1. هُدىً تتجلّى منْ سَناهُ المَشارِقُ

    كما لاحَ صُبْحٌ أو تطلّعَ شارِقُ

    Guidance whose radiance makes the eastern horizons shine,

    As dawn appears or a rising sun comes forth;

  2. وعزْمٌ كأنّ الروْعَ سُلَّتْ سُيوفُهُ

    ونابَتْ عنِ الأغْمادِ فيه المَفارِقُ

    And resolve, as though terror's swords were drawn,

    And head-crowns took the place of sheaths within it;

  3. وجود كأنّ البحْرَ لذّ مذاقُهُ

    أوِ السّحْبُ يَهْمي جَودُها المتدافِقُ

    And generosity, as though the sea had grown sweet to taste,

    Or clouds poured down their cascading bounty;

  4. وذِكْرٌ كأنّ الرّوْضَ هبّ بعَرْفِه

    نسيمُ الصّبا فارْتاحَ للطّيبِ ناشِقُ

    And renown, like a garden whose fragrance is carried by

    The east-wind breeze, gladdening whoever inhaled its perfume;

  5. وغُرُّ جيادٍ في مَدى النّصْرِ ترْتَمي

    إلى مِثلِها يُعْزَى الوجيهُ ولاحِقُ

    And white-blazed steeds hurtling along victory's course,

    To whose like al-Wajih and Lahiq are traced;

  6. وبيضُ ظُبىً مهْما أثارَ جِلادُها

    سَحابَ قَتامٍ فهْيَ فيه بوارِقُ

    And gleaming sword-edges: whenever their clashing raises

    A cloud of battle dust, they flash within it as lightning;

  7. وسُمرُ قناً لوْلا الأسنّةُ لاخْتَفَتْ

    بليْلِ عَجاجٍ هُنّ فيه شوارِقُ

    And dusky spears that, but for their points, would vanish

    In a night of swirling dust, where those points are rising suns.

  8. فَيا راكِبَ الوجْناءِ يبْتَدِرُ السُّرى

    بها وهْو للحَيّ الحِلالِ مُفارِقُ

    O rider of the stout-cheeked she-camel, hastening into night travel

    Upon her, while leaving the encamped tribe behind:

  9. ولمْ يثْنِه من بارق الأفْقِ نيّرٌ

    كعَذْبِ الثّنايا ما العُذَيْبُ وبارِقُ

    No radiant flash upon the horizon turned him back,

    Like sweet front teeth—what are al-ʿUdhayb and Bariq?

  10. ولا راقَهُ خَيْفٌ به الوجْدُ كامِنٌ

    ولا شاقَهُ طيْفٌ على البُعْدِ طارِقُ

    Nor did a mountainside delight him where longing lay hidden,

    Nor a phantom visiting from afar stir his yearning.

  11. ولكنّه يبْغي المحامِدَ والعُلَى

    فيُهْدَى لها حادٍ وتُحْدى أيانِقُ

    Instead, he seeks praiseworthy deeds and high honor,

    Toward which a camel-driver is guided and she-camels urged onward,

  12. ليَحْيا ذَما القلبِ المقلَّبِ كلّما

    تُحيّيهِ من روْضِ الأماني نواشِقُ

    To revive the lingering life of the tossed-about heart whenever

    Fragrant wafts from the garden of hopes greet it.

  13. عليْك بموْلانا الخليفَةِ يوسُفٍ

    فهاتِيكَ أوصافٌ لهُ وخلائِقُ

    Seek our lord, the caliph Yusuf:

    Those are his attributes and qualities.

  14. إمامٌ لهُ عِلْمٌ وحِلمٌ ونائِلٌ

    بهِ خابَ لاحٍ كلّما فازَ لاحِقُ

    An imam possessing knowledge, forbearance, and bounty,

    Through which a detractor fails whenever a follower prospers.

  15. مآثِرهُ والوَصْف يعجِزُ نظْمُهُ

    لَئالٍ بها عِقْدُ العُلى مُتناسِقُ

    His noble deeds—verse is powerless to describe them—

    Are pearls harmoniously strung in the necklace of high honor.

  16. مَكارمُهُ والأفقُ يمْسِكُ غيثَهُ

    تَسيلُ على العافينَ منها مَدافِقُ

    His generous deeds, while the sky withholds its rain,

    Pour forth in torrents over those seeking bounty.

  17. عزائِمُهُ والخيْلُ تبتَدِرُ الوَغَى

    تُقَصّر عنهُنّ الجِيادُ السّوابقُ

    His resolves, while horses rush into battle—

    Even the foremost steeds fall short of them.

