1. لولا طُروقُ خيالٍ منكَ مُنتظَرِ

    يُلمُّ بي راقداً ما ساءني سَهَري

    Were it not for an awaited visitation of a phantom of you,

    coming to me asleep, my sleeplessness would not distress me.

  2. وإن خَلتْ منك عَيني حين تُسهِرها

    فليس يُخْليك طُولُ الوجْد من فِكَري

    Though my eye is empty of you when you keep it awake,

    long yearning does not banish you from my thoughts.

  3. تَحُلُّ في ناظِري إن زُرتَني أبداً

    عِزّاً وفي خاطِري إن أنت لم تَزُر

    You dwell forever in my sight if you visit me,

    held in honor, and in my thoughts if you do not visit.

  4. يا مَن غدا فَرْط حُبّي وهْو يَحملُه

    على البصيرة منّي أو على البَصَر

    O you whom my boundless love now bears

    upon my inner vision or upon my outward sight.

  5. إنْ تَغْشَ طَرْفي وقلبي نازلاً بهما

    فالطرفُ والقَلبُ كُل مَنزلُ القَمر

    If you visit my eye and heart, alighting in both,

    then eye and heart are each a dwelling of the moon.

  6. إن يَطْرُقِ الطّيفُ عَيني وهْي باكيةٌ

    فالبَدْرُ في الغيم يَسْري وهْو ذو مَطر

    If the phantom visits my eye while it weeps,

    the full moon journeys through rain-bearing cloud.

  7. عَمْري لقد سَحَر الأبصارَ حين سَرى

    بَدراً ولم يُر لمّا زار في سَحَر

    By my life, it bewitched all eyes when it traveled

    as a full moon, yet went unseen when it visited before dawn.

  8. فَمَرَّ مِنّي بغُمْضٍ كان جاء به

    وقُمْتُ أبكي بدمْعٍ عندها دَرَر

    Then it passed me in the doze it had brought,

    and I rose weeping tears that were then pearls.

  9. كأنّ جَفْنِيَ إكراماً لزائرِه

    أمسَى على قَدمَيْه ناثرَ الدُّرر

    As though my eyelid, to honor its visitor,

    had become a scatterer of pearls at his feet.

  10. تحيّةٌ من عَرارِ الرَّمْلِ واصلةٌ

    والرَّكبُ يَطلُعُ من أعلامِ ذي بَقَر

    A greeting arrives from the sands' yellow wildflowers,

    as the caravan emerges from the landmarks of Dhu Baqar.

  11. وليس بالرّيح إلاّ أنّها نَسمَتْ

    على مساحب ذيلٍ بالحِمَى عَطِر

    The wind is fragrant only because it has breathed

    over the tracks of a scented hem in the protected pasture.

  12. كم زرتُهم وحُماةُ الحَيِّ مانعةٌ

    للبيضِ بالبيض أو للسُّمْر بالسُّمُر

    How often I visited them while the camp's defenders guarded

    fair beauties with bright swords, or dusky beauties with brown spears.

  13. أرمي إليهم بطَرْفِ العَيْن أقسِمُه

    بين الرّقيب وبين الإْلف من حَذَر

    I cast toward them a glance, dividing it

    between the watcher and the beloved, out of caution,

  14. كعَينِ ذي ظَمأ أمسَتْ مُعايِنةً

    للماء ساعةَ لا وِرْدٍ ولا صَدَر

    like the eye of a thirsty man that watches

    the water at a time of neither approach nor departure.

  15. لله خيلُ بُكاً تَجْري صَوالِجُها

    أهدابُ عَيني وقَطْرُ الدّمع كالأُكر

    How wondrous the steeds of weeping that race: their polo mallets

    are my eyelashes, and falling tears are like balls.

  16. تَخُدُّ حَلْبةَ خَدّي كلّما ذكروا

    منها سَوابقُ ما تَنفكُّ في حُضُر

    Whenever they are mentioned, my cheek's racecourse is furrowed

    by frontrunners among those steeds, always at a gallop.

