1. لا عِزَّ إِلّا بِحَدِّ الصارِمِ الذَكَرِ

    وَضَربِكَ الصّيدَ بَينَ الهامِ وَالقَصَرِ

    There is no might except through the edge of the hard-tempered sword,

    And your striking proud chieftains between head and neck,

  2. وَقَودِكَ الخَيلَ تَمضي في أَعِنَّتِها

    يُعاجِلُ العَزم أُولاها عَن الخَبَرِ

    And your leading steeds onward in their reins,

    Resolve speeding their foremost ahead of the news.

  3. وَبِالطّوالِ الرُدَينِيّاتِ تُدرك ما

    فَوقَ المُنى لا بِطولِ الذَيلِ وَالشَعَرِ

    With long Rudayni spears you attain what

    Lies beyond desire, not through long robe-trains and hair.

  4. يا طالِبَ المَجدِ لا ينفَكُّ مُجتَهِداً

    هَوِّن عَلَيكَ فَكَم وِردٍ وَلا صَدَرِ

    O seeker of glory, never ceasing to strive,

    Ease your burden: how many come to water, yet never return!

  5. فَكَم شَأى شاءٍ العَليا فَأَحرَزَها

    أَبو سِنانٍ جَميلُ الذِكرَ وَالسّيرِ

    How many seekers of high glory he has outstripped, winning it—

    Abu Sinan, noble in renown and deeds!

  6. السالِبُ الملِكَ الجَبّارَ مُهجَتَهُ

    وَالطاعِنُ الخَيلَ في اللَبّاتِ وَالثَغَرِ

    Who takes the tyrant king's lifeblood,

    And pierces steeds in breast and throat,

  7. وَالمُمطِرُ الجودَ مِن أَثناءِ راحَتِهِ

    فَيضاً إِذا ضَنَّتِ الأَنواءُ بِالمَطَرِ

    And rains down bounty from the creases of his palm,

    In torrents, when the rain-stars withhold the rain.

  8. وَالعابِدُ الزاهِدُ الصَوّامُ إِن حَمِيَت

    هَواجِرُ الصَيفِ وَالقَوّامُ بِالسَحَرِ

    And the worshipful ascetic, ever fasting when

    Summer noontides blaze, and ever standing in prayer before dawn,

  9. وَالمُظهِرُ الحَقَّ لا يَبغي بِهِ عِوَضاً

    إِذ كانَ طالِبُهُ يَغدو علَى خَطَرِ

    And making truth manifest, seeking no reward for it,

    When its seeker goes forth in peril.

  10. وَالطاهِرُ العِرض مِن عَيبٍ وَمِن دَنَسٍ

    وَالسالِمُ العُودَ مِن وَصمٍ وَمِن خَوَرِ

    And pure in honor, free from flaw or stain,

    And sound of stock, free from defect or weakness.

  11. ذِكرُ المَظالِمِ وَالآثامِ إِن ذُكِرَت

    لَدَيهِ وَالبُخلُ ذَنبٌ غَيرُ مُغتَفَرِ

    Mention of injustices and sins, should they be voiced

    Before him, and miserliness, are unforgivable sins.

  12. يا طالِبَ الرَزقِ في حِلٍّ وَمُرتَحَلٍ

    يَمِّمهُ تَرضَ عَنِ الأَيّامِ وَالقَدَرِ

    O seeker of livelihood, at rest or on the road,

    Make for him; you will be content with the days and destiny.

  13. بَعيدُهُ لِذَوي الآمالِ مُتَّدَعٌ

    كَجَنَّةِ الخُلدِ لا تَخلو مِنَ الثَمَرِ

    His farthest reach is a haven for those with hopes,

    Like the garden of eternity, never lacking fruit.

  14. فَكُلُّ حَيٍّ مِنَ الأَحياءِ يَعرِفُهُ

    يدعوهُ بِالمَلِكِ الوَهّابِ لِلبِدَرِ

    For every clan among the clans knows him,

    Calling him the king who freely bestows moneybags.

  15. وَيا مَضيماً أَمضَّ الضَيمُ مُهجَتَهُ

    اِنزِل بِساحَتِهِ تَنزِل عَلى الظَفَرِ

    And O oppressed one, whose heart oppression has tormented,

    Alight in his courtyard: you will alight upon victory.

