أسماء ملك تحتها لك مقعد

أم دست نسكك فوقه لك مصعد

Is it a heaven of kingship beneath which you have a seat,

Or a dais of your devotion above which lies your ascent?

ورواق مجد أشرقت حجراته

أم صرح عز بالنجوم ممرد

And a portico of glory whose chambers shine,

Or a palace of might paved with stars?

وضياء وجه العاضد بن محمد

في التاج أم نور الهدى يتوقد

And is it the radiance of al-ʿAdid ibn Muhammad's face

In the crown, or the light of guidance blazing?

القائم المخصوص بالشرف الذي

أبقى على إرثه ومحمد

The ruler singled out for the nobility whose

Legacy Ali and Muhammad made enduring—

أبوان أحسنت النيابة عنهما

فيما تقوم به وما تتقلد

Two forefathers whom you have represented well,

In what you undertake and the charges you assume.

عمت رعايتك الرعايا فاستوى

في قسط عدلك مشرك وموحد

Your care has embraced your subjects, so equal stand

In your equitable justice, polytheist and monotheist.

وجمعت شمل المسلمين ببيعة

حفظت نظام الدين وهو مبدد

And you united the Muslims through a pledge of allegiance

That preserved religion's order when it lay in disarray.

وسمت أمير المؤمنين خلافة

أضحت تحل براحتيك وتعقد

And the caliphate has risen high, Commander of the Faithful,

Now loosening and binding through your two palms.

وورثت عن عيسى ابن عمك منصباً

جاءت ليالي المهد وهو ممهد

And from Isa, your cousin, you inherited a station

Already prepared when the nights of your cradle came.

إنا نراك وما نراك فإنما

أفكارنا للنص فيك تقلد

Indeed, we see you, yet we do not see you; for

Our thoughts merely defer to the authoritative pronouncement concerning you.

حسدت جوارحنا عليك عيوننا

إن العيون على جلالك تحسد

Our limbs envied our eyes their sight of you;

Indeed, eyes are envied for beholding your majesty.

نبأ من النبأ العظيم تجسدت

أنواره والنور لا يتجسد

A tiding from the Great Tidings—embodied are

Its lights, though light takes no bodily form.

شرف تساوى فيه منكم أشيب

كهل ومقتبل الشبيبة أمرد

A nobility shared equally among you by the gray-haired

Mature man and the beardless youth in his first bloom.

وسريرة درج الزمان وحكمها

متنقل ما بينكم متردد

And an inward secret: time has passed, while its authority

Moves among you, passing from one to another.

يهني المواسم أن مطلق ذكرها

أضحى يؤرخ باسمكم ويقيد

It gladdens the festivals that their unqualified mention

Is now dated and recorded in your name.

رجب من الحرم التي حرمتمو

فثلاثة سرد وهذا مفرد

Rajab is among the sacred months you sanctified;

For three are consecutive, while this one stands alone.

لو كان ذا شخص إذاً لثم الثرى

حمداً لما أولاده جدك أحمد

Had it a body, it would then kiss the dust

In gratitude for what your forefather Ahmad bestowed on it.

أثنى على آلاته بمناقب

منها القصائد والقنا المتقصد

His implements were extolled for their merits,

Among them odes and splintered spears.

لولا العيان وما ترى من فضلكم

كان الكمال حكاية تستبعد

Were it not for direct sight and what one sees of your excellence,

Perfection would be a tale deemed far-fetched.

لم أختصر شرح المديح وإنما

نفد الكلام وفضلكم لا ينفد

I did not abridge my exposition of praise; rather,

Words ran out, while your excellence never runs out.

والحمد أدنى خدمة مفروضة

لأجل من يثنى عليه ويحمد

And praise is the least obligatory service

To the most exalted of those extolled and praised.

وبقاكم الله أكبر نعمة

إياه فيها نستعين ونعبد

And may God preserve you as the greatest blessing;

In this, we seek help from Him alone and worship Him.