قِفوا بي عَلى الرَبعِ المُحيلِ أُسائِلُه

وَإِن كانَ أَقوى بَعدَ ما خَفَّ آهِلُه

Stand by me in this ruined abode and ask it

Halt with me at the desolate ruins, that I may question them,

Though its strongest stones have wasted away

Though they have fallen silent and void since their dwellers departed.

وَما في سُؤالِ الدارِ إِطفاءُ غُلَّةٍ

لِقلبٍ مِنَ التَذكارِ جَمٍّ بَلابِلُه

Asking after this house does not quell the yearning

Yet questioning the abode holds no quenching for the burning thirst

Of a heart brimful with memories that stir its sorrows

Of a heart whose sorrows are overflowing from remembrance;

تَعَلُّلُ مُشتاقٍ وَلَوعَةُ ذاكِرٍ

لِعَهدِ سُرورٍ غابَ عَنهُ عَواذِلُه

A longing lover’s pretexts, a rememberer’s grief

The solace of a yearning soul, the anguish of one recalling

For days of joy that fleeing time has borne away

An era of joy from which all censors were absent.

فَإِن أَسلُ لا أَسلو هَواهُم تَجَلُّداً

وَلكِنَّ يَأساً أَخلَفَتني أَوائِلُه

Though I ask not out of desire but despair

If I seem to forget, I do not forget their love through feigned strength,

For early days whose latter course betrayal marred

But rather through a despair whose early signs have overtaken me.

خَليلَيَّ لَو أَبصَرتُما يَومَ حاجِرٍ

مُقامي وَكَفّي فَوقَ قَلبي اُبادِلُه

O my two friends, had you but seen me one day

O my two companions, had you but seen me on the day of Hajir,

My stance, my palms pressed to my heart, thoughts streaming

Standing there, my hand pressed to my heart to soothe its beating,

عَشِيَّةَ لا صَبري يُثيبٌ وَلا الهَوى

قَريبٌ وَلا دَمعي تَفيضُ جَداوِلُه

At evening, with no patience to console me

An evening when patience brought no reward, nor was love

No solace near, no tears flowing in streams

Within reach, and my tears were flowing like streams,

لَأَيقَنتُما أَنَّ الأَسى يَغلِبُ العَزا

وَأَنَّ غَرامي لا غَرامَ يُماثِلُه

Then you’d have known that grief defeats all cheer

You would have known for certain that sorrow conquers stoicism,

That none can rival my passion, however extreme

And that this passion of mine is matched by no other passion.

فَلِلَّهِ قَلبي ما أَشَدَّ اِحتِمالَهُ

وَيا وَيح صَبري كَيفَ هُدَّت مَعاقِلُه

My heart, Allah, how staunchly it has borne all this!

To God I entrust my heart—how intense is its endurance!

And my patience, alas, how its strongholds have been overturned!

And alas for my patience—how its fortresses have been razed!

نَظَرتُ إِلى الأَظعانِ يَومَ تَحَمَلّوا

فَأَشرَقَني طَلُّ الدُموعِ وَوابِلُه

I looked upon the ruins as they carried their load

I gazed at the caravan litters on the day they departed,

Tears flowed till my sleeve dripped from their welling stream

And I was choked by the drizzle and the deluge of my tears.

مَضَوا بِبُدورٍ في بُروجِ أَكِلَّةٍ

بِهِنَّ حَليمُ القَلبِ يَصبو وَجاهِلُه

Bearing off what remained, they strode through the zodiac

They departed carrying full moons within the towers of veils,

Swaying gently, kind of heart though ignorant their mien

For whom both the wise of heart and the foolish yearn alike.

وَفيهِنَّ مِقلاقُ الوِشاحِ إِذا مَشى

تَمَلَّكَ حَبّاتِ القُلوبِ تَمايُلُه

In their flowing robes, when the wearer walks

Among them is she of the loose sash; when she walks,

Hearts melt captivated by their beauty’s gleam

Her swaying captures the very core of men's hearts.

