كل يترجم عن إحساسه لكمو

نحن اللسان وهذا الاحتفال فم

Each voices his feeling to you.

We are the tongue, and this celebration is the mouth.

جد بالتفات تر الأنظار شاخصة

ترنو ابتهاجا لمولاها وتبتسم

Bestow a glance: you will see eyes fixed,

Gazing joyfully at their lord and smiling.

إن قيل فيك استوى بشر فلا عجب

فالعرش عرش القلوب أيها الحكم

If it is said of you, 'A mortal has taken his seat,' it is no wonder,

For the throne is the throne of hearts, O arbiter.

شفاؤك اليوم يا مولاي فيه شفا

لساكني القطر إذ أنت الشفا لهم

Your recovery today, my lord, holds healing

For the land's inhabitants, for you are their cure.

كأنك اليوم في دست الإمارة قد

وليته ثانيا فلترسخ القدم

It is as though today, upon the throne of rule, you have

Assumed it a second time; may your footing be firm.

يا ناصر الحق لا زلت النصير له

فلتحي وليحي فينا ذلك العلم

O champion of truth, may you ever remain its defender.

May you live, and may that banner live among us.

كم بات يدعو لك الديان مبتهل

حتى تقلص ظلا وانتفى الألم

How many a supplicant spent the night praying to the Judge for you,

Until it dwindled to a shadow and the pain disappeared.

وكم توسلت الثكلى بمرضعها

تلك الليالي وجارى الأيم الهرم

And how often a mother bereaved of her nursling implored

Those nights, while the aged man vied with the widow.

وكم تلا القوم آيات الكتاب وكم

تلوا حديثا وكم حفت بك النعم

And how often the people recited verses of the Book, and how often

They recited a hadith, and how many blessings surrounded you!

لم لا وفيك خلال لا نظير لها

لطفا وحلما وفي أخلاقك الكرم

Why not, when in you are virtues without equal:

Gentleness and forbearance, and generosity in your character.

دم في المكارم سباحا بلجتها

فأنت بالفضل موسوم ومتسم

Remain a swimmer in noble deeds, in their deep waters,

For you are marked and distinguished by excellence.

ملكت باللطف أحرار الضمير فقل

تسمع وحسبك بالأحرار أنهم

With gentleness you have won free consciences; so speak,

You will be heard; and it suffices you that they are free.

قد قال ربك في المعصوم من زلل

لو كنت فظا غليظ القلب لانفصموا

Your Lord has said of the one protected from error:

'Had you been harsh and hard of heart, they would have broken away.'

حمدا لربك فالألطاف فوقك ما

زالت ترفرف نعمت هذه الخدم

Praise to your Lord: gracious favors above you have never

Ceased to flutter—how excellent these services are!

برهان صدقي على ما قلت طلعته

في موكب اليوم فاركض أيها القلم

The proof that I spoke truly is his appearance

In today's procession; so gallop, O pen!

وانشر جمانك وصافا لحفلته

سيان منثور ما تبدي ومنتظم

And scatter your pearls, vividly describing his celebration;

Alike are what you offer scattered and what you string.

كم نفثة لك في الأقوال ما برحت

خلابة للنهى والقول منسجم

How many a breath of yours in speech has never ceased

To enchant minds, while the words flow in harmony.

فانظم فرائدها وانسج بها حللا

فإنها درر أصدافها الكلم

So string their rare gems and weave robes with them,

For they are pearls whose shells are words.

ألق البيان من السحر الحلال وقل

إن شئت إني عصا موساي ألتقم

Cast forth eloquence from lawful magic, and say,

If you wish, 'I am my Moses's staff: I swallow.'

كن في البدائع ولاد البديع وجل

بالفكر فيها فما توجيه يرتسم

Among wonders, be a prolific begetter of the wondrous, and roam

Through them in thought, for no direction is traced.

واخطر لنا تحت قوس النصر منثلجا

صدرا وقل قدحي بالبشر منقعم

And stride proudly for us beneath the triumphal arch, gladdened

At heart, and say, 'My cup is brimming with joy.'

والحظ بطرفك طاقات الزهور على ال

أفنان والزهر مجموع ومنتقم

And observe with your eye bouquets of flowers upon the

Boughs, with blossoms gathered and 'avenging' [wording unclear].

تمتد ما بينها الأسلاك طالعة

فيها النجوم نجوم السعد لا الرحيم

Wires stretch between them, with stars rising

Within them—stars of good fortune, not 'the merciful' [wording unclear].

