يا صاحب العرش المكينِ

والتاج في البلد الأمينِ

O lord of the firmly established throne,

and of the crown in the secure land,

هذا مكانك في القلو

ب وذا سبيلك في العيونِ

this is your place within our hearts,

and this your path through our eyes.

سر في سبيل اللّه مت

بوع العقيدة واليقين

Go along God's path, followed

by faith and certainty,

في موكب لولا جلا

لك باح بالسر المصون

in a procession that, but for your majesty,

would have disclosed the guarded secret.

تجري به محروسة

جري الخدين إلى الخدين

Mahrousa sails bearing it,

as one close companion hastens to another.

مشهودة خيلاؤها

ومراحها بين السفين

Her proud bearing is plain to see,

and so is her frolicking among the ships.

تلقى تحيات الودا

د من المعاقل والحصون

She receives greetings of affection

from the strongholds and fortresses.

فإذا نزلت استقبلت

ك وفود آساد العرين

So, when you disembark, you are greeted

by delegations of the lair's lions.

وأقمت دون مراصد ال

حدثان كالجبل الرصين

And you stand against the ambushes

of misfortune, like a steadfast mountain.

تترى إليك مكارم ال

سلطان من دنيا ودين

To you come in succession the favors

of the sultan, in worldly matters and in faith.

في معطفيك يرى الشما

ئل والمخايل في الجبين

He sees in your bearing noble traits,

and signs of promise upon your brow.

ولأنت خير من استشا

رته الخلائف في الشؤون

And you are indeed the best of those consulted

by the caliphs on affairs.

لحسام جدك في كري

د مآثر الفتح المبين

To your grandfather's sword in Crete belong

the glorious deeds of manifest conquest.

فلكم أسال دماً هنا

ك وسلَّ من داء دفين

How much blood it shed there,

and how many hidden maladies it rooted out!

في ذكره عظة الملو

ك وخيفة الطاغي الخؤون

Its memory holds a lesson for kings,

and terror for the treacherous tyrant.

إن الذي أزمعته

للملك آت بعد حين

What you have resolved upon

for the realm will come to pass in time.

لا بد للمتعجِّل ال

آمال من ثقة الضمين

Whoever would hasten the fulfillment of

his hopes must trust the guarantor.

رأيُ المثقف بالتجا

رب فوق هاتيك الظنون

The judgment of one seasoned by experience

stands above those conjectures.

إني أحن إلى فرو

ق وليس يشفع لي حنيني

I yearn for Faruq,

yet my yearning does not intercede for me.

إني على قرب المدى

متخلف جمُّ الشجون

I am, though the distance is short,

left behind, laden with sorrows.

ليت الذي قدر الغرا

م يجود بالسبب المتين

Would that He who ordained this passion

would bestow a sturdy cord.

ليت التي احتوت الرحا

ل إلى فروقٍ تحتويني

Would that she who took aboard the baggage

bound for Faruq would take me aboard.

إني أحق بظلها ال

ممدود والماء المعين

I have the greater claim to her shade,

stretching wide, and to the flowing water.

أشكو إليك بني الزما

ن ولا أرى من يشتكيني

I complain to you of the sons of this age,

yet see no one who complains of me.

إن أطربتهم نغمتي

يوماً فما سمعوا أنيني

If my melody delighted them

one day, they never heard my groaning.

هل ينتهي سجن البري

ء فقد وهَى جلد السجين

Will the innocent man's imprisonment end?

For the prisoner's endurance has grown frail.

ويفي رهين الدين أم

لا ينقضي دين الرهين

And will debt's captive pay his due, or

will the captive's debt never be discharged?

أمنَ الصوابِ بقاءُ هَ

ذا النجم في هذا السكون

Is it right for this

star to remain in this stillness?

لو ينفع الشعر الثمي

ن سموت بالشعر الثمين

Were precious poetry of any use,

I would rise through precious poetry.

مولاي إني في مدي

حك مفرد شتى فنوني

My lord, in praising you,

I dedicate my varied arts to you alone.

هذا نصيب من ندا

ك وذا كتابي في يميني

This is a share of your bounty,

and this is my book in my right hand.

لا زال نيلك في الحمى

يجري كحبك في وتيني

May your Nile within the realm

flow ever, like love for you in my heart's artery.