1. بُشْرَايَ هَذا مَبْدَأُ الإقْبَالِ

    في قَصْدِ غَايَاتي وفِي اسْتِقْبالِ

    Glad tidings for me! This is the beginning of good fortune

    in pursuing my aims and in what lies ahead.

  2. وَافَانِيَ الزَّمَنُ المُسِيءُ مُحَسِّناً

    آثارَهُ بِمَثابَةِ الإِجْمَالِ

    Cruel Time came to me, making fair

    its traces through gracious treatment.

  3. وَذَمَمْتُ تَرْحَالاً وَحِلاً قَبْلَها

    فَحَمِدْتُ عُقْبَى الحِلِّ والتَّرْحالِ

    And I had condemned journeying and staying before then,

    so I praised the outcome of staying and journeying.

  4. وَعَزِزْتُ بَعْدَ الهوْنِ والإِذْلالِ

    وأَمِنْتُ بَعْدَ الرَّوْعِ والأَوْجالِ

    And I gained honor after abasement and humiliation,

    and found safety after terror and fears.

  5. وَثَوَيْتُ في خَفْضٍ وفِي دَعَةٍ بِما

    كابَدْتُ مِنْ شَظَفٍ وَمِنْ زِلزالِ

    And I dwelt in ease and repose, in return for

    the hardship and upheaval I had endured.

  6. وَلَقيتُ ما لا أستَقِلُّ بِوَصفِهِ

    وَإِنِ ادَّعيت مزِيَّةَ استِقلالِ

    And I encountered what I cannot adequately describe,

    even if I claim the distinction of self-sufficiency.

  7. وكَفاكَ أنَّ الرّومَ كانَتْ جِيرَتي

    مِنْ جَوْرِ دهْرِي واسْتِحالَةِ حالِي

    And it is enough for you that the Romans were my neighbors,

    through my times' injustice and my altered fortunes.

  8. كُنْتُ الطَّلِيقَ هُنَاكَ لَكِنْ لَمْ أزَلْ

    مِن شِدَّةِ الحَسَرَاتِ في أَغْلالِ

    I was free there, yet never ceased to be

    in chains from the anguish of regret.

  9. أَبْكِي عَلى اسْتِئْصالِ مَنْ خَلَّفْتُهُ

    وأُطِيلُ فِي الأسْحَارِ والآصَالِ

    I weep over the annihilation of those I left behind,

    and prolong my weeping before dawn and in the late afternoons.

  10. حَتَّى إذَا فَارَقْتُ أرْضَهُمُ التِي

    كانَتْ عِقالاً ثانِياً لِعِقَالِي

    Until, when I left their land, which

    had been a second fetter added to my own,

  11. وَدَعَانِيَ الشَّوْقُ المُذِيبُ جَوانِحي

    لِمَنازِلي فَأَجَبْتُهُ وَجِلالي

    and longing, melting my ribs, summoned me

    to my homes, so I and my saddlecloths answered it,

  12. لاقَى بِيَ الجَدُّ العَثورُ عِصَابَةً

    ذَهَبَتْ بِمَالِي كَيْ يَسُوءَ مآلِي

    stumbling Fortune brought me face to face with a band

    that carried off my wealth to make my fate turn ill.

  13. فاسْتَأنَفَتْ نَفْسِي بِحُكْمِ شَقائِها

    خَوْضاً لأَهْوَالٍ عَلَى أهْوَالِ

    So my soul resumed, by decree of its misery,

    plunging into terror upon terror.

  14. مازِلْتُ مِنها في خَيَالٍ مُتْلِفٍ

    حَتَّى غَدَوْتُ مفارِقاً لِخَبَالِ

    I remained in a ruinous vision of them

    until I came to leave affliction behind,

  15. بأَبِي حُسَيْنٍ سيِّدِ العَرَبِ الذِي

    أَدْنَى حُلاهُ

    through Abu Husayn, lord of the Arabs, whose

    least adornments—

  16. بِالمَاجِدِ المِفْضَالِ أوْ بالعَارِضِ

    المِهْطَالِ أو بالقَائِلِ الفَعَّالِ

    through the noble, generous man, or through the cloud

    pouring rain, or through the man who speaks and acts;

  17. بِالقيْلِ مِنْ أبْناءِ قَيْلَةَ والذِي

    لا يَنْتَمِي إلا إلَى الأَقْيَالِ

    through the prince among Qayla's sons, who

    traces his descent only to princes.

