فعالك تسهتوي القلوب فتطرب

فيعرب عنهن اللسان فيطنب

Your deeds captivate hearts and stir their delight;

the tongue speaks for them, elaborating at length.

صحائف مجد ناصعات يخطها

بفخر يراع الكاتبين فيسهب

Radiant pages of glory are inscribed

proudly by the writers' pen, which dwells upon them.

ففيهن للإنسان أسمى بطولة

يمجدها التاريخ دهراً فيدأب

In them lies humanity's loftiest heroism,

which history tirelessly glorifies through the ages.

وفيها من الإلهام للشعر مصدر

غزير وروض للأناشيد مخصب

In them poetry finds a source of inspiration,

abundant, and a fertile garden for songs.

فأنت مثال للكمال مجسم

تذل لك الأقران قهراً وتجذب

You are an embodied model of perfection;

your peers bow before you, compelled and drawn to you.

وأنت بميدان السياسة سابق

متى جاءك الأقطاب منهم تكهربوا

In the arena of politics you lead the field;

whenever their leading figures come to you, they are electrified.

فهم أكبروا منك الصراحة المضا

ومن ذلك الإكبار هذا التأدب

They esteem your incisive frankness;

from that esteem comes this deference.

وقمت بتدبير الممالك حازما

وملكك من كبرى الممالك أرحب

You undertook the realms' administration resolutely;

your kingdom is broader than the greatest kingdoms.

فمن شرفات الشام باتت حدوده

شمالا إلى نجران بل هو يجنب

Its borders extend from the heights of al-Sham

in the north to Najran—indeed, farther south.

ومن ساحلي بحر الخليج مشرقاً

إلى القلزم المشهور حيث يغرب

From the two shores of the Gulf's sea in the east

to famed al-Qulzum, where the sun sets.

عسير المطا لولاك صعب قياده

وإصحلاه في كف غيرك أصعب

A refractory mount: without you, hard to rein;

reforming it in another's hands would be harder.

به الخلف من عصر الصحابة منشب

مخالب ما إن تنثني حين تنشب

Since the Companions' age, discord has sunk into it

claws that never bend once they take hold.

ومن أكبر البلوى عليه قبائل

من البدو في تلك الممالك تضرب

Among its greatest afflictions are tribes

of nomads roaming those realms.

يسيل دم الثارات بين بطونها

وديدنها في الغزو تسطو وتنهب

The blood of vendettas flows among their clans;

their habit in raiding is to attack and plunder.

ومن رام إحياء الشعوب فلا أرى

يتم له وسط البداوة مطلب

Whoever seeks to revive peoples—I cannot see

his aim fulfilled amid nomadic life.

ولا رأي فيهم والجهالة طبعهم

وعادات سوء عندهم وتعصب

They have no sound judgment; ignorance is their nature,

with evil customs among them and fanaticism.

وأنت النطاسي الحكيم برأيه

تشخص أصل الداء والداء مرعب

You are the skilled physician, wise in judgment;

you diagnose the illness's root, and the illness is terrifying.

فأيقنت أن الملك في البدو زائل

إذا لم يحضر أهله ويهذبوا

You became certain that sovereignty among nomads would vanish

unless its people became settled and refined.

فقمت بنشر الدين فيهم وإنه

دواء لأدواء النفوس مجرب

So you spread religion among them, for it

is a tried remedy for the ailments of souls.

وليس سوى الدين الحنيف مطهر

لعادات شعب أهله قد تشعبوا

Nothing but the upright faith can cleanse

the customs of a people whose members have splintered.

فلما استجابوا للهدى وتشربت

نفوسهم من هديه وتشربوا

When they answered guidance and drank it in,

their souls steeped in its teaching, and they imbibed it,

أكبوا على القرآن يتلون آيه

وكلهم يقرا الحديث ويكتب

they devoted themselves to the Quran, reciting its verses;

all of them read the Hadith and write.

