ملك به عز الشريعة مظهر — Alhbal

مُلْكٌ بهِ عِزُّ الشَّريعةِ مُظهَرُ

يُزْهَى به الدينُ الحنيفُ ويَفْخَرُ

A reign through which the glory of sacred law is revealed,

in which the upright faith takes pride and glories.

وبناءُ عزٍّ شيدَ في أوج العُلَى

ينحَطُّ كسْرى عن ذراهُ وقيصرُ

An edifice of honor raised at the pinnacle of greatness,

below whose summits Khosrow and Caesar fall.

ومخائلٌ مَيمونَةٌ وسعادةٌ

مقرونةٌ بعزائمٍ لا تفترُ

Auspicious portents and happiness,

joined to resolutions that never falter.

وَصوارمٌ مَصقولةٌ وذوابلٌ

يعنو لها المسْتكبرُ المتجبّرُ

Polished, keen-edged swords and slender spears,

before which the arrogant tyrant bows.

وغنائمٌ من ذي الجلالِ ولم يزلْ

ربّ البريّةِ لِلْجميلِ يُيسِّرُ

And spoils from the Lord of Majesty; unceasingly

the Lord of creation makes the way to goodness easy.

يا مَنْ لَه في كلِّ يومِ كَريهةٍ

من جدِّه الميمون سيفٌ أبتَرُ

O you who, on every day of fierce battle, possess

a cleaving sword in your auspicious fortune!

لولا محبّتك الجلاء لِمَنْ طغى

لَكَفاكَ جَدٌّ في الحروب مُظفَّرُ

Were it not for your love of banishing those who transgress,

victorious fortune would suffice you in war.

أيقيسكَ البحرُ الخِضمّ ولِلْورى

من كلّ أنملةٍ بكفّكَ أبْحِرُ

Can the vast sea compare with you, when mankind receives

seas from every fingertip of your hand?

كفُّ ترى الأَملاكَ لثْمَ بنانِها

شرفاً ويحسدُها الغمامُ الممطرُ

A hand whose fingertips kings deem the kissing of

an honor, and which the rain-bearing clouds envy.

مَن ذا يطيقُ نِزالَ مثلك في الوغى

لو قابَلتْكَ بكلّ قَيْلِ حميرُ

Who can withstand combat with your like in battle,

even if Himyar faced you with every chieftain?

ولَمَنْ رآكَ ولم يَمتْ من حِينِهِ

بسيوفِ خوفك إنّه لِمُعَمَّرُ

Whoever sees you and does not die on the spot

from the swords of dread of you is surely long-lived.

ولَرُبّ يومٍ قَدْ أَثرتَ قتامَهُ

وصَبْرَتَ إذْ لا ذُوجَنانٍ يَصبِرُ

Many a day you have stirred its battle dust,

and stood firm when no courageous heart could endure.

وظلامِ نقعٍ لِلْوغَى جَلّيتَه

والأسْد في أجُم الذوابلِ تزأَرُ

And many a darkness of battle dust you have dispelled,

while lions roared in the thickets of slender spears.

فَغَدا الضّحى بكَ وهْو لَيْلٌ أَلْيَلٌ

وغدا الدُّجى بكَ وهو صُبْحٌ مُسْفِرُ

Through you, broad daylight became the darkest night,

and darkness became a radiant dawn.

يَا بْنَ الأُولى نَصَروا شَريعةَ جدِّهم

واستَنْقَذوا دينَ الإله وأظْهروا

O son of those who championed their forefather's sacred law,

rescued God's religion and made it manifest!

قومٌ لهمْ غَاياتُ كلِّ سيادةٍ

عنها تأخّرتِ الملوكُ وقَهْقَروا

A people possessing the utmost heights of every sovereignty,

behind which kings lagged and retreated.

طَالُوا وطابوا عنُصراً وَوَشيجةً

نِعْمَ الوشيجةُ منهُم والعنصرُ

They rose high and were noble in stock and kinship;

excellent indeed are their kinship and their stock.

