1. ألا طَرَقَتْنا والنّجُومُ رُكودُ

    وفي الحَيّ أيْقاظٌ ونحنُ هُجُودُ

    Indeed, she visited us by night while the stars were still,

    with some in the camp awake, while we were asleep.

  2. وقد أعجَلَ الفَجرُ المُلَمَّعُ خَطَوها

    وفي أُخْرَياتِ اللّيلِ منْهُ عَمودُ

    The gleaming dawn had hastened her steps,

    and in the night's last hours a shaft of it appeared.

  3. سرَتْ عاطلاً غضْبَى على الدُّرّ وحده

    فلَم يدرِ نحرٌ ما دَهاه وجِيدُ

    She traveled unadorned, angry at the pearls alone;

    neither breast nor neck knew what had befallen it.

  4. فَما برِحتْ إلاّ ومن سِلكِ أدْمُعي

    قَلائِدُ في لَبّاتِها وعُقُودُ

    She did not depart without, from the thread of my tears,

    necklaces and strings of jewels upon her throat.

  5. وما مُغزِلٌ أدْماءُ دانٍ بَريرُها

    تَرَبَّعُ أيْكاً ناعِماً وتَرُودُ

    No white doe with a fawn, its arak berries within reach,

    grazing a lush copse in spring and roaming,

  6. بأحْسَنَ منها حِينَ نَصّتْ سَوالِفاً

    تَرُوغُ إلى أتْرابِها وتَحِيدُ

    was lovelier than she when she raised her neck,

    darting toward her companions and turning aside.

  7. ألَمْ يأتِها أنّا كَبُرْنا عنِ الصِّبَى

    وأنّا بَلينا والزّمانُ جَديدُ

    Has word not reached her that we have outgrown youth,

    and that we have worn old while time remains new?

  8. فلَيتَ مَشيباً لا يزالُ ولم أقُلْ

    بكاظمَةٍ ليتَ الشّبابَ يَعودُ

    Would that gray age endured forever, and I had not said

    at Kazimah, 'Would that youth returned!'

  9. ولم أرَ مثلي ما له من تجلُّدٍ

    ولا كجفوني ما لهنّ جُمودُ

    I have never seen anyone like me, without endurance,

    nor like my eyelids, unable to remain dry,

  10. ولا كالليالي ما لَهُنّ مواثِقٌ

    ولا كالغواني ما لَهُنّ عُهُود

    nor like the nights, which keep no covenants,

    nor like beautiful women, who keep no pledges,

  11. ولا كالمُعِزّ ابْنِ النبيّ خليفةً

    له اللّهُ بالفضلِ المبينِ شَهِيد

    nor a caliph like al-Mu'izz, the Prophet's son,

    whose manifest excellence God bears witness to.

  12. وما لسماءٍ أن تُعَدّ نجومُها

    إذا عُدّ آباءٌ لهُ وجُدود

    No sky may have its stars counted

    when his fathers and grandfathers are numbered.

  13. فأسيافُهُ تلك العواري نصولُها

    إلى اليوم لم تُعْرَفْ لهُنّ غُمود

    Those swords of his, their blades laid bare,

    have known no sheaths to this day.

  14. ومِنْ خَيْلِهِ تلك الجوافِلُ إنّهَا

    إلى الآن لم تُحْطَطْ لهُنّ لُبود

    And those galloping steeds among his horses—

    their saddlecloths have not been taken off even now.

  15. فيا أيها الشّانِيهِ خَلْفَكَ صادياً

    فإنّكَ عن ذاك المَعِينِ مَذود

    O you who hate him, fall back, thirsty!

    You are driven away from that flowing spring.

  16. لغيرِكَ سُقيا الماء وهو مُرَوَّقٌ

    وغيرِك رفُّ الظلّ وهو مَديد

    For others is the water to drink, clear and filtered,

    and for others the shade's freshness, spreading wide.

  17. نجاةٌ ولكنْ أينَ منكَ مَرامُها

    وحوضٌ ولكن أين منكَ ورود

    There is salvation—but how far its attainment is from you!

    And a pool—but how far from you is access to it!

  18. إمَامٌ لهُ ممّا جهِلتَ حقيقةٌ

    وليس لهُ مما علمتَ نَديد

    An imam possessing a truth beyond your knowledge,

    with no peer among all that you know.

  19. من الخطَلِ المعدودِ أن قيلَ ماجِدٌ

    ومادِحُهُ المُثْني عليه مَجِيد

    It counts as foolishness merely to call him noble,

    when the very panegyrist praising him is glorious.

