هَنيئاً فَصُنْعُ اللهِ وافاكَ بالبُشْرى

وأبْدى مُحيّاه الطّلاقةَ والبِشْرا

Congratulations, for God's work has granted you good tidings,

And His radiant smile conveyed eloquence and joy.

وهل هو إلا الصّنعُ أهْداكَ آيةً

فكانتْ على نَيْلِ المنى آيةً كبْرى

And what else could it be but His work that gave you a sign,

Which became atop your wishes a great sign?

هوَ القدَرُ المحْتومُ حيّا به الهُدى

فبُعْداً لعُسْرٍ أعقَبَ اليُمْنَ واليُسْرا

It is destined and auspicious; guidance prospers through it.

So away with any difficulty that follows ease and bounty!

حَلَلْتَ بدارِ الملكِ والسّعْدُ يقتَضي

لمُلْكِكَ أن يلْقَى بها العِزَّ والنّصْرا

You have come to the abode of kingdom, and happiness requires

That your rule be adorned with might and triumph.

وأشرقَ ذاك الوجْهُ بالقُبّةِ التي

عَجائِبُها تُرْوَى وأنْعُمُها تَتْرى

And that face shone under the dome whose wonders

Are narrated and whose boons are seen.

لِذاكَ لَثمْناها يمِيناً كَريمةً

ولوْ لمْ يكُنْ عَذْباً نَداها غَدَتْ بحْرَا

For that we kissed its threshold sincerely,

And if its bounty were not sweet, it would become a sea.

لغرْناطَةٍ أعْمَلتَ وِجْهَةَ ناصرٍ

يهزُّ لنَصْرِ الدّين صَعْدتَهُ السّمْرا

For Granada you set out, like Nasir,

Shaking your sleeves to champion the faith.

مَدَدت إلى التّقبيل راحَةَ مُنْعِمٍ

أطَلنا على تقبيلها الحمْدَ والشكْرا

You extended your palm, like a bestower,

We praised and thanked the kissing of it.

فلِلهِ أعْلامُ الجهادِ كأنّها

سَحابٌ وشمْسُ الأفق طَلْعتُكَ الغرّا

So to God belong the banners of jihad, as if they are

Clouds, and your rising sun the red dawn.

ستُنهِضُ للغاراتِ خَيْلاً مُغيرةً

تُطيلُ ارْتِياحاً وهْيَ ما قارَبَتْ خمرا

You will rouse raiding steeds that make long campaigns

And scarcely taste wine before charging again.

وما ذاكَ إلا حيْث أنت مُملكٌ

قواعدَها طوْعاً وكفّارَها قَهْرا

And that is only because you rule,

Subduing their forts and vanquishing their infidels.

تسُلُّ عليهِمْ في لَظى الحَرب مُرْهَفاً

فَتورِدُهُم منه على ظمأٍ نَهْرا

You unleash upon them in the heat of war a piercing sword,

Quenching them with it from thirst with a river.

وتَفتَحُ أقطارَ العدُوّ بعزْمَةٍ

فتقْمَعُ مغْترّاً وتوسِعُ مُعْتَرّا

And you open the lands of the enemy with resolve,

Subjugating the rebellious and shaming the insolent.

فللّهِ في الإسْلامِ أيامُك التي

أقرّتْ له عَيْناً كما شرَحَتْ صَدْرا

So to God belong your days which Islam has,

Comforting its eye just as they gladdened the chest.

فكم من ثغور كالعَذارَى تبرّجَتْ

وقد أضْحكَ الفَتْحُ المُبينُ لها ثَغْرا

How many citadels adorned themselves like maidens,

As the manifest conquest made them smile!

فَيا راكِبَ الوجْناء يَطْوي بها الفَلا

يرومُ بطيّ القَفْرِ أن يُذْهِبَ الفَقْرا

O rider of the steed who traverses the desert,

Seeking by the fleet one to remove poverty:

وقد أُرْسِلَتْ مثل السّفين ملجّجاً

وما اتّخذت إلا السّرابَ بها بَحْرا

If you seek the spring of generosity, hold fast

To one at whose hands kingdoms gain the flooding rain.

إذا كنتَ تبغي مَوْرِدَ الجود فاعتَصِم

بمن ترْتجي الأمْلاكُ نائِلَهُ الغَمْرا

The highest of earth’s kings in selfhood and intelligence,

Noblest in merit and most famed in mention,

بأعْلى مُلوكِ الأرضِ ذاتاً ومَحْتِداً

وأرْفَعِهمْ قدْراً وأشهرِهمْ ذِكْرا

Most generous of those who don robes, their hems overflowing,

Most honorable of those the bejeweled saddle bears.

