1. سلامٌ عَلَى الأَيَّامِ تسليمَ إِقْبالِ

    بآمالِ تحقيقٍ وتحقيقِ آمالِ

    Peace upon the days—a greeting of good fortune,

    with hopes of fulfillment and the fulfillment of hopes,

  2. بمَقْدَمِ فتحٍ من مليكٍ مُظَفَّرٍ

    وأَوْبَةِ نَصْرٍ فِي تباشِيرِ إِقْبالِ

    at the coming of conquest from a victorious king,

    and victory's return amid the first glad signs of prosperity,

  3. وشاهدِ مُلْكٍ لاحَ فِي تاجِ مَفْرِقٍ

    مُحَيَّاً بإِعظامٍ مُحَلَّىً بإِجلالِ

    and a token of kingship gleaming in a crown upon a head,

    hailed with reverence, adorned with veneration:

  4. ذخيرةُ أَملاكٍ وعِلْقُ تَبابِعٍ

    وصفوةُ أَذْواءٍ وميراثُ أَقْيالِ

    a treasure of kings, a prized possession of Tubba‘ rulers,

    the choicest possession of Dhu lords, the inheritance of princes.

  5. فبُشْرَاكِ يَا دُنيا سَمِيُّ الَّذِي بِهِ

    عَلا صوتُ جِبْرِيلٍ بَشيراً ومِيكالِ

    So rejoice, O world, in the namesake of him for whom

    Gabriel's voice rose in glad tidings, and Michael's.

  6. وبشراكِ باستقبالِ أَرضٍ حَياتُها

    بما فِي اسمِهِ من صادِقِ الظَّنِّ والفالِ

    And rejoice in a land's welcome, for its life

    lies in the true hope and omen held within his name.

  7. فَهَذِي رِياضُ الأَمنِ تُزْهِرُ بالمُنى

    وهذِي سماءُ الفضلِ تَهْمِي بإِفْضالِ

    Here are the gardens of security, blossoming with wishes fulfilled;

    here is the sky of bounty, pouring down beneficence;

  8. وهذا سناءُ الفخرِ يُشْرِقُ بالسَّنا

    وهذا جمالُ الدهرِ يُزْهى بإِجْمالِ

    here is the splendor of glory, shining with radiance;

    here is the beauty of time, resplendent in gracious deeds,

  9. بِمَنْ كَشَفَ الخَطْبَ الَّذِي أَظْلَمَ الضُّحى

    وأَلقى عَلَى الأَلبابِ حَيْرَةَ إِضْلالِ

    through him who dispelled the calamity that darkened morning

    and cast upon minds the bewilderment of delusion;

  10. ومن رَتَقَ الفتْقَ الَّذِي أَعْجَزَ الورى

    وأعْدَمَ فِيهِ الدَّهْرُ حِيلَةَ مُحْتالِ

    and him who mended the breach that defeated mankind,

    and in which time left the resourceful without resource;

  11. ومن رَدَّ فِي جسمِ المكارِمِ رُوحَهُ

    فلا عُذْرَ للباكِي ولا ذَنْبَ للسَّالي

    and him who restored to the body of noble virtues its spirit—

    so the mourner has no excuse, nor the one who has found solace any blame;

  12. ومَنْ وَسِعَ الإسلامَ رَأْفَةَ مُنْعِمٍ

    وهيَّأَ للإِشراكِ عَدْوَةَ رِئْبَالِ

    and him who enfolded Islam in a benefactor's compassion

    and readied for polytheism the charge of a lion;

  13. ومن ركِبَ الفُلْكَ السَّوابِحَ فِي الوغَى

    إِلَى كلِّ هَوْلٍ ينتحيهِ بأَهوالِ

    and him who rode the swimming ships amid battle

    toward every terror, assailing it with terrors;

  14. ورفَّعَ أَعلاماً كَأَنَّ خفوقَها

    عَلَى عَلَمِ الإِشراكِ إِرجافُ زِلْزَالِ

    and raised banners whose fluttering seemed

    an earthquake's shudder upon the banner of polytheism;

  15. وسامَرَ بالشِّعْرى خيولاً كَأَنَّما

    تَمَشَّى بِهِنَّ الأَرضُ مِشْيَةَ مُختالِ

    and passed the night with horses beneath Sirius, as though

    the earth walked with them, with a proud man's gait.