يَلوثُ عَلى مِثلِ الكَثيبِ إِزارَهُ

وَأَعلاهُ بَدرٌ قَد تَناهى تَكامُلُه

Cloaks trailing in the sand as though a hillside

She wraps her garment over hips like a shifting sand dune,

Crowned by the full moon nearing its perfect team

While above rises a full moon whose perfection is absolute.

وَزَعتُ التَصابي إِذ عَلا الشَيبُ مُفرِقي

وَوَدَّعتُهُ تَوديعَ مَن لا يُجامِلُه

When grey flecked my temples, I bade them adieu

I curbed my youthful folly when gray hair crowned my head,

As one parts from another unlikely to be seen again

And I bade it farewell—the parting of one who offers no false courtesy.

وَفِئتُ إلى رُشدي وَأَعطَيتُ مِقودي

نَصيحي فَمَهما قالَهُ أَنا قِلُه

I returned to wisdom and handed myself the reins

I returned to my senses and surrendered my reins

My counsel, whatever I say, echoes what I mean

To my sincere advisor, accepting whatever counsel he speaks.

وَمَن صَحِبَ الأَيّامَ رَنَّقنَ عَيشَهُ

وَأَلبَسنَهُ بُرداً سَحيقاً خَمائِلُه

Whoever courts fate will find his life constricted

Whoever keeps company with Time finds his life muddied,

And clothed in a coat of misery, of fabric mean

And is clothed in a garment whose threads are worn and tattered.

وَلَيلٍ غُدافِيِّ الإِهابِ تَسَربَلَت

كَواكِبُهُ خالاً تَرِنُّ صَواهِلُه

By a night whose darkness was lit by scintillating stars

I have crossed many a night, raven-black in its hide,

That glittered in clusters, their melody serene

Where the stars were veiled, and the wind's neighing rang out.

يَمُدُّ عَلى الآفاقِ سَجفَ حَنادِسٍ

مَخوفاً رَداهُ موحِشاتٍ مَجاهِلُه

It cast across the horizon a canopy of dread

It stretches over the horizons a curtain of deep gloom,

Fearsome in expanse, desolate the intervening scene

Its perils are feared, its unknown wastelands desolate.

هَتكنا بِأَيدي الناعِجاتِ سُدولَهُ

إِلى مَلِكٍ يُخشى وَتُرجى نَوافِلُه

With our mounts we penetrated its folds

We tore through its veils with the hooves of swift camels,

To a king majestic yet kind, of generous mien

Journeying toward a King whose might is feared and whose bounty is hoped for.

إِلى مَلِكٍ لَو كانَ في عَهدِ حاتِمٍ

لقالَ كَذا فَليَبذُلِ المالَ باذِلُه

A king who, if Hatim’s time were now

Towards a King who, had he lived in the time of Hatim,

Would say “Let those with wealth be openhanded and keen!”

Hatim would have said: "Thus indeed should a giver bestow his wealth!"

إِمامِ الهُدى عَبدِ العَزيزِ بنِ فَيصَلٍ

بِهِ اِنهَدَّ رُكنُ الشركِ وَاِنحَطَّ باطِلُه

The Pillar of Guidance, Abd al-Aziz ibn Faysal

The Imam of Guidance, Abdulaziz bin Faisal,

With him the edifice of unbelief fell, falsehood’s regime

Through whom the pillar of idolatry crumbled and its falsehood collapsed.

سَما لِلمَعالي وَهوَ في سِنِّ يافِعٍ

فَأَدرَك أَعلاها وَما شُقَّ بازِلُه

He reached the heights while yet in the bloom of youth

He ascended to glory while yet in the bloom of youth,

Before he wavered or his foot slipped, still keen

Reaching its summit before he had even come of age.

بِطَلعَتِهِ زانَ الوُجودَ وَأَشرَقَت

عَلى الأَرضِ أَنوارُ الهُدى وَوَسائِلُه

His rise adorned existence, and the lands shone

His countenance adorned existence, and there shone

With beacons of guidance, paths kept smooth and clean

Upon the earth the radiant lights of guidance and its righteous paths.

