1. ضحكت وجوه الدهر بعد عبوس

    وتجللتنا رحمة من بوس

    The faces of Time laughed after frowning,

    And mercy sheltered us from misery.

  2. وتوضحت غرر البشائر بعد ما

    انبهمت فأطلعها حداة العيس

    And the radiant brows of glad tidings grew clear after they

    Had been obscured; the drivers of pale camels made them rise.

  3. صدعوا بها ليل الهموم كأنما

    صدعوا الظلام بجذوة المقبوس

    With them they cleft the night of sorrows, as though

    They cleft the darkness with an ember of borrowed fire.

  4. فكأنهم بثوا حياة في الورى

    نشرت لها الآمال من مرموس

    As though they had spread life through mankind,

    Hopes were resurrected through it from the grave.

  5. قرت عيون الخلق منها بالتي

    أضفت من النعماء خير لبوس

    Through them, all people's eyes found comfort in what

    Clothed them in blessings' finest garment.

  6. فكأن قومي نادمتهم قرقف

    شربوا النعيم لها بغير كؤوس

    As though wine had become my people's drinking companion,

    Through it they drank bliss without goblets.

  7. يتمايلون من المسرة والرضى

    ويقابلون أهلة بشموس

    They sway with gladness and contentment,

    And greet crescent moons with suns.

  8. من راكب وافى يحيي راكباً

    وجليس أنس قاده لجليس

    Among them, a rider arrived to greet another rider,

    And a companion whom affection led to another companion,

  9. ومشفع لله يؤنس عنده

    أثر الهدى في المعهد المأنوس

    And an intercessor before God, in whose presence is sensed

    The trace of guidance in the familiar abode.

  10. يعتد منها رحمة قدسية

    فيبوء للرحمن بالتقديس

    He reckons among these a sacred mercy,

    And so turns to the All-Merciful in praise of His holiness.

  11. طب بإخلاص الدعاء وإنه

    يشفي من الداء العياء ويوسي

    There is healing in sincere prayer, for it

    Cures intractable illness and brings solace.

  12. يا ابن الخلائف والذين بنورهم

    نهجت سبيل الحق بعد دروس

    O son of the caliphs and of those by whose light

    The path of truth grew clear after its effacement,

  13. والناصر الدين القويم بعزمة

    طرد استقامتها بغير عكوس

    And champion of the upright faith, with a resolve

    Whose straight course continued without reversal.

  14. هجر المنى فيها ولذات المنى

    في لذة التهجير والتغليس

    In it he forsook desires and the delights of desire,

    For the joy of setting out at noon and before dawn.

  15. حاط الرعية بالسياسة فانضوت

    منه لإكرم مالك وسؤوس

    He sheltered his subjects through governance; they sought refuge

    In him, the noblest sovereign and skillful ruler.

  16. أسد يحامي عن حمى أشباله

    حتى ضووا منه لأمنع خيس

    A lion defending the sanctuary of his cubs,

    Until they sheltered with him in the most impregnable thicket.

  17. قسماً بموشي البطاح وقد غدت

    تختال زهواً في ثياب عروس

    I swear by the embroiderer of the plains, which have come

    To strut proudly in a bride's attire,

  18. والماثلات من الحنايا جثما

    يخبرن عن طسم وفل جديس

    And the crouching forms that loom among the arches,

    Telling of Ṭasm and the routed remnants of Jadīs.

  19. خوص مضمرة البطون كأنها

    أنضاء ركب في الفلاة حبيس

    Sunken-eyed, shrunken-bellied, as though they were

    The worn-out mounts of a caravan confined in the wilderness.

  20. وخز البلى منها الغوارب والذرى

    فلفتن خزراً بالعيون الشوس

    Decay pierced their withers and their summits,

    So they turned sidelong, with scowling eyes.

  21. لبقاك حرز الأنام وعصمة

    وحياة أرواح لنا ونفوس

    Indeed, your continued life is mankind's refuge and safeguard,

    And life for our spirits and souls.

  22. ولأنت كافل ديننا بحماية

    لولاك ضيع عهدها وتنوسي

    And you indeed are the guardian of our faith, protecting it;

    Without you, its covenant would be neglected and forgotten.

  23. الله أعطاك التي لا فوقها

    وحباك حظاً ليس بالموكوس

    God has granted you what nothing can surpass,

    And endowed you with an undiminished fortune.

  24. تعنو القلوب إليك قبل وجوهنا

    سيان من رأس ومن مرءوس

    Hearts bow to you before our faces do,

    Alike the one who leads and the one who is led.

  25. فإذا أقمت فإن رعبك راحل

    يحمي على الأعداء كل وطيس

    When you remain, the dread of you travels abroad,

    Kindling every furnace of battle against your enemies.

  26. وإذا رحلت فللسعادة آية

    تقتادها في موكب وخميس

    And when you march, good fortune has an emblem

    Which you lead in a procession and an army.

  27. وإذا الأدلة في الكمال تطابقت

    جاءت بمسموع لها ومقيس

    And when the proofs of perfection agree,

    They bring both reported and reasoned evidence of it.

  28. فانعم بملكك دولة عادية

    تشقي الأعادي بالعذاب البيس

    So delight in your kingship—a dynasty mighty as ʿĀd,

    That makes your foes suffer grievous torment.

  29. وإليكها مني على خجل بها

    عذراء قد حليت بكل نفيس

    And here she is, from me to you, though I blush to offer her:

    A maiden adorned with all that is precious.

  30. غذراً فقد طمس الشباب ونوره

    وأضاء صبح الشيب عند طموس

    Pardon me: youth and its radiance have faded,

    And the dawn of gray hair shone as that light faded.

  31. لولا عنايتك التي أوليتني

    ما كنت أعنى بعدها بطروس

    Were it not for the care you bestowed upon me,

    I would not thereafter have busied myself with written pages.

  32. والله ما أبقت ممارسة النوى

    مني سوى مرس أحم دريس

    By God, enduring separation has left nothing

    Of me but a dark, threadbare rope.

  33. أنحى الزمان علي في الأدب الذي

    دارسته بمجامع ودروس

    Time assailed me in the literary art that

    I studied in gatherings and lessons.

  34. فسطا على وفري وروع مأمني

    واجتث من دوح النشاط غروسي

    It plundered my wealth and terrorized my refuge,

    And uprooted my plantings from the groves of vigor.

  35. ورضاك رحمتي التي أعتدها

    تحيي منى نفسي وتذهب بوسي

    And your favor is the mercy on which I rely,

    Reviving my soul's hopes and dispelling my misery.