1. هنيئاً لَكَ الإِقبَالُ واليُمنُ والنُّجحُ

    لَقَد جَاءَ نَصرُ اللهِ إذ جئت وَالفَتحُ

    May good fortune, blessing, and success be yours!

    Indeed, God's help and conquest came when you came.

  2. قَضَى اللهُ أن تَسعَى لإِحيَاءِ دِينِهِ

    فَتَفعَل مَا لا يَفعَلُ السَّيفُ والرُّمحُ

    God decreed that you strive to revive His religion,

    doing what neither sword nor spear can do.

  3. وَقدّرَ أن تُبلَى عَلَى مَشهد الوَرَى

    سَريرَتُكَ الفُضلَى وَآراؤُكَ السُّجحُ

    And He ordained the testing, before all mankind,

    of your excellent inward nature and your gentle judgments,

  4. وَأن يَتَقَاضَى مَوضِعَ النَّصرِ فِي العِدَا

    حَفِيظٌ عَلَى الإِسلامِ مُؤتَمَنٌ سَمحُ

    and that victory's ground among the foes be claimed

    by a guardian of Islam, trusted and generous.

  5. فَوَفّقَ مَا تَنوِي وَسَدّدَ مَا تَرَى

    وَيَسَّر مَا تَأتي وقَرَّبَ مَا تَنحُو

    He prospered your intentions and set your judgment right,

    made easy what you undertake, and brought near what you seek.

  6. أرادَكُمُ أَدفُونشُ بالغَدرِ قادحاً

    زِنَادَ هِياجٍ لَم يُعِنهُ بِهَا القَدحُ

    Alfonso targeted you with treachery, striking

    the flints of strife; their striking did not aid him.

  7. وَأبدَى بِبِيضِ الهِندِ بَيضَةَ مُلكِهِ

    فَمُزِّق عَنها القَيضُ واستُرِطَ المُحًُّ

    And with bright Indian swords he exposed the egg of his realm;

    its shell was torn away and its yolk swallowed.

  8. أتَى في جُموع الرُّومِ تَنوِي بِزَعمِهَا

    لأندَلُسٍ كَسحاً فَكانَ بِهَا الكَسحُ

    He came amid Roman hosts intending, so they claimed,

    to sweep al-Andalus away; instead, they were swept away there.

  9. بِمَا كَالحَصَى عَدّاً وَكَالشُّهبِ عِدَّةً

    تَضَاءَلَ عَنهَا السَّهبُ وَالوَهدُ والسَّفحُ

    With forces like pebbles in number, like meteors in armament,

    the plain, the hollow, and the slope dwindled before them.

  10. أطَلَّ عَلَيهِم نَاصِرُ الدِّينِ فَانثَنَوا

    وَبَأوُهُمُ صُغرٌ وَزأرُهُمُ نَبّحُ

    The Champion of the Faith loomed over them, and they turned back,

    their pride reduced to abasement, their roaring to barking.

  11. وَخَرَّت جِبَالٌ مِنهُمُ صَدَمُوا بِهَا

    عَزيمَتَهُ نَطحاً فَأَرداهُمُ النَّطحُ

    And mountains of theirs fell, with which they had rammed

    his resolve head-on; that collision laid them low.

  12. فَقُل لِعَمِيدِ الشِّركِ هَل نُصِرَ العِدَا

    وَهَل حَلّت البُشرَى وَهَل عَظُمَ المَنحُ

    So say to the chief of polytheism: Were the foes granted victory?

    Did good news arrive? Did the bounty grow great?

  13. وَهَل أُدرِكَ الثّأرُ المُنِيمُ لَدَيكُمُ

    وَهَل رُدَّت النُّعمَى وَهَل أُسِيَ الجَرحُ

    Was the vengeance that brings repose attained among you?

    Was good fortune restored? Was the wound healed?

  14. أَلَم يَلتَئِم مِن فورِهِ ذَلِكَ الثَّأَى

    أَلَم يَندَمِل مِن حِينِهِ ذَلكَ القَرحُ

    Did that gash not close at once?

    Did that sore not heal that very moment?