فَلَو نُشِرَت أَيّامُ كِسرى وَتبَّعٍ

وَأَيّامُ هارونَ الرَشيدِ وَنائِلُه

Were unveiled the days of Kisra, Tab’a, and the era

Were the days of Khosrow and Tubba' to be unfolded,

Of Harun al-Rashid, days that set the balance between

And the reign of Harun al-Rashid with all his munificence,

لَقالَت بِحَقٍّ لَيتَ أَيّامَنا الأُولى

تُعادُ لَنا كَي يُدرِكَ السُؤلَ آمِلُه

They’d exclaim “Would that our first days could return

They would truthfully say: "Would that our ancient days"

That yearning souls might re-attain what once had been!”

"Could return, that we might attain what this era has achieved."

وَلا غَروَ أَن يَشتاقَهُ عَهدُ مَن مَضى

فَقَد نَسَخَت مَجدَ المُلوكِ شَمائِلُه

No wonder days gone by long for his return

It is no wonder the eras of the past yearn for him,

When his qualities surpass all kings have preened

For his noble virtues have superseded the glory of all kings.

رَعى الدينَ وَالدُنيا رِعايَةَ مُحسِنٍ

وَقامَ بِأَعباءِ الخِلافَةِ كاهِلَه

Religion and world he tended with beneficence

He shepherded both Religion and the World with a benevolent hand,

Bearing alone the burdens of the mandate unseen

And his shoulders bore the heavy burdens of the Caliphate.

وَأَرضى بَني الإِسلامِ قَولاً وَسيرَةً

فَذو الظُلمِ أَرداهُ وَذو اليُتمِ كافِلُه

His rule in word and deed gratified all Muslims

He pleased the children of Islam in word and in deed;

To the oppressed a refuge, to the weak care and screen

He struck down the oppressor and became the guardian of the orphan.

وَجَدَّدَ مِنهاجَ الهُدى بَعدَ ما عَفا

وَعَزَّ بِهِ الشَرعُ الشَريفُ وَحامِلُه

The ways of guidance, once obscured, he made clear

He renewed the path of Guidance after it had faded,

And reverenced the Law, upholding its demesne

And through him, the Noble Law and its bearers found strength.

قُصارى بَني الدُنيا دَوامُ حَياتِهِ

عَسى اللَهُ يُحييهِ وَتَعلو مَنازِلُه

Let his life be prolonged for people’s good

The utmost hope of the people is the endurance of his life;

May God elevate him, and his abode keep serene!

May God preserve him and exalt his station ever higher.

فَكَم كَنزِ مَعروفٍ اَثارَ وَمَفخَرٍ

أَشادَ وَمَجدٍ لَيسَ تُحصى فَضائِلُه

So many treasures troves were opened, such glory unveiled

How many treasures of kindness has he unearthed, and glories

That his feats and virtues cannot be counted or gleaned

Has he built, and majesty whose virtues cannot be counted.

قَليلُ التَشَكّي وَالتَمَنّي وَإِنَّما

إِذا هَمَّ لَم تُسدَد عَلَيهِ مَداخِلُه

Rarely coveting, eschewing all vain wishing

He complains little and wishes for little; rather,

His resolves, when formed, meet no obstacles convened

When he resolves to act, no gateway is barred against him.

خِفيُّ مَدَبِّ الكَيدِ يَقظانُ لَم يَكُن

بِهِ غَفلَةٌ لكِنَّ عَمداً تَغافُلُه

Subtle plotter, wakeful when others sleep

Subtle in strategy, ever-vigilant; he possesses

Feigning inattention, while nothing escapes his keen sight

No negligence, but rather a deliberate feigning of unawareness.

وَلا طالِبٌ أَمراً سِوى ما أَفادَهُ

بِهِ عَزمُهُ أَو سَيفُهُ أَو عَوامِلُه

None who petition him seeks aught but what will benefit them

He seeks no objective save that which is secured

Either his wisdom, his sword, or his means between

By his resolve, his sword, or his spearheads.

فَقُل للذي قَد غَرَّهُ مِنهُ حِلمُهُ

مَتى كافَأَ الذِئبُ الهِزَبرَ يُنازِلُه

Say to those lulled by his mildness: when has a wolf

So say to him who has been deluded by his forbearance:

Ever requited a shepherd, though gently he careen?