  16. سرى ليلَ كانُونَيْنِ والدَّجْنُ ذائِبٌ

    عَلَيْهِ بحمدٍ فِي دُجى الليلِ مُنْهَالِ

    He journeyed through the night of the two Kanuns, the rain-cloud melting

    over him with praise, pouring down through the night's darkness.

  17. وَلَيْسَ سِوى نارِ الطِّعانِ لَهُ صِلىً

    ولا غَيْرُهُ فِي حَرِّ أَوَّلِها صالِ

    He had no warmth but the fire of spear-thrusts,

    and none but he faced the heat of its first blaze.

  18. بجمعٍ كَأَنَّ الجَوَّ مرآةُ عَيْنِهِ

    إِذَا مَا سَرى أَوْ بالغُدُوِّ والآصالِ

    With an army to whose eye the sky seemed a mirror,

    when it marched by night, or in the mornings and evenings:

  19. فَتِمْثالُ أَطرافِ العوالي نُجُومُهُ

    وشَمْسُ ضحاهُ منكَ أَبْيَنُ تِمْثَالِ

    its stars were images of lofty spear-points,

    and its morning sun the clearest likeness of you.

  20. كَأَنَّكَ عَوَّضْتَ الأَباطِحَ والرُّبى

    وشيجَ القنا من مَنْبِتِ السِّدْرِ والضَّالِ

    It was as though you gave the gravel plains and hills

    a thicket of spears in place of growing lote-trees and wild lote-trees,

  21. كما عَمَّها جَدْوى يَدَيْكَ فوصَّلَتْ

    مساءً بإِصباحٍ وسَهْلاً بأَجْبالِ

    just as the bounty of your hands embraced them, joining

    evening to morning, and plains to mountains.

  22. فكَمْ أَلبَسَتْ شُمَّ الرُّبى من عمائِمٍ

    وجَرَّتْ عَلَى البيداءِ من فَضْلِ أَذْيالِ

    How many turbans they clothed the towering hills with,

    and how many trailing hems they drew across the wilderness—

  23. حدائِقُ ماذِيٍّ يُضاحِكُ فِي الدُّجى

    حبيكاً كَلَمْعِ الشمسِ فِي رَيِّق الآلِ

    gardens of fine mail, exchanging smiles in the darkness

    with woven armor like sunlight in the fresh shimmer of mirage.

  24. إِذَا هَبَّ ريحُ النصرِ فِيهَا تَفَتَّحَتْ

    بأَبْيَضَ قَضَّابٍ وأَسْمَرَ عَسَّالِ

    When victory's wind blows through them, they blossom

    with a keen white blade and a swaying brown spear,

  25. وطاقَةِ نَبعٍ في بنانِ مُوَتِّرٍ

    وَزَهْرَةِ نَوْرٍ فِي كِنانَةِ نَبَّالِ

    with a bow of nab‘ wood in a bow-stringer's fingers,

    and a flower in bloom in a bowman's quiver.

  26. تجارَةُ غَزْوٍ نَقْدُها البِيضُ والقنا

    قضاءَ حُقوقٍ واقتِضاءً لآجالِ

    A commerce of war, whose coin is bright swords and spears,

    settling dues and exacting life's appointed ends.

  27. فلِلَّهِ كم أَغلَيْتَ من دَمِ مُسْلِمٍ

    وأَرخَصْتَ فِي أَعدائِهِ من دَمٍ غالِ

    By God, how precious you have made a Muslim's blood,

    and how cheap the costly blood of his enemies!

  28. وأَسلَمْتَ للإِسلامِ فِيهَا بضاعَةً

    تعود بأَضعافٍ وتوفي بأَمثالِ

    And in it you entrusted to Islam a stock of merchandise

    that returns manyfold and repays in equal measure.

  29. وحسبُكَ فِيهَا بِابْنِ شَنْجٍ وجُنْدِهِ

    من السَّبْيِ أَبْدالاً وأَيَّةُ أَبدالِ

    Ibn Shanj and his army are enough for you therein,

    as captives in exchange—and what an exchange!

  30. مليكاً وَمَا يحوي شَرَيْتَ بِبَعْضِهِ

    وأَرْبِحْ بِقِنطارٍ يُباعُ بمثقالِ

    You bought a king and all he holds with only part of it;

    and what a gain—a qintar sold for a mithqal!

