1. بِحُكْمِ العَدْلِ من قاضِي السَّماءِ

    حباكَ بِحَقِّ أَحكامِ القَضاءِ

    By justice's decree from the Judge of heaven,

    he endowed you, as rightful judgment ordained,

  2. وِراثَةَ مُورِثِ الأَبناءِ مِمَّا

    تَحَلّى مِنْ تُرَاثِ الأَنْبِياءِ

    with a bequeather's legacy to his sons, drawn from

    the prophets' heritage with which he adorned himself.

  3. أبٌ وَفَّاكَ مِيراثَ المساعي

    كما وَفَّيْتَهُ عَهْدَ الوَفاءِ

    A father delivered to you the inheritance of noble deeds,

    as you fulfilled toward him the covenant of fidelity.

  4. تَهَدَّى فَارْتَدى حِلْماً وعِلْماً

    فلَمْ تُسبَقْ إِلَى ذَاكَ الرِّداءِ

    He found guidance and clothed himself in forbearance and learning,

    and none outstripped you in taking up that mantle,

  5. لِتَلْبَسَهُ بإِفضالٍ وفَضْلٍ

    وتَنْشُرَهُ بِهَدْيٍ واهْتِدَاءِ

    so you might wear it with beneficence and excellence

    and spread it through guidance and right direction.

  6. نَماكَ وَقَدْ بَنى دِيناً ودُنْيا

    لِتَخْلُفَهُ عَلَى ذَاكَ البِناءِ

    He raised you, having built up faith and worldly life,

    so you might succeed him over that edifice.

  7. وشَيَّدَهُ بإِخلاصِ الأَمانِي

    وأَسَّسَهُ بِمَقْبُولِ الدُّعاءِ

    He raised it with sincere aspirations

    and founded it upon accepted prayer,

  8. عَلِيماً أَنَّ أَرْفَعَ مَا بَناهُ

    بناءٌ أُسُّهُ لَكَ فِي السَّماءِ

    knowing that the loftiest thing he built

    was an edifice whose foundation for you lies in heaven.

  9. وأَزْكى مَنْ زَكا صِدْقاً وعَدْلاً

    زَكِيٌّ حاز ميراث الزَّكاءِ

    The purest of those pure in truthfulness and justice

    is a pure man who gained the inheritance of purity.

  10. فمازَكَ ذو الجلالِ بِعِلْمِ غَيْبٍ

    وفَرَّكَ ذُو الرِّياسَةِ عن ذّكاءِ

    The Lord of Majesty distinguished you through knowledge of the unseen,

    and the holder of authority chose you out of discernment:

  11. مَلِيكٌ كُلَّمَا بَلَغَ انْتِهاءً

    مِنَ العَلْيا أَهَلَّ إِلَى ابْتِداءِ

    a king who, whenever he reaches an endpoint

    of greatness, dawns upon a fresh beginning.

  12. فَسُؤْدَدُهُ كَجُودِ يَدَيْهِ جارٍ

    منَ الدُّنيا إِلَى غَيرِ انْتِهاءِ

    His nobility, like his hands' generosity, flows

    from this world onward without end.

  13. تَجَلَّى فِي بهاءِ نَدىً وعَدْلٍ

    ومَدَّ عَلَيْكَ من ذَاكَ البَهاءِ

    He manifested himself in the splendor of generosity and justice

    and extended over you something of that splendor.

  14. رجاءٌ فيكَ صُدِّقَ كي يُجازى

    كما اسْتَدْعَاكَ تصديقُ الرَّجاءِ

    A hope placed in you was fulfilled, to be requited,

    just as the fulfillment of hope called you forth.

  15. وجَزلاً من عطاءِ اللهِ أَعْدَى

    يَدَيْكَ بِهِ جزيلاتُ العَطَاءِ

    A rich share of God's bounty was imparted

    to your hands through lavish acts of giving,

  16. لتصْرِفَ دعوةَ المظلومِ عَنْهُ

    كما صَرَفَ السَّوَامَ إِلَى الرِّعاءِ

    so you might turn the wronged person's supplication away from him,

    as he directed the grazing herds to shepherds,

  17. وتَرْعى موقِفَ المَلْهوفِ عَنْهُ

    يُلَبِّي نَفْسَهُ قَبْلَ النِّداءِ

    and tend the plight of the anguished on his behalf—

    he answers his own soul before the call.

