همم الملوك أجلها اعظامها

بالحلم ساد من النفوس عصامها

The noblest royal ambitions are the grandest.

Through forbearance, the mainstay of souls attained mastery.

والحلم أس والكمال بنية

رفعت على أركانه أعلامها

Forbearance is a foundation, and perfection an edifice

whose banners are raised upon its pillars.

والحلم أرواح وكل زكية

ولع الكرام بصنعها أجسامها

Forbearance is spirit, and each pure spirit

has for its body the nobles' devotion to practicing it.

وصنائع الأحلام أنفس مفخراً

من كل مفخرة يسود كرامها

The deeds of forbearance are more precious as a source of pride

than every distinction whose noble possessors attain mastery.

كنقيبة الملك الحليم فإنه

للكائنات ملاكها وقوامها

Such is the character of the forbearing king, for he

is the governing principle and mainstay of all beings.

ملك مقدسة هيولياته

من أن يضاف لفطرة أعظامها

A king whose material elements are sanctified

beyond having their grandeur attributed to nature.

ملك جلالته وعزة شأنه

بمسابح القمرين جل مقامها

A king whose majesty and exalted standing

have their lofty station in the courses of the sun and moon.

ملك به الدنيا زهت وتهللت

بجمال طلعة ملكه أيامها

A king through whom the world grew splendid, and

its days brightened at the beauty of his royal appearance.

ملك عزائمه تخر لها الملو

ك وفوق هام المشتري أقدامها

A king before whose resolves kings fall prostrate,

those resolves setting their feet above Jupiter's crown.

أسد فرائسه الخضارم في الوغى

جرار كل كتيبة قمقامها

A lion whose prey in battle are mighty lords,

the great commander of every battalion, its foremost chief.

طلاع كل ثنية هزازها

قماع كل عظيمة مصدامها

He scales every mountain pass and shakes it;

he subdues every great adversity and strikes it head-on.

حتف على الأضداد لفتة رأيه

لمن السيوف ودونهن حمامها

A glance of his judgment brings doom upon his adversaries—

a sword indeed, whose deathblow precedes the swords.

غلاب ما دون القضاء يحفه

مدد السماء وحارسوه كرامها

He overcomes everything short of destiny; surrounding him

are heaven's reinforcements, its noble ones his guards.

تخشى البوادر من جلالة قهره

نوب الصروف فما يشب ضرامها

His sudden blows, in the majesty of his might, are feared

by fortune's calamities, whose fire therefore never flares.

من للحوادث أن تون جنوده

وتكون في كبد العداة سهامها

Who can make calamities his troops,

and their arrows lodge in his enemies' hearts?

لولا كفالة عزمه بسياسة ال

دنيا كفاه عن الوغى أقدامها

Were his resolve not pledged to governing the

world, its boldness would spare him battle.

لكن له سن الكمال فواضلاً

حتى على حد الظبى انعامها

But perfection ordained generous deeds for him,

extending their gifts even to the edges of blades.

ولعت أياديه باقراء السيو

ف دماً وذاك على الكرام ذمامها

His hands delight in entertaining swords

with blood; the noble owe them that hospitality.

حقاً إذا قرمت إلى لجم العدا

أن لا يظل مؤخراً إكرامها

It is their due, when they crave the enemies' flesh,

that their honoring should not be postponed.

ومطهمات كالرياح قواصف

قحل إلى دهم الحروب هيامها

And finely bred steeds, storming like the winds,

lean, their passion drawn to the dark horrors of wars.

جرد مكتبة الصدور عوابس

ألفت مقارعة الحديد عظامها

Sleek, compact of chest, stern-faced,

their bones accustomed to clashing with iron.

صامت مرابطة الجهاد ببابه

لله ظل جهادها وصيامها

They fasted, stationed for holy war at his gate;

their striving and fasting remained devoted to God.

ولطالما صلت على لباتها

زمر الحديد سهامها وحسامها

How often upon their throats have prayed

bands of iron—their arrows and their sword.

تصبو إلى الأهوال صبوة عاشق

عجباً بشمطاء الحروب غرامها

They yearn for terrors with a lover's yearning;

how strange their passion for war's gray-haired crone!

أزدية بدرية وهبية

لورود ماء النهروان أوامها

Azdi, Badri, and Wahbi,

they thirst to drink the waters of Nahrawan.

