1. وفد البريد بما يُريد فَبشَّرا

    وشفى الصّدور بما أذاع وأخبرا

    The courier arrived with what was wished for and brought glad tidings.

    And healed hearts with what he broadcast and reported.

  2. خبرٌ لعمرك قد أتاح من المُنى

    دَرَكاً تروَّض في القلوب ونَوَّرا

    News, by your life, that brought our hopes

    to fulfillment, becoming a garden in our hearts and blossoming.

  3. وجرى بحسْنِ الذَّكر في أنفاسنا

    أزجٌ تضوَّع في البلادِ وعَطَّرا

    And with fair praise there coursed through our breath

    a fragrance that spread through the lands and perfumed them.

  4. وأنا الذي هو بالبشارة خَصَّني

    وأفادني حَظَّ السّرور الأوفَرا

    And I am the one whom he singled out with glad tidings,

    granting me the fullest share of joy.

  5. حمداً لك اللَّهم يا ربّاه إذْ

    عمَّرتَني حتى لقيتُ مُعمّرا

    Praise to You, O God, O my Lord, for

    keeping me alive until I met Muʿammar.

  6. ورأيت عيني صورة الوجه الذي

    ما زال في فكر الضّمير مٌصَوَّرا

    And I saw with my own eye the image of the face that

    had always remained pictured in my inward thoughts.

  7. عاينت عينَ الدّهر في أبنائهِ

    ورأيتُ من حُسناهُ أحسنَ مايُرى

    I beheld the very eye of Time among its sons,

    and saw in his beauty the loveliest that can be seen.

  8. ولقيتُ أشرَفهم يداً وأيادياً

    وأدقَّهم نظَراً وأبهى منظرا

    And I met their noblest in hand and bounty,

    their keenest in judgment and most splendid in appearance.

  9. أعظمتُ ذنبَ الدَّهر عند بِعاده

    فاليومَ آن بقربهِ أنْ يُغفرا

    I deemed Time's sin immense while he was far away;

    today, with him near, it is time for it to be forgiven.

  10. وأتى ببشر النّجح معتَذراً به

    عن عُسْر ما قد كان قبلُ تَعَسَّرا

    It came with glad success, offering it as an apology

    for the hardship of what had formerly proved difficult.

  11. هذا مُجير الخائفين لقاؤهُ

    أقوى لِدَفع الشرّ من ليثِ الشَّرى

    This is the protector of the fearful; meeting him

    wards off evil more powerfully than a lion of al-Shara.

  12. وظننت داءَ المُعتفَين دوآءه

    أشفى لفقري من أيارج فَيْقَرا

    And I deemed his remedy for supplicants' illness

    more healing for my poverty than iyarij fiqra.

  13. لولا رجاء كان يمنح خاطري

    وعدي يعود لقاءه مستَبشِرا

    Were it not for hope that kept granting my heart

    my promise of meeting him again in gladness,

  14. لذممتُ معرفَتي مودتَه التِّي

    ملأَت حشاي تاسّفاً وتذكُّرا

    I would have blamed my knowing his affection, which

    filled my heart with regret and remembrance.

  15. لله بُزلُ اليَعملاتِ فإنّها

    عونُ المشوق على مجانبة الكَرى

    Praise be to God for the full-grown, swift she-camels, for they are

    the longing man's aid in shunning sleep.

  16. كم قد جلبْنَ السّرور وما سرى

    ودرأنَ كربَ الهمِّ عنهُ وما دَرَى

    How often they brought him joy, though he had not traveled by night,

    and drove away his anguish while he knew nothing of it.

  17. عُرجٌ رواسم يعتمدن على الطوى

    طيّ الفَلا ويُجزَن أجوازَ القرا

    Limping, swift-striding, they rely on empty bellies

    to fold up the deserts and cross the heart of the uplands.

  18. يحملن أكرمَ وافد أخذت بهِ

    أيدي المطيّ وخيرَ من وطئَ الثَّرى

    They carry the noblest visitor ever borne

    by the camels' forelegs, the finest ever to tread the earth,

  19. وأجلَّ من شهد المحافل وابتدى

    وأعز من ركب العتاق الضمَّرا

    the most exalted to attend assemblies or roam the desert,

    and the mightiest to ride lean, thoroughbred steeds.

