قُل لِلْخَلِيفةِ تِرْبِ الْعِلْمِ والأدَبِ

وأَفْضَلِ النَّاسِ مِنْ عُجْمٍ وَمِنْ عَرَبِ

Tell the Caliph, the soil of knowledge and literature,

And the best of people, non-Arabs and Arabs,

ومَنْ أَجَلَّ إلهُ النَّاسِ رُتْبَتَهُ

حتَّى علاَ وهَوَى الأملاكُ في صَبَبِ

He whom God Most High has made great,

Until he rose high and kingdoms melted before him,

قَدْ كان لِي مَوْعِدٌ في النَّسْخِ لَمْ أَرَهُ

وفاتَنِي القَدَحُ الْمَحْفُوفُ بِالطَّرَبِ

I had an appointment in the registry I did not keep,

And the appointed cup eluded me,

وحازَ صَحْبِي دُنِي طِيبَ مَعِرقَةٍ

لِباسُها أَفْخَرُ الأنْسابِ والحَسَبِ

While my friends gained a pleasant favour,

Wearing the finest genealogy and nobility,

وليْلَةُ الفِطْرِ أَبْقَتْ لِي حزازَتُها

ناراً تَرامى عَلَى الأحشاءِ باللَّهَبِ

And the night of Eid kept for me its bracelets,

A fire that burns the innards with flames,

فَجازَنِي بِرُّ مَوْلىً كان يَبْدَأُنِي

كأَنَّنِي ناقِصٌ فِي رُتْبَةِ الأدَبِ

So the righteousness of my master, who used to favour me,

Passed me by, as if I fall short in sophistication,

أَلَمَّ بِي طَيْفُ حِرْمَانٍ فَأَرَّقَنِي

فَبِتُّ مُعْتَنِقاً للْهَمِّ والكُرَبِ

The spectre of deprivation has saddened me,

To spend the night embracing anxiety and distress,

هذَا عَلى خِدمَةٍ مَا ذُمَّ سالِفُهَا

ودَوْلَةٍ لِي فِيها أَوْكَدُ السَّبَبِ

This - despite loyal service without prior flaws,

And a state where I held the strongest reasons,

وأنَّنا نُقَباءٌ شاعَ نَصْرُهُمُ

نُلْقِي أَعادِيكُمُ في الحَرْبِ بِالحَرَبِ

For we are the chiefs whose victory is well-known,

We meet your enemies in war with war,

ويَوْمَ مَرْوانَ أُفرِدْنا بِمَشْهَدِهِ

والفَخْرِ فِيهِ بِنَصْرِ السَّادَةِ النُّجَبِ

And the day of Marwan we were singled out by his spectacle,

And pride in it by supporting the eminent masters,

مقالَةٌ تُوردُ الأخْبارُ صِحَّتَها

مَوْجُودَةٌ فِي رِواياتٍ وفِي كُتُبِ

A case whose news is proven correct,

Found in narrations and books,

إن كانَ ذلِكَ مَزْحاً مِنْ إمَامِ هدىً

فَحَبَّذا هُوَ مِنْ مَزْحٍ وَمِنْ لَعِبِ

If that is a jest from the Imam of guidance,

Beautiful is his jest and play,

وَسَوْفَ يأْتِي سَرِيعاً مِنْهُ لِي عِوَضٌ

كَمَا أَتاهُمْ بِلا كَدٍّ وَلاَ تَعَبِ

And soon enough he will compensate me for it,

Without hardship or fatigue,

فَالْعَيْشُ إن كانَ هذَا عَنْ خَبِيٍّ رِضاً

والمَوْتُ إن كانَ كُلُّ الْمَوْتِ عَنْ غَضَبِ

So life - if this is despite his pleasure - anger,

And all of death - if that is anger,

رَأَيْتُ وَجْهَ الرِّضَا أَعْلَى لطَالِبِهِ

مِنَ الصِّلاتِ إذَا تُوبِعْنَ وَالرُّتَبِ

I saw the face of contentment, for its seeker,

Higher than optional prayers when accompanied by ranking,

لا تَجْعَلَنِّيَ نَهْباً للْهُمُومِ فَقَدْ

تَرَدَّدَ الظَّنُّ بَيْنَ الرَّغْبِ والرَّهَبِ

Do not make me easy prey for worries, for

Suspicion has wavered between desire and fear,

أَقُولُ قَوْلَ امْرِئٍ صَحَّتْ قَرِيحَتُهُ