  18. وتبسُطَ منك للغُرَباءِ وَجْهاً

    يُجَلِّي عَنْهُمُ كُرَبَ الجَلاءِ

    And show strangers a welcoming face of yours

    that dispels from them the distresses of exile,

  19. فَتُبْلِيَ فِيهِمُ سِيَرَ ابْنِ يَحْيى

    كما أَبْلاكَ محمودَ البَلاءِ

    so you might exemplify among them Ibn Yahya's ways,

    as he has treated you with praiseworthy generosity.

  20. فأَعْطى القَوْسَ بارِيَها وشُدَّتْ

    عَرَاقِي الدَّلْوِ فِي كَرَبِ الرَّشَاءِ

    He gave the bow to its maker, and fastened were

    the bucket's crossbars in the rope's securing knot.

  21. ورُدَّ الرُّوحُ فِي جِسْمِ المَعَالي

    ولاحَ النَّجْمُ فِي أُفْقِ السَّماءِ

    The spirit was restored to the body of noble deeds,

    and the star shone on heaven's horizon.

  22. وجُرِّدَ للهُدى والحقِّ سيفٌ

    مُحَلَّىً بالمحامِدِ والثَّناءِ

    A sword was unsheathed for guidance and truth,

    adorned with virtues and praise.

  23. فوَلّى النُّكْرُ مهزومَ النَّوَاحِي

    وجاءَ العُرْفُ منشورَ اللِّواءِ

    Evil fled, its flanks routed,

    and good came with its banner unfurled.

  24. وغارَ الظُّلمُ فِي ظُلَمِ الدَّياجِي

    ولاحَ العدلُ فِي حُلَلِ الضِّياءِ

    Injustice sank into the darkness of gloomy nights,

    and justice shone in robes of light,

  25. بِيُمْنٍ أَلبَسَ الأَيَّامَ نُوراً

    يُدِيلُ مِنَ الشَّدائِدِ بالرَّخاءِ

    with good fortune that clothed the days in radiance,

    turning hardship into ease,

  26. وأحكاماً بَثَثْنَ العدلَ حَتَّى

    تقاسَمَها الأَباعِدُ بالسَّواءِ

    and judgments that spread justice until

    those far away shared them equally,

  27. وأخلاقاً خُلِقْنَ منَ التَّمَنِّي

    فلاقَتْ كُلَّ هَمٍّ بالشِّفاءِ

    and virtues fashioned from wishes,

    which met every grief with healing.

  28. فهُنَّ الماءُ فِي صَفْوٍ ولينٍ

    وسَوْغٍ وَهْيَ نارٌ فِي الذَّكاءِ

    They are water in clarity and softness

    and sweetness to drink, yet fire in keenness.

  29. فما بالنَّفْسِ عنها مِن تَناهٍ

    ولا بالسِّرِّ عنها من خَفاءِ

    No soul can refrain from them,

    nor can any secret be concealed from them.

  30. فكم جَلَّيْتَ من نَظَرٍ جَليٍّ

    قرأْتَ بِهِ أَساطِيرَ الدَّهاءِ

    How many a lucid insight have you unveiled,

    with which you read the writings of cunning!

  31. وكم أَوْرَيْتَ من زَنْدٍ ثَقُوبٍ

    أَراكَ سِراجُهُ غَيْبَ الرِّياءِ

    And how many a bright-sparking firestick have you kindled,

    whose lamp showed you hypocrisy's hidden depths!

  32. وكم أَحيَيْتَ من ناءٍ غريبٍ

    فقيدِ الأَهْلِ مُنْبَتِّ الإِخاءِ

    How many a distant stranger have you revived,

    bereft of family, cut off from brotherhood!

  33. وكم نَفَّستَ كُرْبَةَ مستكينٍ

    تَأَخَّرَ عنهُ نَصْرُ الأَولِياءِ

    How often you relieved the distress of someone oppressed,

    from whom the help of allies was delayed!