  17. والجوُّ كالرّوضةِ الخضراءِ مُعرِضةٌ

    لناظرِي والنّجومُ الزُّهْرُ كالزَّهَر

    The sky is like a green meadow spread out

    before my eyes, and the bright stars are like flowers.

  18. واللّيلُ كالرّاية السّوداء قدّمَها

    للصُّبِح خيلٌ تُرى مُبيضّةَ الغُرَر

    The night is like a black banner advanced

    toward dawn by horses seen with gleaming white blazes.

  19. يَحكي لواءَ بني العبّاس يومَ وغىً

    إذا بدا وجيوشُ التُّركِ في الأثَر

    It resembles the banner of the sons of al-Abbas on a day of battle,

    when it appears with the Turkish armies following behind.

  20. لا حائدٌ عنهما يَنجو على بُعُدٍ

    أن يُدرِكهُ ولا يَأْوي إلى وَزَر

    No one turning away from those two escapes, however distant,

    their overtaking him, nor can he reach a refuge.

  21. هما اللّذانِ إذا مالا على أُمَمٍ

    لم يُبْقِ مَرُّهما شيئاً ولم يَذَر

    Those are the two who, when they descend upon nations,

    leave nothing behind in their passage, sparing nothing.

  22. إنْ ساعَدا زَمناً أو عانَدا أتَيا

    بغايةِ التّفعِ للأقوامِ والضَّرر

    Whether they favor an age or oppose it, they bring

    peoples the utmost benefit and harm.

  23. لا يَعجبَنّ ملوكُ الأرض حين غدَوْا

    واسْمُ السّوادِ لديهم رايةُ الظَفَر

    Let the kings of the earth not marvel when they find

    that the very name of blackness is their banner of victory.

  24. لو لم يكُنْ وأيادي اللّهِ سالفةٌ

    هذا الشِّعارُ معَ الأفلاك لم تَدُر

    Had there not been—with God's favors preceding it—

    this emblem alongside the celestial spheres, they would not revolve.

  25. قد أَسندَتْ أَمرَها الدُّنيا إلى مَلِكٍ

    ما افتَرّ عن مثْلِه خالٍ منَ العُصُر

    The world has entrusted its affairs to a king

    whose like no bygone age has parted its lips to reveal.

  26. كأنّما قال أَحداثُ الزّمانِ له

    يا أَقدرَ النّاسِ قُمْ للّهِ فانتَصِر

    As though the events of time had said to him:

    'O most capable of men, arise for God and prevail!'

  27. فقد غدا الدّينُ يُغضي طَرْفَ مُضطَهَدٍ

    وأَصبحَ الحقُّ يُخْفي شخصَ مُستَتِر

    For religion now lowers its gaze like one oppressed,

    and truth conceals itself like one in hiding.

  28. فقام مُستَظْهراً باللّهِ يُظْهِرُه

    بالرَأْيِ طَوراً وبالهِنديّةِ البُتُر

    So he rose, seeking strength in God, to make it manifest,

    at times through judgment, and through cleaving Indian blades.

  29. راعٍ يَبيتُ على قاصي رَعيّتِه

    فؤادُه كجناحِ الطّائرِ الحَذِر

    A shepherd: over the farthest of his flock, through the night,

    his heart is like the wing of a wary bird.

  30. محاسنُ السّلَفِ الماضينَ كُلِّهمُ

    مجموعةٌ فيه جَمْعَ القَطْرِ في الغُدُر

    The virtues of all the departed forebears

    are gathered in him as raindrops gather in pools.

  31. له يدٌ خُلِقَتْ للجودِ فهْو لَها

    طبعٌ كما خُلِقَ العينانِ للنَّظَر

    He has a hand created for generosity, which is to it

    an instinct, just as the two eyes were created for seeing.

