عُج بي عَلى الرَّبعِ حَيثُ الرَّندُ وَالبانُ

وَإِن نَأى عَنهُ أَحبابٌ وَجِيرانُ

Turn with me to the ruins where the laurel and willow grow,

Even though loved ones and neighbors have long since departed.

فَلِلمَنازِلِ في شَرعِ الهَوى سُنَنٌ

يَدري بِها مَن لَهُ بِالحُبِّ عِرفانُ

For abandoned homes hold sacred laws in the code of love,

Understood only by those who truly know the ways of passion.

وَقَلَّ ذاكَ لِمَغنىً قَد سَحَبنَ بِهِ

ذَيلَ التَصابي بِرَسمِ الشَجوِ غِزلانُ

Yet this is too little for a dwelling where gazelles once trailed

The robes of youth, leaving sketches of sorrow in the dust.

القاتِلاتُ بِلا عَقلٍ وَلا قَوَدٍ

سُلطانُهُنَّ عَلى الأَملاكِ سُلطانُ

Slayers who kill without penalty or price of blood,

Whose dominion reigns supreme even over kings.

لِلّهِ أَحوَرُ ساجي الطَرفِ مُقتَبِلٌ

عَذبُ اللَمى لُؤلُؤِيُّ الثَغرِ فَتّانُ

By God, what a wide-eyed beauty, with a languid, youthful gaze,

With sweet, dark lips and a pearly mouth that bewitches.

عَبلُ الرَوادِفِ يَندى جِسمُهُ تَرَفاً

ظامي الوُشاحِ لَطيفُ الروحِ جَذلانُ

Full-figured, his body dewy with the softness of luxury,

With a slender waist that craves the sash, a gentle spirit full of joy.

كَأَنَّما البَدرُ في لَألاءِ غُرَّتِهِ

يا لَيتَ يَصحَبُ ذاكَ الحُسنَ إِحسانُ

It is as if the full moon resides in the radiance of his brow—

If only such beauty were accompanied by kindness!

يَهتَزُّ مِثلَ اِهتِزازِ الغُصنِ رَنَّحَهُ

سُكرُ الصِبا فَهوَ صاحي القَدِّ نَشوان

He sways like a bough trembling in the breeze,

Intoxicated by youth—sober in stature, yet drunk in spirit.

لَو كانَ يُمكِن قُلنا اليَومَ أَبرَزَهُ

لِيَنظُرَ الناسُ كنهَ الحسنِ رِضوانُ

Were it possible, we would say Ridwan unveiled him today,

So that mankind might witness the very essence of beauty.

قَد كُنتُ أَحسَب أَنَّ الشَملَ مُلتَئِمٌ

وَالجَبلَ مُتَّصِلٌ وَالحَيَّ خُلطانُ

I once thought our union was secure and lasting,

That our bond was unbroken, and our lives intertwined.

فَاليَومَ لا وَصلَ أَرجوهُ فَيُطمِعَني

وَلا يَطيفُ بِهذا القَلبِ سُلوانُ

But today, I hope for no reunion to tempt my heart,

Nor does any solace visit this grieving soul.

في ذِمَّةِ اللَهِ جيرانٌ إِذا ذُكِروا

هاجَت لِذِكرِهِمُ في القَلبِ أَحزانُ

May God protect neighbors whose very memory,

When mentioned, stirs up storms of sorrow within my chest.

فارَقتُهُم أَمتَري أَخلافَ سائِمَةٍ

يَسوقُها واسَعُ المَعروفِ مَنّانُ

I left them to seek my fortune, hoping to milk fate's herd,

Driven by the One who is Vast in kindness, the Bestower.

لَعَلَّ نَفحَة جودٍ مِن مَواهِبِهِ

يُروى بِها مِن صَدى الإِقتارِ عَطشانُ

Hoping a breath of generosity from His gifts

Might quench one parched by the thirst of poverty.

أُرايِشُ مِنها جَناحاً حَصَّةُ قَدَرٌ

شَكا تَساقُطَهُ صَحبٌ وَإِخوانُ

That I might re-feather a wing clipped by destiny,

Whose breaking my companions and brothers lamented.

وَفي اِضطِرابِ الفَتى نُجحٌ لِبُغيَتِهِ

وَلِلمَقاديرِ إِسعادٌ وَخِذلانُ

For in a young man's striving lies the success of his quest,

While fate holds both fortune and betrayal.

فَاِربَأ بِنَفسِكَ عَن دارٍ تَذِلُّ بِها

لَو أَنَّ حَصباءَها دُرٌّ وَمَرجانُ

So rise above a land where you are made lowly,

Even if its very pebbles were pearls and coral.