  34. وكم جَلَّيْتَ من خطْبٍ جليلٍ

    وكم دَاوَيْتَ من داءٍ عَياءِ

    How many a momentous calamity have you dispelled,

    and how many an intractable disease have you treated!

  35. ولا كَبَني سبيلٍ شَرَّدَتْهُمْ

    عن الأَوْطانِ قاضِيَةُ القضاءِ

    But none like the wayfarers driven

    from their homelands by fate's final decree.

  36. عواصِف فِتْنَةٍ غَمَّتْ بِغَيْمٍ

    بوارِقُهُ سُيُوفُ الإِعْتِداءِ

    Storms of strife covered them with a cloud

    whose lightning bolts were swords of aggression.

  37. فأَصْعَقَهُمْ براعِدَةِ المنايا

    وأَمْطَرَهُمْ شآبِيبَ الفَناءِ

    It struck them senseless with death's thunder

    and rained torrents of annihilation upon them.

  38. وطافَ عَلَيْهِمُ طُوفانُ رَوْعٍ

    أَفاضَ بِهِمْ إِلَى القفْرِ الفضاءِ

    A flood of terror swept over them,

    pouring them into the wide, barren wilderness:

  39. سهامُ نَوىً إِلَى بَرٍّ وبَحْرٍ

    وأَغراضٌ لِنُشَّابِ البلاءِ

    arrows of separation shot toward land and sea,

    and targets for calamity's shafts.

  40. سَرَوْا فَشَرَوْا بأَفياءٍ صَوافٍ

    فيافِيَ لا يَقِينَ من الضَّحاءِ

    They traveled by night, buying with cool shade

    deserts that shield no one from the midday sun,

  41. وحُمْرَ الموتِ من خُضْرِ المَغَانِي

    وسُودَ البيدِ من بِيضِ المُلاءِ

    and death's red with the green of their dwellings,

    and the wastes' blackness with white sheets,

  42. ومن كِلَلِ السُّتورِ كلالِ خُوصٍ

    وَعَدْتَهُمُ النجاةَ عَلَى النِّجاءِ

    and, for curtained canopies, the weariness of hollow-eyed camels.

    You promised them deliverance through swift flight.

  43. وَقَدْ جَدَعَتْ أُنوفَ العِزِّ منهُمْ

    خطوبٌ سُمْتَهُمْ أَنفَ الإِباءِ

    Their noses of honor had been cut off

    by calamities; you granted them the nose of proud refusal.

  44. وأَلْبَسَهُمْ ثِيابَ الذُّلِّ خطبٌ

    يَلِيهِمْ فِي ثِيابِ الكِبْرِياءِ

    A calamity clothed them in garments of abasement,

    ruling over them in garments of arrogance.

  45. وَأَلْحَقَهُمْ بِلُجِّ البَحْرِ سَيْلٌ

    يَمُدُّ مُدَودَهُ فَيْضُ الدِّماءِ

    A torrent swept them into the sea's depths,

    its swelling fed by a flood of blood.

  46. فَوَشْكاً مَا هَوى بِهِمُ هواءٌ

    تأَلَّفَهُمْ بأَفئِدَةٍ هَوَاءِ

    Then swiftly a wind swept them away,

    gathering them together with hollow hearts.

  47. وحالَ الموجُ دونَ بَني سَبيلٍ

    يَطيرُ بهمْ إِلَى الغَوْلِ ابْنُ ماءِ

    Waves cut off the wayfarers,

    as a son of water flew them toward destruction:

  48. أَغَرُّ لَهُ جَناحٌ من صباحٍ

    يُرَفْرِفُ فَوْقَ جُنْحٍ من مساءِ

    gleaming, with a wing of morning

    fluttering above the darkness of evening.