"When has the wolf ever been a match for the battling lion?"

أَلَم تَرَ أَنَّ البَحرَ يُسلَكُ ساكِناً

وَإِن حَرَّكَتهُ الريحُ جاشَت زَلازِلُه

Have you not seen how the sea may be coursed when calm

Do you not see that the sea is traversed when calm,

Yet if winds arouse it, great tempests careen?

But when the wind stirs it, its quakes erupt in fury?

فَلا تُخرِجوهُ عَن سَجِيَّةِ حِلمِهِ

فَتَكثُرَ في الساعي بِذاكَ ثَواكِلُه

Do not disturb his innate mildness

So do not provoke him out of his nature of clemency,

Lest your plots against him thereby multiply and teem

Lest the mothers of those who strive for such folly be left bereaved.

وَلا تَستَطيبوا مَركَبَ البَغيِ إِنَّهُ

إِذا ما اِمتَطاهُ المَرءُ فَاللَهُ خاذِلُه

Do not think to mount the steed of rebellion

Do not find sweet the steed of rebellion, for truly,

All who dare it, God will foil and their hopes demean

Whenever a man mounts it, God surely forsakes him.

ضَمِنتُ لِباغي فَضلِهِ أَن يَنالَهُ

وَمَن يَطلُبِ اللأوا تَئيمُ حلائِلُه

I guarantee the rebel that instead of advantage

I guarantee that he who seeks his favor shall attain it,

He will pluck bitter fruit and dire final scene

But he who seeks trouble—his wives shall be left widows.

وَما نالَ هذا المُلكَ حَتّى تَقَصَّدَت

صُدورُ عَواليهِ وَفُلَّت مَناصِلُه

He assumed the throne only after his enemies fell

He did not attain this dominion until the chests

Sundered, their ties severed, their ranks left cracked and unclean

Of his spears were shattered and his blades blunted.

وَأَنعَلَ اَيدي الجُردِ هامَ عِداتِهِ

وَزَلزَلَتِ الأَرضَ البَعيدَ قَنابِلُه

His destriers trampled them under, his weapons unfurled

He shod the hooves of his horses with the skulls of his foes,

Till the distant lands quaked from his cannonballs’ careen

And his legions shook the very ends of the earth.

وَما زادَهُ تيهُ الخِلافَةِ قَسوَةً

نَعَم زادَ عَفواً حينَ زادَ تَطاوُلُه

Power did not increase his harshness, but rather

The grandeur of power increased him not in harshness;

As his dominion grew, so his pardons did stream

Nay, he grew more forgiving as his influence grew vast.

مِن القَومِ بَسّامينَ وَالوَقتُ أَكدَرٌ

مِنَ النَقعِ وَهّابينَ وَالجَدبُ شامِلُه

Amidst a time of discord and drought universal

He is of a people who smile when times are grim,

Some with smiling face, yet the season is wretchedly lean

Amidst the dust of war; who give freely when drought prevails.

عَلَينا لَكَ الرحمنُ أَوجَبَ طاعَةً

بِنَصٍّ وَبُرهانٍ تَلوحُ دَلائِلُه

Incumbent upon us is obedience, ordained by the Merciful

The Merciful has ordained upon us obedience to you,

In revealed texts and proofs unambiguous, keen

By scripture and proof whose evidences are clear.

فَقالَ أَطيعوا اللَهَ ثُمَّ رَسولَهُ

وَذا الأَمرِ يَدريهِ الذي هُوَ عاقِلُه

“Obey God and the Prophet,” He saith

He said: "Obey Allah, and then His Messenger,"

And those in authority, as any rational deem

And "those in authority"—a truth the wise well understand.

وَقالَ رَسولُ اللَهِ سَمعاً وَطاعَةً

لِذي أَمرِكُم لَو شَطَّ في الحُكمِ عامِلُه

The Prophet said, Hear and obey

And the Messenger of Allah said: "Listen and obey

Your leaders, even should their rule angular lean

Your ruler, even if his governor strays in judgment."

