لو كنت تعلم ما بأهل زبيد

وزبيد من شوق إليك شديد

If you knew what grips the people of Zabid,

and Zabid itself, in its fierce longing for you,

لخصصتها دون المدائن كلها

وخصصت أهليها بكل مزيد

you would single it out from all the cities,

and favor its people with every added bounty.

بلد احبك ساكنوه وما أرى

خير اتجازيهم به ببعيد

A town whose inhabitants love you; I do not think

the good with which you repay them is far away.

أن القلوب على القلوب شواهد

والقلب أعدل حاكم وشهيد

Indeed, hearts bear witness to hearts,

and the heart is the fairest judge and witness.

أنت الذي ملكت يداه قلوبهم

بمكارم خرجت عن المعهود

You are the one whose two hands have won their hearts

through generous deeds beyond what is customary.

قلدتهم مننا وعدت بمثلها

أكرم به من مبتدى ومعيد

You adorned them with favors, then returned with more like them.

How noble he is, in giving first and giving again!

ما كنت الخير مولى محسن

أبقا له الاحسان خير عبيد

You have been none but the finest benevolent patron;

beneficence has kept for him the finest servants.

لا ملك غلا ملك من ملك الورى

وقلوبهم ووداد كل ودود

There is no kingship but that of one who wins humankind,

their hearts, and the affection of every loving soul.

هاموا بحبك بعد ما انقذتهم

من كل محذور وكل وعيد

They were enraptured by love for you after you saved them

from every danger and every threat.

أنقذتهم من محنة النخل التي

كادت تشيب رأس كل وليد

You rescued them from the palm-tree ordeal that

nearly turned every newborn's head gray;

ومغارم أكلت على ملاكه

ثمراته وأتت على الموجود

and from levies that devoured, at their owners' expense,

their fruits and swept away all that remained.

من بعد ما أشر البلاء وأسرفوا

فيه على التعريف والتطريد

After affliction ran wild and they went to excess

in identification and expulsion,

لو دام عاماً واحد التبددوا

في كل أرض أيما تبديد

had it lasted a single year, they would have scattered

across every land, scattered utterly.

وافيتهم وقد التوين حبائل

واشتد ضيق خناق كل وريد

You came to them when snares had twisted tight,

and the noose had tightened around every jugular.

ما كنت الاغارة ما أبطات

جاءت على قدر من الموعود

You were but a charge to the rescue, without delay,

arriving at the appointed time that had been promised.

فكشف عنهم ما كشفت من البلا

وعددت هذا النخل خير عديد

So the affliction you removed was lifted from them,

and you gave these palms the best of reckonings:

عدد اجلا عن كل قلب غمة

عمت وامن خوف كل طريد

a reckoning that cleared from every heart a grief

that had spread to all, and calmed every outcast's fear.

صيرته نعم الذخيرة مثلما

قد كان قبل بفعلك المحمود

You made it an excellent store of wealth, just as

it had been before, through your praiseworthy deed.

ومحودت عنه حوادثا قد قررت

كتب الشقاء بها على المولود

And you erased from it calamities already decreed,

through which misery had been written upon the newborn.

ما كان يعرف رب نخل راحة

في النخل من خوف ومن تشديد

No owner of palms had known any ease

among his palms, because of fear and severity.

حرمت رجال ما رزقت من الثنا

والأجر فالبس منه كل جديد

Men were denied the praise bestowed upon you,

and reward; so put on every fresh garment of it.

النخلة أخت أبي البرية آدم

أكرم بها من عمة لوليد

The palm tree is the sister of Adam, father of humankind;

what a noble aunt she is to a child!

لا يهتدي لقضاء واجب حقها

في الله إلا رأى كل سعيد

None finds the way to fulfill her rightful due

before God, save the judgment of every blessed soul.

خلقت مباركة وعدلك ردها

فينا كما خلقت بلا تنكيد

She was created blessed, and your justice restored her

among us as she was created, free of distress.

عدل ترى بركاته في العالمين

إذا خرجت كالما جرى في العود

A justice whose blessings you see throughout the worlds,

when they emerge like water coursing through a branch.

الملك عدل والمشد برفقه

لم يال في طلب عن المجهود

The king is just; the overseer, in his gentleness,

has spared no effort in petitioning for the hard-pressed.

والرب راض والرعية منهم

لك كل كف بالدعا ممدود

And the Lord is pleased; among the subjects,

every hand is stretched out in prayer for you.

قل للمشير بما اقتضته طباعه

من ضله في رايه المفسود

Tell the adviser, whose nature dictates his counsel,

out of error in his corrupted judgment:

اسكت بفيك الترب أن عجز امرء

عن فضه بالصخرة الجلمود

Be silent! Dust in your mouth, if a man cannot

smash it with a solid boulder!

أعلى ابن أحمد تجترى بمشورة

صلحت بمثلك ياعدو الجود

Do you dare offer the son of Ahmad advice

fit for someone like you, enemy of generosity?

الأشرف ابن الناصر

ابن الأفضل بن الأكبرمين الصيد

Al-Ashraf, son of al-Nasir,

son of al-Afdal, scion of the noblest, lofty lords.

العدل في ابائه لكنه

اربا بابآء له وجد ود

Justice dwells among his fathers, yet he

has surpassed his own fathers and grandsires.

يرعى الرعية من عذاب واقع

وأنامهم امنا على ممهود

He guards his subjects from descending torment,

and lets them sleep in safety on a prepared bed.

ما كان الأمثل رحمة ربنا

نزلت بيونس لا بقوم ثمود

He was but like the mercy of our Lord,

which descended upon Yunus, not upon the people of Thamud.

ما العدل سهل يابن أحمد فاصطبر

فيه على الترقيع والتسديد

Justice is not easy, son of Ahmad; persevere

in patching and setting things right.

والجوربا عثه قوى والهوى

داعيه يضعف دفع كل جليد

And injustice has a strong instigator, while desire,

its summoner, weakens every resolute man's resistance.

الله نعم العون ان راعيته

وصبرت جهدك فهو غير بعيد

God is an excellent helper if you heed Him,

and persevere to your utmost; He is not far away.

فلتجنين ثمار صبرك عنده

ولتسكن بظله الممدود

Then you shall surely reap the fruits of your endurance with Him,

and dwell in His outstretched shade.

ادرك رحالا في هواك ونسوة

تمسى تسائل عنك كل يزيد

Come to the aid of men who love you, and women

who at evening ask every Yazid about you.

نذورا لمقدمك النذور وأسرفوا

واستحسن التبذير كل رشيد

They vowed vows for your arrival and went to excess;

and every prudent person approved extravagance.

قالوا القدوم غداً فخروا سجداً

شكراً وظل اليوم يوم سجود

They said, 'The arrival is tomorrow!' and fell prostrate

in thanks, and the day remained a day of prostration.

فلئن قدمت فابقى امنية

لم يلاْتها متوطن بزبيد

If you arrive, [what wish will remain]

unattained by any resident of Zabid?

وإلا الأمر أمرك والقلوب لديكم

إلا بقايا أعظم وجلود

If not, the decision is yours; their hearts are with you,

leaving nothing but remnants of bones and skins.