  16. وَاِصفَع بِنَعلِكَ رَأسَ الدَهرِ واِسطُ عَلى

    أَحداثِهِ سَطوَ ضِرغامٍ عَلى حُمُرِ

    And slap Time's head with your sandal, and pounce upon

    Its calamities as a lion pounces on wild asses.

  17. وَلا تَخَف عِندَها مِن بَأسِ صَولَتِهِ

    فَلَيسَ يَملِكُ مِن نَفعٍ وَلا ضَرَرِ

    And fear not then the might of its onslaught,

    For it commands neither benefit nor harm.

  18. فَكَم أَجارَ عَلى الأَيّامِ ذا مَضَضٍ

    يَبيتُ يَلصِقُ مِنهُ الصَدرَ بِالعَفَرِ

    For he has sheltered many a sufferer against the days,

    Who spent the night, in anguish, pressing his breast to the dust.

  19. وَكَم أَغاثَ اِمرءاً أَضحى وَمُنيتُهُ

    مَوتٌ يُؤَدّي إِلى الفِردَوسِ أَو سَقَرِ

    And how many a man has he rescued, whose wish had become

    Death that leads to Paradise or to Saqar!

  20. وَكَم مَشى الخَيزَلى في ظِلِّ دَولَتِهِ

    مَن كانَ يَنسابُ كَالعِلّوصِ في الخُمُرِ

    And how many have swaggered in the shade of his rule,

    Who once slunk like a jackal through the thickets!

  21. يا اِبنَ الأُلى شَيَّدُوا بُنيانَ مَجدِهِمُ

    بِالجُودِ وَالبَأسِ لا الآجُرِّ وَالمَدَرِ

    O son of those who raised the edifice of their glory,

    With generosity and valor, not bricks and clay!

  22. نَماكَ لِلمجدِ آباءٌ أَقَرَّ لَهُم

    بِالفَضلِ مَن كانَ ذا سَمعٍ وَذا بَصَرِ

    Ancestors raised you to glory, acknowledged

    For their excellence by all with hearing and sight.

  23. قَومٌ إِذا كانَتِ الأَنباءُ أَو كُتِبَت

    صَحائِفُ المَجدِ كانُوا أَوَّلَ السَطَرِ

    A people who, whenever tidings were told or

    The pages of glory written, were at the head of the line.

  24. وَإِن هُمُ كَتَبوا مَجداً بِسُمرِهِمُ

    فَخَطُّهُم بِمدَادٍ مِن دَمٍ هَدَرِ

    And if they write glory with their brown spears,

    Their script is in ink of blood shed without redress.

  25. وَالشارِبونَ جِمامَ الماءِ صَافِيَةً

    وَيَشرَبُ الناسُ مِن طينٍ وَمِن كَدَرِ

    And who drink from brimming pools of clear water,

    While others drink from mud and murk.

  26. وَالمُوقِدونَ إِذا هَبَّت شَآمِيَةٌ

    نارَ الوَغى تَحتَ هامي القَطرِ بِالقِطرِ

    And who kindle, when a northerly wind blows,

    The fire of battle beneath pouring rain, with molten copper.

  27. أُعيذُ مَجدَكَ مِن عَينِ الجمالِ فَقَد

    أَراهُ في التِمِّ يَحكي هالَةَ القَمَرِ

    I seek protection for your glory from the eye of beauty, for

    I see it, in perfection, resembling the moon's halo.

  28. جَمَعتَ شَملَ المَعالي بَعدَ تَفرِقَةٍ

    وَصُنتَ وَجهَ العُلا مِن ذَلِكَ القَتَرِ

    You united the ranks of lofty virtues after their scattering,

    And guarded the face of glory from that soot.

  29. أَطفَأتَ ناراً يُغَشّي الأَرضَ لاهِبُها

    لَولاكَ لَم تُبقِ مِن شَيءٍ وَلَم تَذَرِ

    You quenched a fire whose flame shrouded the earth;

    But for you, it would have spared nothing and left nothing.