  49. يُذَكِّرُهُمْ زَفِيفُ الرِّيحِ فِيهِ

    تناوُحَها بِرَبْعِهِمُ الخَلاءِ

    The wind's rush within it recalls to them

    its wailing in their deserted dwelling;

  50. ومَحْوُ الماءِ مَا يَخْتَطُّ فِيهِ

    دياراً خلَّفوها لِلْعَفاءِ

    the water's erasure of the track it draws,

    the homes they left to obliteration;

  51. وصَكُّ الموجِ فِيهَا كُلَّ وَجْهٍ

    وُجُوهاً ساوَرَتْهُمْ بالجَفاءِ

    and the waves' striking every face aboard it,

    the faces that assailed them with harshness;

  52. وعُدْمُهُمُ صفاءَ الماءِ مِنْهُ

    بِعُدْمِهِمُ لإِخوانِ الصَّفاءِ

    and their lack of pure water there,

    their loss of true-hearted friends.

  53. بِحيثُ تَبَدَّلُوا باللَّهْوِ هَوْلاً

    ورَحْبَ الماءِ من رَحْبِ الفِنَاءِ

    There they exchanged pleasure for terror,

    and their courtyard's expanse for the expanse of water,

  54. ومن قَصْفٍ وراحٍ قَصْفَ رِيحٍ

    ومن لَعِبِ الهَوى لَعِبَ الهواءِ

    revelry and wine for the crashing of wind,

    and love's play for the wind's play.

  55. كَأَنَّ البَرَّ والبحرَ اسْتَطَارَا

    تِجاراً هَمُّهُمْ بُعْدُ الثِّناءِ

    As though land and sea had swept away

    merchants whose concern was far-reaching praise:

  56. يبيعونَ الرَّغائِبَ بَيْعَ بَخْسٍ

    ويَشْرُونَ المصائِبَ بالغَلاءِ

    they sell desirable things for a paltry price

    and buy misfortunes at a high price.

  57. ولكنَّ البضائِعَ من هُمُومٍ

    عَلَتْ بالرِّبحِ فيهمْ والنَّماءِ

    But their merchandise of sorrows

    grew among them in profit and increase.

  58. فكَمْ طَلَبُوا الأَمَانِي بالأَمانِي

    وكم باعُوا السَّعادَةَ بِالشَّقَاءِ

    How often they sought wishes with wishes,

    and sold happiness for misery!

  59. وكم فاضَتْ مدامِعُهُمْ فَمَدَّتْ

    عُبابَ البَحْرِ بالماءِ الرُّواءِ

    How often their tears overflowed, swelling

    the sea's surge with thirst-quenching water!

  60. وَقَدْ وَفَدَتْ جوانِحُهُمْ بِشَجْوٍ

    ينادي الشَّمْسَ حيَّ عَلَى الصَّلاءِ

    Their breasts came bearing a grief

    that called to the sun: 'Come to the burning!'

  61. وكم خاضُوا كَهِمَّتِهِمُ بُحوراً

    وكم عَدِمُوا الثَّرى عَدَمَ الثَّرَاءِ

    How many seas, like their lofty resolve, they crossed,

    and how often they lacked soil as they lacked wealth!

  62. وجاءَ الموتُ مُقْتَضِياً نفوساً

    لَوَتْ بِقَضائِهِنَّ يَدُ القضاءِ

    Death came demanding souls as payment,

    whose settlement the hand of fate delayed.

  63. وما رَدَّ الرَّدى عنها حَنَاناَ

    ولكِنْ مَطْلَ داءٍ بالدَّواءِ

    Death was not warded off from them out of compassion,

    but only as illness is deferred by medicine.

  64. فَلأْياً مَا أَهَلَّ بِهِم بشِيرٌ

    إِلَى أَرضٍ تَخَيَّلُ فِي سَماءِ

    Only with difficulty did a herald lead them onward

    to a land that appeared in the sky.

  65. ولأْياً مَا تجافى اليَمُّ عَنْهُمْ

    تجافِيَهُ عنِ الزَّبَدِ الجُفَاءِ

    Only with difficulty did the sea draw away from them,

    as it casts off foam washed ashore.

  66. ويا عَجَبَ الليالي أَيُّ بَحْرٍ

    تَغَلْغَلَ بَيْنَ أَثناءِ الغُثَاءِ

    O wonder of the nights! What a sea

    threaded through the folds of flotsam!

  67. ومن يَسْمعْ بأَنَّ نُجومَ لَيْلٍ

    هَوَتْ مَعْ بَدْرِها فَهُمُ أُولاءِ

    Whoever hears that the stars of a night

    fell with their full moon—these are they.