  15. كَتَبتَ سُطورَ الظِّنِّ فِي مهرَقِ العَرَا

    فَخَانَكَ مِنهَا مَا تُقِرُّ وَمَا تَمحُو

    You wrote lines of conjecture on the parchment of the open waste;

    but what you retained of them and what you erased betrayed you.

  16. ولاقَيتَ مِن دُونِ الأَمَانِي خَلِيفَةً

    بدِيهَتُه وَحيٌ وَعَزمَتُهُ لَمحُ

    And short of your hopes, you encountered a caliph

    whose intuition is revelation, whose resolve a flash.

  17. ألا إنَّهُ المَلكُ الَّذِي لَم يَسِر إِلَى

    مَدَى أمَلٍ إلاّ وَسَايَرَهُ النُّجحُ

    Behold, he is the king who never advanced toward

    any hoped-for goal without success keeping pace with him.

  18. يُقَاتِلُ عَنهُ الطَّمُّ والرِّمّ مَن عَصَى

    وَيَغزُو لَهُ فِي المُلتَقَى الرِّيحُ والضِّحُّ

    Sea and land fight on his behalf against whoever rebels,

    and wind and sunlight wage war for him in the clash.

  19. وَقَد عَرَّفتَكَ الحَربُ قَدرَكَ عِندَهُ

    ولا جِدَّ مِن بَعدِ العِيَانِ ولا مَزحُ

    War has already taught you your worth before him;

    after seeing for yourself, there is no room for earnestness or jest.

  20. فَكَيفَ تَرَى بَعدَ اعتِرَافٍ وخِبرَةٍ

    أهَيجَاؤُهُ أشهَى إلَيكَ أمِ الصُّلحُ

    So what do you think, after acknowledgment and experience:

    is his warfare sweeter to you, or peace?

  21. وَلَمّا رَأيتَ الأُسدَ تَأوِي مِنَ القَنَا

    إِلَى أُجُمٍ لا الضَّالُ مِنهَا ولا الطَّلحُ

    And when you saw the lions seek shelter among spears

    in thickets of neither wild lote nor acacia,

  22. فَرَرتَ وجِنحُ اللَّيلِ دِرعٌ مُفاضَةٌ

    عَلَيكَ وأوقَى جُنَّةِ الهَارِبِ الجِنحُ

    you fled, night's darkness a full-length coat of mail

    over you; darkness is the fugitive's safest shield.

  23. وَخَلَّوكَ لا شُحاً عَلَيكَ مِنَ الرَّدَى

    وَلَكِن عَلَى أرماقِ خَيلِهِمُ شَحوا

    They let you go—not to spare you from death,

    but to spare their horses' last breaths.

  24. فَصِرتَ طِرِيداً لِلخلافَةِ لائِذاً

    تَضِيقُ بِكَ الدُّنيا وَيَذعَرُكَ الصُّبحُ

    So you became a fugitive from the caliphate, seeking refuge;

    the world closes in on you, and dawn terrifies you.

  25. بِأدنَى رَذَاذٍ مِن غُيُومِ انتِقَامِهِم

    غَرِقتَ فَمَا يُدرِيكَ وَيحَكَ إن سَحّوا

    At the faintest drizzle from the clouds of their vengeance

    you drowned; what can you expect, wretch, if they pour down?

  26. فَإن رَشَحَت مِن بَعدِهَا لَكَ بَلَّةٌ

    مِنَ العَيشِ لَم يَنجَع بِهِ ذَلِكَ الرَّشحُ

    If afterward a little moisture trickles through to you

    from life, that seepage will do it no good.

  27. أقَمتُم عَلَى أمصَارِهِ سوقَ فِتنَةٍ

    فكَانَ عَلَيكُم خُسرُهَا وَلَهُ الرِّبحُ

    You set up a market of rebellion in his cities;

    its loss was yours, its profit his.

  28. وَأطغَاكُمُ ظِلُّ الهُدُونِ وَبَردُهُ

    فأَدَّبَكُم حَرُّ المَعَارِكِ وَاللَّفحُ

    The shade and coolness of truces made you insolent;

    the heat and scorching blast of battles disciplined you.