  32. إن أنت يا بحرُ لم تَملِكْ ندىً خَضِلاً

    فمِنْ يمينِ الإمامِ القائمِ اسْتَعِر

    If you, O sea, possess no abundant moisture,

    borrow it from the right hand of Imam al-Qa'im.

  33. وأَنت يا بَدرُ إن أَظلَمْتَ في أُفُقٍ

    فجُزْ بسُدّتهِ العَلْياء تَستَتِر

    And you, O full moon, if you darken on the horizon,

    then pass by his lofty threshold, and you will be veiled.

  34. ويا حُسامُ إذا لم تَحْكِ عَزْمتَه

    فما تَسَمّيك بالصّمصامةِ الذَّكَر

    And you, O sword, if you do not match his resolve,

    why style yourself the hard-steeled Samsama?

  35. مَلْكٌ إذا قَدَّرتْ أمراً عزائمُه

    وافَى معَ القدَر الجِاري على قَدَر

    A king: when his firm resolves determine a matter,

    it arrives in measured accord with the course of fate.

  36. في مَعْرِضِ السِّلْمِ تَجلو الحَرْبُ نَجدَته

    إذا الأعادي رَمَوا باللّحْظِ من أَشَر

    In the guise of peace, war reveals his valor,

    when his enemies shoot glances out of insolence.

  37. فالسُّمْرُ مركوزةٌ والبِيضُ مُغمَدةٌ

    لكنّها في طُلىً منهمْ وفي ثُغَر

    The brown spears stand planted, and the bright swords are sheathed,

    but in their necks and in their mouths.

  38. إذا تلاقَتْ له يوماً قناً وعِداً

    أَجلَيْنَ عن مِزقٍ منها وعن كِسَر

    When spears and foes clash in his cause one day,

    they part to reveal their tatters and broken pieces:

  39. من كلِّ كَعْبٍ لها بالكَعْبِ مُختلِطٍ

    وكلِّ صَدْرٍ لها في الصَّدْرِ مُنْكَسِر

    each of their shaft-joints mingled with an ankle,

    and each of their spearheads broken in a breast.

  40. للّهِ دَرُّك إذ تَرعَى الورَى حَدِباً

    من مُقْتفٍ سُنَنَ الآباء مُقْتَفِر

    God bless you as you tend mankind with compassion,

    a follower tracing the ways of the fathers.

  41. له من الحَبْرِ عبدِ اللّهِ علْمُ هُدىً

    يُجْلَى من النُّطْقِ في أَبهَى من الحِبَر

    From the sage Abd Allah he has guiding knowledge,

    displayed in speech more splendid than brocades.

  42. ويَسحَرُ القلبَ تسويدُ البياضِ بِه

    كأنّما هو مجموعٌ منَ الحَوَر

    Blackening white pages with it enchants the heart,

    as though fashioned entirely from the black and white of lovely eyes.

  43. يا مَنْ سريرتُه عَدْلٌ وسيرتُه

    لكلِّ مُستَخْبِرٍ عنها ومُخْتَبِر

    O you whose inward nature is justice, as is your conduct,

    for everyone who inquires about it or puts it to the test.

  44. نَفديك من مَلِكٍ إنْ يَغْدُ مُنْتَقِماً

    يُمهِلْ وإنْ يُسألِ الإنعامَ يَبتَدِر

    We would ransom you: a king who, when bent on vengeance,

    grants respite, but when asked for favors, hastens to give.

  45. أَغَرُّ أَزهَرُ فيّاضٌ أَنامِلُه

    من معشرٍ كمصابيحِ الدُّجَى زُهُر

    Radiant, resplendent, his fingertips overflowing with bounty,

    of a people bright as lamps in the darkness.

  46. قومٌ بنو خَيرِ أَعمامِ النّبيِ هُمُ

    فما يُدانيهمُ فَخْرٌ لمُفتَخِر

    They are a people descended from the best of the Prophet's uncles,

    and no boaster's glory comes near theirs.