طُفتُ المَعالِمَ مِن شامٍ إِلى يَمَنٍ

وَمِن حِجازٍ وَلَبَّتني خُراسانُ

I roamed the lands from the Levant to Yemen,

From the Hejaz, while Khorasan answered my call.

فَما لَقيتُ وَلَن أَلقى وَلَو بَلَغَت

بي مُنتَهى السَدِّ هِمّاتٌ وَوِجدانُ

Yet I have not met, nor shall I ever meet—though my spirit

And ambition reached the farthest barrier of the world—

مِثلَ الجَحاجِحَةِ الغُرِّ الَّذينَ سَمَوا

مَجداً تَقاصَرَ عَن عَلياهُ كيوانُ

Men like the noble chiefs who ascended so high,

To a glory that even the planet Saturn fails to reach.

الضاربي الكَبشَ هَبرًا وَالقَنا قَصِدٌ

وَالتارِكي اللَيثَ يَمشي وَهوَ مِذعانُ

Those who strike the battalion leader down when spears shatter,

And leave the lion walking in submission.

وَالفارِجي غُمَمَ اللاجي إِذا صَفِرَت

أَوطابُهُ وَاِقتَضاهُ الروحَ دَيّانُ

They relieve the refugee's distress when his wineskins

Are empty, and death comes to claim his soul.

وَالصائِنينَ عَن الفَحشا نُفوسَهُمُ

وَالمُرخِصيها إِذا الخَطِيُّ أَثمانُ

Who guard their souls from all indecency,

Yet spend their lives cheaply when spears are the price of honor.

خُضلُ المَواهِبِ أَمجادٌ خَضارِمَةٌ

بيضُ الوُجوهِ عَلى الأَيّامِ أَعوانُ

Their gifts flow like rain; they are glorious, ocean-like lords,

Bright-faced, aiding the weak against the ravages of time.

غُرٌّ مَكارِمُهُم حُمرٌ صَوارِمُهُم

خُضرٌ مَراتِعُهُم لِلفَضلِ تيجانُ

Their virtues are radiant, their swords run red,

Their pastures are green, and they wear the crowns of grace.

لكِنَّ أَوراهُمُ زَنداً وَأَسمَحَهُم

كَفّاً وَأَشجَعَهُم إِن جالَ أَقرانُ

Yet the one who strikes the brightest spark, the most generous hand,

And the bravest heart when rivals clash in the field,

عَبدُ العَزيزِ الَّذي نالَت بِهِ شَرَفاً

بَنو نِزارٍ وَعَزَّت مِنهُ قَحطانُ

Is Abd al-Aziz, through whom the clan of Nizar

Attained glory, and by whom Qahtan grew mighty.

مُقَدَّمٌ في المَعالي ذِكرُهُ أَبَداً

كَما يُقَدَّمُ بِاِسمِ اللَهِ عُنوانُ

His name is forever placed first in the rolls of greatness,

Just as a book begins with the name of God.

مَلكٌ تَجَسَّدَ في أَثناءِ بُردَتِهِ

غَيثٌ وَلَيثٌ وَإِعطاءٌ وَحِرمانُ

A king in whose cloak are embodied

Torrential rain and a lion, bounty and prohibition.

خَبيئَةُ اللَهِ في ذا الوَقتِ أَظهَرَها

وَلِلمُهَيمِنِ في تَأخيرِها شان

He is God's treasure, hidden until this moment when He revealed him,

For in its delay, the Almighty had a divine purpose.

وَدَعوَةٌ وَجَبَت لِلمُسلِمينَ بِهِ

أَما تَرى عَمَّهُم أَمنٌ وَإيمانُ

A prayer for the Muslims was answered through him;

Do you not see how safety and faith have enveloped them?

حاطَ الرَعِيَّةَ مِن بُصرى إِلى عَدَنٍ

وَمِن تِهامَةَ حَتّى اِرتاحَ جَعلانُ

He guarded the flock from Busra down to Aden,

And from Tihama until the lands of Ja'lan found peace.

فَجَدَّدوا الشُكرَ لِلمَولى وَكُلُّهُمُ

يَدعو لَهُ بِالبَقا ما بَقيَ إِنسانُ

So renew your gratitude to the Lord, while everyone

Prays for his long life as long as mankind endures.

وَرُبَّ مُستَكبِرٍ شوسٍ خَلائِقُهُ

صَعبِ الشَكيمَةِ قَد أَعماهُ طُغيانُ

How many an arrogant tyrant, fierce in nature,

Stubborn to the bit, blinded by his own oppression—

تَرَكتَهُ وَحدَهُ يَمشي وَفي يَدِهِ

بَعدَ المُهَنَّدِ عُكّازٌ وَمِحجانُ

You left him walking alone, holding in his hand,

Instead of a fine Indian sword, a crutch and a crooked cane.

