وجَلالِ تاجِ الملّةِ المنّانِ

وبقاءِ دولتهِ على الحدَثانِ

By the glory of the crown of the gracious nation,

And the lasting of its state against the vicissitudes of time,

ما ساسَ ملكاً قبلَه في حادثٍ

باقٍ ولا في سالفِ الأزْمانِ

No king before him has ruled during events

Remaining eternal, nor in times past,

يا ليتَ لي قلباً يساعدُ ناظري

فأراهُ يومَ تَغيُّرِ الألوانِ

I wish I had a heart to match my vision,

So I could see him one day when appearances change,

والبيضُ غامضةُ الشّخوصِ كأنّها

في النقعِ سِرٌّ ضاعَ في الكِتمانِ

And the whites (of the eyes) are vague in their contours as if they are

A secret hidden in concealment during a nap,

يومَ الخَوامسِ أو صبيحةَ أربقٍ

ولهم إليه تَلَهُّفُ الوَلهانِ

On the day of al-Khawamis, or the dawn of Arba’,

When the enchanted are longing for him,

حتى إذا اكتحَلوا بغُرّةِ وجهه

خَروا لرؤيتهِ على الأذْقانِ

Until when adorned by the redness of his face,

They fell to the ground to see him,

وسللتَ رأيكَ فاستباحَ حريمَهم

والبيضُ ما سُلّتْ من الأجْفانِ

You insinuated your opinion, so you considered their sanctuary permissible,

While the whites (of the eyes) have not been touched by eyelids,

جَذَبَ الفَريسةَ وحدَهُ ضِرغامُه

تُغنيهِ شِدّتُه عن الأعْوانِ

He seized the prey alone with his claws,

His strength makes him needless of helpers,

لا يَستظِلُّ سوى عَجاجَةِ فيلقٍ

مثلَ القِلادةِ ما لَهُ طَرَفانِ

He is shaded by none but the plumage of brave heros,

Like a necklace with no ends,

تقعُ النسورُ من الزّماجرِ وسطَه

وتطيحُ فيه كواسرُ العِقْبانِ

The eagles fall from the skies into its midst,

And the ospreys crash into it,

أخْنى وجرّ على بلادِ ربيعةٍ

ذَيلاً يُجرُّ بسائرِ البلدانِ

It moaned and dragged the tail of ruin,

Across the lands of Rabee’ah

رَكَدَتْ بميّافارِقينَ كَتيبةٌ

وكتيبتانِ على بني يُونانِ

A battalion stagnated at Mayyafariqin,

And two battalions at the children of Yunan,

طلعتْ من الدربينِ يلحِمُ بينَها

رهجُ الوَغى وغَماغِمِ الفُرْسانِ

They emerged from the two valleys, the glare of mayhem uniting them,

And the tumult of the steeds,

ورجعنَ لا يدرينَ أنّ رجوعَها

كتَبَ الشَّقاءَ على بني شيبانِ

They returned not knowing their return

Had written misfortune upon the children of Shayban,

خَلَطَ السُّباءَ مراهقاً من سِرّهم

بفَتىً وبِكرٍ منهم بعَوانِ

It mixed the captives, boys and virgins from among them,

With the youth and adolescents among them,

وَوَرَدْنَ بابلَ والدليلُ أمامَها

يسألنَه عن مُنتهى العُمْرانِ

They arrived at Babylon, and the guide was before them,

Asking him about the extent of civilization,

سَمِعَتْ بذي القَرنينِ أنّ جيادَه

رَفَعَتْ عمادَ السّدِّ بالبُنْيانِ

They heard of Thul Qarnayn, that his steeds

Had raised the pillars of the dam with the building,

فسَمتْ إلى ياجُوجَ تَبغي بَغيَهُ

إذْ أدركتْها سورةُ الغضبانِ

So they headed to Yajuj, seeking his desire,

When they were overtaken by the verse of anger,

غَمرتْ فضائلُك الجبابرَةَ الأُلى

سنّوا طِلابَ العزّ للفِتيانِ

Your virtues overwhelmed the foremost tyrants,

Who prepared the seeking of glory for the youth,

وأنِفتَ إذع خُلقوا أمامَكَ أوّلاً

من أن يكونَ لك الفعالُ الثّاني

You disdained when they were created before you,

That the subsequent deed would be yours,

وملكتَ أسرارَ القلوبِ وإنّما

سُلطانُ ملكهم على الأبدانِ

You ruled the secrets of hearts while

Their rule was only over bodies,

ومتوج أعطكَ بيضةَ ملكِهِ

ونَجا على مُتمطِّرٍ فَلْتانِ

The crowned one gave you the egg of his kingdom,

And escaped upon a soaked fleeting horse,

لو كانَ يُؤثرُ أنْ يُمجَّدَ فعلُهُ

يومَ الطّعانِ لكان غيرَ جبانِ

If he preferred that his deed be glorified

On the day of accusation, he would not have been a coward,

يهوَى الثّناءَ مبرِّزٌ ومقصِّرٌ

حُبُّ الثّناءِ طبيعة الإنسانِ

One who loves praise shows off yet belittles,

The love of praise is human nature,

ومُضاغنينَ عسوا عليكَ فعضهم

غمزٌ يُقيمُ تأوُّدَ العِيدانِ

While the slanderers were hostile to you, so some of them

Were winks that establish the intimacy of the hands,

وتوهّموا الشيطانَ يَفُذُ كيدهُ

في أيِّ مملكةٍ وأيِّ زمانِ

And they imagined Satan executing his plot

In whichever kingdom and time,

كنت الفطامَ المرَّ من عاداتِهم

وشفاءَ دأبهِم من العُدوانِ

You were the weaning from their habits,

And the cure of their constant aggression,

خيرُ الرّعيّةِ من يُطامن شخصَهُ

خوفُ الإلاهِ ورهبة السّلطانِ

The best of people are those who make themselves

Fearful of God and in awe of the Sultan,

ودَعوتَني وقُرى الجزيرةِ بينَنا

وعبابُ دجلةَ جامحُ الطّغيانِ

You called me while the villages of the peninsula were between us,

And the floods of the raging Tigris,

لبّيكَ يا عضدَ العُلا ويد النّدى

وشباةَ كلّ مهنّدٍ وسِنانِ

And youth of every praiseworthy and spear,

For you is a new tradition every day,

لكَ كل يومٍ بِدعةٌ مشهورةٌ

يَعيا بها ويكلُّ كل لِسانِ

That all tongues live by and are exhausted,

For you is a pole revolving above Zawra’,

فلك على الزّوراءِ دائرُ قطبه

أطلَعتَ فيه كواكبَ النِّيرانِ

In which you rose like stars of fire,

The earth was dazzled by it, and before it

باهتْ به الأرضُ السماءَ وقبلَه

باهيتَها بأسنّةِ المُرّانِ

You dazzled it with the sparkling blades,

It is a practice that has abolished the ways of creation,

هي سُنّةٌ نُسخت بها سننُ الوَرى

جمعاً ودينٌ شاعَ في الأدْيانِ

Together, and a religion that has spread in religions,

It is a strange one that minds are blind to without it,

وغريبةٌ تَعْمى الخَواطرُ دونَها

ويَحارُ فيها القلبُ والعينانِ

And in which the heart and the two eyes are confused,