سِرْ حَيثُ شئتَ يَسِرْ لديكَ مُصاحباً

مِنْ نَصرِ مَولاكَ العَديدُ الأكثرُ

Go wherever you wish; marching beside you as a companion

is the greatest host of your Lord's aid.

ومُرِ الزّمانَ بما تَشاءَ فَلَم تَزَلْ

طُولَ المَدى تنهى الزّمانَ وتأمُرُ

Command Time as you wish, for you have always,

throughout the ages, forbidden and commanded Time.

ما اختراكَ الموْلَى لِتَحْمِي مُلْكَهُ

إلاّ لأَنَّكَ دِرعُهُ والمغْفَرُ

Your Lord chose you to protect His dominion

only because you are His armor and helmet.

كَمْ مِن مُلوكٍ قَادةٍ ذلّلْتَهمْ

وقد اسْتَطَالُوا جُهْدهُمْ وتكَبّروا

How many kings and leaders you have subdued,

though they had vaunted themselves to their utmost and grown arrogant!

وَمَقَاوِلٍ أفنيتَهم قَتْلاً وقَدْ

سلكُوا سِوى نَهجِ الهدى فَتَحيّروا

And how many chieftains you destroyed by killing, when

they took a path other than guidance and lost their way!

نَبذوا عُهودَ اللهِ خلْفَ ظُهورِهم

وعَتَوْا على باريهم واسْتكبروا

They cast God's covenants behind their backs,

rebelled against their Creator and grew arrogant.

لو كانَ لِلتّوفيق فيهِمْ مدْخَلٌ

تابوا إلى بَارِهمُ واستَغْفَروا

Had divine guidance found an opening within them,

they would have repented to their Creator and sought forgiveness.

عَميتْ بصائِرُهُمْ لعظْمِ ذُنوبهمْ

والحقّ أَبْلجُ واضِحٌ لو أبْصَروا

Their inward vision was blinded by the enormity of their sins,

though truth was radiant and clear, had they but seen.

راموا بجَهْلِهمُ وضعْفِ عُقُولِهمْ

إخفاءَ دينِ محمدٍ لم يَقْدروا

In their ignorance and feebleness of mind, they sought

to conceal Muhammad's religion, but could not.

طَلَبوا المحالَ فحالَ دُونَ مَرامِهِمْ

مَصْقولةٌ بيضٌ وموتٌ أحمرُ

They sought the impossible, but between them and their desire stood

polished white blades and crimson death.

وكَتَائبٌ خُضْرٌ تَظلّ كُماتُها

كالأُسْد في أجم القنا تَتَبَخْتَرُ

And green battalions whose armored warriors

strut like lions in thickets of spears.

ظنّوا الإِلَه يُنيلُهمْ ما أمَّلُوا

والله أعلَى أن يُضَامَ ويُقْهَرُ

They thought God would grant them what they hoped for,

but God is too exalted to be wronged or overpowered.

جُزْتَ السَّباسِبَ خَلْفَهمْ فتركتَها

والمسْكَ أدْنى ريحها والعنْبَرُ

You crossed the wastelands in pursuit of them, leaving them

with musk and ambergris the faintest of their scents.

وفَتَحتَ قهراً مِنْ معاقِل أرضِهم

ما كَأنَ يعجز عِنده الإسكندرُ

By force you conquered strongholds in their land

before which Alexander would have seemed powerless.

وغَدَا يُصَفَّدُ كلُّ ليثٍ منهمُ

ويُبَاعُ بالنّزْرِ الغَزالُ الأَعفَرُ

Every lion among them came to be fettered,

and the tawny gazelle was sold for a pittance.

في مَوقفٍ لِلنَّقْعِ فيه غَمامةٌ

نَارُ المنايا تحتُها تتسعَّرُ

On a battlefield where dust formed a cloud,

beneath it the fire of death blazed.

