لاع الغرام فؤادا لازم الشجنا

وعال حكما فطر في صارم الوسنا

Passion tormented a heart that clung to sorrow,

and ruled unjustly, so my eye forsook slumber.

تناوشتني عوادي الدهر ملبسة

اياي من حوكها ثوبى اسى وضنى

The onslaughts of time assailed me, clothing

me in two garments of their weaving: grief and wasting.

فكدت اذهل اني في رضى ملك

وانه لي مجن يدفع المحنا

I almost forgot that I enjoyed a king's favor,

and that he was my shield against afflictions.

من لا تزال سجاياه مطهرة

عن ان تشاب بشيء ذكره هجنا

One whose qualities remain pure,

untainted by anything whose mention is shameful.

سن المحامد بين الناس فاتخذوا

فرض الثناء عليه واجبا سننا

He established praiseworthy ways among people, who made

praise of him an obligatory duty and an established custom.

تأبى عدالته في منظر عوجا

والسيف اعمله بالحق فاحتتنا

His justice admits no crookedness in any scene,

and he wielded the sword with justice [final verb unclear].

ترى اللغات جميعا في مدائحه

فصيحة والذي لم يتغر لسنغا

You see all languages, in praising him,

eloquent, and even one who has not cut his teeth articulate [reading uncertain].

ان لم يكن لكريم قط معجزة

فذاك معجز اسماعيل قد علنا

If a generous man has never had a miracle,

then that is Isma'il's miracle, now manifest.

لو ينطق الصخر يوما قال مرتجلا

اني الين لذكرى عدله غدنا

If rock could speak one day, it would say spontaneously:

“I grow soft at the memory of his justice, supple.”

قل الجدير بهذا المدح وهو عنا

لمن به غيره من ذا الانام عني

Say who deserves this praise, now that it has arisen [reading uncertain]:

Who else among mankind could have been meant by it?

سل عنه من صار يجدى السائلين يقل

ما جدت الا من استجدائه المننا

Ask about him one who now gives to petitioners; he will say:

“I gave only from the favors I begged of him.”

سل القياصر عنه والملوك وهم

يعظمون حماه اينما سكنا

Ask the Caesars and kings about him, who

revere his domain wherever he has dwelt.

وسل ممالك اوربا وقد نعشت

فيها مكارمه كلا كما زكنا

And ask the kingdoms of Europe, where there has been revival

for all through his generosity, as we have learned.

هل الرشيد وابناء الرشيد بنوا

للفخر ذكرا كما فضل العزيز بنى

Did al-Rashid and al-Rashid's sons build

such renown for glory as al-Aziz's bounty built?

اكان يوما لبغداد الفسيحة ما

لمصره من قرى قد باهت المدنا

Did spacious Baghdad ever possess what

his Egypt has in villages that have outshone cities?

الاق دجلة لوحا من بواخره

ام الفرات اقل الجيش والسفنا

Did the Tigris hold a plank from his steamships,

or did the Euphrates carry the army and ships?

ام المعارف كانت في زمانهم

تحوى رئيسا عليها عارفا فطنا

Or did learning, in their time,

have a chief over it, knowledgeable and discerning?

ام كان ينشر مما الفوا صحف

في كل فن تسنى للهدى سننا

Or were pages of what they composed published

in every discipline, opening paths to guidance?

ام كان ام كان مما لا اطيل به

قولا فحسبك ان كنت امرء الحنا

Or was there, or was there—things about which I will not prolong

my speech; enough for you, if you are a discerning man.

ذاك الفخار على اصل الحضيض مشى

طفلا وهذا فخار يفرع القننا

That glory walked at the very bottom,

as a child; this is glory that overtops the peaks.

ذاك الزمان بتدمير العباد اتى

وذا اوان لتعمير البلاد اني

That era came with the destruction of the people,

and this is a time that has come to make the lands flourish.

سل رهط احمد والنعمان ما جنبا

حتى اهينا وفي تقواهما سجنا

Ask the kin of Ahmad and al-Nu'man what wrong the two committed,

to be humiliated and imprisoned despite their piety.

وسائل الصبر اذ يعلو مطهمه

كيف الجناب الرفيع اليوم قد امنا

And ask Patience, as he mounts his fine-bred steed,

how the lofty station stands secure today.

فاي هاتين اولى ان يقال لها

دار السلام وهل تؤتى الجمال كنى

So which of these two is more worthy to be called

the Abode of Peace? Are camels given honorific names?

وانظرا من كان مطبوعا على خلق

كمن تكلفه من هاهنا وهنا

And consider, you two: is one naturally endowed with character

like one who contrived it from here and there?

اتى من المادحين المطرئين على خلق

جميع من خلدوا ذكرا لهم حسنا

He came, among praise-singers and panegyrists, upon the character [syntax unclear]

of all who left an enduring, fair remembrance of themselves.

فانما المرء تحييه مآثره

وما له غير ما تجنى يداه جنى

For only a man's noble deeds keep him alive,

and his only harvest is what his hands reap.

لكن اقول مقال الحق لا وجلا

من ذي ملام ولا مغرى يقول خنى

But I speak the truth, unafraid

of a reproacher or one incited to speak obscenities.

وما بقال فلان كنت ذا ولع

ولا بزخرف مدح كنت مفتننا

Nor have I been infatuated with “So-and-so said,”

nor enthralled by ornamental praise.

ومن تشقه حكايات مموهة

فانما مثله من بعيد الوثنا

And whoever is captivated by falsely embellished tales

is merely like one who worships an idol [reading uncertain].

