1. العِزُّ حيث البلْدةُ الزوراءُ

    والمجدُ حيث القُبَّةُ البيضاءُ

    Honor is where the city al-Zawra stands.

    And glory is where the White Dome stands.

  2. فخْرٌ تَسامى أنْ يُزانَ بمدحةٍ

    فالنُّطْقُ عِيٌّ والصُّمات ثَناءُ

    A pride too lofty to be adorned with praise:

    speech is helplessness, and silence is praise.

  3. فعَلامَ يعْتسفُ الظَّلام مُشمِّرٌ

    أودتْ به الشَّدَنيَّةُ الوجْناءُ

    Why, then, does a resolute traveler struggle through darkness,

    undone by his stout-cheeked Shadani she-camel?

  4. إنَّ الجحاجح من قُريشٍ أدركوا

    شَرَفاً تُقِرُّ بفضلهِ الأعْداءُ

    The great chiefs of Quraysh have attained

    an honor whose excellence their enemies acknowledge.

  5. فلِهاشمٍ منه السَّوامقُ والذُّرى

    ولغيرها الهَضَباتُ والأنْقاء

    Hashim has its towering heights and summits,

    while others have its hills and sandy mounds.

  6. وأصاب سِرَّ اللّه من أبنائهمْ

    دونَ الرجالِ ثلاثةٌ كُرَماءُ

    And among their sons, God's secret was attained

    by three noble men, apart from all others.

  7. فأُقِرَّ ذاك السِرُّ في مسترشدٍ

    باللّه تخْرسُ دونهُ الضَّوْضاءُ

    That secret was lodged in al-Mustarshid

    bi-Allah, before whom all clamor falls silent.

  8. يقْظانُ أبْلجُ ينجلي بجبينهِ

    ودليلهِ الإِشْكالُ والظَّلْماءُ

    Wakeful and radiant, by his brow are dispelled

    and his guidance, confusion and darkness.

  9. فتوهُّمُ المُتَجادلينَ حَقائِقٌ

    منه وليلُ المُدْلجينَ ضِياءُ

    The disputants' conjectures become certainties

    through him, and the night travelers' night becomes light.

  10. غيثٌ وليثٌ يرْعَوي لبَنانهِ

    بأسُ العِدى واللَّزْبةُ الغَبْراءُ

    A raincloud and a lion: to his fingertips yield

    the enemies' ferocity and dust-gray famine.

  11. فلمُحْفِظيهِ مَتالِفٌ ومَعاطِبٌ

    ولمُعْتَفيهِ مكارِمٌ وعَطاءُ

    For those who anger him, destruction and ruin;

    for those seeking his bounty, generous deeds and gifts.

  12. طوْدٌ أشَمُّ وخارقٌ ذو شارَةٍ

    حُسَّادهُ الأنْصالُ والحُلَماءُ

    A lofty mountain, and a peerless man of imposing bearing,

    envied by sword blades and the wise.

  13. فبهِ إذا نَزَقَ الحَليمُ تأيُّدٌ

    ولهُ إذا نَبَتِ السِّهامُ مَضاءُ

    In him is steadfast strength when the forbearing man grows rash,

    and his is piercing force when arrows glance aside.

  14. حَبْرٌ إذا ذلَّ الدَّليلُ بموغِلٍ

    شهدتْ بصائبِ قولهِ العُلماءُ

    A sage: when proof fails one probing deeply,

    scholars attest the correctness of his words.

  15. وإذا المَقاولُ ساورتْها نُبْذَةٌ

    من لفْظهِ فَفَصيحُها فأفاءُ

    When a mere fragment assails the orators

    of his utterance, their eloquent speaker becomes a stammerer.

  16. خمصانُ يقْلي الزاد غير ممرَّضٍ

    ولهُ التَّقيَّةُ مطْعَمٌ وغِذاءُ

    Lean-bellied, he shuns food, though not ailing;

    piety is his sustenance and nourishment.

