1. جمع الملا يحيى على القرآنِ

    متتبعاً لمراضيَ الرحمن

    Yahya gathered the assembly around the Qur'an,

    seeking what pleases the Most Merciful,

  2. ومعظماً لشعائر الله التي

    أمر الإِله بهنَّ في رمضانِ

    and honoring God's sacred rites, which

    God commanded in Ramadan.

  3. فنهارهُ صومٌ وأما ليلَه

    فعلى استماعِ تلاوةِ القرآنِ

    So his daytime is fasting; as for his night,

    it is devoted to listening to the recitation of the Qur'an.

  4. يا أكرمَ الخلفا وأسعدَ من سعى

    في موجباتٍ العفو والغفران

    O most generous of caliphs, most fortunate of those who strive

    for deeds that bring pardon and forgiveness,

  5. أبشرْ برضوان الإِله ولم يكنْ

    يعطى امرأ خيراً من الرضوان

    rejoice in God's pleasure; never has

    anyone been granted anything better than His pleasure.

  6. إِن الكريم مع الكريم ولم يكن

    في سائرِ الكرما ليحيى ثان

    Indeed, the generous man stands with the Generous One; never has there been

    an equal to Yahya among all the generous.

  7. كَلاّ ولا ملكٌ حوى ما قد حوى

    لا في عربهم كلاَّ ولا العِجمانِ

    No indeed! Nor has any king possessed what he has,

    neither among their Arabs—no indeed!—nor the non-Arabs.

  8. لا فخر إِلاَّ ما عليه أتاوة

    تحيى لفخرِك يا عظيمَ الشانِ

    No glory exists but owes a tribute

    kept alive for your glory, O great in stature.

  9. جعل الإله الملك ملكاً فيكم

    متوارثاً من قادم الأزمانِ

    God made kingship a possession in your line,

    inherited since the earliest ages,

  10. من قبل تبّع وهو جدك إِنكم

    في الأرض سلطانٌ ورا سلطانِ

    since before Tubbaʿ, who is your ancestor; indeed, you are

    on earth, sovereign after sovereign.

  11. فملوكها في الجاهلية أنتمُ

    ولأنتم الخلفاءُ في الإيمان

    For you were its kings in the age of ignorance,

    and you are indeed the caliphs in the age of faith.

  12. لم يجعل الله الخلافةَ والعلا

    فيكم لمعنى كان بل لمعاني

    God did not place the caliphate and exalted rank

    among you for one reason, but for many.

  13. فحلومُكُم مثل الجبال رزانةً

    وأكفكم عنها البحار دواني

    Your forbearance is like the mountains in steadiness,

    and the seas are lowly compared with your hands.

  14. وعقولكم مما استطال كمالُها

    تزنُ الرجال لكم بلا ميزانَ

    And your minds, through their towering perfection,

    weigh men for you without a balance.

  15. الأصل رأسٌ والفروع مع السما

    فقديمُكم وحديثُكم سيّانِ

    The root is a summit, and the branches reach the sky;

    so your earlier and later generations are alike.

  16. من عدّ في الابا الملوك ثلاثة

    فاعددْ ثمانيناً لهِ وثمانِ

    Whoever counts three kings among his forefathers—

    then count out eighty and eight for him.

  17. تضع الملوك إذا افتخرتَ رؤوسها

    وتقولُ ليسَ لنا بذاك يدانِ

    Kings lower their heads when you boast,

    and say, "We have no strength to match that."

  18. لكمَ الخيولَ الصافناتُ تخيّرت

    وبكم عرفن معاقدَ التيجانِ

    For you the poised steeds were chosen,

    and through you they knew where crowns are fastened.

  19. ما منكر خرقَ العوائدِ من فتىً

    هذي حلاه وهو من غسّانِ

    It is no wonder that customary bounds are broken by a young man

    whose qualities are these, and who is of Ghassan.

  20. تطوي البلادَ إذا هممت بغارة

    طي السِّجل برا حتىْ عجلانِ

    You fold up the lands whenever you intend a raid,

    as a scroll is rolled, from Bara to ʿAjlan.

  21. ويغرُّ منك بعد مطاره

    فينامُ عنك ولستَ بالوسنانِ

    And the distance of his flight from you deceives him,

    so he sleeps, heedless of you, while you are not drowsy.

