wealth come to wherever he camps,
And gifts flow openly from his lofty hall.

40. When the walls of the tent billow in the morning
And the spears around it clamor and shake,

41. And Indian swords are drawn around his bed,
Eighty thousand armored and masked.

42. You see the world submitting to him,
So he does as fate decides and prevails.

43. The council chambers follow him wherever
He stopped, and the gathering of Muslims intact.

44. The masters of every clan cater to him,
No master more dignified and impenetrable.

45. By Allah, blessed are the eyes that saw him camped
When he gathered the supporters for permission collected.

46. And a group after group came thanking
Him or asking or pleading and begging.

47. They never stopped receiving his just rule embracing them all,
And his wisdom bestowed upon them and made.

48. He ruled them as a father responsible
For caring for his children, not neglecting.

49. A shelter for them in adversities, unfurled,
And wealth for them deposited with the imams.

50. Slow to the order they dislike,
Hasty to them with gifts swift and unrestrained.

51. By Allah, blessed are the eyes that saw him departing
When the first regiments hurried forth.

52. And the call to travel was made in the darkness of night,
So the horses of victory came bolting and scattered.

53. From his face the full moon appeared rising
With the morning star twinkling on his cheek.

54. And he took on the role of one firm, as if he were
A lion in his den who drew in his brave shoulders.

55. So the horsemen glorified Allah when he appeared
And the clashing weapons rumbled and crashed.

56. The people of valor surrounded him - one leading,
Another following, a third beside, and more gallant.

57. The dignitaries of the glorious procession encircled him
And paraded around like the radiant dawn.

58. The dust of his furusiyya steed rose up
And in it the meadow blossomed, untouched.

59. In it the kings were groomed in order,
Some followed and others followed them in turn.

60. They walked according to their ranks in harmony,
And the dear one advanced them, esteemed and forbidden.

61. By Allah, no soul blamed that was content with his merit,
For no blame except to deflect what cannot be deflected.

62. Through him the east of the world won
That which spills to it from the west of the world like tears.

63. Beware, every living without him is forbidden,
And every inviolability after him is squandered.

64. We have such longing and agony for him
Our livers almost crack from it.

65. But what lessens the longing is that he
Is most beneficial to us in the battlefields of glory and faith.

66. And the horizon from him is near, and we
Are swifter to him than a wink of the eye.

67. So march forth, O revered victorious king,
For the religion and world look to you hopeful.

68. The land of the two Iraqs already felt dread
Almost shaking the Abode of Peace.

69. Palestine gave up and its people
Until no side remains resistant.

70. Ma'rib the well-fortified is not alone
In being the first land that has no escape from you.

71. Ibn Ubaydillah does not call on you alone
The morning after he saw the bow had no retreat.

72. But all the people, all people call on you except him,
Everyone humbles and bows down.

73. The people of the land are poor and destitute before you,
And all the people come to you in haste.

74. Listen! The proof is only what you clarify
Of opinion and the proper measure is what you intend.

75. You traveled to Fustat in the best journey
With the best omens in what you bring together.

76. When you roused the army, the way was lit for its people
To the furthest parts of Khurasan inaccessible.

77. When people greeted spring, and the hills
Were clothed in silk, embellished and cloaked,

78. And the armor colored the lands green, so its
Springs burst until the rock became verdant and lush,

79. And the roads on which you travel became
Sacred places watered and widened,

80. Gardens were laid down with your flowing pearls
Of basil, except they cannot be patched,

81. And on them the birds sang of victory and dressed
In green and yellow plumage, seamless and pure,

82. You watered and quenched it with your blessing just now,
So excellent is the summer camp you chose.

83. Egypt is not ignorant, for it is said who is hers,
That you are the piercing cold north wind.

84. That you alone will unlock its fetters
So you are the hoped for and anticipated.

85. If there are men of its sweet nature,
A Nile has come to them apart from the Nile, surging forth.

86. It makes them hope for one who will not change favors
Then deprive them, but rather increases and expands.

87. Had you poured down rain in the depths of their abode,
You would have uncovered the darkness of the land, so they shone,

88. And cured them of that disease, it is indeed
An abomination among them that does not uproot.

89. And you would have stopped those who wrong and transgress against them,
And secured those who fear and worry.

90. Then they would have seen how gifts in truth
For those who ask and your spontaneous generosity.

91. You would have made them forget the Ikhshid,
Though the sole of his slipper was dearer than him in worth and higher.

92. Whoever rivals you will know his fate,
And whoever opposes you will see how he is struck down.

93. If you reconcile, no master will be honored by the sword,
And if you speak, none will dare to utter a word.

94. The days and time alongside its people protect you,
And your loyal advisor is pure and refined.

95. While each person strives for himself,
You are the one whose striving is for the kingdom enthused.

96. You have toiled so that comfort may follow rule,
So wait, may I be ransomed for you, restful and secure!

97. Have mercy on the heart of the caliphate, it is
Full of care and compassion for you distressed.

98. You have shouldered all the burdens of the caliphate
While others in their worldly days graze freely.

99. By Allah, I do not know if your patience in what
You manage is greater, or your wisdom more expansive.

100. You advised the Imam truthfully when you knew him,
For advice is nothing but devotion and loyalty.

101. You are Allah's trustee after His trustee,
And in your hands are sustenance you give and forbid.

102. Neither Alexander reached the rank you reached,
Nor Caesar of kings or Tubba'.

103. You rose above the highest to the pinnacle
Where the sun is seen beneath your worth, pleading.

104. To a point beyond which there is no point for you,
Is there a rising beyond the celestial spheres?

105. To where do you seek? Behind you there is no course,
Nor for a horse to catch up with you, any hope.