  17. نورٌ أضاء الأفْق ساطعُ لمْعِهِ

    فعلى الزمانِ وأهْلهِ لأْلاءُ

    A light whose brilliant flash illuminates the horizon,

    casting radiance upon time and its people.

  18. نَضرَتْ به أيامُنا فكأنَّها

    بين العُصورِ خَميلةٌ غَنَّاءُ

    Our days have flourished through him, as though they were

    among the ages a luxuriant grove.

  19. يا ساهرَ الظَّلْماءِ يرقبُ صبْحها

    كي يستقلَّ به الغَداةَ نَجاءُ

    O wakeful watcher of darkness, awaiting its dawn

    so that swift escape may carry him off in the morning:

  20. هابَ الظَّلامَ وذاعريه فجرْسهُ

    هَمْسٌ ونُطْقُ لسانهِ إيماءُ

    he fears darkness and its frighteners; his sound

    is a whisper, and his tongue's speech a gesture.

  21. نَسَعَ المَطايا والجيادَ مخافَةً

    منْ أنْ ينُمَّ تَصاهُلٌ ورُغاءُ

    He strapped the riding camels and steeds, fearing

    that neighing or bellowing might betray him.

  22. سرْعانَ ما ظنَّ الإكامَ مَناسراً

    دلَفَتْ إليه بشَرِّها الفَيْفاءُ

    How quickly he imagined the hills to be raiding bands!

    The desert crept toward him with its menace.

  23. يُغْفي فيحلمُ بالعِدى فهُبوبهُ

    فَرَقٌ وجالِبُ رَوْعهِ الإِغْفاءُ

    He dozes and dreams of foes; his awakening

    is terror, and dozing brings him fright.

  24. سَعْياً جَريئاً أو فَنَمْ مُتَوَدِّعاً

    ففِناءُ بيتكَ والعَراءُ سَواءُ

    Travel boldly, or sleep at ease:

    your home's courtyard and the open country are alike.

  25. والأمرُ مزْمومٌ بعَدْلِ خليفَةٍ

    تَلِغُ الذئابُ لخوفهِ والشَّاءُ

    Affairs are held in check by the justice of a caliph

    in fear of whom wolves and sheep lap together.

  26. لفظتْ سياسته السيوفَ فضربُهُ

    في الدارعينَ تَبَكُّتٌ وإِباءُ

    His governance has cast swords aside; his stroke

    against armored men is rebuke and refusal.

  27. وتماسكَ المُتَحرِّبونَ فكادَ أنْ

    يسْجو بمُنْحَدرِ المَسيلِ الماءُ

    The warriors have restrained themselves, so nearly

    does water stand still down the sloping watercourse.

  28. وفَشا الحِذارُ به فكلُّ قبيلةٍ

    جُهَّالُها من خوْفهِ حُلَماءُ

    Caution has spread through him; every tribe's

    fools are forbearing from fear of him.

  29. وجرى اللسانُ من الفقيرِ وطالما

    حصِرَ الفَصيحُ وخصْمُه الإثراء

    The poor man's tongue speaks freely, though often

    the eloquent fell silent when his adversary was wealth.

  30. فالمُرْمِلُ الممْلاقُ منْ إِرْهابهِ

    والمَلْكُ في حَقِّ المَقالِ سواءُ

    Thus the destitute pauper, through the fear he inspires,

    and the king are equal in the right to speak.

  31. الصَّائمُ اليومَ الهجيرَ تأجَّجَتْ

    تحت الكُسورِ لوَقْدهِ الرَّمْضاء

    Fasting through the scorching day, when there blazes

    beneath the tent-flaps the ground, scorched by its heat;

  32. والسَّاهرُ الليل الطويل وقد ثوتْ

    بالرَّاقدينَ نمارقٌ ومُلاءُ

    and wakeful through the long night, while there lie

    with the sleepers cushions and coverlets;

  33. والقائدُ الخيلَ العِتاقَ يؤمُّها

    مُتغطْرفٌ يُزْهى به الخُيَلاءُ

    and leading the noble steeds, at their head

    a lordly man in whom pride itself exults.