ومن أمة أمية جئت للورى

بشعب على نيل العلى يتدرب

From an unlettered nation you brought humanity

a people training to attain greatness.

وناديتهم نحو الحضارة داعياً

فلبوا وعن نهج البداة تنكبوا

You called them toward civilization, inviting them;

they answered and turned aside from the nomads' path.

وتلك الفيافي القاحلات مدائن

بها الزرع ينمو والمتاجر تجلب

Those barren wildernesses are cities,

where crops grow and merchandise is brought.

أولئك جند الله أنت زمامهم

تقودهم نحو العلى وتهذب

They are God's soldiers; you hold their reins,

leading them toward greatness and refining them.

بك اجتمعوا بعد الشتات فألفوا

قوى ترجف الضد العنيد وترهب

Through you they gathered after dispersal and formed

forces that shake and terrify the stubborn adversary.

وهم سيفك البتار أتى توجهت

مضاربه يفري ويمناك تضرب

They are your cleaving sword: wherever you direct

its cutting edges, it rends, and your right hand strikes.

حمائم تقوى في المساجد خضع

وآساد غاب في الوغى تتوثب

Doves of piety, bowed low in the mosques,

and forest lions leaping into battle.

على أن هذا الهدي لم يرض معشراً

أجابوه لكن بالنفاق تجلببوا

Yet this guidance did not please a certain company:

they answered it, but clothed themselves in hypocrisy.

رفعتهم عن مستواهم تألفاً

فزادوك إبعاداً وأنت تقرب

You raised them above their station to win their affection;

they only pushed you farther off while you drew near.

وما ضربوا إلا بيمناك مضرباً

وما سعدوا إلا وسعدك يغلب

They struck no blow except through your right hand;

they prospered only while your good fortune prevailed.

فغرهم النصر الذي بك أحرزوا

وأطغتهم النعمى التي منك تسكب

The victory they gained through you deceived them;

the blessings flowing from you made them insolent.

ومن هم فقد كانوا إلى قبل مدة

جفاة بهم صقع المعيشة مجدب

And who are they? Until only a short while ago they were

coarse men whose terrain of livelihood lay barren.

ولم يك سلطان رئيس عتيبة

فأنت له دون الأنام المرتب

Sultan was not the chief of 'Utaybah;

you, alone among men, appointed him.

نفيت ابن هندي عنه ثم نصبته

ولولاك بعد الله ما كان ينصب

You removed Ibn Hindi from it, then installed him;

but for you, after God, he would not have been appointed.

وهذا ابن سلطان الدويش ولم يطل

له أمد حتى عن البال يعزب

And here is Ibn Sultan al-Duwish; no long

time has passed for him to fade from memory.

وما كان ضيدان ليخلص سره

وفيه من الإحساء نار تلهب

Dhaydan could not be sincere at heart

with a fire from al-Ahsa blazing within him.

أولئك ثالوث الجهالة غرهم

نوالك والحسنى التي أنت ترغب

Those three make a trinity of ignorance, deceived by

your bounty and the kindness you desire.

فظنوا وظن البعض أنك قائم

عليهم وأن الجود منك تحبب

They—and some others—thought you relied

on them, and that your bounty sought their affection.

ومن ذل خوفاً لا يطيعك رغبة

إذا زالت الاسباب زال المسبَب

Whoever submits from fear does not obey you willingly;

when the causes disappear, their effect disappears.

أبوا غير نكران الجميل تسوقهم

نفوس إلى الفوضى تحن وتقنب

They insisted on denying kindness, driven by

souls that yearn for chaos and gather in bands.

وأول غل أظهروه فعالهم

لدى الطائف المسكين أيام ينكب

The first rancor they revealed was their deeds

at hapless al-Ta'if in its days of calamity,

وقول الدوريش الفدم في أهل يثرب

جزاؤهم أن يقتلوا أن يصلبوا

and the dolt al-Duwish's words about Yathrib's people:

'Their punishment is to be killed, to be crucified.'