  20. وهل جائزٌ فيهِ عَمِيدٌ سَمَيْذَعٌ

    وسائلُهُ ضَخْمُ الدّسيعِ عَمِيد

    Can 'chief' and 'lofty lord' fittingly describe him,

    when his petitioner is himself a chief of ample bounty?

  21. مدائحُهُ عن كلّ هذا بمَعْزَلٍ

    من القولِ إلاّ ما أخَلّ نشيد

    His praises stand apart from all such

    speech, except where a song falls short.

  22. ومَعلومُها في كلّ نفسٍ جِبِلّةٌ

    بها يَسْتهلّ الطفلُ وهو وليد

    Knowledge of them is innate in every soul;

    with it the infant first cries upon being born.

  23. أغيرَ الذي قد خُطّ في اللوح أبتغي

    مديحاً لهُ إنّي إذاً لَعَنُود

    Shall I seek something other than what is written in the Tablet

    as praise for him? Then I would indeed be obstinate.

  24. وهل يستوي وحيٌ من اللّه مُنزَلٌ

    وقافيةٌ في الغابرينَ شَرُود

    Can revelation sent down from God equal

    a wandering rhyme among people of old?

  25. ولكن رأيتُ الشعرَ سُنّةَ مَن خَلا

    له رَجَزٌ ما ينقضي وقصيد

    Yet I saw poetry as the custom of those who passed before:

    for him, unending rajaz verse and odes.

  26. شكرْتُ وِداداً أنّ منكَ سَجيّةً

    تَقَبّلُ شُكرَ العبدِ وهو وَدود

    I gave thanks in love, for you have a disposition

    that accepts a servant's thanks, devoted as he is.

  27. فإنْ يكُ تقصيرٌ فمني وإنْ أقُلْ

    سَداداً فمرْمَى القائلين سديد

    If there is any shortcoming, it is mine; and if I speak

    aright, then the speakers' aim is sound.

  28. وإنّ الذي سَمّاكَ خيرَ خليفَةٍ

    لَمُجري القضاءِ الحتمَ حيث تريد

    The One who named you the best caliph

    indeed brings irrevocable decree to pass wherever you desire.

  29. لكَ البَرُّ والبحرُ العظيمُ عُبابُهُ

    فسِيّانِ أغمارٌ تُخاضُ وبِيد

    Yours are the land and the sea with its mighty surge;

    deep waters to cross and deserts are alike.

  30. أمَا والجواري المنشَآتِ التي سَرت

    لقد ظاهَرَتْها عُدّةٌ وعَديد

    Indeed, by the towering ships that sailed,

    equipment and great numbers reinforced them.

  31. قِبابٌ كما تُزْجَى القبابُ على المَها

    ولكنّ مَنْ ضَمّتْ عليه أُسود

    Domed canopies, like domed litters borne over gazelles,

    but those they enclosed were lions.

  32. وللّهِ ممّا لا يرون كتائبٌ

    مُسَوَّمَةٌ تَحْدُو بهَا وجنُود

    God has battalions beyond what they can see,

    marked out, urging them onward, and hosts.

  33. أطاعَ لها أنّ الملائكَ خلفَها

    كما وقَفَتْ خلْفَ الصّفوفِ ردود

    It yielded to them, for angels were behind them,

    as reserves stand behind the ranks.

  34. وأنّ الرّياحَ الذارياتِ كتائبٌ

    وأنّ النجومَ الطّالعاتِ سُعود

    The scattering winds are battalions,

    and the rising stars bring good fortune.

  35. وما راعَ مَلْكَ الرّوم إلاّ اطّلاعُها

    تُنَشَّرُ أعْلامٌ لها وبنُود

    Nothing alarmed the king of the Romans but their appearance,

    their standards and banners being unfurled.

  36. عَلَيْها غَمامٌ مُكْفَهِرٌّ صَبيرُه

    لهُ بارقاتٌ جَمّةٌ ورُعود

    Above them hangs a cloud, dark and dense in mass,

    with abundant lightning flashes and thunder.

  37. مَواخرُ في طامي العُباب كأنّهُ

    لعَزْمكَ بأسٌ أو لكفّك جود

    They cleave the swelling billows, as though that surge

    were your resolve's might or your hand's bounty.

  38. أنافَتْ بها أعلامُها وسَما لها

    بناءٌ على غيرِ العَراء مَشيد

    Their standards rose over them, and there towered

    a lofty structure built on something other than bare ground.

  39. وليسَ بأعلى كبْكَبٍ وهو شاهقٌ

    وليس من الصُّفّاحِ وهو صَلود

    It stands not on Kabkab's summit, yet is lofty;

    it is not made of rock slabs, yet is solid.

