1. أَمّا وَسَيفُكَ في النُفوسِ مُحَكَّمُ

    فَالعِزُّ أَجمَعُهُ إِلَيكَ مُسَلَّمُ

    Indeed, with your sword sovereign over souls,

    all honor, in its entirety, is surrendered to you.

  2. مَن لا يُطيعُكَ وَالمَقاديرُ الَّتي

    تُرضي وَتُجدي بَعضُ ما يَستَخدِمُ

    Who does not obey you, when the decrees that

    please and enrich are part of what he employs?

  3. فَلِكُلِّ قَلبٍ مِن سُطاكَ مُرَوَّعٌ

    وَبِكُلِّ وَجهٍ مِن جَميلِكَ ميسَمُ

    Every heart is terrified by your might,

    and every face bears a mark of your kindness.

  4. عُوِّدتَ فَصلَ الأَمرِ أَشكَلَ ناطِقاً

    أَو ساكِتاً فَالسَيفُ عَنكَ مُتَرجِمُ

    You are accustomed to settling affairs grown obscure, whether speaking

    or silent, for the sword interprets for you.

  5. وَخُصِصتَ بِالإِبداعِ في فَعَلاتِكَ ال

    حُسنى لِيَظهَرَ عَجزُ مَن يَتَهَمَّمُ

    You were singled out for inventiveness in your deeds—the

    finest—to expose the inability of whoever aspires.

  6. وَمَتى يَجيءُ بِمِثلِها مِن نَفسِهِ

    مَن ظَلَّ يُبصِرُها فَلا يَتَعَلَّمُ

    When could he produce their like himself—

    one who keeps beholding them yet does not learn?

  7. لَو لَم يَعِزَّ بَنو أَبيكَ وَيَكرُموا

    طالوا الوَرى شَرَفاً بِأَنَّكَ مِنهُمُ

    Even had your father's sons not been mighty and noble,

    they would have surpassed humankind in honor because you are one of them.

  8. أَبشِر بِسَبقِكَ مَن تَقَدَّمَ موقِناً

    أَنَّ الفَضائِل لا العُصورَ تُقَدِّمُ

    Rejoice in outstripping those who came before, certain

    that virtues, not the ages, give precedence.

  9. كُنّا نَظُنُّكَ تابِعاً آثارَهُم

    فَأَبَنتَ بِالإِعجازِ أَنَّكَ مُلهَمُ

    We thought you were following their footsteps,

    but through inimitable achievement you showed that you are inspired.

  10. وَلَقَد سَمِعتَ كَما سَمِعنا عَنهُمُ

    وَعَلِمتَ بِالإِحسانِ ما لَم يَعلَموا

    You indeed heard of them just as we heard,

    and through excellence you learned what they did not know.

  11. أَفَهَل ظَفِرتَ بِمَن جَرى في ذا المَدى

    مُذ قامَ بِالإِحسانِ فيهِم قَيِّمُ

    Have you found anyone who ran this course,

    since a guardian of excellence arose among them?

  12. قَلبُ الهُدى بِكَ لَن يُراعَ وَقَهرُهُ

    لَن يُستَطاعَ وَقدُهُ لا يُفصَمُ

    The heart of guidance, through you, will never be alarmed, and overpowering it

    will be impossible, and its tether cannot be snapped.

  13. لِلَّهِ بَذلُكَ حينَ لا مُستَمنَحٌ

    يُرجى وَمَنعُكَ حينَ لا مُستَعصَمُ

    How wondrous your giving, when no giver

    can be hoped for, and your protection, when no refuge remains!

  14. لَن يَكشِفَ الحَقُّ الجَلِيُّ لِثامَهُ

    إِلّا وَوَجهُكَ بِالعَجاجِ مُلَثَّمُ

    Clear truth will not lift its veil

    unless your face is veiled in battle dust.

  15. وَإِذا عَزَمتَ عَلى اِجتِياحِ قَبيلَةٍ

    كَثُرَ اليَتيمُ بِحَيِّها وَالأَيِّمُ

    When you resolve to ravage a tribe,

    orphans and widows multiply in its encampment.

