العِزُّ وَالمَجدُ في الهِندِيَّةِ القُضُبِ
لا في الرَسائِلِ وَالتَنميقِ لِلخُطَبِ
True glory and majesty reside in Indian blades,
Not in written missives or the adornment of speeches.
تَقضي المَواضي فَيَمضي حُكمُها أَمَهاً
إِن خالَجَ الشَكُّ رَايَ الحاذِقِ الأَرِبِ
The sharp swords issue judgment, and their verdict strikes true,
Whenever doubt clouds the vision of the cunning and wise.
وَلَيسَ يَبني العُلا إِلّا نَدىً وَوَغىً
هُما المَعارِجُ لِلأَسنى مِنَ الرُتَبِ
High station is built by nothing save generosity and war;
These two are the ladders to the most radiant of ranks.
وَمُشمَعِلٌّ أَخو عَزمٍ يُشَيِّعُهُ
قَلبٌ صَرومٌ إِذا ما هَمَّ لَم يَهَبِ
A man of swift action, brother to resolve, guided by
A decisive heart that knows no fear once its course is set.
لِلَّهِ طَلّابُ أَوتارٍ أَعَدَّ لَها
سَيراً حَثيثاً بِعَزمٍ غَيرِ مُؤتَشِبِ
By God, what a seeker of justice! He prepared for it
A relentless march driven by unadulterated resolve.
ذاكَ الإِمامُ الَّذي كادَت عَزائِمُهُ
تَسمو بِهِ فَوقَ هامِ النَسرِ وَالقُطُبِ
That is the Imam whose soaring ambitions nearly
Elevate him above the heads of the Eagle star and the Pole.
عَبدُ العَزيزِ الَّذي ذَلَّت لِسَطوَتِهِ
شوسُ الجَبابِرِ مِن عُجمٍ وَمِن عَرَبِ
Abdulaziz, before whose might have humbled themselves
The proudest of tyrants, both foreign and Arab alike.
لَيثُ اللُيوثِ أَخو الهَيجاءِ مِسعَرُها
السَيِّدُ المُنجِبُ اِبنُ السادَةِ النُحُبِ
The Lion of Lions, brother of battle and its stoker,
The noble sire, scion of masters who were true to their vows.
قَومٌ هُمُ زينَةُ الدُنيا وَبَهجَتُها
وَهُم لَها عَمَدٌ مَمدودَةٌ الطُنُبِ
A people who are the adornment of this world and its delight,
Its sustaining pillars, with tent-ropes stretched far and wide.
لكِنَّ شَمسَ مُلوكِ الأَرضِ قاطِبَةً
عَبدُ العَزيزِ بِلا مَينٍ وَلا كَذِبِ
Yet the very sun among all the kings of the earth
Is Abdulaziz, in truth and without contradiction.
قادَ المَقانِبَ يَكسو الجَوَّ عَثيرُها
سَماءَ مُرتَكِمٍ مِن نَقعِ مُرتَكِبِ
He led the squadrons, their dust cloaking the very air,
Forming a sky of dense clouds from the stir of charging hooves.
حَتّى إِذا وَرَدَت ماءَ الصَراةِ وَقَد
صارَت لَواحِقَ أَقرابٍ مِنَ الشَغَبِ
Until, when they reached the waters of Al-Sarat,
Their flanks grown lean and gaunt from the arduous trek,
قالَ النِزالُ لَنا في الحَربِ شِنشِنَةٌ
نَمشي إِلَيها وَلَو جَثيناً عَلى الرُكَبِ
He declared: "Combat is our ancient nature in war,"
"We advance towards it, even if crawling upon our knees."
فَسارَ مِن نَفسِهِ في جَحفَلٍ حَرِدٍ
وَسارَ مِن جَيشِهِ في عَسكَرٍ لَجِبِ
So he marched, a force unto himself within a furious legion,
Moving with his army amidst a clamorous host.
