1. سلام على دار الخلافة والنصر

    سلام سليم ليس يدركُ بالحصر

    Peace upon the abode of the caliphate and victory.

    A pure greeting of peace, beyond all counting.

  2. سلام على أعلامها وربوعها

    ومن حنّ للاسلام والنهى والأمر

    Peace upon its banners and its dwelling places,

    And upon whoever cherishes Islam, forbidding and commanding.

  3. سلام وهل من سامع لشكيتي

    فمنها تلين القاسيات من الصخر

    Peace—and is there anyone to hear my complaint?

    For it makes even the hardest rocks grow soft.

  4. وأعظم تسليمي وأقصى مودتي

    لمن خلّف الرحمن في البر والبحر

    My greatest greetings and my utmost affection

    To him whom the Most Merciful made vicegerent on land and sea:

  5. أبا يوسف عين الوجود ومن له

    تدين البرايا بالهداية والقهر

    Abu Yusuf, the essence of existence, to whom

    All creatures submit through guidance and force.

  6. خليفة خير المسلمين محمد

    معزّ ذوى الإسلام مخزى أولى الكفر

    Successor to Muhammad, the best of Muslims,

    Who honors the people of Islam and disgraces the people of unbelief.

  7. ودان له شرق البلاد وغربها

    وأضحى بحمد اللّه مرتفع القدر

    The east and west of the lands have submitted to him,

    And, praise be to God, he has become exalted in rank.

  8. أقام شعار الدين في كل وجهة

    وساعده المقدور من حيث لم يدر

    He established the emblems of religion in every direction,

    And destiny aided him from where he did not know.

  9. وأعطى قناطير النضار تكرماً

    وما نقصت جدواه في العسر واليسر

    He generously gave great weights of gold,

    And his bounty did not diminish in hardship or ease.

  10. وقد نعشَ الدين الحنيفي سابقا

    وأحياه بالمعروف في الناس لا النكر

    He had already revived the upright, monotheistic faith,

    And brought it to life among the people through goodness, not evil.

  11. فمن مبلغ السلطان عنى تحية

    يفوق شذاها المسك والعود ذا العطر

    Who, then, will convey to the sultan a greeting from me,

    Whose fragrance surpasses musk and fragrant aloeswood,

  12. ومن بعد هذا يسمع الناس صوته

    ألا يا إمام المسلمين استمع أمرى

    And afterward make the people hear his voice:

    Take heed, O leader of the Muslims: hear my case.

  13. ألا إن ربى لم يخلقك خلقه

    لهتك ذوى الإسلام في البر والبحر

    Indeed, my Lord did not bring you into being

    To dishonor the people of Islam on land and sea.

  14. أتتك من الحفظى قافية إلى

    مكانك تحكى ما أتاه من الضر

    A rhymed verse from al-Hifzi has come to you, to

    Your abode, recounting the harm that befell him.

  15. إذا كنت تدريه فويلٌ لشخصك

    وإن كنت لا تدريه فاللّه ذا يدري

    If you know of it, then woe to you;

    And if you do not know of it, God knows this.

  16. إليك أنت تختال في حلل اليها

    حياء فلا تكشف لها سبل الستر

    To you—you strut in robes toward her [wording unclear]—

    With modesty; do not lay bare her paths of concealment.

  17. وإن كنت أخطأت القوافي فسابقاً

    تعامى على حسان قافية الشعر

    And if I have erred in my rhymes, once before

    The rhyme of poetry became obscure to Hassan,

  18. لما لقيَ المختار من فعل قومه

    وافراده قهرا عن الأهل والصهر

    Because of what the Chosen One suffered at his people's hands,

    And his forced isolation from family and kin by marriage,

  19. وإخراجه من بيته ومحله

    وافراده بالليل في مهمهٍ قفر

    And his expulsion from his house and dwelling,

    And his being left alone by night in a barren wilderness.

  20. بغار حراء كان ما كان من أذى

    ووازره الصديق في ذلك الحجر

    In the cave of Hira, there was such suffering as there was,

    And al-Siddiq supported him within that rock.

  21. وما كان ذنب المصطفى غير قوله

    ألا ان ربي اللّه ذو الملك والأمر

    The Chosen One's only fault was his saying:

    Indeed, my Lord is God, possessor of dominion and command.

  22. فإن تجد التقصير فيما نظمته

    فقابل عظيم الغث منيَ بالستر

    So if you find shortcomings in what I have composed,

    Then cloak my mass of poor verse in a veil.

  23. فهذاك حسان على كتف غيره

    تقعقع لما أن رأى كسفة البدر

    There is Hassan, on another man's shoulder,

    Who trembled when he saw a fragment of the full moon.

  24. فكيف بمن في أهله وعياله

    أراه زمان السوء قاصمة الظهر

    Then what of one who, amid his family and dependents,

    Has been shown a back-breaking calamity by evil times?

  25. وكل بنيه والمحارم جملة

    دموعهم في حر نار الجوى تجرى

    And all his sons and womenfolk together—

    Their tears flow in the heat of anguish's fire.

  26. وإنك سلطان الممالك كلها

    وخلفك الرحمن للنهى والأمر

    You are indeed the sovereign of all kingdoms,

    And the Most Merciful appointed you to forbid and command.

  27. فسمعا لوفاد أتتهم رسالة

    لرسلك فانقادوا إليك بلا نكر

    So hear the envoys to whom a message came

    From your messengers; they yielded to you without objection.

  28. وكان جزاهم كالمحارب ربه

    ويسعى فساداً في البرارى وفي البحر

    Yet their recompense was that of one who wars against his Lord

    And strives to spread corruption in the wildernesses and on the sea.

  29. فباللّه يا سلطان دائرة الملا

    ويا معدن الإحسان في اللف والنشر

    So, by God, O sovereign of mankind's sphere,

    And O mine of benevolence in folding and unfolding,

  30. تلطف بنا واتبع لقول نبينا

    لعلك تنجو من عناد ومن وزر

    Be gentle with us, and follow our Prophet's words,

    That you may escape obstinacy and the burden of sin.

  31. فلا بد من يوم شديد حسابه

    ويوقف فيه العبد للحشر والنشر

    For there must come a day whose reckoning is severe,

    When the servant will be made to stand for gathering and resurrection.

  32. وتسأل فيه جهرة من صنائع

    بنا وبقوم الأزد أعنى ذوى الأسر

    And on it you will be openly questioned about deeds

    Done to us and to the people of al-Azd—I mean those held captive.

  33. وتعلم فيه سوء عقباك بالذي

    فعلت من التشتيت والأسر والقسر

    And on it you will learn your evil end because of what

    You did in dispersal, captivity, and coercion.

  34. وإلا فعجل أمركم بسراحنا

    لعلك تنجو من عذاب ومن خسر

    Otherwise, hasten your order for our release,

    That you may escape torment and loss.