تنفض بالأجال كالشهب الثوا

قب دارعات بالدما أجسامها

They scatter death like piercing meteors,

their bodies armored with blood.

علمت مقارعة الكماة وأحرزت

علم المعارك جيداً إفهامها

They learned to clash with armored champions and acquired

the art of battle, understanding it well.

جرداء غضبى لا يقر قرارها

أو يستباح من العداة حرامها

A sleek, angry force that cannot settle

until its enemies' inviolable bounds are laid open.

يسطيرها لمع النجوم تخاله

لمع الصوارم حين ثار قتامها

The flash of stars startles them; you would take it

for the flash of swords when their battle dust rises.

ثبتت لها في كل دهر خطة

رسمته في جبهاته أيامها

In every age, a course was established for them;

their days traced it upon the brows of time.

عاشت ملوك بني الامام تعلها

بدم الكماة فما يحل فطامها

The kings of the Imam's line lived, giving them draughts

of champions' blood, so their weaning was never allowed.

كانوا البدور فكن أفلاكاً لهم

والعدل منهم في العباد لجامها

The kings were full moons; the steeds became their orbits,

and the kings' justice among their subjects was their bridle.

أبلت فوفاها الذمام وهكذا

ترعى الذمام من الملوك كرامها

They proved their worth, and he fulfilled his obligation to them; thus

do the noble among kings honor their pledges.

ولكم وفي عهداً وراعى حرمة

وأزاح معضلة يهول ظلامها

How often he kept a covenant and respected a sanctity,

and dispelled a dilemma whose darkness terrified;

وأتاح فاضلة وأغنى مقتراً

وأمر نفساً شأنها إعدامها

bestowed a boon and enriched a poor man,

and made prosperous a soul whose lot was destitution.

ولكم تجاوز عن جديدة مذنب

لولا تجاوزه لحل آثامها

How often he overlooked a sinner's fresh offense,

whose burden of guilt would otherwise have descended.

ملك جبلته على الحلم انطوت

إن الملوك تزينها أحلامها

A king whose nature is grounded in forbearance;

kings are adorned by their forbearance.

يؤتى بأثقال الجبال جرائماً

فيزول بالعفو العظيم لزامها

Crimes are brought to him weighing as much as mountains,

and their binding penalty vanishes through his mighty pardon.

وبتلك يمتلك الرقاب مليكها

وبتلك يقتاد الصعاب همامها

Through that, their sovereign possesses men's necks;

through that, their champion leads the unruly.

وقضية المجد الأثيل منوطة

بجمال مصطنعاته أحكامها

The cause of deep-rooted glory is one

whose judgments depend on the beauty of his benefactions.

أصل لجامعة الكمال كماله

كالشمس روح للوجود قيامها

His perfection is the foundation of the sum of perfection,

as the sun's rising is a spirit for existence.

ما زال يهتف بالمعالي همه

حتى تضاعف في يديه زمامها

His ambition never ceased calling for exalted deeds,

until their reins grew manifold within his hands.

قطب لعمر الجد عنه تضاءلت

همم القروم وعصرت أوهامها

A pole—by the life of earnest striving!—before whom dwindled

the ambitions of mighty chiefs, their imaginings pressed small.

أو ما ترى سر الخلافة أشرقت

بظهوره وتباشرت أعلامها

Or do you not see how the mystery of the caliphate shone

at his appearance, and its banners rejoiced?

واهتز منبرها وهلل عرشها

وتهللت فرحاً به أيامها

Its pulpit swayed, and its throne proclaimed God's oneness;

its days brightened with joy in him.

وأغاث اسلام البسيطة بعد أن

كادت يودع أهلها اسلامها

He rescued the Islam of the earth after

its Islam had nearly bidden its people farewell.

وأمد ناموس الشرائع بالتي

يرضي الإله من الجهاد قيامها

He strengthened the sacred order of religious laws with deeds

of striving whose observance pleases God.

ملك تشرفت البسيطة باسمه

وبذاته وصفاته حكامها

A king whose name ennobled the earth,

and whose person and qualities ennobled its rulers.

ملك يجير على الزمان طريده

حتى الحوادث في حماه مضامها

A king who shelters time's outcast against time itself,

so that even calamities find oppression within his sanctuary.

غوث البلاد عظيمة بركاته

نفاح كل جليلة قسامها

The land's deliverer, immense in blessing,

a lavish giver of every great bounty, its distributor.

