1. كانت محلَّ أناسٍ قبلنا فخلوا

    عنها وآثارُهُم فيها مُقيماتُ

    It was the abode of people before us, who departed

    from it, while their traces remain there.

  2. تاللَهِ لو عَلِمت مقدارَ وارثها

    هبت إليكَ رُباها والقراراتُ

    By God, had it known the stature of its heir,

    its hills and lowlands would have sprung toward you.

  3. قالوا العطياتُ أحياها فقلتُ لهم

    بل لم تكن قبلَ أن كان العطياتُ

    They said, ‘He revived largesse’; I told them,

    ‘No—largesse did not exist before he did.’

  4. أما سمعتم جريراً عن هنيدته

    يثني يرى أنها في الجودِ غاياتُ

    Have you not heard Jarir speak of his hundred camels,

    praising them, deeming them the utmost in generosity?

  5. وأينَ من حسبهُ الآلاف من ذهبٍ

    هنيدةٌ من سواهُ أو هنيداتُ

    And what, beside one for whom thousands in gold suffice,

    are a hundred camels from another—or several hundreds?

  6. وأين من قيسُ عيلانٍ أرومتهُ

    وقيسُ عيلانَ أملاكٌ وساداتُ

    And who can match one whose ancestral stock is Qays ʿAylan,

    Qays ʿAylan being kings and lords?

  7. ومن يكن من أميرِ المؤمنين فقد

    قامت على فضلهِ منه الشهاداتُ

    And whoever descends from the Commander of the Faithful has indeed

    testimonies from him affirming his excellence.

  8. اهنأ إمامَ الهُدى فالعدلُ منبسطٌ

    والدينُ منتظمٌ والكفرُ أشتاتُ

    Rejoice, Imam of guidance, for justice is widespread,

    religion is well ordered, and unbelief lies scattered.

  9. أعيت مآثركم من أن تنالَ وكم

    شُنَّت عليها من الأقوالِ غاراتُ

    Your glorious deeds defy attainment—and how many

    raids of words have been launched against them!

  10. وكم أرادت ولاةُ الشعر تحصرها

    فأخفقت دونها منهم إرادات

    And how often the masters of poetry have sought to encompass them,

    but their efforts failed, falling short of them.

  11. هذي ابياتُ عبدٍ مخلصٍ لكم

    محض اعتقاد وما تغني الأبياتُ

    These are verses from a servant sincerely devoted to you,

    with pure conviction—yet what can verses avail?

  12. الأمر اعظم مقداراً وارفع من

    أن قد تحيطُ به منا مقامات

    The matter is greater in magnitude and loftier than

    any discourses of ours could encompass.

  13. دمتم ودام لكم إسعادُ سعدكُم

    ما دامَتِ الأرض والسبعُ السماواتُ

    May you endure, and may your good fortune keep bringing you happiness,

    as long as the earth and the seven heavens endure.