همم الملوك أجلها اعظامها

بالحلم ساد من النفوس عصامها

The noblest royal aspirations are the loftiest;

through forbearance, the mainstay of souls gains 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; every pure deed

that noble men delight to perform is its bodily form.

وصنائع الأحلام أنفس مفخراً

من كل مفخرة يسود كرامها

The deeds of forbearance are more precious as a boast

than any distinction whose noble possessors gain eminence.

كنقيبة الملك الحليم فإنه

للكائنات ملاكها وقوامها

Such is the character of the forbearing king, for he

is creation's guiding principle and support.

ملك مقدسة هيولياته

من أن يضاف لفطرة أعظامها

A king whose material elements are too sacred

for their greatness to be ascribed to mere nature.

ملك جلالته وعزة شأنه

بمسابح القمرين جل مقامها

A king whose majesty and exalted standing

hold a 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 rejoiced

in the beauty of his kingship's rising face.

ملك عزائمه تخر لها الملو

ك وفوق هام المشتري أقدامها

A king before whose resolves kings fall prostrate,

while those resolves tread above Jupiter's crown.

أسد فرائسه الخضارم في الوغى

جرار كل كتيبة قمقامها

A lion whose prey in battle are mighty lords,

a leader of every battalion, its mighty champion.

طلاع كل ثنية هزازها

قماع كل عظيمة مصدامها

A climber of every mountain pass, shaking it;

a subduer of every great ordeal, confronting it head-on.

حتف على الأضداد لفتة رأيه

لمن السيوف ودونهن حمامها

A turn of his thought is death to his adversaries;

for whom are swords, when death comes before them?

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 guardians.

تخشى البوادر من جلالة قهره

نوب الصروف فما يشب ضرامها

The blows of his majestic might are feared

by the turns of fate, so their flames never blaze.

من للحوادث أن تون جنوده

وتكون في كبد العداة سهامها

Who can make calamities become his soldiers,

and their arrows lodge in the enemies' hearts?

لولا كفالة عزمه بسياسة ال

دنيا كفاه عن الوغى أقدامها

Were his resolve not pledged to governing the

world, its boldness alone would spare him war.

لكن له سن الكمال فواضلاً

حتى على حد الظبى انعامها

But perfection prescribed for him bounties

bestowed even upon the edges of blades.

ولعت أياديه باقراء السيو

ف دماً وذاك على الكرام ذمامها

His hands delight in feasting swords

on blood; noble men owe them that hospitality.

حقاً إذا قرمت إلى لجم العدا

أن لا يظل مؤخراً إكرامها

Rightly, when they hunger for the enemy's flesh,

their welcome must not remain delayed.

ومطهمات كالرياح قواصف

قحل إلى دهم الحروب هيامها

And finely bred mares, raging like winds,

lean, passionately drawn to war's dark throngs.

جرد مكتبة الصدور عوابس

ألفت مقارعة الحديد عظامها

Sleek, broad-chested, scowling,

their bones are accustomed to the clash of steel.

صامت مرابطة الجهاد ببابه

لله ظل جهادها وصيامها

They have fasted, stationed for holy war at his gate;

for God have been their striving and their fasting.

ولطالما صلت على لباتها

زمر الحديد سهامها وحسامها

How often upon their throats have prayed

companies of steel—their arrows and their sword.

تصبو إلى الأهوال صبوة عاشق

عجباً بشمطاء الحروب غرامها

They yearn for terrors with a lover's yearning;

strange, their passion for war's gray-haired hag!

أزدية بدرية وهبية

لورود ماء النهروان أوامها

Azdite, Badrite, Wahbite,

their thirst is for a draught of Nahrawan's water.

تنفض بالأجال كالشهب الثوا

قب دارعات بالدما أجسامها

They scatter death like piercing meteors,

their bodies armored in blood.

علمت مقارعة الكماة وأحرزت

علم المعارك جيداً إفهامها

They learned to clash with armored champions and mastered

the science of battle, understanding it well.

جرداء غضبى لا يقر قرارها

أو يستباح من العداة حرامها

Sleek and wrathful, they will not rest

until the enemy's inviolable ground is overrun.