وقد ساءه فتح الأمير محمد

لها والسعودي الصميم محبّب

Prince Muhammad's conquest had angered him—

his conquest of it, while the true Saudi was beloved.

وطاغية الصرار جاء بقومه

كراع لآراض الكلا يتطلب

The tyrant of al-Sarrar came with his people,

like a shepherd seeking lands of pasture.

فارجعتهم سود الوجوه كما اتوا

وتم لك الفتح الذي أنت تطلب

You sent them back black-faced, as they had come;

the conquest you sought was accomplished for you.

وما كنت ترضى أن يمسوا سواهم

بسوء وهم قد قتلوا ثم خربوا

You would not consent to their harming others,

though they had killed and then devastated.

وجده لولاوهم لسلم أهلها

متى بودروا من قبل أن يتأهبوا

And Jeddah—but for them, its people would have yielded

if forestalled before they could prepare.

فأوقفتهم كيلا يعيدوا فعالهم

وأنت لها ما تأتلي تتجنب

You halted them lest they repeat their deeds,

which you spare no effort to avoid.

فبات أثافي النفاق ثلاثة

ومن فوقهم قدر المروق مركب

Thus hypocrisy's hearthstones numbered three;

above them sat the mounted pot of apostasy.

وزادهم الإصلاح في الملك سخطة

وأين من التمدين عنقاء مغرب

Reform in the kingdom increased their resentment;

how far the fabulous phoenix is from civilization!

رأوا من فعال الكهرباء عجائباً

وذاقوا عناها في الحروب وجربوا

They saw wonders wrought by electricity,

and tasted its hardships in war, putting it to the test.

لقد علموا أن اقتناءك عدة

سواهم سترميهم بها إن تألبوا

They knew that you were acquiring equipment

other than themselves, to strike them with if they joined forces.

وما السائرات المدرعات حقيقة

سوى عُدد فيها العصاة تؤدب

In truth, the armored vehicles are nothing

but equipment with which rebels are disciplined.

وما الطائرات المسرعات إذا رمت

قنابلها إلا الدمار المخرب

And the speeding airplanes, when they cast

their bombs, are nothing but devastating destruction.

وما البرق يحصي عنهم حركاتهم

وينقلها إلا رقيب معقب

The telegraph, recording their movements

and relaying them, is but a watchful pursuer.

فغروا عقول الساذجين بقولهم

صناعات كفار إلى السحر تنسب

They deceived the minds of the naive by saying:

'Unbelievers' inventions, attributable to sorcery.'

فابطلت دعواهم وأظهرت غشهم

بأن لها نص الشريعة يوجب

You refuted their claim and exposed their deceit

with a text of sacred law that enjoins their use.

فعادوا إلى الإفساد بين بلادكم

وجاراتها تغزو السرايا وتسلب

They returned to spreading corruption throughout your lands

and their neighbors, their raiding bands attacking and plundering.

وشجعهم أن المخافر تُبتنى

خلافاً لميثاق العقير وتنصب

They were encouraged by guard posts being built

and erected in violation of the Pact of al-'Uqayr.

وقد كان أحرى بالعراق قيامه

بما هو أولى للوئام وأقرب

Iraq would have done better to act

in ways more suited to concord and closer to it.

ولكن أمراً قد أتوه وحجة

كواهي نسيج الريح حاكته عنكب

But they committed an act, offering an argument

as flimsy as wind's fabric woven by a spider.

وقد كان سهلاً حلها بمودة

على أنه في الأمر للقوم مأرب

Settling it amicably would have been easy,

yet those people had a purpose in the matter.

مشاكل لولا أنك اعتدت دفعها

لضقت ولكن صدرك الرحب أرحب

Problems that, had you not been accustomed to averting them,

would have distressed you—but your broad heart is broader still.