  20. أولاهُ خالقه العُلى وأحلّه

    في رأس أرعن باذخٍ عالي الذُّرى

    His Creator bestowed high rank on him and set him

    atop a rugged, towering mountain with lofty summits.

  21. بمعمّر ابن أبي المعمّر اطلعت

    بُزْل الرّكابِ لنا الصّباحَ المُسْفِرا

    With Muʿammar, son of Abu al-Muʿammar, they brought forth

    the radiant morning for us, those mature riding camels,

  22. وغمامةً تُحيي بعاجل نَفْعها

    وكأنّها تهمي النباتَ المُثمِرا

    and a cloud that gives life through its swift benefits,

    as though it rains down fruit-bearing plants.

  23. وكأنّها في وقت بسط أكفّنا

    تكف اللجينَ أو النُّضار الأحمَرا

    And as though, whenever we spread our palms,

    it drips silver or ruddy gold.

  24. لله عزمك يا أبا عمرٍ إلى

    طاعات ربِّك إذ نهضتَ مُشمِّرا

    How splendid your resolve, Abu ʿUmar, toward

    obedience to your Lord, when you rose girded for action!

  25. قد كنت أزكى المحرمين وخَيرَ من

    لَبَّى وهَلَّلَ في الحَجيج وكبَّرا

    You were the purest of the consecrated pilgrims, the best who

    chanted the pilgrimage call, proclaimed God's oneness, and magnified Him among the pilgrims.

  26. وقدمت نَزوى مَقدَماً أخذتَ به

    زِيَّ العروس تدللاً وتَبَخْتُرا

    You came to Nizwa with an arrival through which she donned

    a bride's attire, coquettish and proudly swaying.

  27. وسقيتها أرْى السّرور معلّلاً

    وكسوتَها وشيَ البهاءِ مُحَبَّرا

    You gave her repeated draughts of the honey of joy,

    and clothed her in richly patterned brocade of splendor.

  28. وشفيت من ألم الفراق محمّداً

    السيّدَ العلم الأغرَّ الأزهَرا

    And you cured Muhammad of the pain of separation,

    the lord, the beacon, the radiant, shining one.

  29. أما أبو عبد الإله فقد أتى

    بجميل ما خلناه فيه وبالحَرَى

    As for Abu ʿAbd al-Ilah, he has shown

    the good we expected of him, as was fitting.

  30. وتقبل الشيَم اليمانية الَّتي

    أعطت أوائلَه المحلَّ الأكبَرا

    And he embraced the Yemeni traits that

    gave his forebears the highest station.

  31. وسعى كسعي أبيه في طلب العُلى

    وجرى على سير الكرام كما جرَى

    He strove, as his father strove, in pursuit of greatness,

    and followed the noble men's course, just as his father did.

  32. واسمعْ جميل الذكر عن إحسانه

    وانظرْ بعينك حسنَ ما قد أَثرا

    Hear the fine praise of his good deeds,

    and see with your own eye the beauty of what he has left behind.

  33. واعْدُده من أزكى وأفضل أنعمٍ

    لله عندك حُزتها دونَ الورى

    Count him among the purest and finest blessings

    God has given you, which you gained above all others.

  34. واسعدْ بذا الولد الذي أُعطَيتَه

    قدراً لسعدٍ قد أتاك مقدَّرا

    And rejoice in this son you have been given,

    a destined gift of fortune that came to you decreed.

  35. وبقيتما ورَقيتما شرَف العُلى

    ووقيتما أن تكرها أو تَحذَرا

    May you both live on and ascend the lofty heights of honor,

    and be spared what you might dislike or fear.

  36. أجوى بنفسك حالفت تَذكارهَها

    وقذىً بعينك أبدتِ استعْبارَها

    Is it heartache in your soul, as you cling to her remembrance,

    and a mote in your eye that has drawn its tears,

  37. شوقاً إلى محبوبة عبثت بها

    أيدي الفراق وجنَّبتكَ مَزارَها

    from longing for a beloved, toyed with by

    the hands of separation, which kept you from visiting her?