  68. وأَخْطَأَ سَيْرُهُمْ أُفْقَ ابْنِ يَحْيى

    لِيُخْطِئَ عِلْمُهُمْ بِالكِيمياءِ

    Their journey missed Ibn Yahya's horizon,

    and so their knowledge of alchemy went astray.

  69. وكم سَرَتِ الرِّفاقُ بِلا دَليلٍ

    إِلَيْهِ والمطيُّ بلا حُدَاءِ

    How many caravans traveled without a guide

    to him, their mounts without a camel-driver's song!

  70. وكم وُقِيَتْ رِكابٌ يَمَّمَتْهُ

    سِهامَ النائِباتِ بلا وِقاءِ

    How many mounts that headed toward him were shielded

    from calamity's arrows without a shield!

  71. فما شَرِبُوا مياهَ الأَرْضِ حَتَّى

    تَرَكْنَ وجوهَهُمْ من غَيْرِ ماءِ

    They did not drink the waters of the earth until

    those waters left their faces without a drop of honor.

  72. ولا نَشَقُوا حياةَ العَيْشِ إِلّا

    وَقَدْ خَلَعُوا جَلابِيبَ الحَياءِ

    They did not breathe the breath of life without

    having cast off the cloaks of modesty.

  73. ولا جابُوا إِلَيْهِ القَفْرَ حَتَّى

    تَجَاوَبَتِ الحمائِمُ بالبُكاءِ

    They did not cross the wilderness to him until

    the doves answered one another in weeping.

  74. ولا دَلَّ الزَّمانُ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى

    حَسِبْتُ عِدَايَ قَدْ مَاتُوا بِدائِي

    Time did not point the way to him until

    I thought my enemies had died of my disease.

  75. وَلا أَلْقَوا عَصا التَّسيارِ حَتَّى

    عَفَتْ حَلَقُ البِطانِ من اللِّقاءِ

    They did not lay down the staff of wandering until

    the girth-rings wore away from rubbing together.

  76. ولا بَلَغُوا مُنَاخَ العِيسِ إِلّا

    وَفِي الحُلْقُومِ بالِغَةُ الذِّماءِ

    They reached the pale camels' resting place only

    with their last remnant of life at their throats.

  77. وَفِي رَبِّ العبادِ عَزَاءُ عِزٍّ

    لِذُلٍّ غالَهُ عِزُّ العَزَاءِ

    In the Lord of all servants is the consolation of honor

    for abasement overcome by the honor of consolation.

  78. وَفِي المَنْصُورِ مأْوىً وانتِصارٌ

    لِمَنْبُوذِ الوسائِلِ بالعَرَاءِ

    In al-Mansur are refuge and victory

    for one cast into the open, bereft of means of help.

  79. وَفِي قاضِي القُضاةِ قَضَاءُ حَقٍّ

    لِمَنْ يرعاهُمُ راعِي الرِّعاءِ

    In the Chief Judge is a judgment of right

    for those tended by the shepherd of shepherds:

  80. أَبُو الحَكَمِ الَّذِي أَلقَتْ يداهُ

    إِلَيْكَ الحُكْمَ فِي دانٍ ونَاءِ

    Abu al-Hakam, whose hands entrusted

    to you judgment over the near and far.

  81. وإِنَّكَ منه فِي عدلٍ وفضلٍ

    عَلَى أَمَدِ البِعادِ أَوِ الثَّواءِ

    In justice and excellence you stand in relation to him,

    through long separation or residence,

  82. مكانَ الفَجْرِ أَشرقَ من ذُكاءٍ

    تأَلُّقُهُ وأَعْرَبَ عن ذكاءِ

    as dawn stands, shining from Dhuka, the sun,

    its brilliance making intelligence plain.

  83. وإِن يَكُ قُدْوَةَ الكُرمَاءِ جُوداً

    فإِنَّكَ بالمكارِمِ ذُو اقْتِداءِ

    If he is the generous men's model in giving,

    you follow his example in noble deeds.