  16. يَخشى عَوادِيَكَ الهِزَبرُ بِغيلِهِ

    وَيَخافُها تَحتَ التُرابِ الأَرقَمُ

    The lion in its thicket fears your assaults,

    and the speckled viper beneath the earth fears them.

  17. وَتُصيبُ شاكِلَةَ الرَمِيِّ مُفَوِّقاً

    وَتَطيشُ عَنكَ إِذا رُميتَ الأَسهُمُ

    You strike the target's flank as you nock your arrow,

    while arrows miss you when you are shot at.

  18. إِنَّ المُظَفَّرَ مَن أَبَت فَتَكاتُهُ

    أَن تَخرُجَ الأَيّامُ عَمّا يَرسُمُ

    The victorious one is he whose deadly assaults refuse

    to let the days depart from what he decrees.

  19. في كُلِّ يَومٍ ناطِقٌ بِلِسانِهِم

    مِن خَوفِهِم فَلِذاكَ ما يَستَعجِمُ

    Every day a voice speaks in their tongue,

    out of their fear; that is why it never falls mute.

  20. وَإِذا اِمتَطى سَيفُ الخِلافَةِ عَزمَهُ

    فَلِدَولَةٍ تُبنى وَأُخرى تُهدَمُ

    When the Sword of the Caliphate mounts his resolve,

    it is to build one realm and tear another down.

  21. وَإِذا نَظَرتَ إِلى عَواقِبِ رَأيِهِ

    أَيقَنتَ أَنَّ ظُنونَهُ تَتَنَجَّمُ

    When you examine the outcomes of his judgment,

    you are certain that his surmises divine by the stars.

  22. فَاِسأَلهُ عَمّا لَم يَكُن بِكِنايَةٍ

    فَالغَيبُ مِن أَفكارِهِ يُستَعلَمُ

    Ask him by an allusion about what has not yet been,

    for the unseen is learned from his thoughts.

  23. وَلِذاكَ حُقِّقَ ظَنُّهُ فيما أَتى

    وَظُنونُ أَهلِ الخافِقينَ تَوَهُّمُ

    Thus his surmise proved true in what occurred,

    while the surmises of those in east and west are delusion.

  24. رَقّاكَ عَزمُكَ مُخطِراً لا يُرتَقى

    فَعَلِمتَ مِن ذا المَجدِ ما لا يُعلَمُ

    Your resolve raised you, braving peril, where none can climb,

    and you learned of this glory what is otherwise unknown.

  25. وَإِذا عَلا باغي الغَنيمَةِ هِمَّةً

    وَأَطاعَهُ المِقدارُ جَلَّ المَغنَمُ

    When the seeker of spoils rises in ambition,

    and fate obeys him, the booty grows great.

  26. شَرَفَ المَعالي فُزتَ بِالشَرَفِ الَّذي

    قَد باتَ يَحسُدُهُ السُهى وَالمِزرَمُ

    O glory of lofty attainments, you gained the honor which

    al-Suha and al-Mizram have come to envy.

  27. وَقَتَلتَ مَن لَو غَيرُكَ المُجتاحُهُ

    لَأَبَت نِزارٌ أَن يُطَلَّ لَهُ دَمُ

    You slew one whom, had another destroyed him,

    Nizar would have refused to leave his blood unavenged.

  28. وَجَنَيتَ أَثمارَ العَوالي وَاِجتَنى

    وَمِنَ الجَنا أَريٌ وَمِنهُ عَلقَمُ

    You harvested the fruits of lofty spears, and he harvested;

    and of the harvest some is honey, and some bitter colocynth.

  29. وَإِذا الوَغى عَبَسَت وَطالَ عُبوسُها

    عِندَ النِزالِ فَعَن فُتوحِكَ تَبسِمُ

    When battle frowns and its frowning lasts long

    during combat, your conquests make it smile.

