هلالك شبهناه وهو ابن ليلة

ببدر زكا حسنا لأربع عشرة

We likened your crescent, when it was one night old,

To a full moon whose beauty had ripened at fourteen nights.

وحلمك عنه حلم كل مجرب

يقل وما فارقت سن الطفولة

And beside your forbearance, that of every seasoned man

Falls short, though you have not left childhood behind.

وحلم الفتى في عنفوان شبابه

هو الحلم لا حلم أتى في الكهولة

And a young man's forbearance in the prime of his youth

Is true forbearance—not forbearance that comes in middle age.

يغطى شباب المرء بالحسن جهله

فكيف بحسن الحلم حسن الشبيبة

A person's youth veils his ignorance with beauty;

How much lovelier, then, is youth's beauty with the beauty of forbearance!

أنلت العلا مالم تكن في حسابها

بمكل ولم تطمع به من خليقة

You granted lofty glory what she had never reckoned on,

Through kingship, which she had never hoped for from any creature.

فها هي مهما زدتها اليوم رتبة

تمنت فنالت رتبة بعد رتبة

Behold her: whenever you raise her a rank today,

She longs for, then gains, rank after rank.

منازلكم للمكرمات منازل

وأبوابكم أبواب كل فضيلة

Your dwellings are homes to noble deeds,

And your doors are doors to every virtue.

إذا غاب منكم سيد قام سيد

يصون العلى عن كل ريب وريبة

When one lord among you is absent, another lord rises,

To protect exalted honor from every doubt and suspicion.

شكرتم وللعلياء شكر لربها

على فوزها منكم بأكرم رفقة

You have been thanked, and lofty glory owes thanks to her Lord

For winning, in you, the noblest companionship.

فقد زادها بالشكر عنكم وزادكم

على الشكر منها كل أعظم نعمة

For He has exalted her through gratitude for you, and enriched you

In return for her gratitude, with every most splendid blessing.

لكم سند في الملك يفضح كل من

تنحَّل ملكا باغتيال وسرقة

Your royal pedigree exposes everyone who

Falsely claimed kingship through assassination and theft.

إذا ذكرت أباؤه اسود وجهه

حياء وأغضى الطرف إغضاء ذلة

When his forefathers are mentioned, his face darkens

With shame, and he lowers his gaze in humiliation.

يظل الفتى منهم ميلكا نهاره

ويمسى وهم في دولة غير دولة

A young man among them spends his day a king,

And by evening they are under a different dynasty.

وعين إله العرش تكلاء ملككم

وترعى لكم حفظ العهود القديمة

And the eye of the God of the Throne guards your kingdom,

And watches over, for you, the keeping of ancient covenants.

تملكتم الدهر في حجر أمه

تربيه والدنيا بأول زهرة

You ruled Time while he lay in his mother's lap,

As she nurtured him and the world was in its first flowering.

فشب ولم يعرف ملوكاً سواكم

فبالغ في إيثاركم بالمودة

So he grew up knowing no kings but you,

And lavished his affection on you above all others.

تبابعة قد دوخو الأرض بالظبا

وسادوا البرايا أمة بعد أمة

Tubbaʿ kings, who subdued the earth with sword-blades,

And ruled humankind, nation after nation.

ولا ملك إلا مثل ملك ابن أحمد

محاسنه بالأصل والفضل تمت

There is no kingship save such as Ibn Ahmad's,

Its virtues perfected by lineage and merit.

تملك بالإِحسان أفئدة الورى

سوى علمه من أهلها بالمحبة

He won the hearts of humankind through kindness,

Apart from what he knows of their owners' love [wording unclear].

إذا قيل عبد الله وافا تطايرت

سرورا به خلت البرية جنة

When it is said, 'Abd Allah has arrived,' they soar

For joy at him; you would think the world a paradise.

ومهما بدا في موكب كاد من رأى

محياه أن يزهى بأول نظرة

And whenever he appears in procession, whoever sees

His face is all but enraptured at the very first glance.

فدتك ملوك لا يبالون أن يروا

بأعين حب أم بأعين بغضة

May kings be your ransom, who care not whether they are seen

Through eyes of love or eyes of hatred.

سلكت طريقا وهي لله آية

يراها ذوو الألباب أكبر آية

You followed a path that is a sign of God,

Which those of understanding see as the greatest sign.

يحبك فيها كل من ليس جائرا

ويخشاك فيها كل صاحب فتنة

On it, everyone who is not unjust loves you,

And on it, every instigator of strife fears you.

ويرضى بها عنك الإِله وفي الرضا

من الله عمن لام أكبر جنة

And through it God is pleased with you; in the favor

Of God lies the greatest shield against whoever censures.

ألست ترى ما يصنع الله بالعدى

ويكسر منهم بينهم كل شوكة

Do you not see what God does to the foes,

And how He breaks all their might within their own ranks?

سيكيفهم الباري ويجعل باسهم

لما بينهم فاسلم ببأس وقوة

The Creator will deal with them [reading uncertain] and turn their violence

Against one another; remain safe in valor and strength.

نصرت إله العرش والله واعد

لناصره منه بأعظم آية

You have supported the God of the Throne, and God promises

His supporter the greatest sign from Himself.

شفيت قلوب العالمين بمشهد

شهدنا به للدين أعظم عزة

You healed the hearts of all mankind with a scene

In which we witnessed the faith's greatest glory.

فوالله ما ينسى لك الله مشهداً

به لبست أعداه ثوب المذلة

By God, God will never forget that scene of yours

In which His enemies donned the robe of humiliation.

سينشر في الدنيا وترفع بالدعا

إِلى الله للسلطان أيدى البرية

It will be proclaimed throughout the world, and in prayer will be raised

To God, for the sultan, the hands of humankind.

إِلهي انصر المنصور نصراً مؤيداً

فقد قام بالإِسلام أحسن قومة

My God, grant al-Mansur a victory sustained by Your aid,

For he has made the finest stand for Islam.

ودمر أعاديه وأعداك واجزه

عن الدين والدنيا جزاء الأحبة

And destroy his enemies and Yours, and reward him

For the faith and this world with the reward of the beloved.