  31. فما حازَ غازٍ مثلَهُ فَيْءَ مَغْنَمٍ

    ولا نالَ سابٍ مثلَها سَبْيَ أَنفالِ

    No raider ever gained such booty,

    nor any captor such captives as spoils.

  32. وما بعتَ رِقَّ المُلكِ مِنْهُمْ نَسِيئَةً

    ولا مُستجِيزَاً كالِئَ الدَّيْنِ بالكَالي

    You did not sell their bondage to your rule on credit,

    nor approve deferred debt in exchange for deferred debt,

  33. ولكنَّ نقداً ناجِزاً فِي رِقابِهِمْ

    بإِذْعانِ تَمْلِيكٍ وإِذْعانِ إِذلالِ

    but for ready payment, binding their necks,

    through submission to ownership and submission to abasement,

  34. وإِقرارِ من لا يبتغي عنكَ مَوْئِلاً

    وَلَيْسَ لَهُ من دونِ سيفِكَ مِنْ والِ

    and acknowledgment by one who seeks no refuge away from you,

    and has no protector apart from your sword.

  35. فَعُدْ بمفاتِيحِ الفتوحِ الَّتِي شَفَتْ

    عَلَى غَلَقٍ من غَدْرَةٍ تحتَ أَقفالِ

    Return, then, with the keys of victories poised

    over a treacherous stronghold sealed beneath locks,

  36. بمَنْ لَمْ يُسِغْهُ كَرُّهُ بَعْدَ فَرِّهِ

    ولا رَدَّ من عَيْنَيْهِ نَظْرَةَ إِجفالِ

    against one whose countercharge after flight brought no relief,

    nor drove the look of panic from his eyes,

  37. غداةَ تقاضى منه أَكفالَ خيلِهِ

    بأَجيادِ خيلٍ لا تَقَرُّ بأَكفالِ

    on the morning he claimed from him the rumps of his horses

    with the necks of steeds that will not rest behind rumps.

  38. وأُلقِحَ منهُ بَطْنُ أُمٍّ طَوَتْ بِهِ

    مَشِيمَةُ شُومٍ جَالَ فِي سُخْدِ أَوْجالِ

    And by him a mother's womb was impregnated; around him closed

    a placenta of ill omen, as he stirred in the birth-fluid of fears.

  39. إِذَا أَسْقَطَتْهُ رَوْعَةٌ منكَ راعَهُ

    هشيمُ رياضٍ فِي دوارِسِ أَطلالِ

    When dread of you makes her miscarry him, he is appalled

    by the withered growth of gardens amid obliterated ruins:

  40. شَفا جَنَّةٍ لَمْ تُجْنَ حَتَّى جَنى لَهَا

    حروباً جَناها من جحيمٍ وأَنْكالِ

    the edge of a garden, unharvested until he reaped for it

    wars that he reaped from hellfire and fetters.

  41. يقلِّبُ كفَّيْهِ بحَسْرَةِ حاسِرٍ

    عَلَيْها وعيْنَيْهِ بعبرةِ إِعْوالِ

    He wrings his hands in a helpless man's regret

    over it, and turns his eyes through tears of lamentation.

  42. مصانِعُ رَوْضاتٍ رَعى البَغْيُ نَبْتَها

    فعَوَّضَهُ منها شواهِقَ أَوْعالِ

    Garden palaces, whose greenery rebellion grazed away,

    giving him in their place the lofty crags of wild goats.

  43. فأَيَّةُ أَسوارٍ ونُصْحُكَ سِرُّها

    إِلَى أَن طوى غِلّاً فأَيَّةُ أَغلالِ

    What walls they were, while your goodwill was their secret,

    until he harbored rancor—then what fetters!

  44. وأَيَّةُ أَشجارٍ وسَلْمُكَ سَقْيُها

    إِلَى أَنْ بَغى فِيهَا فأَيَّةُ أَجْذالِ

    And what trees they were, watered by your peace,

    until he rebelled among them—then what stumps!

  45. حَماها فأَعْلاها بِناءً وَمَا رأى

    مكانَكَ يَعْلُو كُلَّ ذي شَرَفٍ عالِ

    He guarded them and raised their buildings high, never seeing

    that your station towers above everyone of lofty rank.