  30. ظَفَرٌ جَميعُ الطيبِ أَضحى كاسِداً

    مُذ أَصبَحَت أَخبارُهُ تُتَنَسَّمُ

    A victory that has left all perfume without buyers,

    ever since its tidings began to be breathed in.

  31. وَلَقَد تَحَقَّقَتِ العَواصِمُ أَنَّها

    بِسِواكَ يا سَيفَ الهُدى ما تُعصَمُ

    Al-'Awasim have indeed realized that they

    cannot be protected by anyone but you, O Sword of Guidance.

  32. غَرَضَ النَوائِبِ لَم تَزَل فَمَنَعتَها

    قَسراً كَما مَنَعَ العَرينَ الضَيغَمُ

    They had always been calamities' target, but you defended them

    by force, as the lion defends its lair.

  33. ما زُرتَها إِلّا لِيَأمَنَ خائِفٌ

    وَيُغاثَ مَلهوفٌ وَيُثرِيَ مُعدِمُ

    You visited them only so that the fearful might be safe,

    the distressed relieved, and the destitute enriched.

  34. فَلتَعتَصِم بِكَ ذي الثُغورُ وَأَهلُها

    مِمّا تَخافُ فَطَودُ عِزِّكَ أَيهَمُ

    Let these frontiers and their people seek refuge in you

    from what they fear, for the mountain of your might is inaccessible.

  35. وَلَقَد عَمَمتَ المُذنِبينَ صَنائِعاً

    حَتّى لَظَنّوا أَنَّهُم لَن يُحرَموا

    You indeed embraced even the guilty with favors,

    until they thought they would never be deprived.

  36. فَدَعِ الأُلى مَرَقوا فَإِنَّ بِعادَهُم

    عَن ذا الجَنابِ لَهُم عِقابٌ مُؤلِمُ

    Leave those who rebelled, for their distance

    from this court is a painful punishment for them.

  37. أَولادُ مِرداسٍ لِسَيفِكَ طُعمَةٌ

    في كُلِّ أَرضٍ أَنجَدوا أَو أَتهَموا

    The sons of Mirdas are prey for your sword

    in every land, whether they enter Najd or Tihama.

  38. وَلَوَ اِنَّهُم عَقَلوا لَدَيكَ ظُنونَهُم

    لَرَأَوا بِكَ الرَشَدَ الَّذي عَنهُ عَموا

    Had they restrained their surmises before you,

    they would have seen in you the guidance to which they were blind.

  39. وَمِنَ السَفاهَةِ أَن تَضِلَّ حُلومُهُم

    مِن بَعدِ ما وَضَحَ الطَريقُ الأَقوَمُ

    It is folly that their minds should stray

    after the straightest road has become clear.

  40. قَد عايَنوا عَينَ الرَدى لَمّا رَأَوا

    في تَلِّ خالِدٍ القَنا يَتَحَطَّمُ

    They beheld death itself when they saw

    the spears splintering at Tall Khalid.

  41. لَمّا أَبانَ خَليفَةٌ عَن رُشدِهِ

    فِعلَ اِمرِئٍ تَزكو لَدَيهِ الأَنعُمُ

    When Khalifa revealed his sound judgment

    with the deed of a man in whose keeping favors flourish,

  42. في فِتيَةٍ جَعَلوا رِضاكَ سِلاحَهُم

    فَلِذاكَ أَحجَمَ مَن لَقوهُ وَأَقدَموا

    amid young men who made your approval their weapon,

    those they met drew back, while they advanced.

  43. نُصِرَ القَليلُ عَلى الكَثيرِ فَما اِنجَلَت

    عَنهُم وَفي أَرماحِ حِزبِكَ لَهذَمُ

    The few were given victory over the many; the battle did not lift

    from them with a single keen blade left on your party's spears.

  44. غارَت هُنالِكَ في النَواظِرِ وَالطُلى

    عِندَ الطِعانِ كَما تَغورُ الأَنجُمُ

    They had sunk there into eyes and throats

    during the thrusting, as stars sink out of sight.

