هَنيئاً لدينِ الهُدَى الأشْرَفِ

سَلامةَ ناصرِهِ يوسُفِ

Joy to the noblest faith of guidance—

for Yusuf, its champion, is safe.

هَنيئاً وبُشْرى لغرّ الجِيادِ

وللسّمْهَري وللمَشْرَفي

Joy and glad tidings to the proud steeds,

and to the Samharī lance and Mashrafī sword.

جَرى القدَرُ الحتْمُ ثمّ انثَنى

وقال لهُ الصُنْعُ مهْلاً قِفِ

Inevitable destiny ran its course, then turned back;

Providence said to it, “Easy now—stop.”

تَرامَى الجوادُ على غفْلَةٍ

ولمْ تَثْنِهِ هِزّةُ المَعْطِفِ

The steed hurled itself without warning,

and the mantle’s jolt did not turn it aside.

فعنْ أعطَفِ الخلْقِ ما بالهُ

تَرامى سَريعاً ولمْ يعْطِفِ

Toward the tenderest of all creatures—what possessed it,

to rush so swiftly and show no tenderness?

ولكن لهُ العُذْرُ فيما أتَى

فلمْ يكْبُ وهْناً ولمْ يُسْرِفِ

Yet it has an excuse for what it did:

it neither stumbled from frailty nor overreached.

عَلا متْنَهُ منْكَ موْلىً هُمامٌ

رَءوفٌ عَطوفٌ كريمٌ وَفي

Upon its back there rose, in you, a valiant lord,

compassionate, tender, generous, and true.

لهُ راحةٌ بات يُرْوَى النّدى

عن البحْرِ عن سُحْبِها الوُكَّفِ

His is a palm whose bounty is recounted through the night,

from the sea, from its thick-laden clouds.

له طلعةٌ لو حَكاها الضُحى

لما ظلَّ منهُ السّنا يختَفي

His is a countenance that, if morning could imitate it,

splendor would no longer hide from it.

وساجَلَها النّجْمُ لمْ يحْتَجِبْ

وأمّلَها البدْرُ لمْ يُخْسَفِ

Were the star to vie with it, it would not be veiled;

were the full moon to aspire to it, it would not be eclipsed.

فرامَ ليشْكُرَها نعْمةً

بغيْرِ السّجودِ فلمْ يكْتَفِ

Then it sought to give thanks for that blessing,

but without prostration it was not satisfied.

فمدّ إلى سجدةِ الشُكْرِ كفّاً

وقدْ راعَهُ هائِلُ الموقِفِ

So it stretched out a hand toward prostration at the brink,

and the terror of the moment had alarmed it.

ولكنْ سلِمْتَ فراقَ الوجودَ

مَقامٌ عن الجودِ لم يصْدِفِ

But you escaped severance from existence;

your station has never swerved from generosity.

فللهِ بُشْرَى أتَتْ عندَها

فكانَ الزّمانُ بها متْحفي

By God, what glad tidings came at that moment!

Through them, Time itself became my giver of gifts.

لقد لهجَ العبْدُ منْ أجلِها

ولو بذَلَ الرّوحَ لمْ يُنْصِفِ

The servant has spoken fervently because of them,

though were he to offer his soul, he would not do them justice.

ولازالَ روْضُ المُنى يُجْتَنى

بظِلِّ عنايتِكَ الأوْرفِ

May the garden of hopes forever yield its harvest

beneath the luxuriant shade of your care,

وُمتّعتَ بالصُنْعِ إذْ لم يكُنْ

لموْعِدِ نصْرِكَ بالمُخْلِفِ

and may Providence grant you long enjoyment, since it has never

failed the appointed hour of your victory.