1. نُهنّي بك الأعيادَ إنك عِيدها

    ومُبْدىء أبكار العُلا ومُعِيدُها

    We congratulate the festivals on having you, for you are their festival.

    And the originator of maiden glories and their renewer.

  2. وإنك بحرٌ للعفاةِ وموردٌ

    نميرٌ ولكن للبغاةِ وعيدُها

    And you are a sea for seekers of bounty, and a watering place

    Of sweet water, yet a threat to rebels.

  3. وذِى أمَّةٍ مرحومةٍ بك أصلحتٍ

    فقَائمها في نعمةٍ وقَصيدُها

    And this is a nation shown mercy, set right through you;

    So its upright and its stricken alike enjoy prosperity.

  4. وما صَدَّ عن مرآك إلا شقيُّها

    وما حلَّ في علياكَ إلا سَعيدُها

    Only its wretched turn away from the sight of you,

    And only its fortunate dwell in your exalted sphere.

  5. ولو لم تكنْ أنتَ المعظَّم مالكاً

    لما خضعتْ شُمُّ الملوكِ وَصِيدُها

    Had you, the revered one, not been sovereign,

    The lofty and haughty among kings would not have bowed.

  6. وقد آنستْ منكَ الرعيةُ رأفةٍ

    لأنك بالبشرِ الجميل تصيدُها

    And your subjects have perceived compassion from you,

    For you capture them with your gracious smile.

  7. وقمتَ بدين اللهِ حتى تألفت

    بِعَدْ لك آرامُ الفلا وأُسودُها

    And you upheld God's religion until friendship united,

    Through your justice, the desert's gazelles and its lions.

  8. أَلاَ قُلْ لمن يبغى المعالي مُبَادِراً

    فهذى العُلا تبغى حكيما يسُودُها

    Now tell whoever hastens to seek high honors:

    For these heights of glory seek a wise man to rule them.

  9. فإنك مِن جُرثومةٍ يَعْربيةٍ

    يمانيةٍ لا شكَّ أنتَ عَميدُها

    For you come from a Yaʿrubi stock,

    Yemeni; beyond doubt, you are its chief.

  10. على أنَّ هذى أمةٌ خيرُ أمةٍ

    وإنك يا ابن السابقين حَميدُها

    Moreover, this nation is the best of nations,

    And you, O son of the forerunners, are its praiseworthy one.

  11. لَئِنْ جَحْدَ الحسادُ بعضَ مَقالتي

    فتشهدُ لي بيض الليالِي وسودُها

    Even if the envious deny some of what I say,

    Then the white nights and the black will bear witness for me.

  12. فيَا مَنْ له الأملاكُ طُرّاً تواضعتْ

    ودَانتْ له أحرارُها وعبيدُها

    So, O one before whom all kings have humbled themselves,

    And to whom its freeborn and its slaves have submitted,

  13. ومن نصَرَ الدين القويمَ بسيفِه

    وزانَتْ به الدنيا وأورق عودُها

    And one who championed the upright faith with his sword,

    And through whom the world grew fair and its bough put forth leaves,

  14. ومن لم تَزَلْ أمواله بسخائِه

    كأعدائِه بالمرهَفات يبُيدُها

    And one whose wealth, through his generosity, is continually

    Destroyed by him, as his foes are by keen-edged blades.

  15. فيا نسلَ سلطان بن سيفِ بن مالك

    فأنتَ أخُو علياءَ عالٍ صعودُها

    So, O offspring of Sultan ibn Sayf ibn Malik,

    For you are brother to exalted glory, lofty in its ascent.

  16. أتاكَ بأبكارِ المعاني منصحٌ

    يفوقُ على نَظْم اللآلى قصيدُها

    A sincere well-wisher has come to you with fresh, untouched meanings,

    Their verse surpasses pearls strung together.

  17. ودُونَكَها من مُعْولِيٍّ قَوافياً

    حساناً يروقُ السامعين نشيدُها

    And receive these rhymes from a Muʿwali,

    Beautiful ones, whose song delights the listeners.

  18. فكم لك عِندي من جواهرَ جمةٍ

    أؤلّفها نظماً وأنتَ مُجيدُها

    And how many jewels I hold for you in abundance!

    I string them into verse, and you give them their excellence.

  19. ولِي فيك أنصارٌ عريضٌ طويلُها

    بعيدٌ كآمالي بسيطٌ مديدُها

    And I have supporters in your cause whose reach is long and broad,

    Far-reaching as my hopes, expansive in their extended span.

  20. إذا شئتُ مدحاً فيك جَاشَتْ قريحةٌ

    كآذيٍّ بحرٍ ليس يُحْصَى عديدُها

    Whenever I wish to praise you, poetic inspiration surges,

    Like the waves of a sea, whose number cannot be counted.