الحَمدُ لِلَّه السَّلام المُؤمِن
المَلك المقدّر المُهَيمِن
Praise be to Allah, the Peace, the Faithful,
The King, the Capable, the Dominant.
وَهوَ الَّذي أيدنا بِنَصرِهِ
عَلى العدو منقذاً من حصره
It is He who supported us with His victory
Over the enemy, saving us from siege.
ثمَّ الصَّلاة وَالسَّلام الدَّائِم
عَلى الَّذي حَلَّت له الغَنائِم
Then blessings and eternal peace
Upon the one for whom spoils were made lawful,
مؤيد الحَقِّ نَبي الملحمة
مُحَمَّد ماحي ظَلام المظلمة
Supporter of truth, the prophet of courage,
Muhammad who dispelled the darkness of darkness.
وَهوَ الَّذي أَباد جيش الكفر
قلده المولى بسيف النصر
It is he who destroyed the army of disbelief,
To whom the Master gave the sword of victory.
والآل وَالصَّحب الَّذين جاهَدوا
في اللَّهِ وَالجَمال منه شاهدوا
And his family and companions who struggled
In the way of Allah, beholding His beauty.
ما أسرج الدهم وَجال الغر
وَجرد البيض وَمال السمر
How the tents were loaded and the camels saddled,
The whites donned armor and the browns rode off.
وَبعد فالانمى من السَّلام
يهدى إلى ابن سيد الأنام
Afterwards, greetings of peace
Are sent to the son of the master of all people.
الفاضِل المحقق العلامة
وَالكامِل المدقق الفهَّامة
The virtuous scholar, the investigating sage,
My companion and solace without doubt,
أخي وَمؤنسي بلا اشتياه
السيد النَّحرير عبد اللَّه
Sir Abdullah, who continues to humble
The misguided, raising banners of perfection.
لا زالَ خافِضاً أَولى الضلال
بنصبه ألوية الكَمال
O you whom Allah guided to virtue
And endowed with knowledge and merit,
يا من هَداه اللَّهُ لِلفَواضِل
وَخصَّه بالعلم وَالفَضائل
And protected with righteousness and wisdom,
Discernment, insight and perception.
وَحفَّه بالرشد وَالكياسة
وَالفهم وَالفطنة وَالفراسَة
How is your temperament and your condition?
In what do you spend your time?
كَيف طباعكم وَما حالاتكم
بأي شيء يَنقَضي أَوقاتكم
I long for your company,
Separation and yearning unravel me.
إنِّي إِلى وصالكم مشتاق
أنحلني الفِراق والأشواق
As if you split a hair into ten parts,
My pulse would mark each fraction.
بحيث لَو قستم عرض الشعرة
عشرة أَقسام حكته دقَّتي
By Allah, I ask for the meeting that
Will heal all my sickness from this passion.
وَاللَّهُ أسأل الملاقاة الَّتي
يشفي من الغَرام كل علتي
If you permit inquiring after the state of the country,
And what distress and straits were found,
فإن تجيزوا الفحص عَن حال البلد
وَما من الشدة وَالضيق وجد
Praise be to Allah, aid of the weak,
Reliever of sorrows, hastener of recovery.
فالحَمد لِلَّه معين الضُعفا
مفرج الكرب معجل الشفا
For the harm and pain have passed,
And our honor was protected from disgrace,
عَلى اِنكشاف الضر وَالآلام
وَصون عرضنا من الإعجام
When they entered the villages and corrupted them,
Injuring, tearing, and driving them out.
إذ دَخَلوا القرى وأفسدوها
آذوا ومزقوا وَشردوها
They violated the youths and boys,
And captured the women and children.
وانتَهكوا الشبان وَالفتيانا
واستأسروا النسوان وَالصبيانا
They abandoned the elders and infants,
Loading them with burdens and goods.
وَغادَروا الشيوخ والأطفالا
وَحَمَّلوا الأحمال والأثقالا
Then they came to besiege us,
To provoke and break us.
ثم توجهوا ليحصرونا
وَيستَفزونا وَيكسرونا
They came like spreading locusts
And surrounded us on an inauspicious endless day.
جاؤا كأَنَّهم جراد مُنتشر
فحاصَروا في يوم نحس مستمر
Their mufti informed us that the troop
Was seventy-five, then a hundred after.
أَخبرنا مفتيهم أن الفئة
خمس وَسبعون تليهما مئة
But to distinguish such numbers
Was a thousand, no less and no more.
وَإِنَّما تمييز ذي الأَعداد
ألف بِلا نَقصٍ وَلا اِزدياد
They approached and rained fire upon us,
Not resting night or day.
دنوا فأمطروا علينا ناراً
لَم يَهجَعوا لَيلاً وَلا نَهاراً
And all creatures plugged
Their ears in fear of the thunderbolts.
واصبعا كل من الخَلائِق
في أذنيه حذر الصواعق
The severity of drought was evident between us,
Until we were deprived of drinking river water.
فبان بَينَنا سماة القحط
حَتّى حُرِمنا شرب ماء الشط
Each of us awaited the battle,
Adhering to His saying:
وَكلنا يَرتَقِب القتالا
ممتَثِلاً بِقَوله تَعالى
"O you who believe! Persevere,
And excel in patience, and remain steadfast, that you may triumph."