حَتّى تَسَوَّرَ حيطاناً وَأَبنِيَةً
لَولا القَضاءُ لَما أُدرِكنَ بِالسَبَبِ
Until he scaled the high walls and the battlements—
Fortresses that no mere strategy could reach without Fate's decree.
لكِنَّها عَزمَةٌ مِن فاتِكٍ بَطَلٍ
حَمى بِها حَوزَةَ الإِسلامِ وَالحَسَبِ
Yet it was the resolve of a fearless, heroic warrior,
With which he defended the realm of Islam and ancestral honor.
فَبَيَّتَ القَومَ صَرعى خَمرِ نَومِهِمُ
وَآخَرينَ سُكارى بِاِبنَةِ العِنَبِ
He surprised the foe by night, laid low by the wine of sleep,
While others lay senseless, drunk on the daughter of the grape.
في لَيلَةٍ شابَ قَبلَ الصُبحِ مَفرِقُها
لَو كانَ تَعقِلُ لَم تُملَك مِن الرُعُبِ
In a night so terrifying, its hair turned gray before the dawn;
Had the night a mind, it would have lost all control from sheer terror.
أَلقَحتَها في هَزيعِ اللَيلِ فَاِمتَخَضَت
قَبلَ الصَباحِ فَأَلقَت بَيضَةَ الحُقُبِ
You impregnated the night in its darkest watch, and it labored
Before morning broke, birthing an epoch-making event.
كانوا يَعُدّونَها نَحساً مُذَمَّمَةً
وَاللَهُ قَدَّرَها فَرّاجَةَ الكُرَبِ
They had deemed such a night an omen of cursed ill-fortune,
But God ordained it as the dispeller of all distress.
صَبَّ الإِلهُ عَلَيهِم سَوطَ مُنتَقِمٍ
مِن كَفِّ مُحتَسِبٍ لِلَّهِ مُرتَقِبِ
The Almighty poured upon them the scourge of an avenger,
Struck by the hand of a vigilant seeker of God's reward.
في أَوَّلِ اللَيلِ في لَهوٍ وَفي لَعِبٍ
وَآخِرِ اللَيلِ في وَيلٍ وَفي حَرَبِ
At nightfall, they were immersed in amusement and play;
By night's end, they were engulfed in woe and ruin.
اللَهُ أَكبَرُ هذا الفَتحُ قَد فُتِحَت
بِهِ مِنَ اللَهِ أَبوابٌ بِلا حُجُبِ
Allahu Akbar! This is the victory by which have been flung open
Divine gates from God, free of any veil or bar.
فَتحٌ تُؤَرِّجُ هذا الكَونَ نَفتَحُهُ
وَيُلبِسُ الأَرضَ زِيَّ المارِحِ الطَرِبِ
A victory whose fragrance perfumes the entire universe,
Clothing the earth in the raiment of jubilant joy.
فَتحٌ بِهِ أَضحَتِ الأَحساءُ طاهِرَةً
مِن رِجسِها وَهيَ فيما مَرَّ كَالجُنُبِ
A victory by which Al-Ahsa has been purified
Of its defilement, having long lain in a state of impurity.
شُكراً بَني هَجَرٍ لِلمُقرِنِيِّ فَقَد
مِن قَبلِهِ كُنتُمُ في هُوَّةِ العَطَبِ
Give thanks, O sons of Hajar, to the descendant of Muqrin,
For before him, you were cast in the abyss of doom.
قَد كُنتُمُ قَبلَهُ نَهباً بِمَضيَعَةٍ
ما بَينَ مُفتَرَسٍ مِنكُم وَمُستَلَبِ
Before his coming, you were plunder in a wasteland,
Caught between the devoured and the dispossessed.
رومٌ تُحَكِّمُ فيكُم رَايَ ذي سَفَهٍ
أَحكامَ مُعتَقِدِ التَثليثِ وَالصُلُبِ
Foreigners ruled you with the whims of fools,
Imposing laws like those who revere the Trinity and the Cross.