  84. وإِنَّ أَحَبَّ مَا تَقْضِي إِلَيْهِ

    لِمَنْ آواهُمُ حُكْمُ الحِباءِ

    The dearest matter you may bring before him

    is for those sheltered by generosity's decree.

  85. وأَنْتَ بسَمْعِ رَأْفَتِهِ سَمِيعٌ

    لَهُمْ وبِعَيْنِهِ فِي العَطْفِ راءِ

    You listen with the ear of his compassion

    to them, and see with his eye of tenderness.

  86. فإن لَحَظُوكَ من طَرْفٍ خَفِيٍّ

    فقد نادَوْكَ من بَرْحِ الخَفاءِ

    If they glance at you with a furtive eye,

    they have called to you from the anguish of being unseen,

  87. لِدَيْنٍ لا يَدِينُ بِهِ لِنَبْعٍ

    وأَغصانٍ مُشَذَّبَةِ اللِّحاءِ

    for a debt owed neither to bow-wood

    nor to branches stripped of bark.

  88. ودَيْنُهُمُ عَلَى الإِسلامِ أَوْلى

    ومالُ اللهِ أَوْسَعُ لِلأَداءِ

    Their debt has a stronger claim upon Islam,

    and God's wealth is ampler for its payment.

  89. هُوَ الحَقُّ الَّذِي جاءَتْكَ فِيهِ

    شُهودُ العَدْلِ من رَبِّ السَّماءِ

    This is the right concerning which there came to you

    just witnesses from the Lord of heaven.

  90. وَمَا فِي لَحْظِ طَرْفِكَ من نُبُوٍّ

    ولا فِي نُورِ رَأْيِكَ من هَباءِ

    There is no aversion in your eye's glance,

    nor any dust in the light of your judgment.

  91. فهل ببراءةٍ و الحَشْرِ رَيْبٌ

    يُبَيَّنُ بالنِّفارِ أَوِ الجَلاءِ

    Is there, then, any doubt in Bara'a and al-Hashr

    that must be clarified through flight or exile?

  92. وإِنْ تَزْدَدْ فَثانِيَةُ المثانِي

    وإِنْ تَزْدَدْ فرابِعَةُ النِّساءِ

    If you seek more, there is the second of the Oft-Repeated;

    and if you seek more, the fourth, 'Women.'

  93. وهلْ بَعْدَ الأُسارى والسَّبايا

    مكانٌ للفكاكِ أَوِ الْفِدَاءِ

    After male captives and captive women,

    is there scope for release or ransom?

  94. وَقَدْ قالُوا افْتِقارٌ أَوْ إِسَارٌ

    كما قالُوا الجلاءُ مِنَ السِّباءِ

    They have spoken of poverty or captivity,

    just as they have called exile a form of captivity.

  95. وهَلْ بالبَحْرِ من ظَمَأٍ فَيَرْوى

    صَدَاهُ بِغَيْرِ أَكْبادٍ ظِماءِ

    Does the sea have a thirst, that

    its craving is quenched only by parched livers?

  96. وَمَا فِي وَعْدِ رَبِّ العَرْشِ خُلْفٌ

    بِما لِلْمُحْسِنِينَ مِنَ الجَزَاءِ

    There is no breach in the Lord of the Throne's promise

    of the reward due to those who do good.

  97. ومَنْ يَرْغَبْ بقاءَ العدل يَسأَلْ

    لَكَ الرحمنَ طولاً فِي البَقاءِ

    Whoever desires the continuance of justice asks

    the Merciful to grant you long life.

  98. وأَيَّةُ حُرَّةٍ من حُرِّ نَظْمِي

    تَجَلَّتْ للخلائِقِ فِي جِلاءِ

    And what a noble maiden from my finest verse

    has unveiled herself before all creation,

  99. هَدِيَّةَ واصِلٍ وهَدِيَّ كُفْءٍ

    إِلَى كُفْءِ الهَدَايا والهِدَاءِ

    a gift from a loyal friend, a bride from a worthy peer,

    to one worthy of gifts and bridal offerings,

  100. مُتَوَّجَةً بتاجٍ من وِدادِي

    مُقَلَّدَةً بِدُرٍّ من ثَنائِي

    crowned with a crown of my affection,

    necklaced with pearls of my praise.