سَرى ثَوبَهُ عَنكَ الصِبا المُتَخايِلُ
وَوَدَّعَ للبَينِ الخَليطُ المُزايلُ
His robe was swept away from you by the flirtatious morning breeze
And the motley throng bade farewell to separation
إِلَيكَ أَميرَ المؤمنينَ تَجاوَزَت
بِنا بيدَ أَجوازِ الفَلاةِ الرَواحِلُ
O Commander of the Faithful, we have come to you
Led through the barren wilderness by the traveling camels
يَزُرنَ أمرأً لا يُصلحُ القَومَ أَمرُهُ
وَلا يَنتَجي الأدنينَ فيما يُحاوِلُ
To visit a man whose rule does not set his people right
Nor can the lowliest seek refuge in his machinations
إِذا ما أَبى شَيئاً مَضى كالَّذي أَبى
وَإِن قالَ إِنّي فاعِلٌ فَهوَ فاعِلُ
If he refuses something, he persists like one who refused
And if he says “I will do it”, then he does it
كَريمٌ لَه وَجهانِ وَجهٌ لَدى الرِضا
أَسيلٌ وَوَجهٌ في الكَريهَةِ باسِلُ
A generous man of two faces - calm when content
And grim when discontented
وَلَيسَ بِمُعطي العفوِ عَن غَيرِ قُدرَةٍ
وَيَعفو إِذا ما أَمكَنَنَته المَقاتِلُ
He does not grant pardon beyond his power
But pardons when the warriors enable him
لَهُ لَحَظاتٌ عَن حَفافي سَريرِهِ
إِذا كَرَّها فيها عِقابٌ وَنائِلُ
He has moments away from the edge of his bed
When he dislikes the punishment that awaits
فأمَّ الَّذي آمَنتَ آمِنَةُ الرَدى
وَأُمُّ الّذي حاوَلتَ بالثُكلِ ثاكِلُ
By the Lord of her who found faith a protective fortress
And the Lord of her who by losing you was left childless
أَتَيناكَ نُزجي حاجَةً وَوَسيلَةً
إِلَيكَ وَقَد تَحظى لَدَيكَ الوَسائِلُ
We have come to make a request, an entreaty, to you
And such requests may find acceptance with you
وَنَذكُرُ وُدّا شَدَّهُ اللَهُ بَينَنا
عَلى الدَهرِ لَم تَدبب إِلَيهِ الغَوائِلُ
We recall affection whose bond Allah made firm between us
That no calamities could undermine over time
فَأُقسِمُ ما أَكبي زِنادَكَ قادِحٌ
وَلا أَكذَبَت فيكَ الرَجاءَ القَوابِلُ
I swear by the flint that ignites your tinder
And by the hopes that never proved false regarding you
وَلا رَجَّعَت ذا حاجَةٍ عَنكَ علَّةٌ
وَلا عاقَ خَيراً عاجِلا مِنكَ آجِلُ
No illness has ever turned away anyone with a request from you
No goodness, immediate or delayed, has been denied by you
وَلا لامَ فيكَ الباذِلُ الوَجهَ نَفسَهُ
وَلا اِحتَكَمَت في الجودِ مِنكَ المَباخِلُ
No blamer ever faulted you for offering your face
Nor did the misers argue generosity with you
لَهُم طينَةٌ بَيضاءُ مِن آلِ هاشِمٍ
إِذا اسوَدَّ مِن لؤمِ التُرابِ القَبائِلُ
They have an unsullied Hashimite clay
That is blackened by the ignominy of the common tribes
رَأَيتُكَ لَم تَعدِل عَن الحَقِّ مَعدِلاً
سِواهُ وَلَم تَشغَلكَ عَنهُ الشَواغِلُ
I have seen you never swerve from the truth for another’s sake
Nor let anything distract you from it
