1. إِذا سفك الدماء لديك حلاّ

    فسفك دمي لطرفك من أجلا

    If shedding blood is sweet to you,

    then shedding my blood is among your gaze's noblest deeds.

  2. ومن عجب تاجّجُ نارَ قلبي

    وقد بوأته الحب المحلا

    It is a wonder that my heart's fire blazes,

    though I have made it love's dwelling.

  3. وما عرف الغرام طريق قلبي

    ولكن ذلك الغربيب دلاّ

    Passion did not know the way to my heart,

    but that raven-black one showed it the way.

  4. فيا صبري لهجرك ما أقلا

    ويا وجدي لحبك ما أجلا

    O my patience at your desertion—how little!

    And O my yearning for your love—how great!

  5. لقد كذب الأُلى قالوا بأن الم

    حب إذا نأى شهراً تسلّى

    They have indeed lied, those who said that the lover

    finds solace after a month away.

  6. فلا والله ما صدقوا وإن الن

    وى في القلب قد كتبت سيصلى

    No, by God, they spoke falsely; indeed, separation

    has written in the heart: "He shall burn."

  7. فيا كبدي من الهجران ذوبي

    ويا جفني بالدمع استهلا

    O my liver, melt from separation,

    and O my eyelids, pour forth tears!

  8. فما وجدت كوجدي أُم خشف

    تغيب في مراتعه فضلاّ

    No mother of a fawn has felt grief like mine,

    when it vanished in its grazing grounds and strayed.

  9. فظلت بعده ترنو بموق

    شواخص تبترى علواً وسفلا

    She kept gazing after it, with eyes

    staring, searching high and low.

  10. وإن سنحت ظباء الدوّ ظنّت

    طلاها بين ربربها مُطّلا

    And when the desert's gazelles appeared, she imagined

    her fawn peering out amid their herd.

  11. فيكلفها الشجا ظفرا اليها

    فتعتسف الفلا تبغيه جهلا

    Grief drives her to try to reach them,

    so she crosses the wastes at random, seeking it unknowing.

  12. فلما فاتها لقياه أنّت

    لحرقة ما تحس أنين ثكلى

    When meeting it eluded her, she moaned

    from the burning anguish she felt, a bereaved mother's moan:

  13. أُنين صدى لأقوام وهام

    نجيع دمَائهم بالسيف طلا

    the wailing of a death-owl for men and skulls

    whose fresh blood was shed by the sword, unavenged.

  14. يناجيه القران غداة أخلت

    سيوف محمدٍ أعداه قتلا

    The Qur'an communes with him on the morning when

    Muhammad's swords left his enemies slain.

  15. أميرَ المؤمنين ومن توالت

    على الدنيا المسرةُ مذتولّى

    Commander of the Faithful, and he through whom

    joy has come unceasingly to the world since he took power.

  16. إِمام للائمة أجمعيهم

    تولى حين والده تولّى

    An imam to all the imams,

    he assumed rule when his father departed.

  17. واخشعهم إذا صلى فؤاداً

    واشجعهم إذا ما السيف صلا

    And the humblest of them in heart when he prays,

    and the bravest when the sword rings.

  18. لوالده الخلافة ثم لما

    دعا فله الخلافة بعد خلا

    The caliphate was his father's; then, when

    he made his call, it was his after his father had gone.

  19. وقد وهبَ الإِله له نجيباً

    تجلّى كالنها إِذا تجلّى

    And God has granted him a noble son,

    who shone forth like crystal when it gleams.

  20. على بن محمد يحكى كمالاً

    علي بن محمد قولاً وفعلا

    Ali ibn Muhammad mirrors, in perfection,

    Ali ibn Muhammad in word and deed.

  21. فبورك منسلاً ملك البرايا

    وبورك بعده المنصور نسلا

    So blessed as a sire be the king of humankind,

    and blessed after him as offspring be al-Mansur.

  22. سيملا الأرض عدلاً مثل ماقد

    ملاها جده وأبوه عدلا

    He will fill the earth with justice, just as

    his grandfather and father have filled it with justice.

  23. وتركز حيثُ خيمتِ العوالي

    ويملا برّها خْيلاً ورجلا

    And lofty lances will be planted wherever you encamp,

    and he will fill its lands with cavalry and infantry.

  24. فليس له ولا لأبيه شكلٌ

    ولا لأبيه ذاك الطهرُ قبلا

    For neither he nor his father has an equal,

    nor, before them, did his father's father, that pure man.

  25. فما العيدُ الحقيقة غير أنّا

    نراهُ على المنابرِ مُستقلا

    For the true feast is simply that we

    see him standing aloft upon the pulpits.

  26. يساقطُ لؤلؤاً في الوعظ يَملا

    قلوب الخلق خوفاً حين يملا

    He showers pearls of counsel that fill

    people's hearts with fear when spoken.

  27. قلوبهم بوعظك خافقاتٌ

    وأدمعهم هواملُ في المصلّى

    Their hearts beat hard at your admonition,

    and their tears flow freely in the prayer ground.

  28. ويبرز بعد ذاك على وقاحٍ

    مطهمة تفوت الريح كهلا

    Then he comes forth on a hard-hoofed mare,

    well-formed, outstripping the wind in her prime.

  29. تَقطع شكلها في الصل ظفراً

    فما تلقى لها في الجَرد شَكلا

    Her hoof carves its imprint into hard stone,

    so no equal to her is found among the sleek steeds.

  30. كأَن أديمها الفضي لما

    تلمَّع صفرة بالتّبر يُطلي

    It is as if her silvery hide, when

    it flashes yellow, were coated with gold.

  31. وان يوشى العنان لها تجدها

    أخفَّ من الوجيف يداً ورجلاً

    And if her rein is twitched, you find her

    swifter than a gallop in foreleg and hindleg.

  32. فيركبها الإِمام ضحىً فيبدو

    كشمسِ الأفق في الفلك المعلّى

    Then the imam mounts her in the forenoon, appearing

    like the horizon's sun in the lofty celestial sphere.

  33. حواليه الجيوش على المذاكي

    تجوب الخير لا وعراً وسهلا

    Around him are the armies on steeds in their prime,

    traversing goodness, not rough or level ground.

  34. وقد نُشرت له الأعلامُ حتى

    نراه بها هنالك مستظلا

    And banners have been unfurled for him, until

    we see him there shaded by them.

  35. وللكوسات في الآذان وحي

    نشبهه بصوت الرعد مثلا

    And the kettledrums have a message for the ears,

    which we liken to the sound of thunder.

  36. ويرجعُ في المواكب ذا خشوعٍ

    إلى قصر من العيّوق أَعلى

    And he returns amid the processions, full of humility,

    to a palace higher than Capella.

  37. فسلَم خالقي أبداً عليه

    سَلاماً لا يفارقِه وصلّى

    So may my Creator forever send peace upon him—

    peace that never leaves him—and bless him.