  34. نَسخَ الغُبارُ صباحَها فكأنما

    بيضُ الشُّهور حَوالِكٌ دَهْماءُ

    Dust effaces their morning, as though

    the months' bright days were pitch-dark and black.

  35. أجْرا فتىً ركب الجياد إلى العِدى

    قلْباً وأصْبَرُ مَنْ عَلاهُ لِواءُ

    The boldest youth to ride steeds against the foe

    in heart, and the most steadfast beneath a banner.

  36. وإذا تعرَّضت الخطوبُ وساورت

    أمْنَ الرَّعيَّةِ ضخْمةٌ بَزْلاءُ

    When calamities arise, and there assails

    the subjects' safety some vast, full-grown disaster,

  37. وتقاعسَ المُتهافتونَ على الرَّدى

    حَذرَ الحُتوفِ وصانَعَ الأحياءُ

    and those who rushed toward death hang back,

    fearing fatal blows, and the living seek accommodation,

  38. مَنحَ المنابرَ والضَّوامِر أخْمصاً

    تُزْهى بموقعِ وطْئهِ الجَوْزاءُ

    he grants the pulpits and lean steeds his arched sole,

    in whose footfall al-Jawza itself takes pride.

  39. وجرى الصيالُ مع المقال فأقْدَمَ

    الضَّاري وخاسَ الأخضرُ الدَّأماءُ

    Combat keeps pace with speech; forward comes

    the seasoned warrior, while the dark-green, sea-like host recoils.

  40. فعلى المسامعِ والمطامعِ بالضُّحى

    خَيْلٌ تُغيرُ وخُطْبَةٌ رَوْعاءُ

    At midmorning, upon ears and coveted gains fall

    raiding horses and a magnificent sermon.

  41. ينجابُ عنه الجيش وهو مُصممٌ

    وتَحيدُ عنهُ الشِّدَّةُ الصَّمَّاءُ

    The army parts before him as he presses resolutely on,

    and implacable hardship swerves away from him.

  42. بأسٌ وجودٌ في مَضاءِ عزيمةٍ

    يُدْني البَعيدَ وعِفَّةٌ وحَياءُ

    Courage and generosity, with a resolve's piercing force

    that brings the distant near, and chastity and modesty.

  43. وأغرُّ مُرُّ العيش من حفظ الورى

    يحلو وتَعْذُبُ عندهُ النَّعْماءُ

    A radiant man: life's bitterness from protecting mankind

    grows sweet, and blessings become delightful with him.

  44. فصلُ الحكومة لا يُخامر قلبهُ

    صَوَرٌ ولا تمضي بهِ الأهْواءُ

    Decisive in judgment: his heart is never touched

    by partiality, nor do passions carry him away.

  45. يُغنيه حدُّ العزم عن حدِّ الظُّبى

    وتُريهِ قبلَ لِحاظِه الآراءُ

    The edge of resolve spares him the edges of blades,

    and insight shows him before his eyes can see.

  46. ما ضَيْغمٌ شثْنُ البراثنِ عازبٌ

    بِالخيس فيه نَغَشْرُمٌ ومَضاءُ

    No lion, coarse-clawed and solitary

    in the thicket, possessed of audacity and resolve,

  47. ضارٍ يُعفِّرُ زأرُه أقْرانَه

    فبهِ عن الصَّوْل الشَّديد غَناءُ

    a predator whose roar casts his rivals into dust

    and suffices him in place of a fierce attack,

  48. يتقصَّفُ العاديُّ عند مرورهِ

    فَرَقاً وترْجُفُ تحتهُ الصَّحراء

    before whose passing ancient trees splinter

    in terror, while the desert trembles beneath him—

  49. عَرقَ الطَّوى أشْبالَه وتَناذرَ الأظع

    انُ فهو مُلَجِّجٌ سَرَّاءُ

    hunger has gnawed his cubs; warnings spread among the cara-

    -vans: he is persistent, prowling by night.