  38. وعهدتها زمناً وأهلك جيرةً

    في حسن وصلٍ ما ذممتَ جوارَها

    You knew her once, when your people were neighbors,

    in sweet union, never finding fault with her nearness.

  39. وهي المنعمّةُ الكَعاب كأنّما

    ناطت بجيد جَداية أزرارَها

    She was the pampered maiden with budding breasts, as though

    she had fastened her buttons about a young gazelle's neck.

  40. في خرّد بيض الوجوه أوانسٍ

    أقمار تمّ ما عرفت سرارَها

    Amid shy, white-faced, companionable maidens,

    full moons whose dark phases you had never known.

  41. يا ويح نفسي من غليل تأسفٍ

    نزل المشيب وما قضت أوطارَها

    Alas for my soul, scorched by regret!

    Gray hair has descended, yet it has not fulfilled its desires.

  42. ولطالما نعمت بحسن شبيبة

    خَلعت مع الغيد الحسان عِذارَها

    And long had it reveled in the beauty of youth,

    casting off its bridle among lovely, supple maidens!

  43. وربيبة وسطَ الخباءِ طرقتُها

    في ليلةٍ غلب الكرى سُمَّارَها

    And a sheltered maiden within her tent I visited by night,

    on a night when sleep overcame her evening companions.

  44. ولربَّ دَسكَرة نزلتُ وصحبتي

    بعد الهدوء منبّهاً خمّارَها

    And how many a hamlet I entered with my companions,

    after all was quiet, rousing its wine-seller,

  45. حتى فَضضتُ عن الدنان ختامَها

    وشربت مثل الأرجوان عُقارَها

    until I broke the seals from its wine jars

    and drank its wine, the color of purple dye.

  46. صَفراء تلمع في الزَّجاج كأنها

    لون العقيق إذا النَّديمُ أدارَها

    Golden-yellow, it gleams in the glass, as though it were

    the hue of agate when the drinking companion passed it around.

  47. وكريمة تشدو بحسن ترنمٍ

    صوت البسيطِ مجاوباً أوتارَها

    And a noble woman sang with lovely modulation,

    the Basit melody, answering her strings,

  48. في روضةٍ نسجت لها دَيمُ الحَيا

    خضرَ الحرير وضاعفت أستارَها

    in a garden for which steady, life-giving rains had woven

    green silk and doubled its curtains.

  49. طفقت بِها مُزْنُ المَصيف تعلّها

    ويلاً وطَلاً ليلها ونَهارَها

    Summer rainclouds began to water it again and again,

    with downpours and dew, by night and day.

  50. وغَدت لها بنسيمها ريحُ الصَّبا

    عند الصَّباح وباشرت أشجارَها

    And the east wind came to it with its breeze,

    in the morning, caressing its trees.

  51. فتعانقت أغصانُها وتفتحت

    عنها الكمامُ فأبرَزَت نوارَها

    Then its branches embraced, and there opened

    around them the bud sheaths, revealing its blossoms.

  52. أبدت بنفسجها وآذريونها

    متقابلاً وشقيقها وبَهارَها

    It displayed its violets and marigolds,

    facing one another, with its anemones and yellow daisies.

  53. ولقد صبحت الدَّهرَ في حالاته

    وطعمت منها شهدَها ومرارَها

    I have indeed encountered Time in its changing states,

    and tasted their honey and their bitterness.

  54. وأراني التجريبُ بين صحابتي

    خوّانها وأبان لي غَدّارَها

    Experience showed me, among my companions,

    the disloyal among them, and revealed their betrayers to me.

  55. وقطعت آفاقَ البلاد ميمَّما

    شرقاً وغرباً سالكاً أقاطارَها

    I crossed the lands' horizons, directing myself

    east and west, traveling their regions.