يسطيرها لمع النجوم تخاله

لمع الصوارم حين ثار قتامها

The stars' glitter startles them: they take it

for flashing blades when battle-dust rises.

ثبتت لها في كل دهر خطة

رسمته في جبهاته أيامها

In every age they have held a fixed course,

which their glorious days inscribed upon its brow.

عاشت ملوك بني الامام تعلها

بدم الكماة فما يحل فطامها

Long have the kings of the Imam's line kept watering them

with champions' blood; their weaning is forbidden.

كانوا البدور فكن أفلاكاً لهم

والعدل منهم في العباد لجامها

The kings were full moons, and the steeds their spheres;

their justice toward mankind was the steeds' bridle.

أبلت فوفاها الذمام وهكذا

ترعى الذمام من الملوك كرامها

They served valiantly, and he honored their pledge; thus

the noblest kings uphold their obligations.

ولكم وفي عهداً وراعى حرمة

وأزاح معضلة يهول ظلامها

How many a pledge he has fulfilled, a sanctity respected,

a hard plight relieved whose darkness strikes terror;

وأتاح فاضلة وأغنى مقتراً

وأمر نفساً شأنها إعدامها

how many a noble gift bestowed, a poor man enriched,

and a soul made prosperous whose lot was destitution.

ولكم تجاوز عن جديدة مذنب

لولا تجاوزه لحل آثامها

How often he has pardoned a sinner's fresh offense,

whose penalties would otherwise have fallen due.

ملك جبلته على الحلم انطوت

إن الملوك تزينها أحلامها

A king whose nature is steeped in forbearance:

kings are adorned by their forbearance.

يؤتى بأثقال الجبال جرائماً

فيزول بالعفو العظيم لزامها

Crimes heavy as mountains are brought before him,

yet mighty pardon removes their binding penalties.

وبتلك يمتلك الرقاب مليكها

وبتلك يقتاد الصعاب همامها

Through that, their king gains mastery over necks;

through that, their hero leads the unyielding.

وقضية المجد الأثيل منوطة

بجمال مصطنعاته أحكامها

The cause of deep-rooted glory has its judgments

bound to the beauty of his benefactions.

أصل لجامعة الكمال كماله

كالشمس روح للوجود قيامها

His perfection is the root of all perfection,

like the sun, whose rising is the spirit of existence.

ما زال يهتف بالمعالي همه

حتى تضاعف في يديه زمامها

His aspiration never ceased calling to lofty deeds,

until their reins multiplied within his hands.

قطب لعمر الجد عنه تضاءلت

همم القروم وعصرت أوهامها

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

the aspirations of mighty chiefs, their imaginings compressed.

أو ما ترى سر الخلافة أشرقت

بظهوره وتباشرت أعلامها

Do you not see the secret of the caliphate? It shone

at his appearance, and its banners rejoiced together.

واهتز منبرها وهلل عرشها

وتهللت فرحاً به أيامها

Its pulpit stirred, its throne proclaimed God's praise,

and its days beamed with joy in him.

وأغاث اسلام البسيطة بعد أن

كادت يودع أهلها اسلامها

He rescued Islam throughout the earth after

its people had almost bidden their Islam farewell.

وأمد ناموس الشرائع بالتي

يرضي الإله من الجهاد قيامها

He reinforced the sacred authority of revealed laws with that

striving whose undertaking pleases God.

ملك تشرفت البسيطة باسمه

وبذاته وصفاته حكامها

A king whose name has honored the earth,

and whose person and qualities honor its rulers.

ملك يجير على الزمان طريده

حتى الحوادث في حماه مضامها

A king who shields Time's outcast against it;

even calamity's victim is safe within his refuge.

غوث البلاد عظيمة بركاته

نفاح كل جليلة قسامها

The lands' rescuer, mighty in blessings,

a lavish giver and distributor of every great bounty.

وافته سلطنة الوجود فزانها

ولقد رعاها كفؤها وامامها

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

indeed, its worthy master and leader tended it.

