1. ما نَرى لِلثَناءِ عَنكَ عُدولا

    لَم تَدَع لِلوَرى إِلَيهِ سَبيلا

    We see no turning away from praising you;

    you have left mankind no path to such a turn.

  2. فَاِقتَصِر مُنعِماً عَلى جُمَلِ الحَم

    دِ فَإِنّا لا نُحسِنُ التَفصيلا

    So graciously be content with the outlines of

    praise, for we cannot master the details.

  3. بَهَرَتنا صِفاتُ مَجدِكَ حَتّى

    قَصَّرَ الواصِفونَ عَنها نُكولا

    The qualities of your glory have so dazzled us

    that those describing them fall short, shrinking back.

  4. قَد وَهَبتَ الغِنى بِغَيرِ سُؤالٍ

    فَأَعِرنا أَلبابَنا مَسؤولا

    You have granted wealth without being asked;

    now, at our asking, lend us back our wits.

  5. مَعَ أَنَّ الأَفعالَ أَبدَعتَ فيها

    غَيرُ مُحتاجَةٍ إِلى أَن تَقولا

    Yet the deeds in which you have excelled

    have no need for you to speak.

  6. وَضَحَت لِلوَرى مَعاليكَ حَتّى

    ما يَرومُ العِدى عَلَيها دَليلا

    Your lofty virtues are so clear to mankind

    that even foes seek no proof of them.

  7. كُلَّ يَومٍ نَرى وَنَسمَعُ عَنها

    فَعَلاتٍ بِها شُهوداً عُدولا

    Each day we see—and hear of your virtues—

    deeds that serve as upright witnesses to them.

  8. لا يُخامِركَ في بَقائِكَ شَكٌّ

    حَسبُكَ العَدلُ بِالبَقاءِ كَفيلا

    Let no doubt assail you about your continuance;

    justice is guarantor enough of your lasting.

  9. فَاِستَدِمهُ مُناقِضاً كُلَّ مَلكٍ

    مَنَعَ الجَورُ عُمرَهُ أَن يَطولا

    So perpetuate it, unlike every king

    whose injustice prevented his life from growing long.

  10. شِدتَ ذِكراً عَلا السَماءَ وَآلى

    أَنَّهُ لا يَزولُ حَتّى تَزولا

    You raised a renown that rose above heaven and swore

    that it would not pass away until you do.

  11. فَاِبقَ لِلدينِ ناصِراً وَلِأَهلي

    هِ غِياثاً وَلِلإِمامِ خَليلا

    Remain a champion of the faith and, for its

    people, a refuge, and the Imam's close friend.

  12. كَفَّ لَمّا اِستُثيبَ كَفَّ الغَوادي

    وَكَفى المُمحِلاتِ لَمّا اِستُنيلا

    When asked for reward, he restrained the hand of morning rainclouds;

    when asked for bounty, he supplied the drought-stricken lands.

  13. كُلَّما اِزدَدتَ عِزَّةً وَاِقتِداراً

    زِدتَ أَهلَ الذُنوبِ صَفحاً جَميلا

    Whenever you increase in might and power,

    you grant sinners still more gracious forgiveness.

  14. وَإِذا ما فَرائِضُ المَجدِ عالَت

    حُزتَ مِنهُ فَريضَةً لَن تَعولا

    And when glory's allotted shares must be reduced,

    you obtain a share of it that will never diminish.

  15. وَغَمَرتَ المُسيءَ جوداً فَقُلنا

    مُستَقيلاً أَتاهُ أَو مُستَنيلا

    You overwhelmed the wrongdoer with generosity, so we said:

    Had he come to him seeking pardon, or seeking bounty?

  16. سُنَّةٌ أَغرَبَ اِبتِداعُكَ فيها

    لَم تَكُن في طَريقِها مَدلولا

    A custom whose invention by you was unprecedented;

    no one had shown you its path.