وَمَن ماتَ ما في عُنقِهِ لَكَ بَيعَةٌ

فَميتَةَ أَهلِ الجَهلِ يَرويهِ ناقِلُه

Whose neck bears no fealty when he dies

And whoever dies with no pledge of allegiance upon his neck,

Meets a hellbound end—so relate those who have gleaned

Dies the death of the Days of Ignorance, as the narrators recount.

فَيا لَيتَ شِعري ما الذي غَرَّ بَعضَهُم

إِلى أَن رَأى رَأياً يُضَلَّلُ قائِلُه

I wonder what has deluded some of them

Oh, how I wish I knew what has deluded some of them,

To deem valid an opinion whose holder is waywardly keen?

To adopt a view whose proponent is clearly led astray.

سَيخسَرُ في الدُنيا وَفي الدين سَعيُهُ

وَعَمّا قَريبٍ يَجتَوي الوِردَ ناهِلُه

He will fail in religion and world, his striving is ruined

His endeavor will end in loss, both in this world and the Faith,

While near at hand he will suffer catastrophes unseen

And soon the thirsty one shall find the watering hole bitter.

فَيا مَعشَرَ القُرّاءِ دَعوَةَ صارِخٍ

بِكُم إِن يَكُن فيكُم حَليمٌ نُسائِلُه

O assembly of Koran-readers! The cry of one imploring:

O assembly of Readers, hear the call of one crying out

Is there among you one mild-mannered I might keen?

To you—if there be a wise man among you to question:

أَما أَخَذَ الميثاقَ رَبّي عَلَيكُمُ

بِإِرشادِنا لِلأَمرِ كَيفَ نُعامِلُه

Did not my Lord exact a pact from you

Did not my Lord take a solemn covenant from you,

To counsel wisely the best course for our deen?

To guide us in this matter and how we should deal with it?

فَقوموا بِأَعباءِ الأَمانَةِ إِنَّما

بِأَعناقِكُم طَوقٌ يُعانيهِ حامِلُه

Rise to bear the Trust—on your necks

So rise and bear the burdens of this trust, for truly

A pact whose weighty pearls bring pain to the bearer, gleam and sheen

Upon your necks is a heavy collar that burdens the bearer.

إِذا عَقَدَ الصُلحَ الإِمامُ لِكافِرٍ

يَرى أَنَّهُ لا يَستَطيعُ يُطاوِلُه

When the imam makes peace with unbelievers

If the Imam concludes a peace treaty with a disbeliever,

Deeming he cannot subdue them, however keen

Deeming that he cannot sustain a conflict against him,

وَفيهِ لِدُنيانا صَلاحٌ وَدينِنا

وَدَفعُ أَذىً عَنّا تُخافُ غَوائِلُه

A peace that benefits our faith and world

And seeing therein a benefit for our world and our faith,

That spares us their evil, foils whatever they scheme

And the warding off of a harm whose calamities are feared—

فَذا جَأنِرٌ في الشَرعِ مِن غَيرِ شُبهَةٍ

فَيا لَيتَ شِعري هل يُفَنَّدُ فاعِلُه

This is valid in law, beyond all doubt

Then this is permissible in the Law without any doubt.

So what rebuttal can possibly its decoder convene?

How then, I wonder, can the one who does so be rebuked?

وَقَد كانَ في أَمرِ التَتارِ كِفايَةٌ

لِمَن كانَ ذا قَلبٍ سَليمٍ دَغائِلُه

The accord with the Tatars should suffice

There was indeed a sufficient lesson in the matter of the Tatars,

To convince those whose minds from turbid passions are clean

For anyone whose heart is sound and free of rancor.

هُمُ عاقَدوا السُلطانَ صُلحاً مُؤَكَّداً

عَلى أَنَّهُ مَن شاءَ قُطراً يُسابِلُه

A pact concluded with the Sultan, binding

They concluded a firm peace treaty with the Sultan,

That each may go freely where’er their reins careen

That whoever wished to travel to a region might do so freely.