وَعازِبٍ رُشدُهُ إِذ حانَ مَصرَعُهُ

بِخَمرَةِ الجَهلِ وَالإِعجابِ سَكرانُ

And one whose reason fled as his doom approached,

Drunk on the wine of ignorance and vanity—

أَمطَرتَهُ عَزَماتٍ لَو قَذَفتَ بِها

صُمَّ الشَوامِخِ أَضحَت وَهيَ كثبانُ

You rained down resolutions upon him that, had you hurled them

At towering mountains, would have turned them to sand dunes.

عَصائِباً مِن بَني الإِسلامِ يَقدُمُهُم

مِن جَدِّكَ المُعتَلي بِالرُعبِ فُرسانُ

Legions of the sons of Islam, led by

Knights instilled with terror by your rising star.

وَيلُ اِمِّهِ لَو أَتاهُ البَحرُ مُلتَطِماً

آذِيُّهُ الأُسدُ وَالآجامُ مُرّانُ

Woe to him! Had the crashing sea come to him,

Its waves being lions and its thickets being spears,

لَأَصبَحَ العِزُّ لا عَينٌ وَلا أَثَرٌ

أَو شاغَفَتهُ قُبَيلَ الصُبحِ جِنّانُ

His might would have vanished without a trace,

Or madness would have seized his heart before the dawn.

وَمَشهَدٍ لَكَ في الإِسلامِ سَوفَ تَرى

يوفى بِهِ يَومَ الحَشرِ ميزانُ

You have a standing in Islam that will be witnessed

When the scales are weighed on the Day of Gathering.

نَحَرتَ هَديَكَ فيهِ المُشرِكينَ ضُحىً

فَاِفخَر فَفَخرُ سِواكَ المَعزُ وَالضّانُ

In it, you sacrificed the polytheists as your offering at noon—

So take pride! For others sacrifice only goats and sheep.

أَرضَيتَ آباءَكَ الغُرُّ الكِرامَ بِما

جَدَّدتَ مِن مَجدِهِم مِن بَعدِ ما بانوا

You have pleased your noble, radiant forefathers

By renewing their glory long after they had passed.

نَبَّهتَ ذِكراً تَوارى مِنهُ حينَ عَلا

لِلمارِقينَ ضَبابٌ فيهِ دُخّانُ

You awakened a fame that had been obscured

When the fog and smoke of renegades rose to hide it.

فَجِئتَ بِالسَيفِ وَالقُرآنِ مُعتَزِماً

تُمضي بِسَيفِكَ ما أَمضاهُ قُرآنُ

You came with the Sword and the Quran, resolved,

Enforcing with your blade what the Quran has decreed.

حَتّى اِنجَلى الظُلمُ وَالإِظلامُ وَاِرتَفَعَت

لِلدينِ في الأَرضِ أَعلامٌ وَأَركانُ

Until injustice and darkness were dispelled,

And the banners and pillars of faith rose high in the land.

دينٌ وَدُنيا وَرَأسٌ في الوَغى وَنَدىً

تَفيضُ مِن كَفِّهِ بِالجودِ دِخُلجانُ

Faith and fortune, a leader in war, and a font of generosity

From whose hand streams of bounty endlessly flow.

هذي المَكارِمُ لا ماروي عَن هَرِمٍ

وَلا الَّذي قيلَ عَمَّن ضَمَّ غُمدانُ

These are true noble deeds—not the tales of Harim,

Nor the legends of those whom the Ghumdan Palace once held.

أَقولُ لِلعيسِ إِذ تَلوي ذَفارِيَها

لِإِلفَها وَلَها في الدَوِّ تَحنانُ

I say to the white camels as they crane their necks,

Yearning for their mates, moaning in the desert waste:

رِدي مِياهاً مِنَ المَعروفِ طامِيَةً

نَباتُها التِبرُ لا شيحٌ وَسَعدانُ

"Go down to drink from the flooding waters of kindness,

Where the pasture is gold dust, not wormwood or thorns.

تَدومُ ما دُمتَ لِلدُنيا بشاشَتُها

فَاِسلَم فَأَنتَ لِهذا الخَلقِ عُمرانُ

May you remain as long as the world keeps its joy,

Be safe, for you are the prosperity of this creation."

ثُمَّ الصَلاةُ عَلى الهادي الَّذي خَمَدَت

في يَومِ مَولِدِهِ لِلفُرسِ نيرانُ

Then blessings upon the Guide, at whose birth

The sacred fires of the Persians were extinguished,

وَالآلِ وَالصَحبِ ما ناحَت مُطَوَّقَةٌ

خَضباً تَميدُ بِها في الدَوحِ أَغصانُ

And upon his family and companions, as long as the ring-necked dove coos,

Perched on a green branch swaying in the great tree.