فداريت جيراناً ودوايت علة

تسيل دماها بينما هي تندب

You placated neighbors and treated an ailment

whose blood flows even as it cries out.

وعدت وأوعدت البغاة فلا العطا

يفيد ولا التهديد بالقول يرهب

You promised and threatened the rebels; neither gifts

avail nor spoken threats inspire fear.

إذا عاهدوا عهداً به نكثوا غداً

وإن وعدوا خانوا وعاثوا وأحربوا

If they make a covenant, they break it tomorrow;

if they promise, they betray, ravage, and despoil.

يشنون غارات الفساد نكاية

على أنهم باسم الجهاد تحجبوا

They launch destructive raids to inflict harm,

though they veil themselves in the name of jihad.

ولما تمادوا في الضلال دعوتهم

وهيهات أن يلقى العدالة مذنب

When they persisted in error, you summoned them—

but how unlikely that a culprit would face justice!—

لمؤتمر يحوي القبائل كلها

تنحيت فيه كي يشيروا وينصبوا

to a conference embracing all the tribes.

You stepped aside there so they could advise and appoint.

فلباك فيه المخلصون جميعهم

يضيق بهم سهل من الأرض مرحب

All the loyal men answered you there;

a spacious plain could scarcely contain them.

وهبك تركت الحكم فيهم فَمَن لهم

سواك مليك في القلوب محبب

Suppose you left rule among them: whom would they have

but you, a king beloved in their hearts?

أمن فئة شاهت وجوها وهذه

وفود الرعايا لا تعد وتحسب

Someone from a faction ill-favored of face, while these

delegations of subjects cannot be counted or reckoned?

أجابوا الدعا إياك نختار مالكا

يسوس الرعايا كلها ويؤدب

They answered the call: 'You alone we choose as sovereign,

to govern all the subjects and discipline them.'

ولكن طواغيت البغاة تقاعسوا

خوارج فيما بينهم قد تحزبوا

But the rebels' tyrants hung back,

secessionists who had formed a party among themselves.

وبانت نواياهم ولاح خداعهم

وإن هم بجلباب الجهاد تجلببوا

Their intentions became clear and their deceit appeared,

though they clothed themselves in the cloak of jihad.

ولم يكفهم قتل الأجانب غيلة

فقد قتلوا أهل القسيم وسلَّبوا

Treacherously killing foreigners did not suffice them;

they killed the people of al-Qasim and plundered them.

هنالك فاض الكيل والحلم غرهم

وفي مثل هذا الفتك كالحلم طيب

Then the measure overflowed; forbearance had deceived them.

And in such slaughter, goodness is like forbearance.

ولما دعا داعي النفير أجبنه

كتائب في أبطالها تتكتب

When the herald of mobilization called, they answered him—

battalions forming ranks around their heroes.

ويا لك من صبح رأت فيه شمسه

وقد طلعت سهلا من الدم يخضب

What a morning, whose sun beheld,

as it rose, a plain stained red with blood!

على سبلة الزلفي أفاق طغاتهم

وليس لهم بعد الهزيمة مهرب

At Sablat al-Zulfi their tyrants awoke;

after defeat they had no escape.

وبانت لهم أحلامهم وظنونهم

هباء وهل في الآل ماء فيشرب

Their dreams and suppositions proved

mere dust—is there water in a mirage to drink?

أتتهم جنود الله من كل جانب

وحل محل البندقية أعضب

God's armies came upon them from every side,

and a keen sword took the rifle's place.

ولو لم يهب عبد العزيز بقومه

إلى المنع فيهم لاستبيحوا وأعطبوا

Had Abd al-Aziz not sprung up with his people

to protect them, they would have been ravaged and destroyed.

وجاء الدوريش الفدم في النعش مثخنا

وأجهش يبكي ضارعا وهو ينحب

The dolt al-Duwish came gravely wounded on a bier,

bursting into tears, imploring and sobbing.