  18. كتائِبُهُ مَنْ ذا إذا هِي حارَبَتْ

    يُساوي وأمْلاكَ السّماءِ تُساوِقُ

    His battalions—who, when they wage war,

    Can equal them, as they march abreast of heaven's angels?

  19. وآراؤهُ والرّوْعُ يذْهَبُ بالنُهى

    تُصيبُ العِدى منها سِهامٌ رَواشِقُ

    And his counsels, while terror sweeps away reason—

    From them fly swift arrows that strike the foes.

  20. حَمى وهَمى غيثاً فبالبأسِ والنّدى

    حَقائِبُ تُثْني دائماً وحقائِقُ

    He defended and poured down rain; for might and generosity,

    Saddlebags and proven deeds praise him unceasingly.

  21. وأرْسَلَها طوْعَ الفُتوحِ سوابِقاً

    إذا ما انْبَرتْ هوج الرّياحِ تُسابِقُ

    He sent them forth as swift racers, obedient to conquest,

    Whenever they dash forth, racing the raging winds.

  22. وقيّدَتِ الأجْفانَ أجفانُهُ سَناً

    فلا قَلْبَ إلا وهْو في الحسْنِ عاشقُ

    His ships, in their radiance, held eyelids captive,

    And no heart remained but was enamored of their beauty.

  23. قدِ انْتظَمَ الأبْطالُ في جَنباتِها

    صُفوفاً كما قد نظَّم العِقْدَ ناسِقُ

    Heroes arrayed themselves along their sides,

    In ranks, just as one has strung a necklace.

  24. فللهِ منها في مدَى الحرْبِ تُجْتَلى

    سوابِحُ أو في البرِّ منها سوابِقُ

    By God, how wondrous among them, beheld upon the field of war,

    Are swimming vessels, or swift racers upon the land!

  25. لقد أنجبَ الأنصارُ منهُ خَليفةً

    فوافَى أخيراً وهْوَ في المجْدِ سابِقُ

    The Ansar have indeed brought forth in him a caliph;

    He came last, yet is foremost in glory.

  26. إلى اللهِ هادٍ وهْوَ في الله ناصرٌ

    من اللهِ مَنصورٌ وباللهِ واثِقُ

    He guides toward God and champions God's cause,

    Aided by God and trusting in God.

  27. إذا نامَ للبيضِ الرِّقاقِ مُضاجِعٌ

    وإنْ قامَ للسُّمْرِ الطّوالِ مُعانِقُ

    When he sleeps, slender white blades are his bedfellows,

    And when he rises, he embraces tall dusky spears.

  28. هوَ الدّهْرُ يا مَوْلَى المُلوكِ مُبادِرٌ

    لِما تَرْتَضي منكَ المَعالي مُسابِقُ

    Time itself, O lord of kings, hastens,

    Racing toward what high honors desire of you.

  29. مَقامُك مَحمودٌ وسعيُكَ ناجِحٌ

    ورِفْدُكَ مَبْذولٌ ووعْدُكَ صادِقُ

    Your station is praised and your striving successful;

    Your bounty is freely given and your promise true.

  30. ورأيُكَ للصُّنْعِ الجميلِ مُوافقٌ

    وعزْمُكَ للنّصْرِ العزيز مُرافِقُ

    Your judgment accords with gracious deeds,

    And your resolve accompanies mighty victory.

  31. ومُلْكُكَ للدّين الحَنيفِ وأهْلِهِ

    يُصادِرُ عن أوطانِهِمْ ويُصادِقُ

    Your kingship, for the upright faith and its people,

    Contends for their homelands and offers friendship.

  32. تجرّدُ سيْفَ اللهِ كفُّك في الوغَى

    كما لاحَ أثناءَ الغمامةِ بارِقُ

    Your hand unsheathes God's sword in battle,

    As lightning flashes amid a cloud.

  33. وللنّقْعِ سُحْبٌ فوقَ روْضٍ منَ القَنا

    وحُمرُ الظُّبا في جانبيْهِ شقائِقُ

    Battle dust forms clouds above a garden of spears,

    And red sword-edges on either side are anemones.

  34. وهذا وليُّ الكُفْرِ أخفَقَ سعْيُهُ

    وخابَ وأعْلامُ الجِهادِ خوافِقُ

    This champion of unbelief—his endeavor failed,

    And he was thwarted while the banners of jihad fluttered.

  35. وأحْكَمَ عَقْدَ السّلْمِ يرْضي بها العِدَى

    فحُلّتْ عُهودٌ عندَها ومواثِقُ

    He secured the pact of peace to please the foes,

    So pledges and covenants were thereby dissolved.