فَجاءَ أُناسٌ مِنهُمُ بِبَضائِعٍ

مُحاوَلَةً لِلرِّبحِ مِمَّن تُعامِلُه

Yet some came with wares, seeking profit

Then some of their people came with merchandise,

From those they traded with, heedless of what intervened

Seeking profit from those with whom they traded.

فَأَغراهُ حُبُّ المالِ يُخفِرُ عَهدَهُ

فَما أَمطَرَت إِلّا بِشَرٍّ مَخايَلُه

Desire for gain enticed them to break their vows

But love of wealth tempted someone to break the covenant,

And they unleashed upon us woes unforeseen

And his clouds rained down nothing but evil.

وَجَرَّ عَلى الإِسلامِ شَرَّ جَريرَةٍ

بِها بادَ نَسلُ المُسلِمينَ وَناسِلُه

How much wealth they seized! How much blood they shed!

He brought upon Islam the worst of consequences,

How many a household weeps for its widows, its orphaned keen!

Through which both the Muslims' offspring and their sires perished.

فَكَم أَخَذوا مالاً وَكَم سَفَكوا دَماً

وَكَم تَرَكوا سِرباً تُبَكّي أَرامِلُه

O Men of Islam, east and west I counsel:

How much wealth they seized, how much blood they shed!

Advice guided to you, though distant its origin and scene

How many households they left with widows weeping!

إِلَيكُم بَني الإِسلامِ شَرقاً وَمَغرِباً

نَصيحَةَ مَن تُهدى إِلَيكُم رَسائِلُه

Come follow the Summoner to Righteousness, cooperate

Listen, O sons of Islam, in the East and in the West,

Upon piety and reverence, for such are its confederates keen

To the counsel of one whose messages are directed to you:

هَلُمّوا إِلى داعي الهُدى وَتَعاوَنوا

عَلى البِرِّ وَالتَقوى فَأَنتُم أَماثِلُه

Go your ways, ponder, reflect, consider

Come to the Caller of Guidance and cooperate

You will see my warnings are clear, no crookedness convened

In righteousness and piety, for you are the best to do so.

وَقوموا فُرادى ثُمَّ مَثنى وَفَكِّروا

تَرَوا أَنَّ نُصحي لا اِغتِشاشَ يُداخِلُه

Ibn Faysal, the Muslims’ Imam, is rightly guided

Stand individually and in pairs, and reflect—

By wisdom in each matter, discretely convened

You will see that my counsel is free from all deceit.

بِأَنَّ إِمامَ المُسلِمينَ اِبنَ فَيصَلٍ

هُوَ القائِمُ الهادي بِما هوَ فاصِلُه

In Nejd, before his appearance, what tumult there was!

That the Imam of the Muslims, Ibn Faisal,

May the separation caused by its events never be seen!

Is the upright guide in the decisions he makes.

فَقَد كانَ في نَجدٍ قُبَيلَ ظُهورِهِ

مِنَ الهَرجِ ما يُبكي العُيونَ تَفاصُلُه

Men in every town locked in mutual destruction

For in Najd, just prior to his rising,

While lions roamed outside each wall’s confines, hungry and keen

Was such chaos that its details would make eyes weep.

تَهارَشَ هذا الناسُ في كُلِّ بَلدَةٍ

وَمَن يَتَعَدَّ السورَ فَالذِئبُ آكِلُه

Between spoils stripped and spoils robbed

The people savaged one another in every town;

And the last corpse and the last killed, the killer and slain between

Whoever stepped beyond the wall was devoured by the wolf.

فَما بَينَ مَسلوبٍ وَما بَينَ سالِبٍ

وَآخرَ مَقتولٍ وَهذاكَ قاتِلُه

God replaced your poverty through him with a kingdom

Nothing remained but the robbed and the robber,

And your degradation with honor that casts down the debased and mean

The slain victim and his slayer.

فَأَبدَلَكُم رَبّي مِنَ الفَقرِ دَولَةً

وَبِالذُلِّ عِزّاً بَزَّ خَصماً يُناضِلُه

Under a leader whose shade covers you all

Then my Lord exchanged your poverty for a mighty state,

His wisdom and armament guard you, splendidly keen

And your humiliation for a glory that vanquishes every foe.