ومنذ رأى عبد العزيز نساءه

حواليه أغضى عنه وهو يؤنب

When Abd al-Aziz saw his womenfolk

around him, he showed indulgence while reproaching him.

وقال ألا تبت يداك من امرئ

خؤون فهذا ما تحب وترغب

'May your hands perish!' he said. 'What a

treacherous man! So this is what you love and seek.'

وما ابن بجاد غير طير محلق

سيهوي وإن طال المجال ويتعب

Ibn Bijad is nothing but a soaring bird:

he will fall and tire, however long his flight.

وقد عاد من بعد الفرار بذلة

فلاقى جزاه الغادر المتقلب

He returned after fleeing, humbled;

the fickle traitor met his requital.

وثالثة الأثفي ضيدان قابع

بصرَّاره سير الحوادث يرقب

The third hearthstone, Dhaydan, crouches

in his al-Sarrar, watching the march of events.

إذا ذكر الإحساء والعيث هاجه

غليل به من حره يتقلب

When he remembers al-Ahsa and ravaging, he is stirred by

a burning thirst whose heat makes him writhe.

ومن قومه العجمان فالغدر خلقه

غذي دره حتى غدا وهو أشيب

His people are al-'Ajman; treachery is his nature,

its milk fed him until he grew gray-haired.

وما الطبعة الكبرى وما جرّ بعدها

وكنزان إلا غدرهم والتقلب

What were the Great Drowning and what followed it,

and Kanzan, but their treachery and fickleness?

هم غدروا فهداً فكان جزاؤهم

من الله أن ينفوا وأن يتغربوا

They betrayed Fahd, and their recompense

from God was banishment and exile.

ويا غدرة كلب الكلاب أتى بها

لها كل غاوٍ غادر يتهيب

What a betrayal that dog of dogs committed,

before which every misguided traitor quails!

وشر الأعادي ذو النفاق فإنه

على ما به يغريك إذ يتحبب

The worst enemy is the hypocrite, for

despite what he harbors, he tempts you with affection.

لقد ظن أن الجو للحكم قد خلا

بمقتل ضيدانٍ لما يتطلب

He thought the field had cleared for his rule

through Dhaydan's killing, for what he sought.

ولكن أبى مولاك إلا فضيحة

فقد قلبوا ظهر المجنّ وخربوا

But your Lord would allow nothing but exposure:

they turned the shield's back and laid waste.

رأوك بعيداً في الحجاز وما دروا

بأن إله العرش دونك أقرب

They saw you far away in the Hijaz, not knowing

that the God of the Throne was nearer than you.

فولوا إلى الوفراء والقيظ لافح

لكي يشبعوا الأطماع والكل أشعب

They headed toward al-Wafra, the summer heat scorching,

to sate their ambitions, every one an Ash'ab.

وان أنس للتاريخ لا أنس موقفا

لآل عطا في صدقهم إذ تصلبوا

Though I forget, I shall not forget, for history, the stand

of Al 'Ata in their loyalty, when they stood firm.

بداة وأخلاق الحضارة هذبت

حواشيهم في فعلها فتهذبوا

Nomads, yet the manners of civilization polished

their rough edges through its influence, refining them.

فظلوا على إخلاصهم وولائهم

وليس لهم إلا ولاؤك مذهب

They remained steadfast in their sincerity and allegiance;

they have no creed but allegiance to you.

على قلة لكن لها الله كالئ

ومن حولهم أعداؤهم تتألب

Few in number, but God guards them,

while their enemies gather around them.

وما العازمي عند العدى غير لقمة

تساغ وإلا شربة الماء تشرب

To the enemy, an 'Azimi was only a morsel

to swallow, or a drink of water to gulp.

هناك على الوفراء باتت جموعهم

وشادوا بيوت الحرب فيها وطنبوا

There at al-Wafra their hosts encamped;

they pitched the tents of war and stretched their ropes.