يا أَيُّها الَّذين آمَنوا اصبروا
وَصابِروا وَرابِطوا لتنصروا
On Thursday their evil befell us,
In the middle of Sha’ban, with excessive prevention.
سطى خَميسهم علينا الجمعه
في نصف شعبان بفرط المنعه
They deceived us with a scheme that was not secret,
Like digging pits and setting up ladders.
فَخادعونا خدعاً لَم تكتم
كَحفر ألغام وَنصب السُلَّم
But their harm in taking oaths
Was reversed by Allah and so He broke them.
فضرهم ما صنعوا من القسم
إِذ رده اللَّه عليهم فقصم
And every high ladder they erected
Was pulled to the wall, and some of them were robbed.
وكل سُلَّم رَفيع نصبا
جُرَّ إِلى السور وَمنهم سُلِبا
We were wary of their cunning and evil plotting,
So their scheming only brought them ruin.
خفنا احتيالهم وَسوء مكرهم
فَلَم يحق مَكرُهُم إِلّا بهم
The duelers approached our wall,
And they were indeed furious with us,
فَقارب السور المبارزونا
وإنهم لنا لغائظون
When they saw us guarding the wall,
They retreated hastily in aversion.
لما رأونا حافظين السورا
ولّوا عَلى أَدبارهم نفورا
And we made great effort in fighting them,
We did not kill a tenth of what we killed of them.
وَالجهد في كفاحهم بذلنا
ما قَتَلوا معشار ما قَتَلنا
So on that difficult day they were
Like the severed trunks of palm trees.
فأَصبحوا في ذلك اليوم العسر
كأنهم أعجاز نَخلٍ مُنقَعِر
When their red blood was spilled
By our white swords, they sued for peace.
لما أريقت منهُمُ حمرِ الدِّما
ببيضنا ألقوا إلينا السلَما
The treacherous sultan of the non-Arabs sent
Attempting reconciliation and seeking accord.
فأرسل الغادِر سلطان العجم
يُحاول الصلح وَيَبتَغي السلَم
And whenever they ignited the fire of war,
Allah extinguished it with the rain of the unseen.
وَكلما أَوقدوا نار الحرب
أَطفأها اللَّه بِغيث الغيب
So the Master, the noble ruler of Mosul,
I mean Hussein the one of high status,
فَصالح المولى أَمير الموصل
أَعني حسيناً صاحب القدر العَلي
Through the tongues of messengers agreed
To send ten steeds, fully equipped.
بألسن الرسل عَلى أَن يرسلا
من خيله إليه عشراً كُمّلا
Our Governor generously sent double what was asked,
And likewise the ruler of Aleppo sent its equivalent.
فَجاد وَالينا بضعف ما طلب
وَمثله أتحف حاكم حلب
So this held back the hands of enemies,
Protecting al-Hadba and ash-Shuhada.
فَكفا عنا أَيدي الأَعداء
محافظا الحدباء وَالشّهباء
By the power of Allah and His prophets,
And His loyal saints.
بِقوة اللَّه وأَنبيائه
وَأَوليائه وأصفيائه
But the perseverance of the Minister of Mosul,
The valiant, bold, intrepid one,
لكن تجلد الوَزير الموصلي
الباسلِ الشهم الشَّجيع المقبلِ
Clarifying it is more than can be mentioned.
May Allah reward him, truly most courageous,
تبيانه أكثر من أَن يذكرا
لِلَّه دره حرياً أَجسرا
For the great numbers of tribes
Did not deter him, following the words of the poet:
إِذ لَم ترعه كثرة القَبائِل
منهم تأسياً بِقول القائِل
“I do not cower before adversity,
Even if hordes of enemies come successively.”
لا أَقعد الجبنَ عَن الهيجاء
وَلَو توالَت زمر الأَعداء
Praise be to Allah who strengthened us through him,
And indeed sorrow has departed from us.
الحمد لِلَّهالَّذي عززنا
به وَقَد أَذهب عنا الحَزَنا
I said to him regarding this matter
A fine ode in Turkish style,
قلت له في هذه القضية
قَصيدَةً جيدَةً تركيَّه
And eloquently described the battle
By my deceased brother’s son, your supplicant Hasan.
وَفصل الوقعة بالوجه الحسن
ابن أَخي المَرحوم داعيكم حسن
He comprehensively recorded the tribulations in writing,
And sent the ode to the chosen Minister.
أَحاطَ بالخطوب علماً وَكتب
أَتحفها إِلى الوَزير المنتخب
So he appreciated the excellence of its opening,
And what was presented of its verses.
فاِستحسن الصدر محسناتها
وَما قَد استشهد من أَبياتها
For it surpasses structures,
Refined in diction and meaning.
لأَنَّها فائقة المَباني
رائقة الأَلفاظ وَالمَعاني
As for the wretched foreign aggressor,
The transgressing, unjust, treacherous tyrant,
أَما الشقي الخارجيُّ نادِر
المعتدي الباغي الظلوم الغادِر
He feigned affection and friendship
After the treaty of peace and truce was concluded.
فَكانَ يبدي الود وَالمخادنه
بعد انعقاد الصلح وَالمهادنه