مَا زَالَ فِي الدَّهْرِ ذا كَدْحٍ وذَا دَأَبِ

I speak words of a wise man whose integrity was proven

He persisted in life with toil and purpose

سُبْحَانَ مَنْ جَعَلَ الآدَابَ في عُصَبٍ

حَظَّاً وصَيَّرَها غَيْظاً عَلَى عُصَبِ

Restrain your reigns, do not push it aggressively,

No - by your life, livelihoods are not by pursuit,

ومِثْلُ شَكْوَى حَكِيمٍ عَضَّهُ زَمَنٌ

كما اشْتَكَى غَارِبٌ مِنْ عَضَّة القِتْبِ

Sustenance may come to one whose steeds did not tire,

And sustenance be denied one who did not tire,

أَفْضِلْ عِنانَكَ لاَ تَجْمَحْ بِهِ طلَباً

فلا وعَيْشِكَ مَا الأرْزاقُ بِالطَّلَبِ

How difficult is the loss of habits from a king

Whose precedence in gifts is the highest ranking,

قَدْ يُرْزَقُ المَرْءُ لَمْ تَتْعَبْ رَواحِلُهُ

ويُحْرَمُ الرِّزْقَ مَنْ لَمْ يُؤْتَ مِنْ تَعَبِ

If I could restrain myself from his virtues,

And spreading them in the land, I would have fled,

مَا أَصْعَبَ الفَقْدَ لِلْعَادَاتِ مِنْ مَلِكٍ

تَقْدِيمُهُ فِي الْعَطَايَا أَشْرَفُ الرُّتَبِ

What do I have if I do not attain through him stature

And his promise to be content in life from sustenance?

لَوْ كُنْتُ أَمْلِكُ صَبْراً عَنْ مَحاسِنِهِ

ونَشْرِهَا فِي الْوَرَى أمْعنْتُ فِي الْهَرَبِ

I do hope for his kind sentiment,

Fate allots and time turns,

ما لِي إذا لَمْ أَفُزْ مِنْهُ بِمَنْزِلَةٍ

وَعَوْدِهِ بِالرِّضَا في الْعَيْشِ مِنْ أَرَبِ

To whiten my face, erasing my sorrow,

By spending white silver and gold,

إنِّي لآمُلُ مِنْهُ حُسْنَ عَطْفَتِهِ

فالحَظُّ مُقْتَسِمٌ وَالدَّهْرُ ذُو عُقَبِ

As is the way of fate to always first,

Provide me with the sweetest milk,

حَتَّى يُبَيِّضَ وَجْهِي مُذْهباً حَزَنِي

بِالبَذْلِ لِلْفِضَّةِ الْبَيْضاء والذَّهَبِ

For I had preceded in praising him and succeeded by it,

Truthful when kings are praised with lies,

كعادَةِ الدَّهْرِ فِي تَقْدِيمِهِ أبداً

رَضَعْتُ مِنْهُ بَدَرٍّ طَيِّبِ الحلَبِ

So listen to praise that pleases the hearing of its vocalizer,

Do not make the main point in poetry like a tail,

فَقَدْ سَبَقْتُ بِمَدْحٍ فِيهِ فُزْتُ بِهِ

صِدْقٍ إذَا مُدِحَ الأمْلاكُ بِالْكَذِبِ

Its words are like fiery words aflame in beauty,

O you who would blame the morning drinker,

فَاسْمَعَ لِمَدْحٍ يَلَذُّ السَّمْعَ مُنْشِدُهُ

لا تَجْعَل الرَّأْسَ فِي الأَشْعَارِ كَالذَّنَبِ

Come with the face of contentment in the moment of anger,

No - by He from whom you are a blessing that filled,

مُشَبَّهٌ لَفْظُهُ فِي حُسْنِ مَذْهَبِهِ

بِلَفْظِ شِعْرٍ بِنَارِ الحُسْنِ مُلْتَهِبِ

The width of the country and the packs on the hump,

Among your servants, if you examined them,

يا مَنْ يُحَمِّلُ ذَنْبَ الرَّاحِ شَارِبَهَا

أَقْبِلْ بوَجْهِ الرِّضَا فِي ساعة الغَضَبِ

None are less than me, in provision or youth,

لا وَالَّذي أَنْتَ مِنْهُ نِعْمَةٌ مَلأَتْ

عُرْضَ البِلادِ وحَلَّتْ حَبُوةَ النُّوَبِ

ما فِي عَبِيدِكَ إِنْ فَتَّشْتَ أَمْرَهُمُ

أَقَلُّ مِنِّيَ فِي رِزْقِي وَفِي نَشَبِي