  45. فَإِذا بَعَثتَ إِلى العَدُوِّ طَليعَةً

    أَغنَت غَناءَ الجَيشِ وَهوَ عَرَمرَمُ

    When you send a scouting detachment against the enemy,

    it does the work of an army, vast though that army be.

  46. بِظُبىً إِذا خَرِسَ الكُماةُ بِمَوقِفٍ

    فَلَها كَلامٌ في الجَماجِمِ يُفهَمُ

    With sword-edges which, when champions fall silent on a battlefield,

    have a speech in skulls that is understood.

  47. وَبِها نَحَت جِسرَ الحَديدِ عَصائِبٌ

    كانَت عَلى بابِ الحَديدِ تُخَيِّمُ

    With them bands made for Jisr al-Hadid,

    which had been encamped at Bab al-Hadid.

  48. وَالرومُ بَينَ مُؤَرَّقٍ سُلِبَ الكَرى

    أَو نائِمٍ بِهُجومِ جَيشِكَ يَحلُمُ

    The Romans are either sleepless, robbed of slumber,

    or asleep, dreaming of your army's assault.

  49. يَتَجَلَّدونَ ضَرورَةً مَعَ عامِهِم

    لَمّا دَنَوتَ بِأَيِّ داهِيَةٍ رُموا

    They steel themselves of necessity throughout their year;

    when you drew near, what calamity struck them!

  50. مُتَمَسِّكينَ بِهُدنَةٍ ما تَنقَضي

    إِلّا وَأَنتَ عَلى الخَليجِ مُخَيِّمُ

    Clinging to a truce that does not end

    without your being encamped upon the gulf.

  51. وَمَتى رَكَزتَ بِدارِ مَسلَمَةَ القَنا

    زُرقَ الأَسِنَّةِ سَلَّموا أَو أَسلَموا

    When you plant the spears at Dar Maslama,

    their spearheads blue, they surrender or embrace Islam.

  52. فَليَستَكِن مَلِكٌ تَفُلُّ جَميعَهُ

    بِعِصابَةٍ مِمّا فَلَلتَ وَتَهزِمُ

    Let a king submit, whose whole force you rout

    with a band from those you have shattered and defeat.

  53. هَيهاتَ تَجحَدُكَ المُلوكُ سَفاهَةً

    ما قَد تَعالَمَهُ السَوادُ الأَعظَمُ

    Far be it for kings, in folly, to deny you

    what the vast multitude has come to know.

  54. رِدءُ الخِلافَةِ مِن مَضائِكَ عاصِمٌ

    وَرِداؤُها بِجَميلِ صُنعِكَ مُعلَمُ

    The caliphate's bulwark protects it through your prowess,

    and its robe is embroidered with your gracious deeds.

  55. مَجدٌ تَخَرَّمَتِ العَمالِقُ دونَهُ

    وَتَمَزَّقَت عادٌ وَبادَت جُرهُمُ

    A glory short of which the Amalekites were carried off,

    'Ad was torn apart, and Jurhum perished.

  56. في كُلِّ يَومٍ بَلدَةٌ تُحتازُ مِن

    أَرضِ العَدُوِّ وَقَلعَةٌ تُتَسَلَّمُ

    Every day a town is taken from

    the enemy's land, and a fortress is received.

  57. وَكَذا إِلى أَن تَملِكَ الدُنيا بِما

    جَمَعَت وَيُسعِدَكَ البَقاءُ الأَدوَمُ

    And so until you possess the world with all

    it contains, and the most enduring life favors you.

  58. فَاِندُب لِمَملَكَةِ العِراقِ ضَراغِماً

    عَلَّمتَهُم فَرسَ العِدى فَتَعَلَّموا

    Appoint lions for the kingdom of Iraq,

    whom you taught to tear foes apart, and they learned.

  59. مِن كُلِّ مَن لِسُراهُ ظَهرُ مَطِيَّةٍ

    وَلِطَعنِهِ ثُغَرَ العُداةِ مُطَهَّمُ

    From every man who has a riding-beast's back for his night journeys,

    and a well-formed steed for stabbing the enemies' throats,

  60. جَنّابُ ما وَلَدَ الوَجيهُ وَلاحِقٌ

    رَكّابُ ما وَلَدَ الجَديلُ وَشَدقَمُ

    leading alongside him the offspring of al-Wajih and Lahiq,

    riding the offspring of al-Jadil and Shadqam.

