أرى القول يحلو بذكر الرجال

وليس بذكر ذوات الدلال

I find speech grows sweet with the mention of men,

And not with the mention of coquettish women.

رجال السياسة والأمر والنهى

أهل الكياسة أمثال عالي

Men of statecraft, command and prohibition,

Men of discernment, the likes of Âli.

لقد قلت في مطلع القول حسنا

واذ قلت بالشبه ساء مقالي

Indeed, I spoke well at the opening of my speech,

And when I spoke of likenesses, my words went wrong.

لان الذي رمت مدح علاه

بدا في المعالي بدون مثال

For he whose eminence I sought to praise

Has shown himself unequalled in lofty achievements.

وزير يشد به الملك ازرا

مشيرا لارائه النجح تال

A minister through whom the king strengthens his back,

A counselor whose judgments success follows.

اذا رام امرا امر عليه

نحبيحا يذلل صعب المنال

When he seeks an end, he sets over it

A capable man [uncertain reading] who masters what is hard to attain.

فيقتار كل شرود ويدنى

بعيد الاماني الى كل بال

Thus he lures every fugitive and brings near

Distant hopes to every mind.

واقلامه السمر من فوق بيض الصحائف

تفعل فعل العوالي

And his brown pens, above white sheets,

Do the work of long spears.

يذل لها كل عاص وتعنو

لامرتها ماضيات النصال

Every rebel yields to them, and bow

To their command the keen-edged blades.

تدبر ملكا بعيد النواحي

وتفصل بالحق كل عدال

They govern a realm of far-flung regions,

And settle every dispute with justice;

وتعمر للاصدقاء بيوتا

واما بيوت العدى فخوالي

They build houses for friends,

But the houses of enemies stand empty.

يرى في العواقب ما غيره لا

يرى في حوادث ماض وحال

He sees in the outcomes what others do not

See in events past and present.

فللبر بحر وللعلم حبر

وللملك صدر رشيد الفعال

For goodness, an ocean; for learning, a scholar;

And for the realm, a chief whose deeds are wise.

حميد الخصال سعيد الخلال

وحيد المعالي فريد الكمال

Praiseworthy in qualities, blessed in character,

Peerless in lofty deeds, unrivaled in perfection.

تبارك من اودع الخير فيه

ونزهه عن عيوب الرجال

Blessed is He who placed goodness in him

And kept him free of men's faults.

فما يزدهيه اقتدار وعز

ولا ما لمنصبه من جلال

Neither power nor might makes him vain,

Nor the grandeur belonging to his office,

ولا نول مال ولا طول حال

ولا مجد آل ولا سعد فال

Nor gifts of wealth, nor prosperous circumstances,

Nor ancestral glory, nor a fortunate omen.

اذا ما تحدى علاه امير

فان هو الا غوى الخيال

If ever a prince challenges his eminence,

He is only a man whom imagination has led astray.

سل الحرب عنه وان شئت

فالسلم فهو لكلتيهما ذو حوال

Ask war about him, and, if you wish,

Peace—for he is resourceful in both.

الم يأن للروم ان يبصروا ما

تجليه فكرته في الليالي

Is it not time for the Greeks to see what

His thought reveals amid the nights?

الم يك في زجره من نذير

يحذرهم امرهم في المآل

Was there not in his rebuke a warning

Cautioning them about their final fate?

الم يك في بشره من بشير

يحلهم في امان الموالي

Was there not in his gracious welcome a herald

Who settles them in the security of loyal allies,

ويسكنهم في مساكن امن

على النفس والمال ثم العيال

And houses them in dwellings safe

For their lives and wealth, and then their families?

اليس لهم ما لنا وعليهم

سوى ما علينا هدى كل وال

Do they not have what we have, and owe

Only what we owe—the guiding rule of every governor?

امن بعد هذا المقال مراء

وعادي جلاد وداعي جدال

After these words, is there still contention,

And an aggressor seeking battle, and a caller to dispute?

الام الخداع ولا خير فيه

وكم ذا تروغون روغ الثعالى

How long this deceit, in which there is no good?

And how long will you keep dodging like foxes?

فطورا تقولون انا عداة

وطورا تقولون انا موالي

At one time you say, 'We are enemies,'

And at another, 'We are allies.'

وحتام تبغون منا امورا

وتقترحون نوال المحال

And how long will you ask things of us,

And demand the granting of the impossible?