ييمن إِمامٍ أَنتُمُ في ظِلالِهِ

يُدافِعُ عَنكثم رَأيُهُ وَذَوابِلُه

Through him God granted us new life

By the grace of an Imam in whose shade you dwell,

Freeing us from the straits of misery and want obscene

Whose judgment and spears stand in your defense.

بِهِ اللَهُ أَعطانا حَياةً جَديدًةً

رَفَهنا بِها مِن ضَنكِ بُؤسٍ نُطاوِلُه

To you, Commander of the Faithful, I have called out

Through him God has granted us a new life,

My messages crossing the horizon’s breadth and space between

In which we found ease after the prolonged misery we endured.

إِلَيكَ أَميرَ المُؤمِنينَ زَجَرتُها

تَرامى بِها بَعدَ السُهوبِ جَراوِلُه

Whenever the echoing camel song extols you

To you, O Commander of the Faithful, I have driven this poem,

It trips along, rousing the slumbering mount to careen

Tossed across plains and over rocky terrain.

إِذا ما وَنَت غَنّى الرَديفُ بِذِكرهِ

فَزَفَّت زَفيفَ الرَألِ فَاجاهُ خاتِلُه

I pray God keeps you in safety, while my home

Whenever it flagged, the rider sang out your name,

Far from you remains, though the roads to you yearn intervene

And it sped like an ostrich chick startled by a predator.

وَما زِلتُ أَدعو اللَهَ يُبقيكَ سالِماً

وَأَنَّ بِعادي عَنكَ تُطوى مَراحِلُه

I quote verses that another of times past spoke

I cease not to pray that God keeps you safe,

Poetry dies not, though death takes its sayer unseen:

And that the miles of my distance from you be folded away.

وَأُنشِدُ بَيتاً قالَهُ بَعضُ مَن مَضى

وَلَيسَ يَموتُ الشِعرُ لَو ماتَ قائِلُه

If eyes gain a glance of you but fleeting

I recite a verse spoken by a poet of old,

For that I will thank my riding beast, however it lean

For poetry does not die, though its author may perish:

إِذا ظَفِرَت مِنكَ العُيونُ بِنَظرَةٍ

أَثابَ بِها مُعيي المَطِيِّ وَهازِلُه

I swear as long as I live, I will thank your blessings

"If eyes but win a single glance from you,"

That the warbling songbirds incessantly hymn and keen

"It rewards the weary mount and the wasted rider alike."

فَأُقسِمُ لا أَنفَكُّ ما عِشتُ شاكِراً

لِنُعماكَ ما غَنَّت سُحَيراً بَلابِلُه

Circling the world, glorifying you in verse

I swear I shall remain thankful as long as I live

That melts even the coldest heart, however it wean

For your favors, as long as nightingales sing at dawn.

بَسائِرَةٍ تَزهو بِمَدحِكَ في الوَرى

وَيُصغي لَها قُسُّ الكَلامِ وَباقِلُه

At it the mount speeds up, the rider urged on

I send a traveling poem that boasts of your praise among men,

While your noblemen vie in its rhythms careening scene

To which the eloquent Quss and the silent Baqil alike listen.

وَيَحدو بِها الساري فَيَطرَبُ لِلسُّرى

وَيَشدو بِها في كُلِّ صُقعٍ أَفاضِلُه

And I conclude with a prayer of surrender

The night traveler chants it, finding joy in his journey,

Upon the best prophet sent to those who glean

And the noble ones recite it in every land.

وَثَنِّ إِلهي بِالصلاةِ مُسَلِّماً

عَلى خَيرِ مَبعوثٍ إِلى مَن تُراسِلُه

His excellent Companions, Family, and House

And grant, O my God, doubled blessings and peace

As the stars parade then set, but never the cycle careen

Upon the best Messenger sent to those You address,

وَأَصحابِهِ الغُرِّ الكِرامِ وَآلِهِ

كَذا ما بَدا نَجمٌ وَما غابَ آفِلُه

And upon his noble, radiant Companions and his Kin,

As long as a star rises and a setting one fades.