فَلَو أَلقَيتَهُ ما بَينَ ماءٍ
وَنارٍ كانَ بَينَهُما اِلتِئامُ
Were you to cast him between water
and fire, harmony would arise between them.
هَل أَنتَ إِلّا البَدرُ تَمَّ تَمامُهُ
وَالغَيثُ باكِرٌ وَبلُهُ وَسِجامُهُ
Are you anything but the full moon, whose fullness is complete,
and the rain cloud, early-coming its downpour and steady rain;
وَالسَيفُ أَرهَفُ لِلمَضاءِ غَرارَهُ
وَالرُمحُ قُوِّمَ لِلِقاءِ قَوامُهُ
and the sword, its edge honed keener for striking,
and the spear, its shaft straightened for encounter?
أَنتَ الرَبيعُ الغَضُّ رَقَّ نَسيمُهُ
وَاِخضَرَّ رَوضَتُهُ وَصابَ غَمامُهُ
You are the tender spring, whose breeze has grown gentle,
whose meadow has greened and whose cloud has poured rain—
خَلقَ كَنَشرِ الرَوضِ طَلَّ نَباتُهُ
أَو مِثلَ صَرفِ الراحِ فَضَّ خِتامُهُ
with a nature like a meadow's fragrance when its plants are dewy,
or like pure wine when its seal is broken.
لِلأَولِياءِ رَخاؤُهُ وَرُخاؤُهُ
وَعَلى العِداةِ سَمومُهُ وَسِمامُهُ
For his friends are his prosperity and ease;
against his enemies, his scorching wind and poison.
يا مَن أَدَلَّ عَلى الزَمانِ زَمانُهُ
وَزَرى عَلى أَيّامِهِ أَيّامُهُ
O you whose age has gained mastery over Time,
whose days put all former days to shame!
يَدنو فَيَغمُرُ كُلَّ شَيءٍ فَضلُهُ
كَالخَصبِ يَنعُشُ كُلَّ خَلقٍ عامُهُ
He draws near, and his bounty engulfs all things,
like a fertile year that revives every creature.
ما إِن يَزالُ مِنَ المَآثِرِ وَالعُلا
في مَوكِبٍ مَنشورَةٍ أَعلامُهُ
Never does he cease to advance, amid glorious deeds and exalted rank,
in a procession with its banners unfurled—
عالٍ تَسَوَّرَ فَوقَ قُمَّةِ سُؤدُدٍ
أَوفى عَلى قُمَمِ النُجومِ سَنامُهُ
lofty, having climbed above the summit of lordship,
his crest rising above the peaks of the stars.
يَبدو فَيُبدي الصُبحُ غُرَّةَ وَجهِهِ
وَاللَيلُ قَد قَبَضَ العُيونَ ظَلامُهُ
He appears, and dawn reveals the bright blaze of his face,
while night's darkness has closed all eyes.
سَبَقَ الجِيادَ فَما يُشَقُّ غُبارُهُ
وَعَلا القَرينَ فَما يُرامُ مَرامُهُ
He has outrun the thoroughbreds; none can break through his dust.
He has surpassed his peer; his heights cannot be attained.
وَلَئِن أَبَرَّ عَلى الحُسامِ عزيمَةً
فَكَما أَبَرَّ عَلى القَضاءِ حُسامُهُ
And if his resolve has surpassed the keen sword,
so too has his sword surpassed fate's decree.
وَكَأَنَّما أَقلامُهُ أَسيافُهُ
وَكَأَنَّما أَسيافُهُ أَقلامُهُ
It is as though his pens were his swords,
and as though his swords were his pens.
ما المَجدُ إِلّا العِقدَ جودُكَ شَذرُهُ
وَنَداكَ لُؤلُؤُهُ وَأَنتَ نِظامُهُ
Glory is nothing but a necklace: your generosity is its gold beads,
your munificence its pearls, and you the cord that strings it.
وَالجودُ في يَدِكَ اليَمينِ عِنانُهُ
وَالبَأسُ في يَدِكَ الشِمالُ خُطامُهُ
Generosity is in your right hand—its reins are there;
valor is in your left hand—its halter is there.
ما زالَ فَوطُكَ في اللِواءِ مُوَلِّياً
مَولى المَخافَةَ خَلفَهُ وَأَمامَهُ
Your scarf upon the standard has never ceased streaming,
putting the dreaded foe to flight behind it and before it.
فَاِعمُر عَلى زَمَنٍ أَغَرَّ مُحَجَّلٍ
قَد تَمَّ فيكَ عَلى الوَرى إِنعامُهُ
So live long through a radiant, white-marked age
whose blessing to all creation has been perfected in you.
Sol 5.6