أذا مَا عقيقُ الرّمْلِ بانت خيّامُه

وأورقَ واديه وجادت غَمَامُه

When the knolls of sand became visible, their tents

And its valley became green, and its clouds poured down,

وبانَ لنا البانُ الذي بمُحَجّرٍ

تميلُ أعاليه وتشدو حَمَامُه

And the high-domed building appeared to us,

Its peaks leaning as its doves coo,

فحُقّ لقلبي أن يطولَ هُيَامُه

وحُقّ لطَرْفي أن يطيرَ منامُه

Then it was right for my heart to prolong its love,

And right for my eyes to let their sleep fly away.

ومَا أنا إلاّ مُغْرمُ القلب صَبُّه

بخالين لا يدرونَ كيف غرامُه

I'm but a lover whose heart melted,

For cheeky ones who know not what his love is.

ولي بالغَضَا لو كنتَ تَعْلَمُ ما الغضا

حبيبَ مكانَ النجم ناءٍ مرامُه

And I don’t care if you don’t know what indifference is,

A lover whose place is higher than the stars he wishes for.

يَضمُّ صَبَاحاً في ظلامِ نِقَابِه

ألآيا بنفسي دُرّهُ وتُؤامُه

He embraces in the darkness of his veil morning,

Oh me - his pearl and twin.

ينُوبُ عن الرِّيحانِ والراح خدُهُ

وَيحكي غُصُونَ الخيزران عِظَامُه

His cheek takes the place of basil and meadows,

And tells of the slender branches of apricot trees.

أموتُ إذا ما مال عني عِطْفُه

وأحيا إذَا وافى إليّ سلامُه

I die when he turns away from me,

And I live when his greeting reaches me,

وأسْتَسِمجُ اللّيلَ القصير ورآءه

وسِيّانِ ليلُ المستهامِ وعَامُه

And I find the short night too long without him

As if it were a year, night of the desperate lover.

ألآ حبذا نْجدٌ وفائَحُ رَندِه

ويا حبّذا حَوذَانُه وبشّامُه

Oh how excellent is Nejd and the fragrance of its hills,

And how excellent are its sands and stony ground.

بلادٌ كخُلقِ ابنِ الحسينِ رياضُه

وروضٌ كخلْقِ ابن الحسين كمامُه

A land whose meadows match Al-Hussain’s ethics,

And a garden matching Al-Hussain’s turban.

إِمامٌ لأهل الأرض برَّز وحْدَه

وسَار وخير المرسلين أمَامُه

A leader for earth’s people, his uniqueness manifest,

Who walked with the best of messengers before him.

مشابُهُه إسْماً وخُلْقاً وَسُنّةً

وإن قال يوماً فالكلامُ كلامُه

His namesake, ethics and way,

And if he speaks, his words are as if his words.

إلا إنّ دهراً من بنيه مَحَمّدٌ

زمانٌ بكفِّ المكرمات تهَامُه

Except that for a period among his descendants is Muhammad,

A time grasping bounties in its fist.

وإن مَحَلاًّ حلّ فيه مَحَمّدٌ

مقدّسَةٌ غِيطَانُه وإكامُه

And if a place was inhabited by Muhammad,

Its sides and surrounding walls are sanctified.

ومَا ضاق يوماً يالمؤمَلِ سوحُه

ولا ذمَّ يوماً للصديق ذِمَامُه

The plains of hope never narrowed around him,

Nor did the trusted one’s honor get blamed,

وما هو إلاَّ الغيثُ غوثٌ مُذاقُه

وَمَلْمَسُهُ لَدْنٌ وَوَبْلٌ سِجامُه

It is but rain, its taste is relief,

Its touch is gentle, its bonds firm.

ولا هو إلاّ البَدرُ سارٍ ضِياؤهُ

وطلقٌ مُحياه وعالٍ مَقامُه

It is but the full moon, its light spreading,

Its face bright, its position lofty.

ومَا عاش هذا الخلقُ إلاّ اشتمالُه

ولا قام هذا الدينُ لولاَ قيامُه

People did not live except in its protection,

Nor did this religion stand except by its establishment.

ولا بات جارٌ في حماهُ مُهَضّماً

وحاشا وكلاّ لا يطاقُ اهتضامه

No neighbor spent the night oppressed in its sanctuary,

Far be it! Its violation cannot be conceived.

كريم نمَتْهُ مِنْ بجيلةَ سَادةٌ

كرامٌ بنفسي نفسُه وكرامُه

A generous man whose growth was from excellent stock,

Generous ones, himself and his generosity a generosity.

به يأمنُ الثغرُ المخوفُ انفتاحُه

به ينظمُ السلكَ العرينَ انتظامُه

Through him the formidable border is secured in its opening,

Through him the supple bond is organized in its arrangement.

غدا المجدُ ثوباً وهو ساحب ذيله

بل الجودُ مُهْراً في يديه لجامُه

Tomorrow glory becomes a garment and he trails its train,

Nay, generosity becomes a sealed gift in his hands.

أبا عَبْدَلٍ إنَّ الثناء لجوهَرٌ

بجوهَرِك الشفافِ يحلو نظامُه

Abu Abdallah, praise is a gem

Which becomes beautiful in its arrangement by your transparent gem.

وأنت امرؤ لو أنَّ حاتم طيء

رءاَك غدا الجود ضاقَ حزامُه

And you are a man, if Hatem al-Tai

Saw you, generosity would become too narrow for his belt.

فلا زلتَ للدنيا وللدين معقلاً

ومَجْدُك عالٍ لا ينال سَنامُه

So you remained a refuge for the world and the faith,

Your glory lofty, unreachable by any minaret.