  17. وَلَئِن سُدتَ كُلَّ مَن سادَ في الدَه

    رِ فَبِالسُؤدُدِ الَّذي ما نيلا

    And if you surpass all who have held sway through

    time, it is by a nobility never attained before,

  18. وَبِإِحكامِكَ النَوائِبَ قَسراً

    وَبِأَحكامِكَ الَّتي لَن تَميلا

    and by your forcible mastery of calamities,

    and by your judgments, which will never swerve

  19. عَن إِباءٍ سَبَقتَ فيهِ المُجاري

    نَ وَعَدلٍ عَدِمتَ فيهِ العَديلا

    from a proud resolve in which you outran your

    rivals, and a justice in which you have no equal.

  20. مَأثُراتٌ أَبَينَ أَن يَدخُلَ التَش

    بيهَ في وَصفِهِنَّ وَالتَمثيلا

    Glorious deeds that refuse admission to

    comparison and analogy in their description.

  21. لَو أُتيحَت لِلأَوَّلينَ لَكانَت

    غُرَراً في صِفاتِهِم لا حُجولا

    Had they been granted to those of old, they would have been

    forehead blazes among their qualities, not white leg markings.

  22. نَسَخَت ذِكرَهُم كَما نَسَخَ الذِك

    رُ الحَكيمُ التَوراةَ وَالإِنجيلا

    They superseded their renown, just as the

    Wise Reminder superseded the Torah and the Gospel.

  23. فَاِعذِرِ الجائِرينَ عَنها ضَلالاً

    عُذرَكَ الحائِرينَ فيها عُقولا

    So excuse those who stray from them in error,

    as you excuse those whose minds are bewildered by them.

  24. وَجَدَت عِندَكَ الإِمامَةُ رَأياً

    وارِياً زَندُهُ وَنَصراً مُديلا

    The imamate found in you judgment

    whose firestick kindles, and aid that grants ascendancy.

  25. وَلَقَد رُقتَها بِعِلمٍ وَحِلمٍ

    يوجِبانِ التَعظيمَ وَالتَبجيلا

    You indeed delighted it with knowledge and forbearance

    that command reverence and veneration.

  26. فَأَحَلَّتكَ مِن هِضابِ المَعالي

    مَنزِلاً ما وَجَدتَ فيهِ نَزيلا

    So it lodged you among the heights of greatness

    in a dwelling where you found no other occupant.

  27. كانَ صَرفُ الزَمانِ صَعباً وَلَكِن

    صارَ لَمّا حَكَمتَ فيهِ ذَلولا

    The turn of fortune was unruly, but

    became docile when you ruled over it,

  28. بِقَضايا نَفَذنَ لَمّا أَطَعتَ ال

    لَهَ فيهِنَّ وَاِتَّبَعتَ الرَسولا

    through judgments that took effect when you obeyed

    God in them and followed the Messenger,

  29. مُعمِلاً كُلَّ بُكرَةٍ وَأَصيلٍ

    عَزمَةً صَدقَةً وَرَأياً أَصيلا

    putting to work every morning and evening

    a steadfast resolve and sound judgment.

  30. نَخوَةٌ إِن عَدَت أَذَلَّت عَزيزاً

    وَإِذا أَنجَدَت أَعَزَّت ذَليلا

    A proud spirit that, when it attacks, humbles the mighty,

    and when it lends aid, exalts the lowly.

  31. وَإِذا الرومُ لَم يَفوزوا بِأَن تَر

    ضى فَأَجدِر بِمُلكِهِم أَن يَزولا

    And if the Byzantines fail to win your

    favor, how fitting that their kingdom should fall!

  32. وَمَتى غودِروا بِغَيرِ أَمانٍ

    وَجَدوا أَمرَهُم وَبِيّاً وَبيلا

    Whenever they are left without a pledge of safety,

    they find their plight pestilent and ruinous.