وقد أرسلوا نحو الدويش بداره

فأغروه إن الجهل بالعقل يلعب

They sent word to al-Duwish at his home

and enticed him: ignorance plays with the mind.

فأرضاهم القوم الميامين في رضى

بضربة من للحق يرضى ويغضب

The blessed men gave them their satisfaction,

with the blow of one pleased or angered for truth's sake.

فولوا ولم يلووا فلا الابن منقذ

أباه ولا يلوي على إبنه الأب

They fled without looking back: no son saved

his father, nor did a father turn back for his son.

وعادوا وقد كان الدويش وقومه

لدعوتهم قد جردوا وتغربوا

They returned, while al-Duwish and his people

had mobilized and marched abroad at their summons.

ولما درى بالأمر عض بنانه

كما غص قبلُ الخائن المتذبذب

When he learned what had happened, he bit his fingertips,

as the wavering traitor had choked before.

وما عنده غير التجلد بعدها

وقد خاب فيما يرتجيه ويحسب

He had nothing left but endurance thereafter,

disappointed in what he hoped for and expected.

فآوى إليه كل جمع مشرد

وقد قام فيهم بالحماسة يخطب

He sheltered every scattered band with him

and stood among them, delivering fervent speeches.

فلول ولكن الدسائس شجعت

وللناس آمال وللدهر مأرب

Routed remnants—but intrigues encouraged them;

people have hopes, and time its own designs.

دسائس عادت بالوبال لأهلها

وما شفت الأحقاد والدهر قلب

Intrigues brought ruin upon their authors,

without curing their rancors; time is fickle.

فوا عجبا فالحرب كانت لأجلهم

فكيف أعانوهم ألما يجربوا

How strange! The war had been for their sake;

how did they aid them? Had they not put them to the test?

ولكن ألغاز السياسة حلها

عجيب وأطوار السياسة أعجب

But the solution to politics' riddles

is strange, and politics' changing ways are stranger.

فسر في سبيل الله فالله كالئ

وقم بلواء الله فالنصر مصحب

Go in God's path, for God is your guardian;

raise God's banner, for victory accompanies you.

هناك استعد ابن الدوريش لغارة

بنجد ونيران السموم تلهب

There Ibn al-Duwish prepared for a raid

in Najd, while the scorching wind's fires blazed.

فخاب لدى القاعية الفدم خيبة

بخفي حنين عاد بل هو أخيب

At al-Qa'iyah the dolt suffered failure;

he returned with Hunayn's two slippers—indeed, worse off.

وقسّم أجناد الضلال عصائباً

وفرقهم أن المشيئة تغلب

He divided the armies of error into bands

and scattered them; the divine will prevails.

فأرسل للغرب الدهينة داعياً

فكان غراباً بالمصائب ينعب

He sent al-Duhaynah westward as an agitator;

he became a raven croaking calamities.

وخلى ابنه عبد العزيز وركنه

بسبع مئين في السباسب يضرب

He left his son Abd al-Aziz, his pillar,

roaming the barren plains with seven hundred men.

فلاقاه في أقوامه ابن مساعد

فأفناهم قتلا أبا لسيف يلعب

Ibn Musa'id met him amid his men

and slew them utterly, the sword at play [wording unclear].

فنوا كلهم سبع مئينا وتسعة

طعام تغداه نسور وأذؤب

They all perished—seven hundred and nine—

food consumed by vultures and wolves.

لقد هاله فقد ابنه وهو ساعد

ومن معه من خيرة القوم منكب

The loss of his son appalled him: he was a supporting arm,

and the choicest men with him were a shoulder.

فأدركه اليأس المميت فما له

سوى الضربة القصوى وهل ثم مضرب

Deadly despair overtook him; he had nothing

but the final blow—but was there a place to strike?

فقرر إتيان العوازم حاسباً

بأن اسمه عند العوازم مرعب

He resolved to attack al-'Awazim, supposing

his name terrified al-'Awazim.