سُلَّتْ به مثل النجومِ صوارمٌ

تَرَكَتْ رداءَ النّقعِ وهو مُشَهَّرُ

There, swords like stars were drawn,

leaving the cloak of dust laid bare.

بيضٌ تُسَوِّدُ كلَّ منتصرٍ بها

ما لم يكنْ لجميلِ صُنعك يكفرُ

White blades that make a lord of anyone victorious through them,

unless he denies your gracious beneficence.

مِن كُلّ مشحوذِ الجوانبِ لم يَزَلْ

مُذْ كنتَ مِن عَلَقِ الأعادي يقطرُ

Each blade, sharpened along its edges, has never ceased,

since you came to be, to drip with the blood of foes.

والسُّمر تخْطر للِّقَا فقُدودُها

تُزْهى ارتياحاً والأسّنة تزهرُ

The brown spears sway toward combat; their slender forms

exult with delight, and their points blossom.

مِنْ كلّ مطرورِ السّنانِ طَعينُه

لا يَنْثَني وكسيرُه لا يُجبَرُ

Each bears a sharpened point; the one it pierces

never returns, and the one it breaks is never mended.

ما زِلتَ تسْقيها دماءَ رقابِهم

فلِذاك تثمرُ بالرؤوس وتبذرُ

You have always watered them with blood from their necks;

thus they bear heads as fruit and scatter them as seed.

والخيلُ تمشي في الحديد مُعَدَّةً

وعيونُها شزراً إليهمْ تنظرُ

The horses stride encased in iron, ready,

and their eyes glare sideways toward the foe.

لم يُدْرَ حينَ تكِرُّ في آثارهم

أهي السّهامُ أمِ الجيادُ الضمَّرُ

When they charge in pursuit, none can tell

whether they are arrows or lean steeds.

يُطْلِعْنَ من غُرَرٍ لَهُنَ أهِلّةٌ

ينجابٌ مِنْ إشراقهنّ العِثيرُ

From their forehead blazes they bring forth crescent moons,

whose radiance disperses the dust.

مِن كلّ معروفِ الأصُولِ تَخَالُه

كالسَّيل من أعلى الذرّى يتحدّرُ

Each is of known pedigree; you would think it

a torrent pouring down from the highest peaks.

وإذا جرَى البرقُ اليَماني خلْفَهُ

أبصَرتَه بغُبارِهِ يتعَثَّرُ

If the lightning of Yemen raced behind it,

you would see the lightning stumbling in its dust.

وإذا سَعى مَعَهُ الحيا متَصَوِّباً

أَلفَيتَهُ من خلْفه يتكسَّرُ

And if the rain ran beside it, pouring down,

you would find the rain breaking apart behind it.

تَهوي لِهَادِيهِ القَنا فيرُدّها

نفسٌ لَهْ لِلْغيظِ مِنهمْ يَزْفرُ

Spears plunge toward its neck, but are beaten back

by the breath it snorts in anger at them.

نَسَجَ العجاجُ عليه درعاً سابغاً

عَن فضِّها باعُ الأسنةِ يقصرُ

The swirling dust wove a full coat of armor upon it,

which the reach of spearheads falls short of piercing.

لولاَ امتثال الأمرِ في إرهابهمْ

لكفَاهُ ما نَسجَ العجاج الأكدرُ

Were it not obeying the command to strike terror into them,

what the murky dust had woven would have sufficed it.

يَعلُوهُ مَلْكٌ ما أهمَ بغايةٍ

لِلْمجْدِ إلاّ نالَ ما يتعذّرُ

Upon it rides a king who never aimed at a goal

of glory without attaining what others cannot.

للهِ أَحْمدُ كم عُلّى ومكارمٍ

تُعزى إليهِ وكم معالٍ تَبْهرُ

God's own Ahmad! How many lofty honors and noble deeds

are attributed to him, and how many dazzling excellences!

مَلكٌ إذا ركبَ الجوادَ حسبتَه

بدراً له متنُ السَّحاب مسخَرُ

A king whom, when he mounts his steed, you would think

a full moon with the back of the clouds at his command.