  40. من الرّاسياتِ الشُّمّ لولا انتقالُها

    فمنها قِنَانٌ شُمَّخٌ ورُيود

    They would be firmly rooted, lofty mountains but for their movement;

    among them are towering peaks and projecting ridges.

  41. من الطّيرِ إلاّ أنّهُنّ جَوارِحٌ

    فليسَ لها إلاّ النفوسُ مَصيد

    They are birds, except that they are birds of prey,

    whose only quarry is souls.

  42. من القادحاتِ النّارَ تُضْرَمُ للطُّلى

    فليس لها يومَ اللّقاء خُمود

    They strike fire, kindled for throats;

    on the day of encounter it never dies down.

  43. إذا زَفَرَتْ غَيظاً ترَامَتْ بمارجٍ

    كما شُبّ من نَارِ الجحيمِ وقُود

    When they exhale in rage, they hurl smokeless flame,

    like fuel set ablaze in the fire of Hell.

  44. فأنفاسُهُنّ الحامياتُ صَواعقٌ

    وأفواهُهُنّ الزافراتُ حَديد

    Their burning breaths are thunderbolts,

    and their exhaling mouths are iron.

  45. تُشَبُّ لآلِ الجاثليقِ سَعيرُهَا

    وما هيَ منْ آل الطريدِ بعيد

    Their blaze is kindled for the house of the Catholicos,

    nor is it far from the house of the outcast.

  46. لها شُعَلٌ فوقَ الغِمارِ كأنّها

    دِماءٌ تَلَقّتْها ملاحفُ سود

    They have flames above the deep waters, like

    blood received by black mantles.

  47. تُعانِقُ موجَ البحرِ حتى كأنّهُ

    سَليطٌ لها فيه الذُّبالُ عَتيد

    They embrace the sea's waves until it seems

    to be oil for them, with wicks ready within it.

  48. ترى الماءَ منْها وهو قانٍ عُبابُهُ

    كما باشَرَتْ رَدْعَ الخَلوق جُلود

    You see the water around them, its surge crimson,

    like skins touched by the stain of saffron perfume.

  49. وغيرُ المذاكي نَجْرُها غيرَ أنّهَا

    مُسوَّمَةٌ تحتَ الفوارسِ قُود

    Their stock is not that of mature steeds, yet

    they are marked, long-necked mounts beneath horsemen.

  50. فليس لها إلاّ الرّياحَ أعِنّةٌ

    وليسَ لها إلاّ الحَبابَ كَديد

    Their only reins are the winds,

    and their only powdery ground is the foam.

  51. ترى كلَّ قَوداءِ التليلِ كما انثنَتْ

    سَوالِفُ غِيدٌ للمَها وقُدود

    You see each long-necked one, bending as bend

    the supple necks and forms of gazelles.

  52. رحيبةُ مَدّ الباعِ وهي نَتيجةٌ

    بغيرِ شَوىً عذراءُ وهيَ وَلود

    Wide in her reach, she is a creature born

    without limbs—a virgin, yet prolific.

  53. تكبّرْنَ عن نَقْعٍ يُثارُ كأنّها

    مَوالٍ وجُردُ الصافِناتِ عبيد

    They disdain the dust stirred up, as though they

    were masters and the sleek, poised steeds were slaves.

  54. لها من شُفوفِ العبقريّ ملابِسٌ

    مُفوَّفَةٌ فيها النُّضارُ جَسيد

    They wear garments of fine, exquisite cloth,

    striped, with gold thickly laid into them,

  55. كما اشتملتْ فوق الأرائكِ خُرَّدٌ

    أوِ التَفَعَتْ فوقَ المنابرِ صِيد

    as shy maidens wrap themselves upon couches,

    or proud lords mantle themselves upon pulpits.

  56. لَبوسٌ تكفُّ الموجَ وهو غُطامِطٌ

    وتَدْرَأُ بأسَ اليَمّ وهو شديد

    Armor that restrains the waves as they roar,

    and repels the sea's violence, fierce though it is:

  57. فمنها دُروعٌ فوقها وجَواشنٌ

    ومنها خفاتينٌ لها وبُرود

    some of it is mail upon them and breastplates,

    and some of it their caftans and striped cloaks.

  58. ألا في سبيلِ اللّهِ تَبْذُلُ كلَّ مَا

    تَضِنُّ به الأنواءُ وهْيَ جُمود

    Indeed, in God's cause you expend all that

    the rain-stars withhold when they are barren.

