شاقه في الظلام برق كليل

فصبا قلبه وهاج الغليل

A faint flash of lightning in the darkness stirred his longing.

His heart yearned, and burning thirst flared up.

يا له مغرماً إذا الشوق اضنا

ه شفى قلبه النسيم العليل

Ah, what a lover! When longing wearies

him, the gentle breeze heals his heart.

قد شكرنا نسيم نجد بتبليغ

رسالاتنا فنعم الرسول

We have thanked the breeze of Najd for conveying

our messages: what an excellent messenger!

غير اني يغيرني منه تجميش

خدود الحبيب والتقبيل

Yet I am made jealous by its caressing

of the beloved's cheeks, and its kisses.

وكحيل الجفون غادر جفني

صبوة وهو بالسهاد كحيل

And the one with kohl-dark lids has left my eyelid

through longing, kohl-darkened with sleeplessness.

فاتر الطرف فاتك بالمعنى

مثلنا يفتك الحسام الصقيل

Languid of glance, he slays the love-tormented—

those like us—as a polished sword slays.

اشنب الثغر بالتبسم يجلو

اقحوا ناسقته راح شمول

With cool, pearly teeth, his smile reveals

daisies in harmony with cool wine.

يتثنى كانه غصن بان

غازلته مع الصباح قبول

He sways as though he were a bān-tree branch,

courted at dawn by an east wind.

ضرج الحسن فوق خديه ورداً

عبق النشر لم يشنه الذبول

Beauty spread crimson roses upon his cheeks,

sweetly fragrant, unmarred by withering.

وحمته عقارب الصدغ حتى

ليس للمجتنى إليه سبيل

And the scorpions of his temple curls guarded them, so

no plucker could find a way to them.

فاق في حسنه الملاح كما قد

فاق في مجده الاثيل جميل

In beauty he surpassed the beautiful, just as

Jamil has excelled in his deep-rooted glory.

ماجد من ارومة قد زكت منها

فروع شم وطابت اصول

A noble man of a stock from which have flourished

lofty branches, and whose roots are pure.

يجتلى الناظرون منه محياً

نيرا للعلاء فيه دليل

Those who look behold in him a face

radiant, bearing a sign of eminence.

ينتضى للخطوب مرهف عزم

ماضي الحد ما اعتراه الفلول

For calamities he unsheathes a keen blade of resolve,

sharp-edged, never marred by notches.

فاضل طاهر النقيبة محمود

المساعي زاكي النجار اصيل

Virtuous, pure in character, praised

for his endeavors, of pure stock and noble birth.

كالدراري لاحت له مكرمات

باقيات لا يعتريها افول

Like brilliant stars, his noble deeds have shone,

enduring, never to set.

جاد فيه الزمان من بعد بخل

ربما جاد بالنفيس بخيل

Time, once miserly, was generous in bestowing him;

even a miser sometimes gives something precious.

ملكت قلبه العلي وهو في المهد

رضيع لا الغادة العطبول

While he lay in the cradle, his heart was claimed by lofty honors,

though still a suckling—not by the graceful, long-necked maiden.

صبغ من معدن الفخار له تا

ج له من جلاله اكليل

From the ore of glory was colored for him a

crown, with his own majesty for its wreath.

شرف ناصع وعز رفيع

قد رسا فهو ثابت لا يزول

Spotless honor and lofty might,

firmly anchored, steadfast, never to pass away.

يا سليل الكرام قد جل من أنت

له حين تنتميه سليل

O scion of the noble, great indeed is he

whose scion you are when you trace your descent to him.

قام للشرع هادياً يقتدى الع

ارف فيه ويهتدى الضليل

He arose as a guide to sacred law, whose example the

learned follow, and through whom the erring find guidance.

مسبغاً في البلاد ظلا من الع

دل ظليلا للناس فيه مقيل

Spreading across the lands a shade of

justice, deep shade where people rest at noon.

فلكم بدعة أمات واحيا

سنة قد دعا إليها الرسول

How many an innovation he has slain, and revived

a tradition to which the Messenger called!

نصر الله دولة جردته

مرهفاً للعدى به تنكيل

May God aid the state that unsheathed him,

a keen blade by which foes are chastised.

رتبة طالت السماء فخاراً

مالها عن علاكم تحويل

A rank that reaches heaven in glory,

never to be taken from your lofty standing.

من لها غيركم وقد نزل المجد

بأبياتكم وعز القبيل

Who but you is worthy of it, when glory has lodged

in your houses, and your clan is exalted?

واسود الشرى إذا هي غابت

خلفتهن في الطباع الشبول

And when the lions of al-Sharā are gone,

their cubs succeed them in their natural traits.

معشر عندهم يباح حمى الوفر

لمن جاءهم ويحمي النزيل

A people with whom wealth's sanctuary stands open

to whoever comes to them, and they protect the guest.

أنتم والعلاء تشهد اكفاء

المعالي وغيركم مدخول

You—eminence bears witness—are worthy equals

of high honors; others are flawed.

قد رآك السلطان دام له التأ

ييد شهماً من حقه التبجيل

The Sultan has seen you—may he have lasting

support—as a gallant man deserving reverence.

فاستهلت منه سحائب لطف

آذنت ان سينجح المأمول

Then clouds of kindness poured forth from him,

announcing that what was hoped for would be fulfilled.

فابق للمكرمات ما لاح برق

وهمت مزنة وطاب اصيل

So live on for noble deeds as long as lightning flashes,

a raincloud pours, and late afternoon is fair.