اكنتم رجالا وكنا نساء

لحمل اغتيال لكم واختيال

Were you men, and we women,

That we should bear your treacherous assaults and swagger?

لقد ساء والله ما قد زعمتم

وان هي الا مهاوى الضلال

By God, what you have claimed is indeed vile,

And it is nothing but the abysses of error.

اطيعوا الخليفة بالحق واخشوا

صوارمه فهي ذات اغتيال

Obey the caliph as is right, and fear

His swords, for they deal deadly blows.

اذا اعملتها كمة شداد

ارتكم ما لم يمر ببال

When mighty armored warriors wield them,

They show you what has never crossed your mind:

منايا سراعا تدور عليكم

رحاها وانتم لها كالثفال

Swift deaths—over you turns

Their mill, while you are like the leather beneath it.

اليس لعبد العزيز مليك الملوك

جيوش كعد الرمال

Does Abd al-Aziz, king of kings, not have

Armies as numerous as the grains of sand?

اذا كان يدعو رعاياه طرا

يقولون لبيك يا للنزال

Whenever he calls all his subjects,

They say, 'At your service! To battle!'

خليفة رب العباد مفيض الايادي

السوائل قبل السؤال

Caliph of the Lord of all servants, pouring forth favors

In flowing streams before any request;

رؤوف بمن جاه مستجيرا

ولكن شديد على ذي المحال

Compassionate to whoever comes to him seeking refuge,

But stern toward the man of guile.

وينصره الله نصرا عزيزا

على كل باغ مريد القتال

And God grants him mighty victory

Over every aggressor seeking battle.

فخير لكم ان تكونوا كآبا

ئكم في حماه المديد الظلال

Better, then, for you to be like your fore-

Fathers, in his refuge with its far-reaching shade.

فليس لكم دونه من ودود

فلا يغررنكم مين قال

For you have no loving friend apart from him;

So let no hater's lie deceive you.

وليس لكم غيره من ملاذ

ولو كنتم في اعز الجبال

And you have no refuge other than him,

Even if you were in the most impregnable mountains.

وما لكم دونه من معاذ

فلا يغوينكم ذو خبال

Nor have you a sanctuary apart from him;

So let no one of deranged mind lead you astray.

تعالوا الى ما دعاكم اليه

وان هو الا خلوص امتثال

Come to what he has called you to,

Which is nothing but wholehearted obedience.

وانتم منه منه في امان

وعيش هنئ وغبطة حال

And you have, from him—from him—security,

Pleasant living, and a happy state.

فكم مرة قال اني بر

باهل الصليب كاهل الهلال

How often he has said, 'I am benevolent

To the people of the Cross as to the people of the Crescent.'

فما لكم لا تعون حديثا

ولا تهتدون بنصح مقال

Then why do you not heed what is said,

Or find guidance in words of counsel?

اعز السلاطين قدرا وجاها

واكرمهم عند بذل النوال

The most exalted of sultans in rank and standing,

And the most generous when bestowing gifts,

وارأفهم بالعباد فوادا

واحلمهم عن مسيء مغال

And the tenderest-hearted toward mankind,

And the most forbearing toward an offender who goes too far.

لطالب رضوانه كل خير

وطالب عصيانه في وبال

For the seeker of his favor there is every good;

But whoever seeks to disobey him is in woe.

فعد قوافي الثناء عليه

نجوما لسعدك دون زوال

So count the rhymes of praise for him

As stars of your good fortune that never fade.

وصيد حماه محط الرحال

وعز الذلال وكنز النفال

The threshold of his sanctuary is where saddles are set down,

And honor for the humbled, and a treasury of gifts.

فهل مثل دولته في الجنوب

وفي الشرق والغرب او في الشمال

So is there a realm like his in the south,

And in the east and west, or in the north?

وهل مثله من جميل مهب

اصيل حسيب جليل بجال

And is there anyone like him, handsome and imposing,

Noble-born, of honored lineage, illustrious and venerable?

يروعك فوق الاريكة والطرف

يوم النوال ويوم النضال

He awes you upon the throne and upon his steed,

On the day of bounty and the day of battle.

له الله في السر والجهر واق

وينصره بالسيوف الصقال

God is his protector, in secret and in public,

And grants him victory with polished swords.

ودامت اعاديه مثل الهباء

وشمس مطالعه في كمال

And may his enemies remain like fine dust,

And the sun over his horizons remain in full splendor.