  59. فلا غَرْوَ أنْ أعزَزْتَ دينَ محمّدٍ

    فأنْتَ لهُ دونَ الأنامِ عقيد

    No wonder you have strengthened Muhammad's religion:

    you alone among mankind are its sworn ally.

  60. وباسمِكَ تدعوهُ الأعادي فإنْهُمْ

    يُقِرّونَ حَتْماً والمُرادُ جُحود

    Your enemies call it by your name, and thus they

    must acknowledge, though denial is their aim.

  61. غَضِبتَ له أن ثُلّ بالشامِ عرشُهُ

    وعادَكَ من ذكر العواصم عِيد

    You were angered for it when its throne was shattered in al-Sham,

    and recalling the frontier strongholds brought your grief back.

  62. فبِتَّ له دونَ الأنام مُسَهَّداً

    ونامَ طَليقٌ خائنٌ وطريد

    For its sake you passed the night sleepless, unlike other men,

    while a treacherous freedman and an outcast slept.

  63. برَغْمِهِمُ أن أيّدَ الحَقَّ أهلُهُ

    وأن باءَ بالفعلِ الحميدِ حميد

    Despite them, the truth was strengthened by its own people,

    and a praiseworthy man earned the praiseworthy deed.

  64. فللوحْي منهمْ جاحِدٌ ومكذِّبٌ

    وللدينِ منهُمْ كاشِحٌ وعَنود

    Among them are deniers and disbelievers in revelation,

    and those hateful and obstinate toward religion.

  65. وما سرّهم ما ساءَ أبناءَ قَيصرٍ

    وتلك تِراتٌ لم تزَلْ وحُقود

    What distressed Caesar's sons did not delight them;

    those are enduring grievances and rancors.

  66. هُمُ بَعُدُوا عنهم على قُرْبِ دارِهم

    وجَحْفَلُكَ الدّاني وأنتَ بَعيد

    They stayed far from them, though their dwellings were near,

    while your army was near, though you were far.

  67. وقلتُ أناسٍ ذا الدمستقُ شكرَهُ

    إذا جاءهُ بالعفْوِ منكَ بَريد

    And I asked: does this Domestikos forget his thanks,

    when a courier brings him your pardon,

  68. وتقبيلَهُ التُّربَ الذي فوقَ خدّهِ

    إلى ذِفْرَيَيْهِ من ثَراه صَعيد

    and his kissing the earth, whose dust across his cheek

    reaches behind his ears, dust from that soil?

  69. تُناجيكَ عنه الكُتْبُ وهي ضراعَةٌ

    ويأتيك عنه القولُ وهو سُجود

    Letters speak privately to you for him, full of supplication;

    his words come to you as prostration.

  70. إذا أنكرتْ فيها التراجِمُ لفظَهُ

    فأدمُعُهُ بينَ السّطورِ شُهود

    If interpreters find his wording unfamiliar in them,

    his tears between the lines bear witness.

  71. لياليَ تَقفو الرُّسْلَ رُسْلٌ خواضعٌ

    ويأتيكَ من بعد الوفود وفود

    Through nights when humble messengers followed messengers,

    and delegation after delegation came to you,

  72. وما دَلَفَتْ إلاّ الهُمومُ وراءَهُ

    وإنْ قال قومٌ إنّهُنّ حُشود

    nothing advanced behind him but anxieties,

    though some people called them assembled armies.

  73. ولكن رأى ذُلاًّ فهانَتْ مَنِيّةٌ

    وجَرّبَ خُطباناً فلَذّ هَبيد

    But he saw humiliation, and death became easy;

    he tasted green colocynth, and its seeds turned sweet.

  74. وعرّضَ يَسْتجدي الحِمامَ لنفسِهِ

    وبعضُ حِمامِ المُستريح خُلود

    He exposed himself, begging death for his soul;

    some deaths that bring relief are immortality.

  75. فإنْ هَزّ أسيافَ الهِرَقْلِ فإنّهَا

    إذا شِئْتَ أغلالٌ له وقيودُ

    If he brandishes the swords of Heraclius, they are,

    whenever you wish, shackles and fetters for him.

  76. أفي النومِ يستامُ الوغى ويشُبُّهَا

    ففيمَ إذاً يلقَى القَنا فيحيد

    Does he seek battle and kindle it in his sleep?

    Why, then, does he recoil when he meets the spears?

  77. ويُعْطي الجِزا والسلمَ عن يدِ صاغرٍ

    ويقضي وصدرُ الرّمحِ فيه قصيد

    He pays tribute and offers peace with a humbled hand,

    and settles it with a broken spearhead lodged in him.