  50. لَزِمَ الثَّنِيَّةَ لا يَلوحُ لشخصه

    شَبَحٌ ولا يبدو عليه رُواءُ

    He keeps to the mountain pass; his body shows no

    silhouette, nor does his appearance come into view.

  51. ثمَّ استمرَّ كراشقٍ قذفتْ به

    نحو الرَّميِّ شديدةٌ فَجْواءُ

    Then he hurtles on like an arrow launched

    toward its mark by a powerful, wide-curved bow.

  52. فثنى الخميسَ المَجْرَ قُرُّ جَنانه

    والذِّمرُ تُنْغض عِطفه العروَاء

    He turns back the immense army, his heart unshaken,

    while shivering shakes the warrior's side.

  53. كُلٌّ يقولُ أنا الصَّريعُ وإنما

    صَيْدُ الهِزَبْرِ الأصْيَد الأبَّاءُ

    Each man says, 'I am the one struck down,' yet

    the lion's prey is the proud, defiant man.

  54. فغدا يجُرُّ إلى العيالِ ونفسهِ

    منْ لمْ تَرُعْهُ الفيْلق الشَّهباءُ

    So he drags away, for his family and himself,

    a man whom the gray host could not frighten—

  55. بأشدَّ من بأسِ الإِمامِ إذا عَلا

    صوتُ الصَّريخ وهاجت الهيْجاءُ

    can outdo the Imam's might when there rises

    the cry for help and battle rages.

  56. وعرمرمٍ كاليمِّ هيجَ بعاصِفٍ

    شرِقتْ بفضل عُبابه البَيْداءُ

    And a vast army, like a sea stirred by a tempest:

    the wilderness chokes on the overflow of its surge.

  57. نسخ الفلا والصبح ركضُ جياده

    فالأرضُ جَوٌّ والصَّباحُ عِشاءُ

    The gallop of its steeds effaces open land and dawn;

    the earth becomes sky, and morning evening.

  58. طردتْ فوارسهُ وما لاحَ العِدى

    حِرْصاً فكلُّ كَتيبةٍ دَفْواءُ

    Its horsemen press forward before the foe appears,

    in eagerness, each battalion densely massed.

  59. تدنو له عنق القَشاعمِ مثْلما

    تحْتفُّ بالمُتَصدِّقِ الفُقراءُ

    A flock of old vultures draws near to it, just as

    the poor gather round a giver of alms.

  60. تجري مُسابقَة السيوفِ فربما

    نَسَرتْ وضرْبةُ طائحٍ رَعْلاءُ

    They race the swords, and sometimes

    peck flesh while a falling stroke wavers blindly.

  61. والخيلُ تقتحمُ الغُبارَ كأنها

    نَبْلُ الجَفيرِ وقد أُجيدَ رِماءُ

    The horses plunge through dust as though they were

    arrows from a quiver, expertly shot.

  62. تزجي سنابكُها سَحاباً قطْرهُ

    منها مَسيحٌ هاطِلٌ ودماءُ

    Their hooves drive along a cloud whose rain

    from them is pouring sweat and blood.

  63. ينقلن كلَّ مُساورٍ ذي هِمَّةٍ

    تُجْلى بحدِّ حُسامهِ الغَمَّاءُ

    They carry every high-spirited assailant,

    whose sharp sword clears away dire calamity.

  64. زوْلٌ رياضُ سروره سمر القَنا

    عِزّاً وملْعبُ أنْسهِ الجَأواءُ

    A remarkable man, whose gardens of joy are tawny spears,

    for glory, and whose playground of pleasure is the dusky host.

