هلال بأفقالملك تزهى سعوده — Abn Nbath

هلالٌ بأفقِالملك تزهى سعودُه

وشبلٌ بغابِ السمر تربى أسودُه

A crescent on the horizon of kingship, his fortunate stars resplendent;

and a lion cub in a forest of tawny spears, where its lions are reared.

وفرعُ علًى تهتزّ أعطافُ مجده

وينفحُ أبناءَ المحامد عودُه

And a bough of eminence, the limbs of whose glory sway;

his fragrant wood perfumes the sons of noble deeds.

تباشرتِ الدنيا به وتنافست

مراتبُه في شخصه ومهودُه

The world rejoiced at him, and rivalry arose

between his ranks and his cradles over his person.

وسرّ بني أيوبَ أنَّ مقامهم

محافظة عاداته وعهودُه

And the sons of Ayyub rejoiced that their station

has its customs and its covenants kept intact.

إذا غاب ملكٌ لم يغب غيرُ شخصه

وقامَ ابنهُ من بعده وحفيدُه

When a king departs, nothing departs but his person;

his son and grandson rise after him.

فيا لك بيتاً في الفخار سعيده

بنوه على حالاته وجدودُه

O what a house! Fortunate in glory are

its sons and forefathers, whatever its circumstances.

هنيئاً لبيت الفضلِ أنَّ عمادَهُ

مقيمٌ وأنَّ الملكَ باقٍ عميدُه

Joy to the house of excellence, for its pillar

stands firm, and kingship's chief endures.

وأن وليد الأفضل الملك قد محا

عن الناس حزناً لا ينادى وليدُه

And King al-Afdal's newborn has effaced

from the people a grief so dire that no child could be summoned.

سمعنا به في شهر شعبان فانتهت

لنا والعدى حلواؤه ووقودُه

We heard of him in the month of Shaʿban, and there came

its sweetmeats to us, and its burning fuel to our foes.

يكادُ قبيلَ المهدِ تعلو سروجُه

وتنشرُ من قبلِ القماط بنوده

His saddles almost rise aloft before the cradle,

and his banners are unfurled before the swaddling cloth.

ويهتزّ للجدوى وما هزّ مهده

به وتناغى بالهبات وفوده

And he thrills to generosity before his cradle has been rocked

with him in it, and his delegations coo of gifts.

شبيه أبيه في الفخار وجده

فيا لقديمٍ قد تلاه جديدُه

Like his father in glory, and his grandfather:

how wondrous the old, now followed by its new!

سقى الله مثوى جدّه كلَّ مزنةٍ

تضوعُ بها ضوعَ الرياض لحوده

May God water his grandfather's resting place with every raincloud,

through which his burial niches breathe the fragrance of gardens;

وأبقى أباهُ للسيادةَ والعلى

تُنالُ عطاياهُ وتُحمى جنودُه

and preserve his father for lordship and eminence,

his gifts received and his armies protected;

وأنشأه في الجود والبأس نشأةً

يبيد بها تبرُ الثرى وحديده

and give him such an upbringing in generosity and valor

that the earth's gold and iron are exhausted through it.

أما والأيادي الأفضلية إنها

تحمّل جهدَ الحمدِ حتى تؤوده

Indeed, by al-Afdal's benefactions! They

lay such strain on praise that they overburden it.

لقد نهضت علياهُ نهضة ماجدٍ

قصيّ مداهُ فائضات مدُودُه

His lofty greatness has risen with a noble man's ascent,

whose reach is far and whose tides overflow.

مضيءٌ وما في الأفق برقٌ نشيمه

مفيءٌ وما في الأرض خصبٌ نرودُه

Radiant, though there is no lightning on the horizon for us to watch;

bounty-giving, though there is no fertile land on earth for us to seek.

له عزمات في العلى شادَوِّيةٌ

لها أبداً من كلِّ عزمٍ سديدُه

He has Shadi-like resolves in pursuit of greatness,

forever endowed with what is sound in every resolve.

فما همّها إلا ضعيفٌ تسوسه

بفضل نداها أو قويٌّ تسوده

Their only concern is a weak man whom they govern

by their abundant bounty, or a strong man whom they master.

مقسمةٌ أقلامهُ وسيوفهُ

لنعماءَ يبديها وطاغٍ يبيده

His pens and swords are apportioned

to bounty he bestows and a tyrant he annihilates.

عزيزٌ على الساعي مداه وهذه

مهابته عصر الشباب وجوده

His reach is hard for the striver to attain—and this is

his awe-inspiring majesty and generosity in the years of youth.

إذا كان حربٌ فهو سفَّاحُ يومه

وإن كانَ رأيٌ غامضٌ فرَشيدُه

If there is war, he is the Saffah, the blood-shedder, of his day;

and if counsel is obscure, he is its Rashid, its wise guide.

يرَجّيه من بحر القريض سريعه

فيلقاه من بحرِ النوالِ مدِيدُه

From the sea of verse, its Swift meter seeks his favor;

from the sea of bounty, its Extended meter meets it.

يساويه في حق العلى متشبهٌ

إذا ما تساوى سبطُه ويزيدُه

An imitator can equal him in his claim to eminence

only when his grandson and his Yazid are equal.

ويسمى سعيداً دهرُه ومباركاً

فصحَّ لنا أنَّ الدُّهورَ عبيده

His age is named Saʿid, 'Happy,' and Mubarak, 'Blessed';

thus it is certain to us that the ages are his slaves.

تسوق إليه كلّ سعدٍ يشاؤه

وتخدمه في كلِّ أمرٍ يريده

They bring him every good fortune he desires,

and serve him in every undertaking he wills.

فلو أننا في يوم قصد جنابه

سألنا شباب العمر كادَ يعيده

If, on the day we sought his court,

we asked for life's youth, he would all but restore it.

فلو أنَّ أقمارَ السماء تحجبت

لأغنى سراةَ الليل عنها وُجودُه

If the moons of heaven veiled themselves,

his presence would suffice night travelers in their stead.

ولو أنه لم يحشدِ الجيشَ للوغى

كفتهُ سطاهُ أن يجرَّ حسودُه

Even if he did not muster the army for battle,

his might would suffice to have his envier dragged away.

ألا إنَّ سلطانَ المعالي محمداً

لمشكورُ سعي المكرماتِ حميدُه

Behold, Muhammad, sovereign of lofty honors,

is surely thanked and praised for his pursuit of noble deeds.

فليتَ عمادَ الدّين يبصرُ نسله

وقد جلّ مسعاهُ وزادَ عديدُه

Would that ʿImad al-Din could behold his offspring,

now that his endeavor has grown great and his numbers have increased.

وما هو إلاَّ بيتُ ملكٍ منظمٍ

فمن أجلِ ذا أيامه تستعيدُه

It is but a well-composed royal house,

and thus its days ask for it once more.

أأزكى الورَى نفساً وأكرم معشراً

وأمكنهم من سؤدَدٍ تستجيدُه

O purest of mortals in soul, and noblest in clan,

and most firmly established in the lordship you prize,

بكم غنيتْ حالي عن الناس وازدهى

نظامُ كلامي فيكمو وفريده

through you my life needs no one else, and resplendent are

the necklace of my words in your praise and its peerless pearl.

فما الدّرّ إلاَّ دونَ نظمٍ أنصه

وما القصر إلاَّ دونَ بيتٍ أشيده

For pearls are beneath the verse I set forth,

and a palace is beneath a house of verse I build.