  78. يُقَرِّبُ قُرْباناً على وَجَلٍ فإنْ

    تَقَبّلْتَهُ مِنْ مِثْلِهِ فسِعيد

    He brings an offering in fear; and if

    you accept it from one like him, he is fortunate.

  79. أليسَ عجيباً أنْ دعاكَ إلى الوغى

    كما حَرّضَ الليثَ المُزَعْفَرَ سِيدُ

    Is it not strange that he summoned you to battle,

    like a wolf provoking a saffron-hued lion?

  80. ويا رُبّ منْ تُعلِيهِ وهو مُنافِسٌ

    وتُسْدي إليه العُرْفَ وهو كَنود

    How many you raise up while they rival you,

    and grant kindness to while they remain ungrateful!

  81. فإنْ لم تكنْ إلاّ الغوايةُ وحدها

    فإنّ غِرارَ المَشرفيّ رَشيد

    If there is nothing but waywardness alone,

    the edge of the Mashrafi sword is rightly guided.

  82. كذا بكَ عَزمٌ للخطوبِ مُوكَّلٌ

    علهيم وسيفٌ للنفوس مُبيد

    Thus in you is resolve charged with calamities,

    mighty, and a sword that annihilates souls.

  83. إذا هَجروا الأوطانَ رَدّهُمُ إلى

    مصارِعِهِم أن ليس عنك مَحِيد

    When they desert their homelands, what returns them to

    their places of death is that there is no escaping you.

  84. وإنْ لم يكُنْ إلاّ الدّيارُ ورُعْتَهُمْ

    فتلكَ نَواويسٌ لهم ولُحُود

    If nothing remains but their dwellings, and you terrify them,

    those become their tombs and burial pits.

  85. ألا هل أتاهُمْ أنّ ثغرَكَ مُوصَدٌ

    وليسَ له إلاّ الرماحَ وصِيد

    Has word reached them that your frontier is shut fast,

    with no threshold but spears?

  86. وليسَ سواءً في طريقٍ لسالكٍ

    حُدورٌ إلى ما يبتغي وصُعُود

    For a traveler upon a road, they are not equal:

    descending toward what he seeks and climbing.

  87. وعزْمُكَ يلقى كلَّ عزْمٍ مُمَلَّكٍ

    كما يَتَلاقَى كائدٌ ومَكيد

    Your resolve meets every enthroned ruler's resolve

    as a plotter meets the victim of his plot.

  88. وفُلكك يلقى الفلكَ في اليمّ من علٍ

    كما يتَلاقَى سَيّدٌ ومَسود

    Your ships meet other ships upon the sea from above,

    as a master meets one mastered.

  89. فليتَ أبا السبطين والتربُ دونَه

    يَرى كيف تُبْدي حكمَه وتُعيد

    Would that the father of the two grandsons, earth between us,

    could see how you manifest his rule and restore it,

  90. ومَلْكَكَ ما ضمّتْ عليه تهائمٌ

    ومَلْكَكَ ما ضَمّتْ عليه نجود

    and your dominion over all that lowlands enfold,

    and your dominion over all that highlands enfold,

  91. وأخذَكَ قسراً من بني الأصفر الّذي

    تذَبذَبَ كسرى عنه وهو عنيد

    and your forcible taking from Banu al-Asfar of what

    Kisra wavered over, stubborn though he was.

  92. إذاً لرأى يُمناك تخضِبُ سيفَهُ

    وأنتَ عن الدين الحنيفِ تَذود

    Then he would see your right hand dyeing his sword

    as you defend the true religion.

  93. شهدتُ لقد أُوتيتَ جامعَ فضْلِهِ

    وأنتَ على علمي بذاكَ شَهيد

    I bear witness: you have been granted all his excellence,

    and you bear witness to my knowledge of that.

  94. ولو طُلِبَتْ في الغيثِ منكَ سجيّةٌ

    لقد عَزّ موجودٌ وعزّ وُجود

    If a trait of yours were sought in the rain,

    rare would be the thing found, and rare the finding.

  95. إليك يفِرُّ المسلِمونَ بأسرِهِمْ

    وقد وُتِروا وتْراً وأنتَ مُقيد

    All the Muslims flee to you,

    having suffered grievous wrong, while you exact redress.

  96. وإنّ أميرَ المؤمنينَ كعهدِهِمْ

    وعندَ أمير المؤمنينَ مزيد

    The Commander of the Faithful is as they have known him,

    and with the Commander of the Faithful there is still more.