  36. لَئيمٌ غَدا بالسّوءِ يَبْسُطُ كفَّهُ

    ليَقْبِضَ بسْطَ الرّزْقِ واللهُ رازِقُ

    A vile man who set about extending his hand in evil,

    To constrict abundant livelihood, though God is the Provider.

  37. صلاتُ النّدى لا تُرْتَجى منهُ إذ لهُ

    عوائِدُ عن قصْدِ النّجاحِ عوائِقُ

    No generous gifts can be hoped for from him, since he has

    Habits that obstruct the pursuit of success.

  38. ولمّا تدلّى في مَهاوي غرورِه

    وضلّلَهُ داجٍ من الغَدْرِ غاسِقُ

    When he sank into the abysses of his delusion,

    And a pitch-black darkness of treachery led him astray,

  39. خطَبْتَ بلادَ العُدْوَتيْنِ فأهْطَعَتْ

    ومن قبْلُ ما صدّتْ خُطوبٌ طوارِقُ

    You courted the lands of the two shores, and they hastened to you,

    Where before, assailing calamities had barred the way.

  40. وعاد السّعيدُ اليومَ وهْوَ مُمَلَّكٌ

    فأُمِّنَ مذْعورٌ وأُفرِجَ ضائِقُ

    Al-Saʿid returned today invested with kingship,

    So the frightened were made safe and the distressed relieved.

  41. يحُلُّ منَ البيْضاءِ دارَ إقامةٍ

    وليسَ عنِ القصْدِ المؤمَّلِ عائِقُ

    He settles in al-Bayda as an abiding home,

    And nothing impedes the hoped-for goal.

  42. وتعْلو المَعالي مَعْلَمَ النّصْرِ عندَها

    وتُجْلِي مجاني الفتْحِ فيها المجانِقُ

    High honors rise above victory's landmark there,

    And mangonels reveal the fruits of conquest there.

  43. فتَسْتَنْزِلُ الأرْواحَ وهْيَ صواعِدٌ

    وترفَعُ طورَ العِزّ وهْيَ صواعِقُ

    They draw down souls even as they rise,

    And raise the mount of glory, themselves thunderbolts.

  44. وما سجدَ الخَبُّ اللّئيمُ وإنما

    تجلّى لهُ نورُ الهُدى فهْو صاعِقُ

    The vile deceiver did not prostrate himself; rather,

    The light of guidance shone upon him, leaving him thunderstruck.

  45. وللهِ منْها وِجْهةٌ ناصريّةٌ

    مَذاهِبُ فيها للعُلَى وطرائِقُ

    How wondrous, by God, the Nasrid course arising from this,

    With paths and roads to high honor!

  46. إلى جبلِ الفتْحِ ابتَدَرْتَ بعزْمةٍ

    يَخيبُ مُناوٍ عندَها ومُنافِقُ

    To Jabal al-Fath you hastened with resolve,

    Before which adversary and hypocrite fail.

  47. طرَقتَ حِمى أقصى البِلادِ تمنُّعاً

    بما لمْ يحُزْ في الفتْحِ موسَى وطارقُ

    You assailed the stronghold of the most impregnable land,

    With what neither Musa nor Tariq attained in conquest.

  48. وسيفُكَ صَلْتٌ حيثُ بأسُكَ كامِنٌ

    وقلبُكَ ثَبْتٌ حيثُ بندُكَ خافِقُ

    Your sword is unsheathed where your might lies hidden,

    And your heart is steadfast where your banner flies.

  49. تَفوقُ بروجَ الأفْقِ أبراجُهُ فما

    كواكِبهُ إلا خوافٍ خوافِقُ

    Its towers surpass the constellations of the sky; thus

    The sky's stars are but hidden, quivering lights.

  50. ولمْ لا تُباهي أفْقَهُ ونجومَهُ

    قلائِدُ في لبّاتِها ومناطِقُ

    Why should its horizon and stars not be rivaled

    By necklaces upon their throats, and girdles?

  51. ولكِن به قوْمٌ أباحُوا ذِمارَهُ

    بِبَغْي فناعٍ في ذُراهُ وناعِقُ

    But within it are people who violated its sanctuary

    Through rebellion; on its heights a death-crier and a croaker call.

  52. لقدْ كفَروا نعْماكَ لا درَّ دَرُّهُمْ

    فجلّتْ بهِمْ طوْعَ البَوارِ البوائِقُ

    They denied your bounty—may their milk never flow!

    So calamities grew grievous upon them, at ruin's bidding.