  61. كَيما تُرى عَضُدِيَّةً تُركِيَّةً

    قَد طالَما اِستَولَت عَلَيها الدَيلَمُ

    So that it may be seen as 'Adudi and Turkish,

    after the Daylamites have so long held sway over it.

  62. قَد آنَ أَن تَروى بِقُربِكَ أَنفُسٌ

    ظَمِئَت وَأَن تَحيا بِعَدلِكَ أَعظُمُ

    The time has come for souls to be quenched by your nearness,

    souls that have thirsted, and for bones to live through your justice.

  63. لَن يَدفَعَ الإِصباحَ عَن إِشراقِهِ

    مِن بَعدِ مَطلَعِهِ الهَزيعُ المُظلِمُ

    The morning cannot be held back from shining,

    after its rising, by the dark watch of night.

  64. رُم أَيَّ مَملَكَةٍ أَرَدتَ فَإِنَّما

    حَلَبٌ إِلى كُلِّ المَمالِكِ سُلَّمُ

    Seek whatever kingdom you wish, for

    Aleppo is a ladder to all kingdoms.

  65. وَبِصَدرِكَ القَلبُ الَّذي لَمّا يُرَع

    وَبِكَفِّكَ العَضبُ الَّذي لا يَكهَمُ

    In your breast is the heart that has never yet known fear,

    and in your palm the sharp sword that never grows blunt.

  66. وَاِرجِع رُجوعَ اللَيثِ وَهوَ مُظَفَّرٌ

    وَالسَيفُ يَقطُرُ مِن غِرارَيهِ الدَمُ

    Return as the lion returns, victorious,

    with blood dripping from the sword's two edges.

  67. مُتَجَلبِبَ النَصرِ الَّذي عُوِّدتَهُ

    إِذ كانَ خَلفَكَ حَيثُما تَتَيَمَّمُ

    Cloaked in the victory to which you are accustomed,

    for it has followed you wherever you head.

  68. فَدِمَشقُ مِثلُ الغابِ هِزبَرُهُ

    وَالجَفنُ فارَقَهُ الحُسامُ المِخذَمُ

    For Damascus is like the thicket bereft of its lion,

    and the sheath forsaken by the keen, severing sword.

  69. وَبِأَهلِها عَطَشٌ إِلَيكَ وَكُلُّهُم

    كَالنَبتِ نَكَّبَهُ السَحابُ المُرزِمُ

    Its people thirst for you, and all of them

    are like vegetation shunned by the thundering cloud.

  70. وَسَيَقدَمُ العِزُّ الأَشَمُّ عَلَيهِمُ

    وَالعارِضُ السَحّاحُ ساعَةَ تَقدَمُ

    Lofty glory will come upon them,

    and the downpouring cloud, the moment you arrive.

  71. شَعبانُ شَعَّبَ يَومَهُم فَليَرقَبوا

    إِنَّ المُحَرَّمَ لِلسُهادِ مُحَرِّمُ

    Sha'ban scattered their day; let them await:

    Muharram shall forbid sleeplessness.

  72. عامٌ حُلولُكَ فيهِمُ بِحُلولِهِ

    عامٌ يُبَجَّلُ عِندَهُم وَيُعَظَّمُ

    A year whose coming brings your arrival among them

    is a year they honor and exalt.

  73. يا غامِرَ المُتَظَلِّمينَ بِعَدلِهِ

    حَتّامَ مالُكَ في اللُهى يَتَظَلَّمُ

    O you who flood those seeking redress with your justice,

    how long will your wealth plead injustice amid your largesse?

  74. أَنتَ الَّذي لَو لَم تُطِع حُكمَ النَدى

    ما كانَ مَخلوقٌ عَلَيهِ يَحكُمُ

    You are the one who, had you not obeyed generosity's decree,

    no created being could have ruled over you.