من معشر قادوا الزمان بأنفس

ترياق كل عظيمة وسمامها

From a people who led Time with souls

that are the antidote to every ordeal—and its poison.

بلغوا السماء علا فما جرجيسها

إلا استقاد لهم ولا بهرامها

They reached heaven in eminence; its Jirjis

could only submit to them, as did its Bahram.

أسد عرينهم اللدان السمهر

ية والسوابغ محكماً إلحامها

Lions whose lair is supple Samhari

spears and coats of mail with firmly interlocked links.

كغيول محنية تصفقها الصبا

زرق كأثواب السماء جمامها

Like bending thickets lashed by the east wind,

their pools are blue as the robes of heaven.

خلقوا على صهوات كل طمرة

جرداء سابحة يعوم زمامها

They were born upon the backs of bounding mares,

sleek swimmers whose reins float with their motion.

هجروا الأسرة والدساكر رغبة

عنها لمعركة يموج لهامها

They forsook couches and palaces, turning away

from them toward battles whose great hosts surge.

وتفيؤا ظلل القواضب والقنا

عوض الرياض تفتحت أكمامها

They sought the shade of cutting swords and spears

instead of gardens whose flower-cups open.

أعظم باملاك باردية المج

رة طنبت بالمكرمات خيامها

How great are kings! In the Milky Way's mantles

their tents are pitched with noble deeds.

نبر الخطوب مقاعس آثارهم

عقد على جيد الزمان نظامها

Towering over calamities, steadfast; their deeds

are a necklace strung upon the neck of Time.

شمخت عن الدنيا منازعهم فما

تصبيهم لذاتها وحطامها

Their aspirations soared above this world, so neither

its pleasures nor its vanities entice them.

ذمر حقوق نزيلهم والمستعي

ذ بهم حقوق لا يضاع ذمامها

Valiant men: the rights of their guest and the refuge-seeker

among them are rights whose pledge is never neglected.

أبقى ثويني في الوجود مفاخراً

يجلي النجوم مسيرها ودوامها

Thuwayni left proud deeds in existence,

whose course and endurance eclipse the stars.

فأتى ابنه الملك العظيم بخطة ال

شرف التي جلت وعز مرامها

Then his son, the mighty king, took up the path of

honor, exalted and difficult to attain:

السيد السلطان نور الملة ال

غرا وروح حياتها وقوامها

the lord, the sultan, light of the radiant

faith, its living spirit and its support,

حمد الذي سطواته لو عارضت

شم الجبال لنسفت اجرامها

Hamad, whose assaults, if they confronted

the lofty mountains, would scatter their masses.

معطاء كل رغيبة وهابها

بتار كل عظيمة صمصامها

Lavish giver and bestower of every coveted gift,

severer of every great ordeal, its unyielding sword.

رسمت مناقبه بنور جلاله

بيد العلا وكماله أقلامها

His virtues were inscribed in the light of his majesty

by the hand of eminence, his perfection its pens.

وتقيل الحمد الذي عن حصره

لسن المدائح في القيود كلامها

He followed the way of praise, whose full recounting

leaves the tongues of panegyric fettered in their speech.

يا أيها الملك الذي أرجو عوا

طفه وأعظم منيتي إلمامها

O king, whose kindness I hope for,

its arrival is my greatest wish.

كم أم بابك عائذ بجلالة

خير المعاذ معاذها ومقامها

How many a suppliant has sought your gate, sheltered by a 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 has left no lapse

without its sins clinging to him.

عبد ببابك مستجير عائذ

بجبال حلمك نفسه استعصامها

A servant at your gate, seeking shelter and refuge:

his soul's protection lies in the mountains of your forbearance.

مستمسك بحبال عفوك آئباً

إن ليس ينقض في يدي إبرامها

Clinging to the cords of your pardon, returning repentant,

if their firm knotting is not undone within my hands.

مولاي إن السيل قد بلغ الزبى

وأتى على نفس الطريد زؤامها

My lord, the flood has reached the high ground,

and deadly ruin has overtaken the exile's soul.

مولاي قد حلم الأديم من البلا

حتى على الطيبين ضاق حزامها

My lord, the hide has grown worm-eaten from decay,

until its belt constricts even the good.