  22. فإِذا نزلتَ عليه ساءَ صباحُهُ

    ومبيتُه بالمنذرِ العريانِ

    Then, when you descend upon him, his morning turns grim,

    and his night's rest is troubled by the naked warner.

  23. أينَ المفرُّ من العشاءِ إذا غشا

    والليلُ موجودٌ بكلِ مكانِ

    Where is escape from nightfall when it envelops all,

    and night is present in every place?

  24. سعدٌ فجعتْ به العِدا رأوا به

    ما لم يكن سمعوه بالآذان

    Good fortune that has bereaved the foes; through it they saw

    what they had never heard with their ears.

  25. من كانَ نصرُ الله قائدَ جيشهِ

    فعدوهُ في شقوةٍ وهوانِ

    Whoever has God's aid as the commander of his army,

    his enemy is in misery and humiliation.

  26. هذا وفي الطاعات حظك وافرٌ

    لم تلهك الدنيا عن الأديانِ

    All this, while your share of acts of obedience is abundant;

    worldly life has not distracted you from religion.

  27. ما مرَّ يومٌ منك إلاَّ حاملٌ

    ثقلاً من الحسناتِ والإِحسانِ

    Not a day of yours has passed without bearing

    a weight of good deeds and beneficence.

  28. وجمعت أعيان البلاد على الهدى

    وخَصصتهمُ بعنايةٍ وجنانِ

    And you gathered the foremost men of the land around right guidance,

    and singled them out for care and heartfelt concern,

  29. حملا على التقوى وتلكَ تجارةٌ

    أولتهم ربحاً بلا خسرانِ

    urging them toward piety—a trade

    that granted them profit without loss.

  30. يا ايها القرّا ويامن خلفهم

    من ساجدين تخرُّ للأذقانِ

    O reciters, and O you behind them,

    you prostrators, falling upon your chins,

  31. يهنيكمُ الفوزُ العظيم بليلةٍ

    ختمتْ بمسكِ الختم للقرآنِ

    may the great triumph of a night bring you joy,

    a night sealed with the musk of completing the Qur'an.

  32. هي ليلةَ القدرِ التي قال النبي

    أَنسيتها لكن كنتُ أراني

    It is the Night of Decree, of which the Prophet said,

    "I was made to forget it, but I had seen myself

  33. في صبح ليلتها أصلى ساجداً

    لله بين الماء والأطيانِ

    on the morning after that night, praying in prostration

    to God amid water and mud."

  34. قالوا رأيناه يصلي هكذا

    في ثالث العشرين من رمضانِ

    They said, "We saw him praying like this

    on the twenty-third of Ramadan."

  35. أَخلصتمُ لله فيه طاعةً

    فخذوا جوائزكم من الرحمنِ

    You offered God sincere obedience in it,

    so take your rewards from the Most Merciful.

  36. لو تعلمون وأين مبلغُ عِلمكم

    من فضلِ جودِ الواهبِ المنّانِ

    If only you knew! Yet what is the reach of your knowledge

    beside the abundant generosity of the Giver, the Bountiful?

  37. مدّوا أكفكُمُ ليحى بالدَعا

    الطاهر بن الأشرفِ السلطانِ

    Extend your hands in supplication for Yahya,

    al-Tahir, son of al-Ashraf, the sultan,

  38. من لفَّ شملكمَ على مرضاته

    فدعاه كلٌّ منكم بلسانِ

    who united your company in pursuit of His pleasure;

    so each of you called upon Him with his tongue.

  39. إِنّ الإِله يحبهُ ويحبُّ من

    يدعو له ليثابَ بالغُفرانِ

    Indeed, God loves him, and loves whoever

    prays for him, to be rewarded with forgiveness.

  40. أبقاكَ ربك آمراً في خلقهِ

    ناهٍ عن الفحشاءِ والطغيانِ

    May your Lord preserve you, commanding among His creatures,

    forbidding indecency and transgression.

  41. تغشاكَ منه كلَّ يوم رحمةٌ

    وعوافياً تأوي إِلى الأبدانِ

    May mercy from Him cover you every day,

    and blessings of health find refuge in bodies.