ولم يدر أن الجد بالأمس جدكم

وأكبر ذل غالب ظل يغلب

He did not know that yesterday's good fortune was yours;

greatest is the shame of a victor who long prevailed.

وما كاد يلقي في النقاير جمعهم

إذا هو من أيدي العوازم يعطب

Scarcely had he met their host at al-Naqa'ir

when he was ruined at al-'Awazim's hands.

ويكفيه أن الله أخزى عتوه

فذلله إذ لم يكن قط يحسب

It was enough that God disgraced his insolence,

humbling him as he had never expected.

تنازل يبقي الصلح عن كبريائه

وأي دويش للعوازم يرهب

He relinquished his pride to preserve the peace;

what Duwish could frighten al-'Awazim?

ولكنه أمر من الله نافذ

يعز فيعطي أو يذل فيسلب

But it is an irrevocable decree from God:

He exalts and gives, or humbles and takes away.

وفي الغرب قد كانت عتيبة أخلدت

لغدر فلا تنأى ولا تتقرب

In the west, 'Utaybah had inclined

to treachery, neither withdrawing nor drawing near,

إلى أن أتاها ابن الدهينة ناعقاً

يبث أساليب الفساد ويكذب

until Ibn al-Duhaynah came to them, croaking,

spreading the ways of corruption and lying.

فمحصهم هذا سليم مسالم

عصاه وهذا في الغواية أجرب

He sifted them: this one was sound and peaceable,

disobeying him, while that one was mange-ridden with error.

فجئتهم كالماء للناء مطفئاً

فأدبتهم والسيف نعم المؤدب

You came to them like water extinguishing fire;

you disciplined them—the sword is an excellent disciplinarian.

وان الذي صادرته منك أصله

وأنت لهم أضعاف ذلك توهب

What you confiscated originally came from you,

and you give them many times as much.

وجئت بجند الله تزجي جموعه

تضيق به الأرض الفضا وهي سَبسَبُ

You came with God's army, driving its hosts onward;

the open earth is cramped by it, though a boundless plain.

فلا مرتع يكفيهم بنباته

ولا مورد إلا من الورد ينضب

No pasture's vegetation can suffice them;

no watering place but runs dry from their drinking.

ولكن سقاك الله بالغيث أينما

توجهت فالسحب الغزيرة تسكب

But God watered you with rain wherever

you turned, abundant clouds pouring down.

فأنت لهم كالغيث بالجود مطعم

وغيث سماء الله بالجود مشرب

You are like rain to them, feeding them through generosity;

the rain of God's sky generously gives them drink.

إلى أن أتيت الباطن الحفر فانتحت

جنودك جمعا للعدى تتطلب

Until you reached al-Batin, al-Hafr; then advanced

your troops together, in pursuit of the enemy.

فضاقت بهم سبل الفضا وفجاجه

من الرعب حتى عندها الكف أرحب

The open land's paths and passes closed in upon them

with terror, till a palm seemed more spacious than they.

قد اعتورتهم للنسور مخالب

وقد ساورتهم للقساور أنيب

Eagles' talons had assailed them,

and lions' fangs had sprung upon them.

ومن سر حكم الله أنهم طغوا

عتوّاً وفي صغرى السريات أدبوا

Part of the mystery of God's judgment is that they rebelled

in insolence, yet were disciplined by the smallest detachments.

ومن سر حكم الله انهم التجوا

إلى من عليه بالجهاد تحجبوا

Part of the mystery of God's judgment is that they sought refuge

with those they had opposed beneath a cloak of jihad.

عمائمهم صف البرانيط حولها

تصافحهم أيديهم وترحب

Their turbans in a row, brimmed hats around them,

their hands shake theirs and welcome them.

الأهل درى الخوَّان أن دويشهم

له فوق متن السحر مأوى ومركب

Did the traitors know that their Duwish

has refuge and a mount upon the back of sorcery?