  53. ولو قد أجابوا دعوةً يوسُفيّةً

    لمُدَّ من السّتْرِ الجَميل سُرادِقُ

    Had they answered a summons from Yusuf,

    A pavilion of gracious protection would have been spread.

  54. إذا ما دجَى ليلُ الخطايا فيوسُفٌ

    لِصُبْحِ الرِّضى والعفْوِ والحِلْمِ فالِقُ

    When the night of sins grows dark, Yusuf

    Makes the dawn of favor, pardon, and forbearance break.

  55. يقولُ لسانُ الفتحِ في عَرَصاتِه

    ألا سارِعوا للعِزّ طوْعاً وسابِقوا

    The tongue of conquest declares in its open courts:

    Hark! Hasten willingly toward glory, and race one another!

  56. وقد نالَ منهُمْ قصْدَهُ جُندُكَ الذي

    لهُ قائِدٌ من عِزّ نصْرِكَ سائِقُ

    Your army has achieved its aim against them,

    With a commander who drives it onward through your victory's might.

  57. ويستَوْقِفُ الأبصارَ رمْيُ قِسيّهِ

    فراقَ النُهى رامٍ لدَيْهِ ورامِقُ

    The shooting of its bows arrests the eyes,

    And archer and watcher there delight discerning minds.

  58. تمنّعَ واسْتَعْصى كما كتَم الهَوى

    على الرّغْمِ صبٌّ للمحاسِنِ شائِقُ

    It held out and resisted, as passion is concealed

    Despite himself, by a lovesick man yearning for beauty.

  59. وما هُو إلا في يَدَيْكَ زِمامُهُ

    كما آبَ منْ بعْدِ القطيعةِ آبِقُ

    Yet its reins are nowhere but in your hands,

    Like a runaway returning after estrangement.

  60. عَقيلةُ حُسْنٍ طارَدَتْ بوصالِها

    لكَيْما تُوافي بالرِّضى وتوافِقُ

    A noble beauty who played chase with her embrace,

    So she might come in willing consent and accord.

  61. فَلِلْمَنْحِ بعْدَ المنْعِ أعْذَبُ موْقِعٍ

    أيَحْظى بمعنَى القُرْبِ مَن لا يُفارِقُ

    Giving after withholding has the sweetest effect:

    Can one who never parts savor what closeness means?

  62. وقد جاءَكَ الأضحى فوفّيْتَ حقَّهُ

    بما هوَ بالدنيا وبالدّينِ لائِقُ

    Eid al-Adha has come to you, and you fulfilled its due

    With what befits worldly affairs and religion.

  63. لذلكِ تُثْني بالذي أنتَ أهلُهُ

    مَغارِبُ من آفاقِها ومشارِقُ

    For that, they offer the praise you deserve—

    The western and eastern reaches of their horizons.

  64. فهُنّئْتَهُ يوماً أغرَّ ومَوْسِماً

    كريماً لهُ الصُّنْعُ الجميلُ مُرافِقُ

    May you be congratulated upon it, a radiant day and a season

    Noble, accompanied by gracious deeds.

  65. أمَوْلاي ما وفّى وإنْ كُنتُ مُبدِعاً

    منَ الوصْفِ قصْدي ما بهِ أنا ناطِقُ

    O my lord, though I be inventive, my words have not fulfilled

    My purpose in description through all that I utter,

  66. ولوْ كان من جِنْحِ الظلامِ أمِدّةٌ

    لديَّ ومن نورِ الصّباحِ مَهارِقُ

    Even if I had inks from the wing of darkness

    At hand, and scrolls from the light of morning.

  67. فدونكَها من خِدْر فكريَ غادةً

    تقَصّرُ عنها في الخُدورِ العواتِقُ

    Take her, then, a tender maiden from my thought's inner chamber,

    Before whom the maidens in secluded chambers fall short.

  68. فلولاكَ ما ذاعَتْ نواسِمُ فِكرَتي

    ورقّتْ فراقَتْ للنّظامِ حدائِقُ

    But for you, the fragrant breezes of my thought would never have spread,

    Nor gardens for verse have grown delicate and delightful.

  69. ولا كان من نَظْمي إذا رُمْتُ مِدْحةً

    يُحيّيكَ روْضٌ رائِعُ الحُسْنِ رائِقُ

    Nor would there be from my verse, when I sought a panegyric,

    A garden greeting you, wondrously beautiful and pure.

  70. فخُلِّدَت ما سارَ الحجيجُ إلى مِنىً

    وما لاحَ في جنحِ الدُّجُنّةِ بارِقُ

    May she be immortalized as long as pilgrims journey to Mina,

    And lightning gleams in the wing of deep darkness.