  46. وشيَّدَها عُجْباً ويا رُبَّ مِثْلِهِ

    عَلَى مِثلِها أَبكيْتَ من طلَلٍ بالِ

    He built them up in vanity—and how many like him

    have you made weep over such worn-out ruins!

  47. وعَطَّلَها من حَلْيِ نُصْحِكَ باغِياً

    فيا عَجَبَ الأَيامِ للعاطِلِ الحالي

    Rebelling, he stripped them of the ornament of your goodwill—

    what a marvel of the days: the unadorned one, adorned!

  48. يُتَوِّجُها بالنَّقْعِ نَظْمُكَ حولَها

    مجالَ عُقُودٍ من خيولٍ وأَبطالِ

    Your array around them crowns them with dust,

    as necklaces of horses and heroes wheel about.

  49. فيُمْسي لَهَا منهُ لِحافٌ ومِلْحَفٌ

    وتُصْبِحُ منه بَيْنَ دِرْعٍ وسِرْبالِ

    By evening they have from it a coverlet and a cloak,

    and at dawn find themselves between mail and tunic,

  50. كما وَصَفَ الكِنْدِيُّ بَعْلَ فَتاتِهِ

    عَلَيْهِ القَتامُ سَيِّءَ الظَّنِّ والبالِ

    as al-Kindi described his maiden's husband,

    dust upon him, suspicious and troubled in mind.

  51. فأَبْقِ لَهَا بأْسَ ابْنِ باقٍ ونُصْحَهُ

    فما لَمَسَ الجَرْباءَ مِثْلُ يَدِ الطَّالِي

    So preserve for them Ibn Baq's might and loyal care,

    for no hand touches a mangy beast like the hand that salves it;

  52. ولا أَحْصَنَ الحربَ العوانَ كَبَعْلِها

    ولا راعَ آساداً كغاصِبٍ أَشْبَالِ

    nor does anyone wed seasoned war like her own husband,

    nor frighten lions like the snatcher of their cubs.

  53. ولاسِيَّما حُرٌّ جَلا لَكَ غَيْمُهُ

    نصيحةَ لا وانٍ وإِشفاقَ لا آلِ

    Above all, a noble free man whose cloud has revealed to you

    unflagging counsel and concern that spares no effort,

  54. وشِيعِيَّةٌ لا مُقْصِراً عن غُلُوِّها

    ولا مُشْكِلاً بَيْنَ المقصِّرِ والغالي

    and partisan devotion, never falling short of its utmost zeal,

    nor ambiguously placed between the halfhearted and the overzealous;

  55. وطائرُ يُمْنٍ لا تَزَالُ تَرِيشُهُ

    قوادِمَ إِقدامٍ ونَهْضَةَ إِعجالِ

    and a bird of good fortune that you continually feather

    with flight-feathers of daring and a swift upward spring.

  56. بِهَا رَدَّ خيلَ البغيِ تَدْمى كُلُومُها

    وَقَدْ يَئِسَتْ من نُصْرَةِ العَمِّ والخالِ

    With it he drove back rebellion's horses, their wounds bleeding,

    after they had despaired of help from paternal and maternal uncles.

  57. وأَمَّنَ من عُدوانِها كُلَّ خائِفٍ

    وأَثكلَها مُسْتَوْدَعَ الأَهلِ والمالِ

    He made every fearful soul safe from their aggression,

    and bereaved them of the refuge holding family and wealth.

  58. وإِنَّ هلالاً لاح من حَدِّ سيفِهِ

    لمضمونُ إِتمامٍ عَلَيْهِ وإِكمالِ

    And a crescent that shone from the edge of his sword

    is assured of fullness and completion through him.

  59. فهاكَ نجومَ السَّعْدِ من كُلِّ مطلعٍ

    تُوالي بتكبيرٍ إِلَيْكَ وإِهلالِ

    So take the stars of good fortune from every place of rising,

    coming to you in succession with 'God is greatest!' and acclamations.

  60. فلا عَرِيَتْ منكَ الجيادُ إِلَى الوغى

    ولا العيسُ من حِلٍّ إِلَيْكَ وتَرْحالِ

    May the noble steeds never lack you on the way to battle,

    nor the pale camels lack halts with you and journeys to you.