أينكره بالأمس واليوم يمتطي

من السحر طياراته حين يركب

Did he deny it yesterday, yet today mount

sorcery's airplanes when he rides?

وذلك كيما يظهر الله خزيه

فيؤتى به للشرع أيان يذهب

That was so God might expose his disgrace

and have him brought before sacred law wherever he goes.

وقد أسلمته الإنكليز بحالة

يود لها لو أنه متنقب

The English handed him over in a state

that made him wish his face were veiled.

كأني به لا عاش ودَّ بأنه

من الخزي ثاوٍ في التراب مغيب

I picture him—may he not live!—wishing he were

lying buried in the dust, hidden from disgrace.

وقد قرنوا جنباً لجنب ثلاثة

ينوؤون بالأغلال والوجه مقطب

Three were bound side by side,

straining beneath shackles, their faces drawn tight.

وقد فقدوا أموالهم وعيالهم

وأضحوا وبراق الأماني خلب

They lost their wealth and their families,

and found the lightning of their hopes was rainless.

وتم لك النصر المبين عليهم

يحفك بالتأييد والعز موكب

Your clear victory over them was accomplished;

a procession surrounds you with support and glory.

لك الحلم بعد الاقتدار وانه

لطبعك إن الطبع لا شك يغلب

Yours is forbearance after gaining power, and it

is surely your nature; nature, without doubt, prevails.

وما الناس في تقدير حلمك واحد

فعند اللئام الحلم عجز مهذب

People do not agree in judging your forbearance:

to base men, forbearance is polished impotence.

وعند اللئام الجود منك تودد

وعند اللئام البِشر منك تحبب

To base men, your generosity courts affection;

to base men, your cheerfulness seeks love.

أريتك لو صبت ملايينك التي

منحتهم في الترب هل كان يجدب

Tell me: had your millions, which

you gave them, been poured into the soil, would it remain barren?

ولو غيرهم زودت من بعض زادهم

وجدك ما كانوا ليطووا ويسغبوا

Had you provisioned others with some of their provisions,

by your fortune, they would not have gone unfed and hungry.

وكانوا يرون المشهديات زينة

فأطغاهم منك الحرير المقصب

They once saw Mashhadi fabrics as finery;

your brocaded silk then made them insolent.

نلوم ولكن كلما صار شاهد

بأنك فيما أنت تفعل أصوب

We blame, yet every event becomes a witness

that you are more right in what you do.

فتحت لنا عصر الرقي بحكمة

سديدَ خطى لاما أتى المتوثب

You opened for us an age of progress with wisdom,

with sure steps, not the rash man's headlong course.

بدأت لنا بالأمن والأمن نعمة

هو الروح يحيا الملك منها ويرأب

You began for us with security, and security is a blessing:

the spirit by which the realm lives and is restored.

وثنيته بالعدل بالشرع حاكما

ألا إن حكم الله للعدل أقرب

You followed it with justice, ruling by sacred law;

indeed, God's judgment is closer to justice.

وأدخلت آثار الحضارة ناشراً

فضائلها حتى بنا تتشرب

You introduced the fruits of civilization, spreading

its virtues until they permeate us.

وأبهج ما شاهدته ورأيته

نسورك في الأجواء تعلو تصخب

The most joyful thing I have witnessed and seen

is your eagles soaring, clamoring in the skies:

نسور من الفولاذ باسمك حلقت

تغرد باسم ابن السعود فتطرب

eagles of steel that took wing in your name,

singing Ibn al-Sa'ud's name and stirring delight.

وسوف نرى هذي الممالك قد سمت

إلى الدول الكبرى تدار وترهب

We shall see these realms risen

to the great states, governed and held in awe.

فيعرب جسم أنت روح حياته

بحق أَلا فَلتحي وليحى يعرب

Ya'rub is a body, and you the spirit of its life;

in truth—long may you live, and long may Ya'rub live!