وافته سلطنة الوجود فزانها

ولقد رعاها كفؤها وامامها

The sovereignty of existence came to him, and he adorned it;

its worthy master and imam tended it well.

من معشر قادوا الزمان بأنفس

ترياق كل عظيمة وسمامها

From a people who led time with souls

that were both antidote and venom for every great trial.

بلغوا السماء علا فما جرجيسها

إلا استقاد لهم ولا بهرامها

They rose in height to heaven; neither its Jirjis

nor its Bahram failed to submit to them.

أسد عرينهم اللدان السمهر

ية والسوابغ محكماً إلحامها

Lions whose lair is supple, sturdy spears

and full coats of mail with firmly joined links.

كغيول محنية تصفقها الصبا

زرق كأثواب السماء جمامها

Like bending thickets buffeted by the east wind,

their full masses blue as the robes of heaven.

خلقوا على صهوات كل طمرة

جرداء سابحة يعوم زمامها

They were created upon the backs of every swift steed,

sleek and swimming in its gallop, its reins afloat.

هجروا الأسرة والدساكر رغبة

عنها لمعركة يموج لهامها

They forsook couches and palatial estates, turning

away from them toward a battle whose great host surges.

وتفيؤا ظلل القواضب والقنا

عوض الرياض تفتحت أكمامها

They took shade beneath blades and lances

instead of gardens whose buds had opened.

أعظم باملاك باردية المج

رة طنبت بالمكرمات خيامها

How magnificent the kings in the [unclear] of the Milky

Way, whose tents are pitched with noble deeds!

نبر الخطوب مقاعس آثارهم

عقد على جيد الزمان نظامها

Towering over calamities, unyielding—their deeds

form a necklace strung around the neck of time.

شمخت عن الدنيا منازعهم فما

تصبيهم لذاتها وحطامها

Their aspirations rose above the world, so

its pleasures and passing trinkets do not entice them.

ذمر حقوق نزيلهم والمستعي

ذ بهم حقوق لا يضاع ذمامها

Champions: the rights of their guest and of one seeking

refuge with them are rights whose covenant is never lost.

أبقى ثويني في الوجود مفاخراً

يجلي النجوم مسيرها ودوامها

Thuwaini left in existence proud achievements

whose course and endurance brighten the stars.

فأتى ابنه الملك العظيم بخطة ال

شرف التي جلت وعز مرامها

Then his son, the great king, brought the course of

honor, exalted and hard to attain.

السيد السلطان نور الملة ال

غرا وروح حياتها وقوامها

The lord sultan, light of the radiant faith,

the spirit of its life and its mainstay,

حمد الذي سطواته لو عارضت

شم الجبال لنسفت اجرامها

Hamad, whose assaults, were they to encounter

the lofty mountains, would blast their masses apart.

معطاء كل رغيبة وهابها

بتار كل عظيمة صمصامها

Lavish in granting every desired boon,

cutting through every great difficulty, its keen sword.

رسمت مناقبه بنور جلاله

بيد العلا وكماله أقلامها

His virtues were traced in the light of his majesty

by the hand of loftiness, his perfection its pens.

وتقيل الحمد الذي عن حصره

لسن المدائح في القيود كلامها

He inherited praise whose reckoning leaves

the tongues of eulogy, their words, in chains.

يا أيها الملك الذي أرجو عوا

طفه وأعظم منيتي إلمامها

O king whose tender favors I hope for,

their arrival is my greatest wish.

كم أم بابك عائذ بجلالة

خير المعاذ معاذها ومقامها

How many a refugee has sought your gate, seeking majesty

whose refuge and station are the best of shelters.

عبد ببابك لم يغادر زلة

إلا وقد علقت به آثامها

A servant at your gate who has left no offense

without its sins clinging to him.

عبد ببابك مستجير عائذ

بجبال حلمك نفسه استعصامها

A servant at your gate, seeking protection and refuge,

his soul seeking safety in the mountains of your forbearance.

مستمسك بحبال عفوك آئباً

إن ليس ينقض في يدي إبرامها

Clinging to the ropes of your pardon, returning repentant,

provided their firm binding does not unravel in my hands.

مولاي إن السيل قد بلغ الزبى

وأتى على نفس الطريد زؤامها

My lord, the flood has reached the hilltops,

and deadly ruin has overtaken the outcast's soul.