وكأنّما أَخلاقُه لجليسه

مِن وَرْدٍ روضات المحامد تُعْصَرُ

It is as though his manners toward his companion

were pressed from roses in the gardens of praise.

مَنْ ذا سواهُ لَه المحامِد تُنْتَقَى

وتُحاكُ أبرادُ الثَّنا وتُحبَّر

For whom besides him are praises chosen,

and the mantles of eulogy woven and embellished?

يا أيّها الملك الّذي عزَماتُه

وَصِفاتُه في كلِّ أرضٍ تُذكَرُ

O king whose resolutions

and attributes are celebrated in every land!

وافيتَ هذِي الأَرضَ تُحْيي مَيْتَها

ولِنُورِ دينِ الله فيها تُطْهِرُ

You came to this land, reviving its dead,

and purify it there for the light of God's religion.

ومَنَحتَها نَظر الشّفيقِ فجئتَها

تَحْيي مآثرَ سالِفيكَ وتَعْمرُ

You bestowed a compassionate gaze upon it, then came to it,

reviving your forebears' noble works and restoring it.

فأشدْتَ من آثارهم ما شَيّدوا

ولَمَا ابتَدَأْتَ من المكارمِ أكثرُ

You raised anew the monuments they had built,

yet the noble works you began are more numerous.

حتّى لَقَد حَسدتْ رُبَاها مكّةٌ

واشْتَاقَ قربَكَ خيْفُها والمشْعَرُ

Until even Mecca envied its hills,

and its Khayf and the Mash'ar longed for your nearness.

فاسْتَجلِها عذراء يَطْوي نشرُها

طَيّاً ويقصرُ عن مَدَاها بُحترُ

So unveil her, a virgin whose unfolding folds other verse

away entirely; Buhtur falls short of her reach.

لَمْ أذكرِ الفتحَ بن خاقان ولاَ

قد عاقَني عن بَحْرِ جُودِكَ جعفَرْ

I have not mentioned al-Fath ibn Khaqan, nor

has Ja'far kept me from the sea of your generosity.

لا زِلتَ والدَّهرُ العصيَ مطاوعٌ

والملكُ ريّان المعاطِف أخضر

May you endure, with rebellious Time obedient,

and your dominion lush and green in all its folds.

والشَّمسُ لَم تكْسفْ لأمرٍ فادحٍ

أنَّى وحَظّكَ في السعادةِ أوفرُ

The sun was not eclipsed by some dreadful event:

how could it be, when your share of happiness is greater?

لكِنّها اسْتَحيتْ فأطَفَتْ نُورها

لَمَّا رأَتْكَ ونورُ وجهكَ أنورُ

Rather, it blushed and extinguished its light

when it saw you, your face's light brighter still.

أَوْ أنّها هويتْ جَوادكَ فاغتَدَتْ

تهوي إليهِ وهيَ نَعْلٌ أحمرُ

Or else it loved your steed and set out at dawn,

falling toward it as a red horseshoe.

هَذي الكَرَامات التي لا تَنْتهي

والمجدُ والشرفُ الَّذي لا ينكَرُ

These are wonders that never end,

and glory and honor that cannot be denied.

وبقيتَ كَهْفاً يستغيث بكَ الورى

طراً ويبصرُ رُشدَهُ المستَبصِرُ

May you remain a refuge to whom all creation appeals,

every one, while the discerning finds the right way.

وعلَى النّبي وآلهِ مِنْ رَبِّنا

أَسْنَى صَلاةٍ لاَ تَزاولُ تكَرَّرُ

And upon the Prophet and his family, from our Lord,

the most radiant blessing, ceaselessly renewed,

ما فاحَ مدحُكَ في البسيطةِ عنبراً

واهتْزّ مِن طَربٍ لِذكركَ منبرُ

as long as your praise perfumes the earth like ambergris

and a pulpit sways with joy at your mention.