  18. نَدْبٌ إِلَى مَثْواه مُسْتبقُ المُنَى

    وَعَلى عُلاه تَزَاحُمُ الآمالِ

    A gallant man: toward his dwelling wishes race,

    and upon his eminence hopes throng.

  19. مَنْ شَامَ بَرْقَ جَبِينِهِ في أزْمَةٍ

    أَثْرَى بِغَيْثِ سَمَاحِهِ الهَطَّالِ

    Whoever watched the lightning of his brow in hardship

    grew rich through the pouring rain of his generosity.

  20. وَرِثَ السِّيَادَةَ عَنْ أبيهِ وَجَدِّهِ

    الطَّاهِرِ الأَقْوَالِ والأَعْمَالِ

    He inherited lordship from his father and his grandfather,

    pure in words and deeds.

  21. وَأَتَى بِما أَرْبَى عَلى مَا نَالَهُ

    إِرْثاً فَمَا أعْيَاهُ نَيْلُ كَمَالِ

    And he achieved what surpassed what he gained

    by inheritance; attaining perfection did not weary him.

  22. هُوَ واحِدُ الدُّنيا وَمَن لَمْ يَرْضَهُ

    فَلْيَأتِ في الدّنْيَا لَهُ بِمِثالِ

    He is the world's unique man; whoever does not approve of him,

    let him bring his like in this world.

  23. هَيْهَاتَ لَيْسَ عَلَى البَسيطَةِ مِثْلُهُ

    في سُؤْدَدٍ وَرَجَاحَةٍ وَجَلالِ

    Impossible! There is none like him upon the earth

    in nobility, sound judgment, and majesty.

  24. قَيْسٌ وسَعْدٌ قَبْلَهُ وعُبَادَةٌ

    ودُلَيِّمُ الأَفْرَاد في الإفْضَالِ

    Qays and Sa'd before him, and Ubadah,

    and Dulayyim, peerless in generosity,

  25. أبْقَوْا لَه شَرَفاً يَزيدُ تَجَدُّداً

    يَبْأَى لَدَيْهِ عَلَى مَدى الأَحوالِ

    left him honor that grows ever renewed,

    standing proud beside him through every change of circumstance.

  26. مَن شاءَ في مَدحٍ غُلُوّاً فَليَكُن

    في مَدحِهِ مِن غَيرِ لَومٍ غالِ

    Whoever wishes for extravagance in praise, let him

    be extravagant in praising him, without blame.

  27. لَمَّا لَثَمْتُ يَمِينَه ورَأيْتُه

    لَمْ أَلْتَفِتْ لحَياً ولا لِهِلالِ

    When I kissed his right hand and saw him,

    I paid no heed to rain or to a crescent moon.

  28. قُلْ للزَّمَانِ وقَد مَثَلْتَ ببَابِهِ

    فَلَحِقْتَ بِالنُّظَرَاءِ والأَمْثَالِ

    Say to Time, now that you have stood at his door

    and caught up with peers and equals:

  29. إنَّ ابْنَ عِيسَى مَنْ عَلِمْتَ مَضَاءهُ

    وَسَخَاءهُ في الرَّوْعِ والإمْحالِ

    Indeed, Ibn Isa is the one whose resolve you know,

    and whose generosity in terror and drought you know.

  30. يَكْفيكَ جَورَكَ عدْلُهُ بِيَ عادِلاً

    عَمَّا ذَهَبْتَ لَهُ مِنِ اسْتِئْصَالِ

    His justice toward me suffices against your tyranny, turning me aside

    from the annihilation you intended.

  31. لا زالَ دَافِعَ كُلِّ خَطْبٍ وَاقِعٍ

    وَثُمالَ مَنْ أَضْحَى بِغَيْرِ ثُمالِ

    May he always ward off every calamity that befalls,

    and be the refuge of whoever finds himself without refuge.