مولاي قد حلم الأديم من البلا

حتى على الطيبين ضاق حزامها

My lord, the hide has become mite-eaten from affliction,

until its girth tightened even over the two teats.

مولاي أشكلة الزمان قد انقضت

ولماسه الأعداء جف رؤامها

My lord, the bonds of time have snapped,

and its tenderness has dried up through contact with enemies.

مولاي إن الدهر أوردني موا

رد مالها صدر يؤد عرامها

My lord, time has driven me to watering

places with no way out to restrain their fury.

مولاي لست على صدودك مقرناً

أو ليس ذاك على النفوس حمامها

My lord, I cannot withstand your turning away;

is that not death itself for souls?

مولاي أن تأخذ فلست بظالم

نفسي جنت فجناؤها ظلامها

My lord, if you punish me, you are no wrongdoer:

my soul offended; its offense is its oppressor.

مولاي أن تعدل فعدل حاكم

لك حجة حق على قيامها

My lord, if you act justly, that is a ruler's justice;

you have a rightful argument for its establishment.

مولاي أن تكن الذنوب عظيمة

فمقام حلمك دونه أعظامها

My lord, though the sins be great,

their magnitude falls beneath the station of your forbearance.

مولاي حلمك واقتدارك موجب

أن لا يبوء على العصاة غرامها

My lord, your forbearance and power require

that their penalty not fall upon the disobedient.

مولاي إن وصل الذرائع قضبت

فذراك لم يخلق لدى ذمامها

My lord, if the ties of all expedients are severed,

the covenant kept in your shelter has not worn out.

مولاي إن غب المعذر خطوة

فلرب رامية تطيش سهامها

My lord, if one offering excuses falls a step behind,

many a female archer's arrows fly astray.

مولاي إن رثت عهود مضجع

فعلى المرزء مجده إبرامها

My lord, if the pledges of one laid low have frayed,

their renewal rests upon the man whose glory is assailed.

مولاي إن ترد الأمور كفاءها

فعظيم حلمك طبها وسقامها

My lord, if you would return affairs to their proper balance,

your great forbearance is their cure and their illness.

مولاي أن ترم الشؤون كفيلها

فجلالك الأعلى العزيز مرامها

My lord, if affairs seek their guarantor,

your supreme, mighty majesty is their aim.

مولاي تلك مطامعي وجهتها

منقوصة وعلى نداك تمامها

My lord, these are my hopes; I have directed them to you,

incomplete, with their fulfillment resting on your generosity.

هل نظرة تذر الخطوب بلاقعا

أو مطرة يحيي الرميم غمامها

Is there a glance that leaves adversities desolate,

or a shower whose cloud revives decayed remains?

خصمتني الأيام أن أقصيتني

سهل على إذا رضيت خصامها

The days contend against me if you banish me;

their contention is easy for me if you are pleased.

وصمتني النكبات أن ألقيتني

أين الحلوم الراسيات أكامها

Calamities mark me with disgrace if you cast me off;

where is the forbearance whose hills stand rooted?

أين الفواضل والمراحم والصفا

ت الشاملات البائسين كرامها

Where are bounties, mercies, and qualities—

their noblest embracing the distressed?

واللّه ما نقصت ولا عريت ول

كن الأمور على الحظوظ قوامها

By God, they have neither diminished nor been stripped away; yet

affairs are maintained according to allotted fortunes.

فلئن عطفت عليَّ عطفة رحمة

فأنا الحري بها وأنت همامها

If you turn toward me with a merciful kindness,

I am worthy of it, and you are its noble champion.

ولأنت أكرم أن تذود انابتي

عن حوض عفوك كالشواظ أوامها

You are too generous to drive my repentance away

from the pool of your pardon, its thirst like flame.

لأنت أرحم أن ترد ضرورتي

حسرى وقد كربت يحم حمامها

You are too merciful to turn my desperate need away

exhausted, when its death has all but come due.

أدعوك للكرب العظيم وإنما

يدعى لكل عظيمة قوامها

I call upon you in great distress, for only

its mainstay is summoned for every great ordeal.

لا زالت الأيام تنشر فضلكم

وقف عليكم نرها ونظامها

May the days never cease spreading your bounty,

their scattering and ordering reserved for you.

والدهر عبداً والنعيم مخلداً

وأطوم عمرك لا يفض ختامها

May time remain a slave, and bliss everlasting,

and the strongholds of your life have seals never broken.