يا مالكاً صرف الزمان عبده

يا مالكاً صرف الزمان عبده

والنائبات حين تسطو جنده

والنائبات حين تسطو جنده

O master, whose slave is the turning of time,

O owner of time who makes a servant of it

And whose troops are calamities when they strike;

And armies when they gain control over its soldiers

إن مخض الخطب فأنت زبده

إن مخض الخطب فأنت زبده

أو حسن الذكر فأنت نده

أو حسن الذكر فأنت نده

If calamity is churned, you are its butter;

If speeches boil down, you are their cream

Or if praise is fair, you are its perfume.

Or if mention is fair, you are its brightness

لك الجميل والندى أعتده

لك الجميل والندى أعتده

وفيض جود ليس يحصى عده

وفيض جود ليس يحصى عده

I credit you with kindness and generosity,

To you belong beauty and dew, I count them yours

And an outpouring of bounty beyond all counting,

And a flood of generosity that cannot be numbered

وبشر وجه رائق فرنده

وبشر وجه رائق فرنده

محش حرب ليس يكبو زنده

محش حرب ليس يكبو زنده

And a cheerful face with radiant lustre;

And good tidings of a cheerful, delighted face

A kindler of war whose fire-stick never fails,

An unvanquished warrior whose weapon cannot be blunted

وصارم ليس يفل حده

وصارم ليس يفل حده

وذو وفاء لا يحل عقده

وذو وفاء لا يحل عقده

And a keen sword whose edge is never blunted,

A sword whose edge cannot be dulled

And a loyal man whose bond is never untied.

And one faithful who does not break his pact

شيد ما أس المجير جده

شيد ما أس المجير جده

وما بناه لبنيه سعده

وما بناه لبنيه سعده

He built up what al-Mujir, his grandfather, founded,

He built what his glorious ancestors built

And what his good fortune built for his sons.

And continued what he constructed for his children's joy

وشاور أكرم من تعده

وشاور أكرم من تعده

قحطان إن فاخرها معده

قحطان إن فاخرها معده

And Shawar is the most generous of those counted by

And consulted, more generous than those he consulted

Qahtan, should Ma'add vie with her in pride.

Qahtan, though their ancestry is glorious

إن سليمان أتاني رفده

إن سليمان أتاني رفده

من قبل أن يقرع سمعي وعده

من قبل أن يقرع سمعي وعده

Indeed, Sulayman's bounty came to me

Indeed Solomon came to me, replenishing

Before his promise ever struck my ear,

Before he could strike my hearing with his promise

مثل سحاب غاب عنه رعده

مثل سحاب غاب عنه رعده

حتى كسا الأرض قميصاً رغده

حتى كسا الأرض قميصاً رغده

Like a cloud whose thunder was absent,

Like a cloud from which thunder is hidden

Until its abundance clothed the earth in a shirt.

Until it cloaked the earth in a garment of plenty

وقد أتى شعيره وقنده

وقد أتى شعيره وقنده

تبرعاً وقمحه ونقده

تبرعاً وقمحه ونقده

And his barley and his sugar have already arrived,

Bringing his barley, wheat, and money

Freely given, with his wheat and his cash,

Voluntarily, inspecting when none heed my call thereafter

تفقداً لا راع سمعي بعده

تفقداً لا راع سمعي بعده

مكرمة حلق فيها مجده

مكرمة حلق فيها مجده

In thoughtful care—may his absence never alarm my ear!

An honor which crowned his glory

A noble deed in which his glory soared

Above the honorable, though they begrudged him

فوق السماك وأسف ضده

فوق السماك وأسف ضده

والشعر عبدي غير أني عبده

والشعر عبدي غير أني عبده

Above al-Simak, while his rival flew low.

And poetry is my maid, though I am its servant

And poetry is my slave, yet I am his slave;

Binding me to thank and praise him

فرض علي شكره وحمده

فرض علي شكره وحمده

It is my duty to thank and praise him.