  33. خَدَعَتهُم مَعاقِلٌ مَنَعَتهُم

    مِثلَ ما تَمنَعُ الجِبالُ الوُعولا

    Fortresses have deceived them, sheltering them

    as mountains shelter ibexes.

  34. فَوقَ تِلكَ الذُرى صَواعِقُ مِن عَز

    مِكَ تُضحي بِها كَثيباً مَهيلا

    Above those summits are thunderbolts of your

    resolve, turning them into a heap of loose sand.

  35. لَيسَ ريحٌ هُبوبُها يَقطَعُ النَس

    لَ كَريحٍ تَطغى فَتَذرو الفيلا

    No wind whose blowing cuts off

    offspring equals a wind that rages and scatters an elephant.

  36. فَاِنتَدِب لِلرُبدِ الَّتي تُنكِرُ التَه

    ليلَ أُسداً لا تَعرِفُ التَهليلا

    So muster against the dusky ones who deny

    God's oneness lions that know no shrinking back.

  37. غَنِيَت عَن أَظافِرٍ بِسُيوفٍ

    وَقعُها يَسلُبُ النِساءَ البُعولا

    They need no claws, for they have swords

    whose blows rob women of husbands.

  38. مِن نُصولٍ مُنذُ اِختَضَبنَ مِنَ الها

    مِ لَدى الرَوعِ ما شَكَونَ نُصولا

    Blades that, since taking their dye from

    heads in battle's terror, have never complained of fading.

  39. كُلَّما شِمتَها لِسَفكِ الدَمِ المَم

    نوعِ أَضحى بِحَدِّها مَطلولا

    Whenever you draw them to shed

    protected blood, their edge leaves it unavenged.

  40. لا أَرى ما يُوَلِّدُ الضِغنَ عِزّاً

    إِنَّما العِزُّ ما يُميتُ الذُحولا

    I count nothing that breeds rancor as glory;

    glory is only what kills old vendettas.

  41. وَلَعَمري لَقَد مَدَدتَ عَلى الإِس

    لامِ وَالمُسلِمينَ ظِلّاً ظَليلا

    By my life, you have spread over

    Islam and the Muslims a deep, sheltering shade.

  42. ظَلتَ سِتراً عَلَيهِمُ مَسدولا

    وَحُساماً مِن دونِهِم مَسلولا

    You have remained a curtain draped over them,

    and a keen sword drawn in their defense.

  43. فَهُمُ اليَومَ في جِوارِكَ قَد عا

    وَدَ طَرفُ الزَمانِ عَنهُم كَليلا

    Today they rest within your protection; already

    Time's gaze has turned back from them, dulled.

  44. فَرَأَوا خَطبَهُ الجَليلَ دَقيقاً

    بَعدَ رُؤياهُمُ الدَقيقَ جَليلا

    They now see its great calamity as slight,

    after once seeing the slight as great.

  45. ما أَصاخوا إِلى وَعيدِ الأَعادي

    مُذ أَناخوا بِبابِكَ التَأميلا

    They have not heeded their enemies' threats

    since they made their hopes kneel at your door.

  46. قَصُرَت عِندَ آمِليكَ اللَيالي

    وَأَرى لَيلَ حاسِديكَ طَويلا

    The nights grow short for those who place hope in you,

    while I see your enviers' night stretching long.

  47. أَبِقَت مِنهُمُ العُقولُ وَأَبقَت

    سَقَماً ظاهِراً وَهَمّاً دَخيلا

    Their minds have fled from them and left behind

    manifest sickness and inward anguish.

  48. لا تَقَضّى عيدٌ وَلا عادَ إِلّا

    كُنتَ فيهِ مُهَنَّأً مَقبولا

    May no feast pass or return without

    your being congratulated and held in favor.

  49. عِش لِمُلكٍ قَدَعتَ عَنهُ عِداهُ

    تارَةً قائِلاً وَطَوراً فَعولا

    Live for a kingdom whose enemies you have repelled,

    sometimes in word, at other times in mighty deed,

  50. بالِغاً في خَطيرِهِ وَأَخيهِ

    ذي المَعالي صَفِيِّهِ المَأمولا

    attaining through its eminent lord and his brother,

    that lofty, chosen friend of his, what you hope for.