  47. يا وارثَ الأرضِ والأمرِ المُطاعِ بها

    إرْثاً من السّابقِ المكتوبِ في الزُّبُر

    O heir to the earth and to the command obeyed therein,

    an inheritance from the prior decree recorded in the scriptures.

  48. بِكُمْ قديماً رسولُ اللّهِ بَشَّرنا

    كما بِه بشّرتْنا سالفُ النُّذُر

    Long ago, God's Messenger gave us glad tidings of you,

    just as earlier warners gave us glad tidings of him.

  49. لمّا غدا من أبيكم واضِعاً يَدَهُ

    مَجداً على ظَهْرِ خيرِ البدْوِ والحضَر

    When he came to lay his hand upon your forefather,

    in honor, on the back of the finest of nomads and townsfolk,

  50. وأنتُمُ فيه أسرارٌ مُكتَّمةٌ

    من كلِّ وارثِ مُلْكِ الأرضِ مُنتظَر

    while you were hidden secrets within him,

    each an awaited heir to dominion over the earth.

  51. إليكُمُ مَدَّ يُمناهُ يُعاهِدُكم

    هُناك بالعدلِ والإحسانِ في السِّيَر

    He stretched his right hand toward you, covenanting with you

    there to uphold justice and kindness in your conduct,

  52. شبيهَ ما عاهدَ اللّهُ الأنامَ وهم

    من بعدُ في الظَّهْرِ سِرٌّ من أَبي البَشَر

    just as God covenanted with mankind while they

    were still a secret in the loins of the father of humankind.

  53. حُكْمٌ قضَى لكُمُ رَبُّ السّماء به

    على العبادِ برَغْمِ الكاشِحِ الأشِر

    A decree the Lord of heaven ordained for you

    over His servants, despite the insolent foe.

  54. هل بعد قولِ رسولِ اللّهِ من رِيَبٍ

    أم هل كصِدقِ رسول اللّه في خَبَر

    Can any doubt remain after the words of God's Messenger?

    Or does any report match the truthfulness of God's Messenger?

  55. سَمَّى الخلافةَ مُلكاً بعد أَربعةٍ

    هم في الأنام وأنتم خِيرةُ الخِيَر

    He called the caliphate kingship after four

    who, with you, are mankind's best of the best.

  56. وقال من بعدُ للعبّاس في مَلأَ

    افخَرْ فأنت أبو الأملاك من مُضَر

    Then he said to al-Abbas before an assembly:

    'Take pride, for you are the father of the kings of Mudar.'

  57. فعِلْمُنا مُدّةَ الدنيا خلافَتُكُم

    بواضحٍ في بُطون الكُتْب مُستَطَر

    Our knowledge that your caliphate lasts as long as the world

    is clearly written within the books.

  58. لا مثْلما زعمَتْ من جَهْلِها عُصَبٌ

    لا يَرجِعون إلى عَيْنٍ ولا أَثَر

    Not as ignorant factions have alleged,

    who rely on neither direct evidence nor transmitted report.

  59. هل بعدَ حقٍ إذا صحَّتْ دلائلُه

    إلاّ ضلالٌ فخُذْ إنْ شِئْتَ أو فَذَر

    Once the proofs of truth are sound, what remains beyond it

    except error? Accept it if you wish, or leave it.

  60. إذا تَلوْنا أحاديثاً رُوِينَ لكم

    تَريبُنا نَفْرةٌ تَبدو على نَفَر

    When we recite traditions narrated concerning you,

    we are troubled by the aversion that appears in certain men.

  61. حتّى لقد صار يَحكي قولُ ذي أثَرٍ

    على فؤادِ المُعادي فِعْلَ ذي أُثُر

    Indeed, the words of a bearer of tradition have come to resemble,

    upon the enemy's heart, the stroke of a patterned blade.