ان الاوائل في روم الفخار شأوا

لكنهم في الجد للآخرين ثنى

The ancients excelled in the quest for glory,

but in earnest achievement they rank second to those who came later.

قد يدرك الآخر الشأو الذي عجزت

عنه الاوالى وقد ينقاد ما حرنا

The later man may reach the goal that defeated

the earlier ones; what was unruly may yet yield.

افدى العزيز الذي لولا مكارمه

لم يبق في الشعر الا قول من مجنا

I would give my life for al-Aziz, without whose generosity

nothing would remain in poetry but the words of the licentious:

من وصف خصر وارداف وماكمة

ونحو ذلك مما عقله فتنا

descriptions of a waist, buttocks, and a rounded haunch,

and the like, which have bewitched his mind.

فلو عرضت على قوم جواهره

لما حلا احد منهم بها ثمنا

If its jewels were offered to a people,

not one of them would pay a price for them.

من ذا يشابه اسماعيل في خلق

تنسى حلاه الغريب الاهل والسكنا

Who can resemble Isma'il in character?

His charms make the stranger forget family and home.

صلاته رجحت آمال سائله

فكل قول اتى في شكرها اتزنا

His gifts outweigh his petitioner's hopes,

so every word uttered in thanks for them is well measured.

في عصره الورق المضروب يبذل في

قراضة الورق المهدى اليه ثنا

In his age, minted silver is bestowed for

scraps of paper presented to him in praise.

ان تحص ما في لغات الناس من كلم

فأحص ايلاءه الآلاء والمثنا

If you can count all the words in human tongues,

then count his bestowals of bounties and repeated gifts.

لولا معاليه خلنا الناس قد نسيت

فعل الجميل وان الدهر قد افنا

Were it not for his lofty deeds, we would think people had forgotten

the doing of good, and that time had grown witless.

اذ لا ترى غير وعد فات موعده

والغدر والمكر والاضغان والاحنا

For you see nothing but a promise whose appointed time has passed,

and treachery, deceit, rancors, and grudges.

ما ذا ترى في اناس طال مسخهم

فهل يعودون انسا بعد ما اسنا

What do you see in people whose metamorphosis has lasted so long?

Will they become human again after growing foul?

راموا العزيز بضروهو نافعهم

وفي حماه اصابوا الرغد والغدنا

They sought to harm al-Aziz, though he was their benefactor,

and in his protection found ease and comfort.

كادوا ولكنهم بآوا بغيظهم

وكل ذي منطق اياهم لعنا

They plotted, but returned with their rage,

and every being endowed with speech cursed them.

سيعلمون غدا ماذا يحيق بهم

ومن يساوره السوء الذي اضطبنا

Tomorrow they will learn what overtakes them,

and whom the evil he harbored will assail.

يا للعجاب وقد صرنا إلى زن

فيه نرى الجن امثال الورى سحنا

What a wonder! We have come to an age

in which we see jinn resembling mankind in appearance.

يروق عينك مرآهم ومخبرهم

يشف عن غول قصد في الحشا كما

Their appearance delights your eye, but their inward nature

reveals a ghoul lurking with intent within the breast [reading uncertain].

ورب حر تراه العين ممتهنا

حتى تفاوضه في الامر ممتحنا

And many a freeborn man appears to the eye abased,

until you confer with him on a matter, putting him to the test.

قد خيب الله مسعاهم وردهم

بغيظهم فهو عنهم يسلب الامنا

God has thwarted their striving and sent them back

with their rage, and so strips them of security,

كما ادام لاسماعيل نعمته

وزاده بسطة يا طيب ذك منى

just as He has sustained His favor upon Isma'il

and increased his abundance—how sweet that is to hope for!

ابا الفداء ابيت اللعن ان لنا

منك الغناء وما عنه نصيب غنى

Abu al-Fida', may you be beyond cursing! We have

from you our sustenance, and we can never do without it.

واننا ان نعد مدحا اليك يعد

مدحا علينا وفخرا باقيا وسنا

And if we prepare praise for you, it is counted

as praise of us, lasting glory, and radiance.

واننا ان نبلغ مصر تهنئة

بان سلمت فللدنيا بذاك هنا

And if we convey to Egypt congratulations

on your safety, that brings joy to the world.

العيد عاد بتخويل السرور لنا

وفي بحابح رغد العيش اسكننا

The feast has returned, granting us joy,

and settled us amid the broad comforts of life.

عيد به حزت انواع المبرة من

صوم ومن صدقات احيت الوطنا

A feast in which you gained every form of charity, through

fasting and alms that brought the homeland to life.

بهرت خلقا واخلاقا ومنقبة

وشيمة ومزايا كلها حسنا

You dazzled in form, character, and merit,

and in disposition and qualities, all beautiful.

فما يباريك الا بائر بعنا

وما يجاريك الا خاسر غبنا

So none vies with you but one doomed to failure [last word unclear],

and none keeps pace with you but a loser in the bargain.

لا تخش باسا فذ والباس الشديد له

عناية بك اني كنت لن تهنا

Fear no harm: He who possesses mighty power has

care for you wherever you are; you will never grow weak.

ان الذين تقيهم منك مرحمة

ليبذلون لك الارواح والسكنا

Those protected by mercy from you

will surely offer you their lives and homes.

فاسلم مدى الدهر في عز ومقدرة

وسيف عزمك ماض اينما مزنا

So remain safe through all time, in honor and power,

and may the sword of your resolve stay sharp wherever it passes.

ودام نسلك فخرا للانام كما

سميك البر حلى نسله

And may your descendants remain mankind's pride, just as

your righteous namesake adorned his offspring.