  65. حَنَّ الكُماة إلى النَّجيعِ ولونهِ

    فلذاكَ كلُّ عِصابَةٍ حَمْراءُ

    The armored champions yearn for fresh blood and its color;

    therefore every band is red.

  66. وطما أتِيُّ الحربِ حتى ماؤُهُ

    مُهَج الفوارس والرُّؤوسُ غُثاءُ

    The oncoming flood of war swells until its water

    is horsemen's lifeblood, and heads are scum.

  67. أجْرى أميرُ المؤمنين جيادَهُ

    ظمأى وعادَ بِهِنَّ وهي رِواءُ

    The Commander of the Faithful sent his steeds galloping

    thirsty, and returned with them fully slaked.

  68. فبطاءُ خيلِ الطَّالبينَ سَريعةٌ

    وسِراعُ خيلِ الهاربينَ بِطاءُ

    Thus the pursuers' slow horses are swift,

    and the fugitives' swift horses slow,

  69. رَهَباً لأغْلبَ لا مفرَّ لهاربٍ

    منه ولو أنَّ النجومَ وِقاءُ

    in dread of a mighty lion: no fugitive can escape

    him, even if the stars were a shield.

  70. عَمَّ البَريَّةَ بأسهُ ونَوالُهُ

    فكأنه في الحالتين ذُكاءُ

    His might and bounty encompass all creation,

    as though in both states he were the sun.

  71. ثُمَّ انجلى ذاكَ العجاجُ عن التي

    عَظُمتْ لها الأخْبارُ والأنْباءُ

    Then that dust-cloud cleared to reveal the deed

    whose reports and tidings became momentous.

  72. فغَدا على العاني الأسيرِ من النَّدى

    عَفْوٌ وراحَ عن القَتيلِ عَفاءُ

    Then upon the captive in bondage, from generosity,

    came pardon, and oblivion departed from the slain.

  73. ما ضرَّ أبناء السُّرى حَلكُ الدجى

    لهمُ وأنت الأبْلَجُ الوَضَّاءُ

    How could night's blackness harm those who journey by night,

    when you, bright and radiant, are there for them?

  74. كَلاَّ ولا حُبس القطار فأجْدبت

    أرضٌ وأنت الواهِبُ المِعْطاءُ

    No indeed; nor has rainfall been withheld, leaving barren

    a land, while you are the bountiful, lavish giver.

  75. برَّزْتَ سبْقاً وافترعتَ محِلَّةً

    لم يرْقَها منْ قبلكَ الخُلَفاءُ

    You outstripped all and ascended to a station

    no caliph before you ever climbed.

  76. وجريت حيث السَّابقاتُ عواثِرٌ

    وثَبَتَّ حيث الشَّامخاتُ هَواءُ

    You raced where the foremost steeds stumble,

    and stood firm where lofty peaks are empty air.

  77. وتخاذلت قِممُ الملوكِ وقد بدتْ

    لِغرارِ سيفكَ عِزَّةٌ قَعساءُ

    Kings' summits fell away, when there appeared

    an unassailable might in your sword's edge.

  78. وستملكُ الدُّنيا تملُّكَ قابضٍ

    وتُطيعُكَ الحمراءُ والبيضاءُ

    You will possess the world with a firm possessor's grip,

    and the red and the white will obey you.

  79. ويجولُ طِرفُك في مشارق شمسها

    والغربُ يُنْغِض عِطفه الخُيلاء

    Your noble steed will roam where its sun rises,

    and pride makes the West toss its flank.

  80. ولقد حُبيتَ من الرجال بناصِحٍ

    ما في نميرِ ولائهِ أقْذاءُ

    You have indeed been granted, among men, a sincere counselor,

    with no specks in the sweet waters of his loyalty.