  62. عليه حَرْفٌ من المأثور مُشتَهِرٌ

    نظيرَ حَرْفٍ من المأثورِ مُشتَهر

    A famed word from transmitted lore falls upon him,

    like a famed edge of a patterned sword.

  63. إلى إمام الهُدَى مَدَّتْ هَواديَها

    عِيسٌ وصلْن لنا الآصالَ بالبُكَر

    Toward the imam of guidance they stretched their necks—

    pale she-camels that joined our evenings to our mornings,

  64. حتّى حطَطْنا إلى الزّوراء أرحُلَها

    وعُوجُ أضلاعِها يُعدَدْن من ضُمُر

    until we set their saddles down at al-Zawra,

    their curved ribs countable from emaciation.

  65. كأنّها من وعولٍ وَسْطَ مُنتطَحٍ

    سلَكْنَ أو من رماحٍ بين مشتَجَر

    As though among ibexes amid a clash of horns

    they had threaded their way, or among tangled spears.

  66. سارتْ بنا وسرَتْ حتّى أَتَتْه بنا

    ومَن يَزُرْ كعبةَ العلياء لم يَجُر

    They traveled with us and journeyed by night until they brought us to him;

    whoever visits the Kaaba of high glory has not strayed.

  67. خليفةَ اللهِ صفْحاً عن أخي زَلَلٍ

    فَمدْحُ مثْلكَ شَيءٌ ليس في القُدَر

    Caliph of God, pardon one who has stumbled,

    for praising one like you lies beyond human powers.

  68. لغيرِك الدّهرَ قَولي إن مَدحتُ أَصِخْ

    وعند مَدحِك قَولي كلُّه اغتَفِر

    When praising others, my constant word is 'Listen!'

    but in praising you, all my words are 'Forgive!'

  69. إن لم تُعِدْ نظَراً فينا بعَيْن رِضاً

    لم يَخلُص الصَفْوُ لي يوماً من الكَدَر

    If you do not look upon us again with an eye of favor,

    my clear joy will never be free of clouding.

  70. لولا رجاءٌ وخوفٌ منك مُقتَسَمٌ

    ما كان عن ذنْبه دهرٌ بمُعْتَذِر

    Were it not for hope and fear of you, apportioned together,

    time would never apologize for its offense.

  71. الدّهرُ عَبدُك تُرعيه الورى كرماً

    فَمُرْه فينا بما أَحبَبْتَ يأْتَمِر

    Time is your servant; generously you entrust mankind to its care.

    So command it concerning us as you wish, and it will obey.

  72. والأرضُ دارُك والنُّعمَى قِراك بها

    والضيّفُ كُلُّ الورى والنّحْرُ بالبِدَر

    The earth is your house, and bounty is your hospitality there;

    all mankind are the guests, and the slaughter is of purses of coin.

  73. فَدُمْ كذاكَ أميرَ المؤمنين لنا

    جَذْلانَ في ظِلِّ مُلْكٍ غيرِ مُنحَسِر

    Remain thus for us, Commander of the Faithful,

    joyful in the shade of a kingship that never recedes.

  74. وصُمْ وأَفطِرْ بسَعْدٍ وارْمِ أَفئدةَ ال

    حسّادِ يُصبِحْنَ من مُصمىً ومُنفطِر

    Fast and break your fast in good fortune, and shoot at the hearts of the

    envious, so they become mortally pierced or split asunder.

  75. تَغْدو بآلِكَ ذا نَفْسٍ مُمتَّعةٍ

    وأَوليائك في طُولٍ من العُمُر

    May you live with your family, your soul delighted,

    and with your loyal friends, for a long span of years,

  76. ما لاحَ في جُنْحِ ليلٍ أَنجمٌ زُهُرٌ

    كأنّها غُرَرٌ يَلْمَعْنَ في طُرَر

    as long as bright stars appear in the depths of night,

    like white blazes gleaming amid forelocks.