بأكْرمَ من يكسُو المَلابسَ قد ضَفَتْ

وأشرَفَ من يُمْطي المحجّلةَ الغرّا

How many a hopeful has stretched his hand in munificence,

Facilitating ease and heralding good tidings!

فكمْ آمِلٍ قد أمَّ جودَ يمينهِ

فيُسِّر لليُسْرى وفوتِح بالبُشْرى

When the Nile of generosity overflows from Joseph's palm,

Its flooding suffices the prosperous to alight in Egypt.

إذا فاض نيلُ الجودِ من كفّ يوسُفٍ

كفَى نيْلُهُ العافين أن يهْبِطوا مصْرا

And when the dawn gleams from Joseph's face,

You see the stars of the horizon trembling in dread.

وإن لاحَ نورُ الصّبحِ من وجْهِ يوسُفٍ

رأيْتَ نجومَ الأفْقِ قدْ رَعِشَتْ ذُعْرا

He will bare his weapons in the dark of night,

As stars, and his resolve will usher in the dawn.

سيُطلِعُ في ليلِ العجاجِ نُصولَهُ

نُجوماً ويُبْدي منْ عزيمتِه فجْرا

For your sake, my lord, forget not the pact of one

Who converses privately with his master in thought.

بحقّك يا مَوْلايَ لا تنسَ عهدَ مَنْ

يحادِثُ موْلاهُ بأفْكارِه سرّا

How he tosses and turns in the embers of passion,

Your memory kindling a flame in his innermost being!

فكمْ باتَ في جَمْرِ الغضى مُتَقلِّباً

وذكرُكَ يُذْكي في جَوانِحه جَمْرا

Until he saw your cheerful smile, and the spirit

Of verse began to gladden heart and chest.

إلى أن رأى ذاكَ المحيّا فأصبحَتْ

صُدورُ القوافِي تشْرحُ القلبَ والصّدْرا

So inspire it as a garden conveying bliss,

Scented, bearing clusters, blossoming and lush.

فدونكهَا تُهْدي الهَناءَ حديقةً

مُهدّلةً دَوْحاً مؤرّجَةً نَشْرا

And the hue of ink beautifully graces its whiteness,

As the mole's hue graces the cheek of a fair maiden.

وقد راقَ لونُ الحِبْرِ فوقَ بياضِها

كما راقَ لونُ الخالِ في وجْنَةِ العَذْرا

From the thought of my lord and the pen of his right hand,

This servant weaves pearls in the necklace of verse.

ومن فكْرِ مولانا وخطِّ يمينِه

غَدا العَبْدُ في جيدِ العُلى ينظِمُ الدُّرّا

May your mercy therein build a creation as if

It came to you in shyness, complaining of fate.

فرُحْماكَ فيها بنتَ فكْرٍ كأنها

أتَتْكَ على استحيائِها تَشْتَكي الدّهْرا

Its purpose from you is acceptance, so grant freely

To a loving servant who was true in secret and open.

ومَقصَدُها منكَ القَبُولُ فجُدْ بهِ

لعبْدٍ محبٍّ أخلصَ السّرَّ والجَهْرا

Wonders of poetry came to praise in profusion,

Taking as their course only its gardens.

بدائعُ هَبّتْ للثناءِ نواسِحٌ

وما اتخذتْ إلا حدائقَها مَسْرى

A prose that rivals the dawn's dispersion in splendor,

And verse that equals poetry's beauties.

فنَثرٌ يُباهي نثْرةَ الأفْق بهجةً

وشِعْرٌ يُضاهي في مَحاسِنِها الشِّعْرَى

And God, how much subtlety His hands created,

Putting the white and red anemones to shame!

وللهِ كمْ أبْدَت يداهُ يَراعةً

يَفُلُّ شبَاها البيضَ والأسَلَ السُّمْرا

He watered them from ink’s wine until He bent them over;

Did they bow in thanks or lean from intoxication?

سَقاها مُدامَ الحِبْر حتّى اسْتَمالها

فهل سَجَدتْ شُكْراً كما رجَحتْ سُكْرا

This slave has vowed to recite it for you,

Yet has not fulfilled a vow or oath.

وقدْ نَذَرَ المملوكُ إنشادَ هَذه

لدَيْكَ فما وَفّى يميناً ولا نَذْرا

But my satisfaction is your slightest gesture,

Raising my mention in a glance of the eye.

ولكنّ حسْبي منْكَ أدْنى إشارةٍ

إليّ بلحْظِ اللحْظِ ترْفَعُ لي ذِكْرا

You remain, defending God's religion, aiding its people,

Obeyed when you execute a ban or command.

بَقيت لدينِ اللهِ تنْصُرُ أهْلَهُ

مُطاعاً إذا ما تُنْفذُ النهْيَ والأمْرا