  30. فَأَصبَحَت كُلُّ أَرضٍ خافَ ساكِنُها

    تَقولُ دَعني وَسِر قَصداً إِلى هَجَرِ

    So every land whose inhabitants lived in fear began

    To say: Leave me, and journey straight to Hajar;

  31. وَاِجعَلَ بِها دارَ سَكنٍ تَستَقِرُّ بِها

    عَمّا يُريبُكَ مِن خَوفٍ وَمِن ذُعرِ

    And make there a home in which to settle,

    Away from the fear and terror that unsettle you.

  32. مَتى تَحُلَّ بِها تَحلُل لَدى مَلِكٍ

    بِالزُهدِ مُشتَمِلٍ بِالعَدلِ مُتَّزِرِ

    Whenever you lodge there, you lodge with a king

    Wrapped in asceticism and girded with justice.

  33. تَنامُ أَمناً رعاياهُ وَمُقلَتُهُ

    وَقَلبُهُ أَبَداً في غايَةِ السَهَرِ

    His subjects sleep secure, while his eye

    And his heart remain forever at the height of vigilance.

  34. يَرى البَلِيَّةَ أَن تَغدو رَعِيَّتُهُ

    وَأَن تَروحَ بِناديهِ عَلى حَذَرِ

    He deems it a calamity that his subjects should come in the morning

    And come at evening to his assembly on their guard.

  35. لا يَرهَبُ الريمَ مَن أَمسى بِعقوَتِهِ

    وَلا يَمُنُّ عَلَيهِ سابِحُ البَقَرِ

    No one who spends the evening in his precinct fears the grave,

    Nor does a swift-running bull lay him under obligation.

  36. وَلا يُرَوَّعُ ذَو وَفرٍ يُجاوِرُهُ

    بِنَكبَةٍ مِن مُقيمٍ أَو أَخي سَفَرِ

    And no man of wealth who dwells beside him is terrified

    By a calamity from a resident or a traveler.

  37. لَكِن يَروعُ العِدا مِنهُ بِذي لَجَبٍ

    كَاللَيلِ تَلمَعُ فيهِ البيضُ بِالغَدَرِ

    Yet he terrifies his foes with a clamorous host of his,

    Like night, where bright blades flash through the darkness.

  38. الطَعنُ مِنهُ كَأَفواهِ المَزادِ إِذا

    غُصَّت وَطَعنُ العِدى كَالوَخزِ بِالإِبَرِ

    His spear-wounds are like waterskin mouths when

    They are swollen full; his foes' thrusts are like needle-pricks.

  39. يا أَيُّها الملكُ النَدبُ الَّذي عُرِفَت

    لَهُ المَناقِبُ في بَدوٍ وَفي حَضَرِ

    O gallant king, known

    For noble deeds in the desert and in settled lands!

  40. يا زينَةَ المُلكِ يا تاجَ المُلوكِ وَيا

    فَخرَ المَمالِكِ بَل يا غُرَّةَ الغُرَرِ

    O ornament of kingship, O crown of kings, and O

    Pride of kingdoms—nay, O brightest of bright brows!

  41. أَنتَ الصَؤولُ بَلا خَيلٍ وَلا دَهَشٍ

    أَنتَ القَؤُولُ بِلا عِيٍّ وَلا حَصَرِ

    You are fierce in attack, without arrogance or dismay.

    You are eloquent, without faltering or speechlessness.

  42. أَنتَ الوَلِيُّ بِلا خَوفٍ وَلا رَهَبٍ

    أَنتَ السَخِيُّ بِلا مَنٍّ وَلا كَدَرِ

    You are the protector, without fear or dread.

    You are generous, without reminders of favors or bitterness.

  43. بِاللَهِ أُقسِمُ لا مُستَثنِياً أَبَداً

    لَولاكَ لَم يبقَ لِلعَلياءِ مِن وَزَرِ

    By God I swear, never making an exception:

    But for you, no refuge for high glory would remain.

  44. وَلا خَلَت باحَةُ البَحرَينِ مِنكَ وَلا

    زالَت عِداتُكَ طُولَ الدَهرِ في قِصَرِ

    And may Bahrain's courtyard never lack you, nor

    Your promises ever cease, through all time, to be swiftly fulfilled.

  45. وَعِشتَ في عِزَّةٍ قَعساءَ نائِيَةٍ

    مِنَ الحَوادِثِ وَالآفاتِ وَالغيرِ

    And may you live in unassailable might, far removed

    From misfortunes, afflictions, and reversals of fortune.