لئن قل صبر فالمصاب عظيم

وإن جل شكر فالثواب جسيم

If patience has dwindled, the calamity is great.

And if gratitude is great, the reward is immense.

تحيرت في شكر الزمان ولومه

فلم أدر بعد الشكر كيف ألوم

I was bewildered over thanking Time and blaming it;

so after giving thanks, I knew not how to blame.

غدا الدهر محمود الفعال إلى الورى

وعهدي به بالأمس وهو ذميم

Time has become praiseworthy in its deeds toward humankind,

yet yesterday I knew it as blameworthy.

وسر قلوباً بعد أن كان ساءها

ففي كل قلب جنة وجحيم

It gladdened hearts after having grieved them;

so in every heart are a paradise and a hell.

لئن عرضت للفائز الطهر نقلة

فأنت أمير المؤمنين مقيم

Though the pure al-Fa'iz has departed,

you, Commander of the Faithful, remain.

وإن حسدتنا جنة الخلد قربه

فقربك منا جنة ونعيم

And though the Garden of Eternity envied us his nearness,

your nearness to us is a paradise and bliss.

ورثت الهدى بالنص عنه وقوله

أخي وابن عمي إن عدمت يقوم

You inherited guidance from him by explicit designation and by his words:

“My brother and cousin shall take my place if I am gone.”

وقد سن ذاك المصطفى في ابن عمه

فمن شرفيكم حادث وقديم

The Chosen One had already established that precedent for his cousin;

thus, of your two honors, one is new, one ancient.

حكت بيعة الرضوان بيعتك التي

يصح بها الإيمان وهو سقيم

Your pledge of allegiance mirrors the Pledge of Divine Approval,

through which faith grows sound when it is ailing.

وقد ربحت والحمد لله صفقة

لها من رقاب المؤمنين لزوم

A bargain has indeed proved profitable—praise be to God—

binding upon the necks of the faithful.

يدا الله فيها فوق أيد أعاذها

من النكث عقد في ولاك سليم

Within it, God's two hands are above hands shielded

from betrayal by an unbroken covenant of allegiance to you.

تواليك بالإخلاص فيها سرائر

تصلي لكم لولا التقى وتصوم

Within it, inmost hearts are sincerely loyal to you;

they would pray to you and fast for you, were it not for piety.

لقد رامت الأيام أمراً فنلنه

وما أقدر الأقدار حين تروم

The days indeed sought something and attained it;

how powerful are the fates when they seek!

طرقن بأم النائبات فأشرفت

على الموت أرواح لنا وجسوم

They came by night with the mother of calamities, and there hovered

on the brink of death our souls and bodies.

ولولا سيوف العاضدي طلائع

لخف وقور عنده وحليم

Were it not for al-'Adidi's swords in the vanguard,

the dignified and forbearing would have lost composure before it.

سيوف إذا ضاق المجال عن القنا

فهن لهامات الخصوم خصوم

Swords that, when the field is too narrow for spears,

are foes to the heads of foes.

ولكنه الطود الذي لا تهزه

رياح ولو هبت وهن حسوم

But he is the towering mountain that is not shaken

by winds, even when they blow with devastating force.

إذا طاشت الأحلام سكن جأشها

بعزم يجلي الخطب وهو بهيم

When minds reel, he calms their turmoil

with resolve that dispels calamity, though it is pitch-dark.

له سطوة لا يأمن الدهر بأسها

وبطش إذا ما الحلم ضاق أليم

He has a might from whose fury even Time is not safe,

and a painful assault when forbearance is exhausted.

وقلب له في نصرة الله غلظة

ولكنه بالمؤمنين رحيم

And his heart is stern in championing God's cause,

yet it is merciful to the faithful.

أقول لراج ألجمته مهابة

فأحجم خوفاً منك وهو كظيم

I say to a hopeful petitioner whom awe has bridled,

who draws back in fear of you, his feelings pent up:

تشاجع ولا يمنعك هيبة ملكه

وسله وكثر فالكريم كريم

“Take courage; let not the awe of his kingship deter you;

ask him, and ask much: the generous man is generous.”

مليك له من آل رزيك عصبة

تحل خناق الخطب وهو عظيم

A king with a band from the house of Ruzzik,

that loosens calamity's chokehold, however great it is.

هو البدر حفته نجوم كثيرة

بها لشياطين النفاق رجوم

He is the full moon, surrounded by many stars,

used as missiles against the devils of hypocrisy.

تنير وجوه القوم في كل موقف

يلوح به فوق الوجوه وجوم

The men's faces shine in every encounter

where dismay appears upon faces.

ليوث وسمر السمهرية غابها

غيوث لها النقع المثار غيوم

Lions whose thickets are dusky Samhari spears;

life-giving rains whose clouds are the dust stirred up.

هم وسموا رقي بحسن اصطناعهم

وكم حفظت رق الجياد وسوم

They branded my bondage with their gracious patronage;

and how often brands have preserved the bondage of noble steeds!

هم خلصوني منعمين بأنفس

لها الدهر عبد والزمان خديم

They rescued me, bestowing favors with their very selves,

to whom Time is a slave and the age a servant.

فأم المعالي لن تجيء بمثلهم

على أنها الأم الولود عقيم

The mother of noble deeds will never bear their like;

though she is a prolific mother, she is barren.

لهم شرف باق بأبلج كشفت

به كرب عن ذي الورى وغموم

Their honor endures through a radiant man who dispelled

afflictions and sorrows from these mortals.

أقر نصاب العز في آل أحمد

كفيل لهم لا للقضاة زعيم

He made glory's foundation firm in the house of Ahmad;

their guarantor, not a surety for judges.

عدو معاديهم ولي وليهم

خبير بأسرار الولاء عليم

Foe of whoever opposes them, ally of whoever befriends them,

versed in the secrets of allegiance, deeply knowledgeable.

يجاهد فيهم سيفه ولسانه

ورب كلام كان منه كلوم

His sword and tongue wage battle on their behalf;

and many an utterance of his has inflicted wounds.

وزير به شد المهيمن أزرهم

وأثرى به الإسلام وهو عديم

A minister through whom the Guardian strengthened their might,

and through him enriched Islam when it was destitute.

فدى لأبي الغارات أهل ممالك

أحاديثهم قبل الممات رميم

May the lords of kingdoms be a ransom for Abu al-Gharat,

whose tales are crumbling bones even before death.

يعمهم اسم الملك ثم يخصه

فيبطل من بعد الخصوص عموم

The title “king” embraces them all, then singles him out;

so its general use becomes void once he is singled out.

وما كل محمود السجايا محمد

لا كل من يوحى إليه كليم

Not every man of praiseworthy character is Muhammad,

nor is everyone who receives revelation God's interlocutor.