  75. يَغنى الَّذي تَحبوهُ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ

    وَسِواكَ يَنقُصُ نَيلَهُ فَيُتَمَّمُ

    The one you give to becomes rich the very first time;

    others' gifts fall short and must be supplemented.

  76. فَالجودُ إِلّا مِن يَدَيكَ مُصَرَّدٌ

    وَالظَنُّ إِلّا في نَداكَ مُرَجَّمُ

    Generosity, unless from your hands, is meager,

    and hope, except in your bounty, is mere conjecture.

  77. قُل لِلعُفاةِ مَضى عَنِ البَحرِ القَذى

    فَرِدوا مَشارِعَهُ وَلا تَتَلَوَّموا

    Tell the supplicants: the debris has left the sea;

    so come to its watering places, and do not delay.

  78. إِنَّ المَكارِمَ أَفرَقَت مِن دائِها

    مُذ أَفرَقَ المَلِكُ الأَجَلُّ الأَعظَمُ

    Noble virtues have recovered from their sickness,

    since the most august, greatest king recovered.

  79. فَلتَبرُدِ الآنَ القُلوبُ فَإِنَّها

    كانَت بِنيرانِ الأَسى تَتَضَرَّمُ

    Let hearts now cool, for they

    had been blazing with the fires of grief.

  80. لا عادَكَ الأَلَمُ المُلِمُّ فَلَم يَزَل

    قَلبُ العَلاءِ لِأَجلِهِ يَتَأَلَّمُ

    May afflicting pain never revisit you, for ceaselessly

    the heart of glory has suffered because of it.

  81. وَالعيدُ يَقصُرُ عَن سَلامَتِكَ الَّتي

    هِيَ في النُفوسِ أَجَلُّ مِنهُ وَأَعظَمُ

    The feast falls short of your well-being, which

    is nobler and greater than it in people's souls.

  82. فَاِسعَد بِها وَبِهِ وَدُمتَ مُسَلَّما

    ما طافَ بِالبَيتِ المُحَرَّمِ مُحرِمُ

    Rejoice in both, and may you ever remain unharmed,

    as long as a consecrated pilgrim circles the Sacred House.

  83. فَلِكَثرَةِ الدَعَواتِ في أَرجائِهِ

    قَد كادَ يَفهَمُها الحَطيمُ وَزَمزَمُ

    So abundant are the prayers within its precincts

    that al-Hatim and Zamzam have almost understood them.

  84. كُلُّ الوَرى داعٍ وَجُلُّ دُعائِهِم

    أَلّا يُزيلَ اللَهُ ظِلَّكَ عَنهُمُ

    All creation prays, and most of their prayers are

    that God should not remove your shade from them.

  85. أَغنى نَوالُكَ بَعضَهُم عَن بَعضِهِم

    كَي لا يُرى في الأَرضِ غَيرَكَ مُنعِمُ

    Your gifts freed some of them from needing others,

    so that no benefactor but you should be seen on earth.

  86. فَلِذاكَ أَلسُنُهُم لِسانٌ واحِدٌ

    يُثني بِما خَوَّلتَ وَالدُنيا فَمُ

    Thus their tongues are a single tongue,

    praising what you bestowed, while the world is a mouth.

  87. زادَ الثَناءُ بِمَأثُراتِكَ بَهجَةً

    وَلَرَبَّما زانَ السِوارَ المِعصَمُ

    Praise gained beauty through your glorious deeds;

    often it is the wrist that adorns the bracelet.

  88. وَأَطاعَني فيكَ الكَلامُ وَهَل دَرَت

    هَذي العُقودُ لِأَيِّ شَيءٍ تُنظَمُ

    Speech obeyed me concerning you; did

    these necklaces know for what they were being strung?

  89. وَلَقَد تَعَمَّدتُ الإِطالَةَ عالِماً

    أَنَّ اِستِماعَ ثَناكَ مالا يُسأَمُ

    I deliberately chose lengthiness, knowing

    that listening to your praise is never wearisome.