1. مَحَوْتَ بسَيف سَطوتك الفَسادا

    بحكْمٍ قَد أَرَحْتَ به العبادا

    You erased corruption with the sword of your might,

    through governance that brought relief to the people.

  2. دَخَلْتَ البصرة الفيحاءَ صُبحاً

    ونارُ الشّرِّ تَتَّقِدُ اتّقادا

    You entered spacious Basra one morning,

    while the fire of evil blazed fiercely.

  3. وقد عَبَثَتْ يدُ الأَشرار فيها

    وطالَ فسادهم فيها وزادا

    And the hand of evildoers had wreaked havoc there,

    and their corruption there had long endured and grown.

  4. لقد حَكَمَتْ بها جُهَّال قومٍ

    يَرَوْنَ الغيَّ يومئذٍ رشادا

    Indeed, ignorant folk had ruled there,

    who then regarded waywardness as right guidance.

  5. عَمُوا عمَّا بَصُرْتَ به وصَمُّوا

    فما بلغوا بما صنعوا مرادا

    They were blind to what you saw, and deaf,

    so they achieved no aim through what they did.

  6. فلو عُرِضَ الصَّوابُ إذَنْ عليهم

    بحالٍ أَعْرَضوا عنه عنادا

    So had the right course then been shown to them

    in any form, they would have turned from it in defiance.

  7. وهل تثِقُ النفوسُ بعين راءٍ

    يرى لونَ البياض بها سوادا

    And can souls trust the eye of an observer

    who sees white through it as black?

  8. تفاوَتَتِ العُقول بما نراه

    مَداركُها قياساً واطّرادا

    Minds differ, as we see,

    in their powers of understanding, in analogy and consistency.

  9. ومن حقّ الرّئاسة أنْ نراها

    لأَورى النَّاس إنْ قَدَحَتْ زنادا

    And leadership rightly belongs, in our eyes,

    to the one who kindles fire best when flints are struck,

  10. وأَعلاها لدى الآراء رأياً

    وأرفعها وأطولها عمادا

    and whose judgment ranks highest among opinions,

    and whose supporting pillar is loftiest and tallest.

  11. خطوبٌ ما مضى منهنَّ خطبٌ

    بطارقِ ليلةٍ إلاَّ وعادا

    Calamities—none of them passed

    as a visitor by night without returning.

  12. وكم هَدَرَتْ دماءٌ من أُناسٍ

    وأموالٌ لهم نَفِدَت نفادا

    And how much human blood was shed without redress,

    and their wealth was utterly exhausted,

  13. بحيثُ الأَشقياء استضعفتهم

    وَقدْ طال الشقا وقد تمادى

    where the wicked had deemed them powerless,

    and misery had dragged on and continued unchecked.

  14. ولمَّا ساءَت الأَحوال فيهم

    ولا نَفَعَ الحِفاظُ ولا أفادا

    And when conditions among them worsened,

    and protection neither helped nor availed,

  15. ولم يُرَ مَنْ يُسَدُّ به خِلالٌ

    إذا ما أَعْوَزَ الأَمر السدادا

    and no one was found through whom breaches could be closed

    when affairs lacked sound direction,

  16. وباتَ النَّاس في وَجَلٍ عظيم

    يُريعُ السَّمعَ منه والفؤادا

    and the people spent the night in dreadful fear

    that terrified both hearing and heart,

  17. دُعيتَ لكشفِ هذا الضرّ عنها

    ولا يُدعى سواك ولا يُنادى

    you were called to lift this affliction from her,

    and none but you is called upon or summoned.

  18. ومنذُ قَدِمْتَ مدعوًّا إليها

    أَرَحْتَ بما قَدِمْتَ به العبادا

    And since you came, summoned to her,

    you have relieved the people with what you brought.

  19. عَلِمْنا أنَّ رأيَك فلْسفيٌّ

    وأنَّك تَكشِفُ الكُرَبَ الشدادا

    We learned that your judgment is philosophical,

    and that you dispel grievous afflictions;

  20. وتَنْظُرُ بالفَراسة مِن يقينٍ

    فَتَنْتَقِدُ الرِّجالَ بها انتقادا

    and you look with discernment grounded in certainty,

    so through it you scrutinize men closely.

  21. وما قَلَّدتهم بالرأي منهم

    وَلَمْ تحكُم لهم إلاَّ اجتهادا

    And you did not imitate them in their opinions,

    nor rule in their favor except through independent judgment.

  22. لقد أَخمدْتَ نيراناً تَلَظَّى

    وتلك النار قد أمستْ رمادا

    You have indeed quenched blazing fires,

    and that fire has become ash.

  23. وقَرَّتْ أعيُنٌ لولاك باتَتْ

    على وَجَلٍ ولم تذق الرقادا

    And eyes found solace; but for you, they would have spent the night

    in fear, without tasting sleep.

  24. جُزِيتُم آل راشد كلَّ خيرٍ

    ففيكُمْ تعرِفُ النَّاس الرشادا

    May you, family of Rashid, be rewarded with every good,

    for in you people recognize right guidance.

  25. لكم صَدْرُ الرئاسة في المعالي

    وأَنتُمْ في بني العليا فُرادى

    Yours is the foremost seat of leadership in noble attainments,

    and among the sons of eminence you stand unmatched.

  26. تدين لك الأَقاصي والأَداني

    وتنقادُ الأُمور لك انقيادا

    The farthest and the nearest submit to you,

    and affairs yield to you in full submission.

  27. وقُدْتَ صِعابها ذُلُلاً وكانتْ

    على الأَيَّام تأبى أنْ تقادا

    And you led their unruly ones, made docile, though they had

    throughout the days refused to be led.

  28. لقد فازَ المشيرُ بك اتّكالاً

    عَلَيْك بما يُؤَمّل واعتمادا

    Indeed, the marshal has succeeded through you, relying

    on you for what he hopes for, and placing his trust in you.