مولاي أشكلة الزمان قد انقضت

ولماسه الأعداء جف رؤامها

My lord, Time's bonds have come undone;

its touch is hostile, its tenderness dried up.

مولاي إن الدهر أوردني موا

رد مالها صدر يؤد عرامها

My lord, Time has brought me to watering places

with no return that might subdue their fury.

مولاي لست على صدودك مقرناً

أو ليس ذاك على النفوس حمامها

My lord, I cannot endure your turning away;

is that not death to souls?

مولاي أن تأخذ فلست بظالم

نفسي جنت فجناؤها ظلامها

My lord, if you punish, you do no wrong:

my soul has sinned, and its wrongdoing is its oppressor.

مولاي أن تعدل فعدل حاكم

لك حجة حق على قيامها

My lord, if you judge justly, it is a ruler's justice;

you have a rightful claim, which I am bound to uphold.

مولاي أن تكن الذنوب عظيمة

فمقام حلمك دونه أعظامها

My lord, if the sins are great,

their enormity falls short of the station of your forbearance.

مولاي حلمك واقتدارك موجب

أن لا يبوء على العصاة غرامها

My lord, your forbearance and your power demand

that their penalty not fall upon the disobedient.

مولاي إن وصل الذرائع قضبت

فذراك لم يخلق لدى ذمامها

My lord, if the bonds of all approaches are severed,

your shelter's pledge has not worn thin for me.

مولاي إن غب المعذر خطوة

فلرب رامية تطيش سهامها

My lord, if the pleader has missed a step,

many an archer's arrows go astray.

مولاي إن رثت عهود مضجع

فعلى المرزء مجده إبرامها

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

their renewal rests on the one whose glory is appealed to.

مولاي إن ترد الأمور كفاءها

فعظيم حلمك طبها وسقامها

My lord, if affairs seek their equal,

your vast forbearance is their cure and their ailment.

مولاي أن ترم الشؤون كفيلها

فجلالك الأعلى العزيز مرامها

My lord, if concerns seek their guarantor,

your supreme, mighty majesty is their goal.

مولاي تلك مطامعي وجهتها

منقوصة وعلى نداك تمامها

My lord, those are my hopes; I have directed them here

incomplete; their fulfillment rests upon your bounty.

هل نظرة تذر الخطوب بلاقعا

أو مطرة يحيي الرميم غمامها

Is there a glance that leaves calamities barren wastes,

or a shower whose clouds revive decaying remains?

خصمتني الأيام أن أقصيتني

سهل على إذا رضيت خصامها

The days have bested me in dispute, if you cast me away;

their quarrel is easy for me if you are pleased.

وصمتني النكبات أن ألقيتني

أين الحلوم الراسيات أكامها

Disasters have branded me, if you have cast me off;

where are those forbearing minds whose hills stand firm?

أين الفواضل والمراحم والصفا

ت الشاملات البائسين كرامها

Where are the favors, the mercies, and the qualities

whose noblest forms embrace the wretched?

واللّه ما نقصت ولا عريت ول

كن الأمور على الحظوظ قوامها

By God, they have not diminished or been stripped away; but

affairs stand upon allotted fortunes.

فلئن عطفت عليَّ عطفة رحمة

فأنا الحري بها وأنت همامها

If you turn toward me with a turn of mercy,

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

ولأنت أكرم أن تذود انابتي

عن حوض عفوك كالشواظ أوامها

You are too generous to drive my repentance

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 send my desperate need away

exhausted, when death's blackness is already close.

أدعوك للكرب العظيم وإنما

يدعى لكل عظيمة قوامها

I call on you in grievous distress, for

every great crisis summons its upholder.

لا زالت الأيام تنشر فضلكم

وقف عليكم نرها ونظامها

May the days forever spread your bounty;

their prose and their verse are devoted to you.

والدهر عبداً والنعيم مخلداً

وأطوم عمرك لا يفض ختامها

May Time remain a servant, and bliss everlasting,

and your life's fortresses keep their seals unbroken.