  29. وَهِجتُم لِكَي تُنحُوا عَلَى الثَّغرِ هَيجَةً

    فَنَاحَ صَدَى أروَاحِكُم قَبلَ أَن تُنحُوا

    You rose up to launch an assault upon the frontier,

    but the death-owl of your souls wailed before you could advance.

  30. غَزَاكُم أمِيرُ المُؤمِنِينَ بِعَسكَرٍ

    يُشيِّعُهُ نَصرٌ وَيقدُمُهُ فَتحُ

    The Commander of the Faithful attacked you with an army

    escorted by victory, with conquest leading it.

  31. وَفِي حَشوِهِ نَبعٌ لِوَابِلِ نَبلِهِ

    عَلَى الرُّومِ فِي الظّلماءِ نقعُ الوَغَى سَحّ

    Within its ranks are nabʿ-wood bows, whose arrows' downpour

    streams upon the Romans in the gloom of battle-dust.

  32. تَمَشّى عَلَى أَعقَابِها الخَيلُخَشيَةً

    لَهَا فَكَأَنّ الرَّكضَ فِي جَنبِهَا كَبحُ

    The horses trod at their heels in fear

    of them; beside them, a gallop seemed like reining in.

  33. وبِيضٍ جَلاهَا الصَّقلُ حَتَّى تَشَابَهَت

    فَلَم يَستَبِن لِلعَينِ حَدٌّ ولا صَفحُ

    And bright swords, burnished until all looked alike,

    so the eye could distinguish neither edge nor flat.

  34. فَأمسَى نَثِيرُ السَّردِ عَن سَبَرَاتِهَا

    عَلَى الأَرضِ مَفضوضاً كَمَا بُدّد المِلحُ

    So the mail fragments scattered by their probing thrusts lay

    strewn upon the ground like scattered salt.

  35. وسُمرٍ كِثِيرٍ في الدّماءِ وُرُودُهَا

    وَلَكِن بِهَا مِن شُربِهَا ظَمَأ بَرحُ

    And brown spears, often dipping into blood,

    yet their drinking left them with a raging thirst.

  36. فَكانَ لَهَا فِي الأَربِعَاءِ مَرارة

    مِنَ الدّم ريٌّ بالأَسِنّةِ لا تَضحو

    So on Wednesday theirs was bitterness

    from blood—a quenching through spearheads never exposed to the sun.

  37. وشدّت إلَيهَا الخًَيلُ وَهي مُشيحَةٌ

    فَصُدَّت وَمِن وَقعِ الرِّمَاحِ بِهَا رمحُ

    The horses charged toward them, wary,

    but were driven back, kicking from the spears' impact.

  38. فقلّص آل الشِّركِ ذيلَ غُرورِهِ

    وَسَيلُ الجِيَادِ المُحضَرات بِهِ يَدحُو

    So the house of polytheism gathered up its conceit's trailing hem,

    while the torrent of galloping steeds swept it along.

  39. وَغَارَت نُجُومُ الكُفرِ شَرَّ مُغارِها

    أمَامَ شُعَاعِ الشَّمسِ لَمّا بَدَا الصُّبحُ

    And the stars of unbelief sank in their worst setting

    before the sun's rays when dawn appeared.

  40. وَيوشِكُ إِن أَبصَرتَهُ عِندَ لَمحِها

    يُجَلّي دُجَى ظَلمَائِها ذَلِكَ اللّمحُ

    And if you beheld him while glimpsing them, then almost

    would that glimpse dispel the deep gloom of their darkness.

  41. وَلَكِنّها تَعمَى القُلُوبُ فلا تَرَى

    وَتَسكُنُ أفهَامُ النُّفوسِ فلا تصحُو

    But hearts grow blind and cannot see,

    and the minds of souls grow still and do not awaken.

  42. فَيَا قُبحَ هَاتِيكَ المَصَارِعِ بِالفلا

    وَيَا حُسنَ مَا سَنّى لَنَا ذَلِكَ اللّمحُ

    How hideous those death-scenes in the wilderness,

    and how fair what that glimpse made possible for us!