يشقها الركب ركب الباي منغما

في أبحر من جموع القوم تزدحم

The cavalcade cuts through them—the Bey's cavalcade, immersed

In seas of the people's throngs, crowding together.

امتد سلكه للمرسى وشمله من

أبي سعيد تجلى وهو ملتثم

Its line stretched to La Marsa, and its company from

Abu Sa'id appeared, though veiled.

على اساريرهم ما في سريرتهم

باد ونوره فيهم كيف ينكتم

On their faces, what lies in their innermost feelings

Is plain; how could its light in them be concealed?

كأنه يوم عيد كارعون به

كاس التهاني ومالت بالنهى النغم

It was like a feast day; there they drank deeply from

The cup of congratulations, and melodies swayed their minds.

أصخ بسمعك تلقاء الهتاف تجد

بحرا خضا من الأصوات يلتطم

Lend your ear toward the cheering: you will find

A roiling sea of voices crashing together.

وانصت لنغمة طلقات المدافع من

أبراج عزه بالأفلاك تصطدم

And listen to the music of cannon shots from

The towers of his glory, striking the celestial spheres.

واشمخ بأنفك فالرايات خافقة

يهزها الفخر والإجلال والعظم

And raise your nose proudly, for the banners flutter,

Stirred by pride, reverence, and grandeur.

فيها الهلال رعى اللّه الهلال ففي

أهل الهلال الخلال البيض والهمم

They bear the crescent—may God guard the crescent!—for in

The crescent's people dwell pure virtues and lofty resolve.

وانظر لفرسان عرب حوله احتشدت

وللبنادق في أكنافها حرم

And look at Arab horsemen mustered around him;

And rifles find sanctuary at their sides.

الخيل والليل والبيداء تعرفهم

الحرب والضرب والقرطاس والقلم

Horses, night, and the desert know them,

As do war, blows, paper, and the pen.

للّه تلك الخصال الغر ما فتئت

فينا ويتبعها الإعزاز والشمم

How splendid, by God, those shining virtues! They have never ceased

To dwell among us, followed by honor and proud dignity.

لم لا ورائدنا الدين المتين وفي

أصلابنا غذيت من دره النسم

Why not, when our guide is the steadfast religion, and in

Our loins, souls were nourished on its milk?

ما كان أحمد إلا رحمة بعثت

للعالمين وإنا كلنا رحم

Ahmad was nothing but a mercy sent

To all the worlds, and we are all kin.

هذي المبادي صحيحات نرتلها

في محكم الذكر فلتخضع لها الأمم

These principles are sound; we recite them solemnly

In the unambiguous Scripture; let the nations submit to them.

مولاي دامت لك النعماء خالدة

ما دمت فينا بحبل اللّه تعتصم

My lord, may blessings remain yours forever,

As long as you remain among us, holding fast to God's rope.

أفهمت شعبك معنى الإعتصام به

فاصدع بأمرك إن القوم قد فهموا

You have taught your people the meaning of holding fast to it;

So proclaim your command: the people have understood.

بالعدل أمسيت بين الناس محترما

وهكذا العدل في الحكام يحترم

Through justice you have become respected among the people;

Thus is justice respected in rulers.

ملكت منهم بما أسديته مهجا

فيا لها من يد بالشكر تلتثم

Through what you bestowed, you have won their hearts:

What a hand it is, kissed in gratitude!

أطلقت ألسنة قيدت أفئدة

نعم السراح ونعم القيد عندهم

You freed tongues; you bound hearts:

How fine that freedom, how fine that bond, in their eyes!

خضراؤك اليوم ترجو منك نهضتها

يا ابن الحسين فذرهم منك يغتنموا

Your green land today looks to you for its revival;

O son of al-Husayn, let them benefit from you.

وانشر بيارق علم في معاهدها

ما الجاهلون سواء والألى علموا

And unfurl banners of learning in its institutes;

The ignorant are not equal to those who know.

واكشف ملماتها عن كل كارثة

فأنت في الجدب فيها غيثها العمم

And lift its afflictions, freeing it from every calamity;

For in its drought, you are its all-encompassing rain.

واضرب بسهمك أكباد الحقائق عن

رأي حصيف ففي آياتك الحكم

And strike with your arrow at the vitals of truths, guided by

Discerning judgment, for in your signs lies wisdom.

وحولك اليوم من أهل الدراية من

ترضى سجاياه ولتشهد له الخدم

And around you today, among the knowledgeable, is one whose

Character you approve; let his services bear witness for him.

سلامة اللّه لا زالت تصاحبكم

فاسلم ففيك جميع الناس قد سلموا

May God's protection never cease to accompany you;

So be safe; in you all the people have found safety.