1. كَذا لا تَزالُ رَفيعَ الرُتَب

    كَثيرَ العَدُوِّ كَثيرَ الغَلب

    Thus may you ever remain exalted in rank,

    with many enemies and many victories.

  2. وَقَد وَهَبَ اللَهُ هَذا النَعيمَ

    وَما يَرجِعُ اللَهُ فيما وَهَب

    And God has indeed bestowed this bliss,

    and God does not revoke what He has bestowed.

  3. وَمَن عاشَ أَبصَرَ في حاسِدِيكَ

    وَفِيمَن يُعادِيكَ أَمراً عَجَب

    And whoever lives will see among your enviers,

    and among those hostile to you, an astonishing thing.

  4. أَرادُوا تَمَلُّكَ ما في يَدَيكَ

    وَماتُوا وَلَم يُقضَ ذاكَ الأَرَب

    They wished to possess what was in your hands,

    and they died without that desire being fulfilled.

  5. وَكَم طَلَبُوا لَكَ بُؤسَ الحَياةِ

    فَما أَنجَحَ اللَهُ ذاكَ الطَلَب

    How often they wished you a wretched life,

    but God never let that wish succeed.

  6. فَلا تَحفِلَنَّ بِصَرفِ الزَمانِ

    فَأَنتَ المُظَفَّرُ كَيفَ اِنقَلَب

    So pay no heed to the reversals of time,

    for you are victorious, however it turns.

  7. وَلا تُبقِ مالاً فَرِزقُ الكَريمِ

    م يَأتيهِ مِن حَيثُ لا يَحتَسِب

    And do not hoard wealth, for the generous man's sustenance

    comes to him from where he does not expect.

  8. إِذا سَلَّمَ اللَهُ رُوحَ الأَميرِ

    فَأَهونَ شَيءٍ ذَهابُ الذَهَب

    If God preserves the prince's life,

    then the loss of gold is the slightest concern.

  9. وَمَن كَسِبَ الحَمد في الخافِقَينِ

    فَلَيسَ يُبالي عَلى ما كَسَب

    And whoever wins praise in east and west

    cares nothing for what he has earned.

  10. فَخُذ ما صَفا مِن لَذيذِ الحَياةِ

    وَدَع لِسِواكَ الأَذى وَالنَصَب

    So take the unclouded pleasures of life,

    and leave pain and toil to others.

  11. وَلا تَخبَ إِلّا شِفارَ السُيوفِ

    وَهذِي الرِجالَ وَهذِي الخُطَب

    And store up nothing but the edges of swords,

    and these men, and these speeches.

  12. لَعَمرِي لَقَد قُمتَ نِعمَ القِيامِ

    وَجَمَّلَ ذِكرُكَ ذِكرَ العَرَب

    By my life, you have performed your duty splendidly,

    and your renown has adorned the renown of the Arabs.

  13. وَحَجَّت إِلَيكَ وُفودُ البِلاد

    دِ مِن كُلِّ فَجٍ سَحيقِ الحَدَب

    And delegations from the lands have made pilgrimage to you,

    from every pass among far-distant hills.

  14. فَقَومٌ لَهُم كَعبَةٌ في الحِجازِ

    وَقَومٌ لَهُم كَعبَةٌ في حَلَب

    For some people have a Kaaba in the Hijaz,

    and others have a Kaaba in Aleppo.

  15. فَهَذِي تُحَجُّ لِغَفرِ الذُنوبِ

    وَهَذي تُحَجُّ لِبَذلِ الرَغَب

    The former is visited in pilgrimage for the forgiveness of sins,

    and the latter is visited in pilgrimage for the bestowal of desired gifts.

  16. وَفي الدَستِ أَروَعُ مِثلُ الحُسام

    سَريعُ الرِضا لا سَريعُ الغَضَب

    And on the throne is an awe-inspiring man, like a keen sword,

    quick to be pleased, not quick to anger.

  17. نَظيرُ الهِزَبرِ إِذا ما استُثِيرَ

    وَندُّ الغَمامِ إِذا ما اِنسَكَب

    A lion's equal when he is roused,

    and a rain cloud's peer when it pours down.

  18. إِذا كَتَبَ المُلكَ لي خالِداً

    كَتَبتُ لَهُ مِثلَ ما قَد كَتَب

    If he grants me lasting ownership in writing,

    I write for him the like of what he has written:

  19. مَدائِحُ تَبقى بَقاءَ الزَمانِ

    وَتَخلُدُ فيهِ خُلودَ الحِقَب

    poems of praise that endure as long as time,

    and live on within it as the ages endure.

  20. أَبا صالِحٍ لَيسَ كُلُّ الكَلامِ

    يَبقى وَلا كُلُّ قَولٍ يُحَبّ

    O Abu Salih, not all speech

    endures, nor is every utterance loved.

  21. خَدَمتُكَ وَالرَأسُ وَحفُ السَوادِ

    وَها هُوَ أَبَيَضُ مِثلُ الحَبب

    I served you while my head was thick with black hair,

    and behold, it is white as foam.

  22. وَمِثلُكَ يَطلُبُ مِثلي نَداهُ

    فَيَأتِيهِ أَزيَدُ مِمّا طَلَب

    And one like me seeks the bounty of one like you,

    and receives more than he asked for.