  51. فَهُما الأَشرَفانِ قَدراً وَأَفعا

    لاً وَسِنخاً وَوالِداً وَقَبيلا

    They are the two most noble in rank and

    deeds, stock, father, and tribe.

  52. وَصَبا لِلحُقوقِ جُنَّةَ عَدلٍ

    مَلَأَت حَدَّ كُلِّ باغٍ فُلولا

    And both inclined toward rights, forming a shield of justice

    that filled every aggressor's blade with notches.

  53. مُذ تَأَسّى فينا بَعَدلِهِما الحُك

    كامُ لَم تُظلَمِ الأَنامُ فَتيلا

    Since their justice became, among us, the model for

    rulers, mankind has not been wronged by even a thread.

  54. أَوَلَيسا مِن أُسرَةٍ تُتقِنُ التَن

    زيلَ حِفظاً وَتَعلَمُ التَأويلا

    Are they not from a family that masters

    the Revelation by heart and knows its interpretation?

  55. الكِرامِ الأَعراقِ طالوا فُروعاً

    بِالتُقى وَالنُهى وَطابوا أُصولا

    Of noble stock, their branches grew tall

    through piety and intellect, and their roots were pure.

  56. عُرِفوا بِالمَعروفِ وَالعُرفِ شُبّا

    ناً وَشيباً وَصِبيَةً وَكُهولا

    They have been known for good deeds and generosity as

    youths and elders, children and mature men.

  57. مُذ جَرَوا في إِزالَةِ الجَورِ وَالمُن

    كَرِ جَرّوا عَلى السِماكِ ذُيولا

    Since they raced to remove injustice and

    evil, they have dragged their robe-trains over al-Simak.

  58. قَرَنوا الفَضلَ بِالتَفَضُّلِ عَفواً

    وَأَضافوا إِلى الجَمالِ الجَميلا

    They joined excellence with generosity, unbidden,

    and added noble deeds to beauty.

  59. حَيثُ لا تَنطَوي القُلوبُ عَلى الغِل

    لِ وَلا تَعرِفُ الأَكُفُّ الغُلولا

    Where hearts harbor no

    rancor, and hands know no embezzlement.

  60. وَلَأَنتُم فينا الشُموسُ أَقامَت

    حينَ غابَت تِلكَ النُجومُ أُفولا

    You are indeed the suns among us, remaining

    when those stars went down and vanished.

  61. وَمَنِ اِشتاقَ أَهلَهُ فَاِشتِياقي

    لَيسَ يَعدو جَنابَكَ المَأهولا

    And if someone yearns for his kin, my longing

    never strays beyond your well-peopled court.

  62. حَيثُ يَلقى المُنى مَقيلاً وَمَن يُث

    ني مَقالاً وَذو العِثارِ مُقيلا

    Where wishes find repose, and one who

    praises finds words, and one who stumbles, a pardoner.

  63. حَرَمٌ حَرَّمَ الرُقادَ عَلى عَي

    نَيَّ لَمّا حُرِمتُ فيهِ المُثولا

    A sanctuary that forbade sleep to my

    eyes when I was denied the chance to stand within it.

  64. جِئتُهُ لِلنَوالِ لَم يَعدُهُ ظَن

    ني فَأَجدى التَنويهَ وَالتَنويلا

    I came to it for bounty, with no greater

    expectation; it gave me renown and gifts.

  65. ما كَفاهُ إِزالَةُ الفَقرِ بِالثَر

    وَةِ عَنّي حَتّى أَزالَ الخُمولا

    It was not content to rid me of poverty through

    wealth, until it rid me of obscurity as well.