  43. فإن عُدتُمُ لِلحَرب عَادَتلِشَأنِهَا

    تَعَضُّكُمُ بِالبُؤسِ أنيَابُهَا القُلحُ

    If you return to war, it will return to its ways,

    its yellowed fangs biting you with misery.

  44. وَحَسبُكُمُ مَا طَلَّقَت مِن نِسَائِهَا

    طلاقَ بَتَاتٍ سَنّهُ السَّيفُ وَالرُّمحُ

    Enough for you are those of its women it has divorced,

    with an irrevocable divorce decreed by sword and spear.

  45. فَشَابَت نَوَاصِيهَا وَجَفّت لِبَانُهَا

    حذاراً فَما فِي ثَدي مُرضِعَةٍ نَشحُ

    Their forelocks turned white, and their milk dried up

    from terror; no nursing mother's breast yields a drop.

  46. تَوَجَّعُ نَوحاً أَو تَصُكُّ مَحَاجِراً

    فَأوجُهُهَا حُمرٌ وَأصوَاتُهَا بُحُّ

    They moan in lament or strike their eye-sockets;

    their faces are red, their voices hoarse.

  47. فَخَافُوا أمِينَ اللهِ فِي السِّلمِ وَالوَغَى

    وَنحّوا بَقايَا الغَدرِ عَن صَوبِهِ نَحّوا

    So fear God's trustee in peace and battle,

    and banish the remnants of treachery from his path—banish them!

  48. فَمَا لَكُمُ عَن بَذلِ طَاعَتِهِ غِنى

    ولا لَكُمُ فِي بَحرِ سَطوَتِهِ سَبحُ

    You cannot dispense with offering him obedience,

    nor can you swim in the sea of his might.

  49. مَنَاسِكُ دِينِ الحَقِّ وَاضِحَةٌ بِهِ

    فلا نُسكُ حَقٍّ فِي سِوَاه ولا ذِبحُ

    Through him the rites of the true faith are clear;

    apart from him there is no true worship or sacrifice.

  50. وَأعيَادُ هَذَا الفَتحِ بَاهِرَةٌ فَلا

    شَعانِينُ دَيرٍ بَعدَهُنّ ولا فَصحُ

    The festivals of this conquest are dazzling; so no

    monastery's Palm Sunday, nor Easter, follows them.

  51. ألا أيُّهَا الوَفدُ ادخُلُوا حَضرَةَ الرِّضَى

    تَفِض لَكُمُ النُّعمَى وَيغمُرُكُم مَنحُ

    Hear, O delegation: enter the court of favor;

    blessings will overflow for you and gifts engulf you.

  52. فَحَيُّوا إِمَاماً مِن خَلائِقِهِ الحِجَى

    وَمِن عَادِهِ الإِحسَانُ وَالحِلمُ وَالصَّفحُ

    Greet an imam whose qualities include wisdom,

    whose habit is kindness, forbearance, and pardon.

  53. خَلِيفَة صِدقٍ أنجَبَتهُ خَلائِفٌ

    لِمِسكِ ثَناهُم كُلَّمَا ذُكِرُوا نَفحُ

    A true caliph, begotten by caliphs,

    the musk of whose praise wafts whenever they are named.

  54. أنَارَت بِهِ الآفَاقُ بِشراًُ وَنَوَّرَت

    فَأمسَوا بِهَا فِي النّورِ وَالنُّورُ أوضحُ

    Through him the horizons shone with joy and flowered;

    so they came to dwell there amid blossoms, with light clearer still.

  55. فَدَامَت لَهُ النَّعمَاءُ شامِلَةً بِهِ

    ولا بَرِحَت تَنحو المَقَادِيرُ مَا يَنحُو

    May blessings endure for him, all-embracing through him,

    and may destiny never cease to pursue what he pursues.

  56. فَلَولا نُهاهُ لَم يَكُن لِلوَرَى نُهىً

    وَلَولا هُدَاهُ لَم يَفُز لِلهُدَى قِدحُ

    For without his wisdom, mankind would have no wisdom,

    and without his guidance, guidance's lot-arrow would not win.