  56. ورأيت سادَتها وزرتُ ملوكها

    من كلِّ حيّ أزْدَها ونزارَها

    I saw their lords and visited their kings,

    from every tribe, their Azd and their Nizar,

  57. حتى رأيت معمَّراً ومحمَّداً

    فعرفت منها خيرها وخِيارَها

    until I saw Muʿammar and Muhammad

    and knew the best and choicest among them.

  58. علمان بين العالمين تسربَلا

    حُللَ النُّهى وتتَبَّعا آثارَها

    Two beacons among mankind, they both donned

    the robes of reason and followed its traces,

  59. متطَلبات من العُلى آثارها

    متناولان من الأمور كبارَها

    seeking the traces of greatness,

    reaching for the greatest of affairs.

  60. لمحمّد بن معمّر في يَعرُبٍ

    عليا خُؤولٍ مجدَها وفخارَها

    Muhammad ibn Muʿammar has among Yaʿrub

    the loftiest maternal kin, their glory and their pride:

  61. عمريّة أزدية عتكية

    سمك المليكُ على السماك نجارَها

    ʿUmari, Azdi, ʿAtaki,

    whose lineage the Sovereign raised above al-Simak.

  62. وله خلائقُ سيّدٍ قد أظهرت

    منها عليه حلمها ووقارَها

    He has a lord's virtues, which have displayed

    their forbearance and dignity upon him.

  63. وله سماحٌ يَمتري من كفّهِ

    للسّائلين لجينها ونُضارَها

    And a generosity that draws from his palm

    its silver and gold for petitioners,

  64. ومَضاء ندب في الأمور مُدبِّرٍ

    إيرادَها متبيّنِ إصدارَها

    and a gallant man's resolve in affairs, governing

    their beginnings and discerning their outcomes.

  65. إسلمْ أبا عبد الإله فإنّما

    حسنُ السّلامة ما لبست إزارَها

    Stay safe, Abu ʿAbd al-Ilah, for

    well-being is beautiful only while you wear its garment.

  66. جدّدت لي نُعمى أبيك ولم يَزل

    متواترَ الحسنات ليَ درَّارَها

    You renewed your father's kindness to me; he has never ceased

    bestowing good deeds on me, pouring them forth.

  67. نفسي فداؤك يا أبا عمر لقد

    هيجتَ نفسي مبدياً أسرارَها

    May my soul ransom you, Abu ʿUmar! You have

    stirred my soul, bringing its secrets into the open.

  68. شوَّقتني لما ذكرتك جائزاً

    أعلامَ مكّة قادماً زوَّارَها

    You filled me with longing when I recalled you passing

    the landmarks of Mecca, arriving among its visitors.

  69. يا حبّذا البشرى تُباشرنا بها

    تشفي القلوب مذيعةَ أخبارَها

    How welcome the glad tidings you greet us with,

    healing hearts as their news is proclaimed!

  70. يرعاك ربي شاهداً عَرفاتها

    في أهلها وإذا رمَيت جمارَها

    May my Lord guard you as you stand at its ʿArafat,

    among its people, and when you cast its ritual pebbles.

  71. إن قد قدمت قدومَ مَسرور وقد

    وافيتَ نَزوى واحتلَلت ديارَها

    If you have come with a joyful arrival, and

    reached Nizwa and settled in her dwellings,

  72. فتسرّ مشتاقاً لقربك وامقاً

    سكن التذكُّر نفسه فأطارَها

    then you gladden a lover longing for your nearness,

    whose soul remembrance inhabited, then sent flying.

  73. وتزين داركَ يا أبا عمرٍ فلا

    زالت بعمرك يَستجدُّ عِمارَها

    And adorn your home, Abu ʿUmar; may

    its habitation ever be renewed through your life!

  74. أمحمدَ بنَ معمَّرٍ عُمَّرتَ ما

    حيث السّلامة تجنيان ثمارَها

    O Muhammad son of Muʿammar, may you both live long,

    where you both reap the fruits of well-being.

  75. ولقيتما فرحَ الدّنا وعمارها

    وكُفيتما مكروهها وحِذارَها

    May you both meet the world's joy and flourishing,

    and be spared its evils and its dangers.