1. وبارقَ بعضُ العالمينَ نساءَهم

    وضاقَ بهم من ذلك الوعرُ والسهلُ

    And some people parted from their wives,

    and because of this, rough ground and plain grew too narrow for them.

  2. وقلّ البِنَا والحرثُ والزرعُ للورَى

    وضاقَ بأهليها بها العُلوُ والسُّفْلُ

    Building, tillage, and crops dwindled for humankind,

    and the heights and lowlands grew too narrow for their inhabitants.

  3. وقد يَبِس الآبارُ إلا نوادراً

    وأكْدَى جميعُ الخلق وافترقَ الأهلُ

    The wells had dried up, save a rare few,

    and all people fell into want, while families scattered.

  4. فبعضٌ غدا في الغرب يطلبُ رزقه

    وبعضٌ غدَا في الشرق واضطربَ الجُلّ

    Some went west seeking their livelihood,

    while others went east, and most wandered restlessly.

  5. ترَى الناسَ سَكْرَى خاشعين تذللاً

    مِن القلّ حتى لا يَصيحَ لهم طِفلُ

    You see the people as though drunk, bowed in abasement,

    from want, until not even a child of theirs cries out.

  6. وعهدِي ببعض يلقطُ النخَلَ بلحها

    ويشربُ ماءَ لا يُمِرُّ ولا يَحْلُو

    I remember some picking the palms' unripe dates,

    and drinking water neither bitter nor sweet.

  7. وبعضٌ تولى يطلبُ الناس بُلْغَةً

    فحلَّ به من سوءِ مطلبه الذل

    Some went about asking people for bare sustenance,

    and humiliation befell them through their wretched begging.

  8. وبعضٌ تغدى بالقليلِ ولم يسلْ

    وبعضٌ تراهُ سائِلاً وهو الكلُّ

    Some ate a scant meal and did not beg,

    and some you see begging, dependent on others.

  9. وبعضٌ فلا يبكى ولا هو ضاحِك

    يكابِدُ أشغالاً من الهم لا يخُلو

    Some neither weep nor laugh,

    struggling with cares, never free of worry.

  10. وبعضٌ تمنى للحمام لِفَقْرِه

    وممّا رأى السُّوأى وحَل به القُلُّ

    Some wished for death because of their poverty,

    and because of the misery they saw and the want that befell them.

  11. وذلك في عام الثمانين حجةً

    وألف توالتْ مع ثمان وما حلوا

    This was in the year eighty,

    and a thousand elapsed, with eight more—and they were not sweet.

  12. ولولاكَ سلطان بن سيف بن سالك

    لحلَّ بنا مِن أجْل مَا مَسَّنَا الخبْلُ

    Were it not for you, Sultan ibn Saif ibn Salik,

    madness would have overtaken us because of what had afflicted us.

  13. فأمطرْتنا مِن جُود كَفّيْك وابلاً

    أقام مقاماً لا يقومُ به الولُ

    You showered us with a downpour from the bounty of your two hands,

    which fulfilled a role no rainstorm could fulfill (reading uncertain).

  14. فأحييكَ أرضَ اللهِ بالعدلِ والندى

    إلى أن أمتّ الجهلَ وانتشر العدلُ

    Thus you revived God's earth with justice and bounty,

    until you put ignorance to death and justice spread.

  15. وهذا قديمٌ منكم ليس محدثاً

    كذَا كانَ أجدادٌ لكَ العزُّ مِنْ قبلُ

    This is long-established among you, not newly introduced;

    such were your forefathers; glory was yours of old.

  16. هُمُ مَعشر لا خابَ راجى نوالهم

    لهم بحرُ جود لا يكدره مَطْلُ

    They are a people who never disappoint those hoping for their bounty;

    theirs is a sea of generosity unclouded by delay.

  17. ومن تكنْ الغُرّ الكرامُ جدودَه

    ليوثاً ضوارى هَكذا يكن الشبلُ

    Whoever has illustrious, noble forebears,

    fierce lions—such too will their cub be.

  18. فعِشْ إِن مَدْحى فيكَ حَقٌّ مؤثرٌ

    ومَدْحُ سواى في سواك هو الجَهلُ

    Live on! My praise of you is true and moving,

    while others' praise of anyone but you is ignorance.

  19. دعوتُ إِلهي أَنْ يخلِّدَ مُلككم

    ويسقَينا غيثا به يُجمعُ الشملُ

    I prayed to my God to make your rule endure forever,

    and send us rain through which the scattered are reunited.

  20. فيا ربِّ يا مولايَ ندعوكَ فاسقما

    حياً ذا شآبيبٍ بموتُ بهِ المْحلُ

    O Lord, O my Master, we call upon You: water us

    with rain in showers, through which drought dies.

  21. ويا خيرَ مسئولٍ دعوناك فاستجبْ

    وأكرمَ مأمولٍ به وثق الكُلُّ

    O best of those petitioned, we have called upon You: answer us,

    and most generous One in whom we hope, whom all have trusted.

  22. عبادَك يا ربَّ العبادِ إغاثةً

    بِفَضْلِكَ يا مَنْ منه قد عمّنا الفضلُ

    Bring relief to Your servants, O Lord of servants,

    through Your grace, O You whose bounty has embraced us all.

  23. دَعَوناكَ يا رْحمن دعوةَ واثقٍ

    بجودِك يا مَن قوله الحقُّ والعدْلُ

    We have called upon You, O All-Merciful, with a prayer of trust

    in Your generosity, O You whose word is truth and justice.

  24. ويا مَن هُو الربُّ العظيمُ جلاله

    ومَنْ بيديه الخلقُ والأمرُ والفعلُ

    O You who are the Lord, whose majesty is immense,

    and in whose two hands lie creation, command, and action.

  25. فأنت الحكيمُ الخالقُ الرزاقُ الورَى

    أغثْنا فمنك الجود يا رب والفضلُ

    You are the Wise, the Creator, the Provider of humankind.

    Help us, for generosity and grace come from You, O Lord.

  26. فأنتَ العليمُ الفادرُ الواهبُ الذي

    تسبِّحه الحيتانُ في البحر والنملُ

    You are the All-Knowing, the Powerful, the Giver, whom

    the fish in the sea and the ants glorify.

  27. وأنتَ الجوادُ السيدُ الصمدُ الذي

    تفردَ عزّاً أنْ يكونَ له مِثْلُ

    You are the Generous, the Master, the One on whom all depend,

    peerless in glory, beyond having any equal.

  28. تعالَى إلهُ الخلق عَنْ كلِّ واصفٍ

    لقدرتِه أو أنْ يحيطَ به عَقْلُ

    Exalted is the God of creation, beyond anyone's describing

    His power, or any mind's encompassing Him.

  29. وصلِّ إلهَ الخلق جلَّ ثناؤُه

    عَلَى أَحْمَدَ المختارِ ما سارتْ بِه الإبلُ

    And send blessings, O God of creation—exalted be His praise—

    upon Ahmad, the chosen one, as long as camels carry him on their journeys:

  30. صلاةً توالى ليس يُحصَى عدادُها

    كمَا ليس يُحْصَى القَطْرُ ولويْلُ والرمْلُ

    blessings succeeding one another, whose number cannot be counted,

    just as raindrops, downpours (reading uncertain), and sand cannot be counted.