  66. لَم يَزَل في جَزيلِ جَدواهُ حَتّى

    فِضتُ مِن بَعضِهِ نَوالاً جَزيلا

    It never ceased its lavish beneficence until

    I myself poured out lavish gifts from a portion of it.

  67. كَالغَمامِ الرُكامِ خَصَّ بِلاداً

    بِغُيوثٍ فَعَمَّ أُخرى سُيولا

    Like massed clouds that single out a land

    with rain, then cover another with torrents.

  68. ثُمَّ أَنشَأتُ أَستَكِفُّ عَطايا

    كَ فَحاوَلتُ مَطلَباً مُستَحيلا

    Then I began asking you to withhold

    your gifts, attempting an impossible task.

  69. عاذِلاً في النَدى وَلَم يُرَ قَبلي

    شاعِرٌ صارَ في السَماحِ عَذولا

    Reproaching generosity—never before me had anyone seen

    a poet become a reproacher of bounty.

  70. كُلَّ يَومٍ تَزيدُ أَرضِيَ مِن أُف

    قِكَ غَيثاً بِمِثلِهِ مَوصولا

    Each day you enrich my land from your

    horizon with rain joined to rain like it.

  71. مَكرُماتٌ تَخِفُّ نَحوي مَعَ البُر

    دِ وَإِن كانَ حَملُهُنَّ ثَقيلا

    Bounties speed toward me with the

    couriers, though their burden is heavy.

  72. وَلَوَ اِنّي حَلَلتُ بِالصينِ وافا

    ني رَعيلٌ مِنهُنَّ يَتلو رَعيلا

    Even if I settled in China, there would come

    to me a troop of them, following another troop.

  73. فَرُوَيداً فَقَد تَجاوَزَ حَظّي

    مِن لُهاكَ التَتميمَ وَالتَكميلا

    Gently now! My share has exceeded

    fullness and completion through your gifts.

  74. وَلَقَد عاقَ عَن لِقائِكَ خَطبٌ

    لَيتَهُ لا يَعوقُ عَن أَن أَقولا

    A calamity has indeed kept me from meeting you;

    I wish it would not keep me from speaking.

  75. عارِضٌ صِرتُ فيهِ كَالصَعدَةِ السَم

    راءِ لَوناً وَدِقَّةً وَذُبولا

    An ailment that made me like a spear-shaft,

    brown in color, thin, and withered.

  76. فَلتُبَلَّغ مِصرٌ عَلى كُلِّ حالٍ

    أَنَّني عَن وِدادِها لَن أَحولا

    So let Egypt be told, in any event,

    that I will never turn away from loving her.

  77. إِن أَعَلَّت جِسماً صَحيحاً فَأَوهَت

    هُ فَقَد صَحَّحَت رَجاءً عَليلا

    If she made a healthy body ill and weakened

    it, she has restored a sickly hope to health.

  78. وَعَدِمتُ الحَياةَ إِن كُنتُ أَرضى

    بِحَياتي مِن أَن أَراكَ بَديلا

    May I lose my life if I would accept

    my life as a substitute for seeing you.

  79. وَسَأُدمي أَخفافَها كُنتُ مَعذو

    راً عَلى ما أَتَيتُ أَو مَعذولا

    I shall make their hoof-pads bleed, whether I am

    excused for what I have done or reproached.

  80. راسِماتٍ لِلرامِساتِ يُناسِب

    نَ وَيُنكِرنَ شَدقَماً وَجَديلا

    Swift-striding, they are kin to the track-erasing winds,

    and disown Shadqam and Jadil.

  81. مِن قِلاصٍ تَرى البَعيدَ قَريباً

    حينَ تَنحوكَ وَالحُزونَ سُهولا

    Young she-camels that see the distant as near

    when they head toward you, and rugged ground as plains.

  82. مَن يَعُدُّ الإيجازَ فَضلاً فَإِنّي

    في مَديحيكَ أَعشَقُ التَطويلا

    Whoever counts brevity a virtue, I

    love lengthiness when praising you.