  81. هجرَ الكَرى رعْياً لِما ولَّيْتهُ

    فجُفونهُ لسُهادهِ مَرْهاءُ

    He forsook sleep to tend what you entrusted to him;

    his eyelids are bleary from sleeplessness.

  82. يقظان يقدح زندُ عزمكَ فكرَه

    فينرَه المُتَلَهِّبُ الوَرَّاءُ

    Wakeful, the fire-stick of your resolve kindles his thought;

    then the blazing fire-kindler [unclear verb] him.

  83. زُهيت بك الخلفاء ثُمَّ كسوْتهُ

    ظِلَّ العُلى فَزَهَتْ به الوزراءُ

    The caliphs were made proud by you; then you clothed him

    in the shelter of exalted rank, and the viziers took pride in him.

  84. لك من قُريشٍ كلُّ أغلب باسلٍ

    تخشى سُطاهُ الصَّعْبةُ الشَّقَّاءُ

    Yours is every mighty, valiant man of Quraysh,

    whose onslaught even harsh, grievous calamity fears.

  85. قومٌ إذا شهدوا الكريهةَ أصبحوا

    وهُمُ غُزاةٌ أو هُمُ شُهداءُ

    A people who, when they face dreadful battle, emerge

    as raiders or as martyrs.

  86. يمشي الثَّناءُ إليهُمُ مُتبرِّعاً

    وتحيدُ عن ناديهُمُ الفَحْشاءُ

    Praise walks toward them of its own accord,

    and shameful deeds avoid their assembly.

  87. وإذا تَغَبَّرتِ الفِجاجُ وهتَّكتْ

    سُتُرَ البيوتِ الزَّعْزعُ الهوجاء

    When the paths grow dusty, and there rends

    the curtains of the homes a violent, raging gale,

  88. واسَّاقطتْ غُرُّ العِشارِ أجِنَّةً

    للقُرِّ فهي طَوائحٌ ألْقاءُ

    and the finest ten-month-pregnant camels shed their unborn young

    from cold, leaving them fallen and cast away,

  89. وتعَفَّتِ الآناءُ حولَ خِيامِها

    للسَّيْل مما سَحَّتِ الأنْواءُ

    and the basins around their tents are effaced

    by the flood of what the rain-bearing stars have poured,

  90. وخبا وأغْفى ذو الصِّلاء ونابِحٌ

    خَصَراً فأعْوَزَ موْقِدٌ وعُواءُ

    and the fire dies, and its seeker of warmth and a barking dog doze,

    numb with cold, so no firelighter or howl remains,

  91. فرِحالُهُمْ للنَّائمينَ وثيرَةٌ

    وجِفانُهمْ للطَّاعِمين مِلاءُ

    their lodgings are soft for those who sleep,

    and their bowls are full for those who eat.

  92. شُمْتُ البوارق من نداكَ وساقني

    أملٌ يحثُّ رَواحِلي ورَجاءُ

    I watched the lightning flashes of your bounty, and was driven

    by hope that spurs my mounts, and expectation.

  93. وبدتْ لساري الخطِّ شمس ظهيرة

    فتَماحَقتْ في عينهِ الأضْواءُ

    A noonday sun appeared to al-Khatt's night traveler,

    and all other lights dwindled in his eye.

  94. فانظُر إلى مأثورِ قولٍ قصَّرَتْ

    عن شأوهِ في مدحكَ الفُصَحاءُ

    Look, then, at memorable speech, whose heights

    the eloquent fall short of in praising you.

  95. هوْلٌ عليه من البسالةِ نَفْضَةٌ

    وبه إلى حُبِّ العُلى بُرَحاءُ

    A terror, shaken by its own valor,

    and burning with a fierce love of exalted rank.

  96. ذلَّ الورى عما افْترعتُ وأفحمت

    لما نَطَقْت بحمدكَ الشُّعراء

    Mankind was humbled before what I scaled, and I silenced,

    when I spoke your praise, the poets.