وَلِلأَعاريبِ في أَموالِكُم عَبَثٌ
يَمرونَكُم مَريَ ذاتِ الصِنورِ في الحَلَبِ
While the wild Bedouins trifled with your wealth,
Milking you dry as one milks a beast with an iron claw.
وَقَبلَكُم جُنَّ نَجدٌ وَاِستُطيرَ بِهِ
فَماذَهُ بِشِفارِ البيضِ وَاليَلَبِ
Before your rescue, Najd too had gone mad with chaos,
Until he tamed it with the edges of white blades and steel.
شَوارِدٌ قَيَّدَها صِدقُ عَزمِتهِ
فَظَلنَ يَرفُسنَ بَعدَ الوَخدِ وَالخَبَبِ
Unruly strays, shackled by the truth of his resolve,
Left only to kick feebly after their wild, galloping flight.
مَلكٌ يَؤودُ الرَواسي حَملُ هِمَّتِهِ
لَو كانَ يُمكِنُ أَرفَتهُ إِلى الشُهُبِ
A king whose ambition weighs heavy upon the rooted mountains;
Were it possible, it would lift him to the very stars.
وَيَركَبُ الخَطبَ لا يَدري نَواجِذَهُ
تَفتَرُّ عَن ظَفَرٍ في ذاكَ أَو شَجَبِ
He mounts calamity, heedless of its bared fangs,
Whether they grin with promise of victory or of doom.
إِذا المُلكُ اِستَلانوا الفُرشَ وَاِتَّكَئوا
عَلى الأَرائِكِ بَينَ الخُرَّدِ العُرُبِ
While other kings seek soft beds and recline at ease,
Upon couches amidst beautiful, bashful maidens,
فَفي المَواضي وَفي السُمرِ اللِدانِ وَفي الجُ
ردِ الجِيادِ لَهُ شُغلٌ عَنِ الطَرَبِ
He finds in sharp blades, in pliable spears,
And in swift steeds, a labor that distracts him from pleasure.
يا أَيُّها المَلِكُ المَيمونُ طائِرُهُ
اِسمَع هديتَ مقالَ الناصِحِ الحَدِبِ
O King, whose omen is blessed and auspicious,
Hear—may you be guided—the words of a compassionate advisor.
اِجعَل مُشيرَكَ في أَمرٍ تُحاوِلُهُ
مُهَذَّبَ الرَأيِ ذا عِلمٍ وَذا أَدَبِ
Choose as your counselor in the affairs you pursue
One of refined judgment, possessed of knowledge and culture.
وَقَدِّمِ الشَرعَ ثُمَّ السَيفَ إِنَّهُما
قِوامُ ذا الخَلقِ في بَدءٍ وَفي عَقِبِ
Prioritize the Holy Law, and only then the sword; for they are
The pillars of this creation, from the beginning to the end.
هُما الدَواءُ لِأَقوامٍ إِذا صَعَرَت
خُدودُهُم وَاِستَحَقّوا صَولَةَ الغَضَبِ
They are the cure for people when their cheeks turn
In arrogance, and they deserve the assault of wrath.
وَاِستَعمِلِ العَفوَ عَمَّن لا نَصيرَ لَهُ
إِلّا الإِلهُ فَذاكَ العِزُّ فَاِحتَسِبِ
But exercise pardon toward him who has no helper
Save God alone—for that is true glory; so seek His reward.
وَاِعقِد مَعَ اللَهِ عَزماً لِلجِهادِ فَقَد
أوتيتَ نَصراً عَزيزاً فَاِستَقِم وَثِبِ
Forge a covenant with God for struggle and Jihad,
For you have been granted a mighty victory; so stand firm and leap forward.
وَأَكرِمِ العُلَماءِ العامِلينَ وَكُن
بِهِم رَحيماً تَجِدهُ خَيْرَ مُنقَلَبِ
Honor the scholars who practice what they preach, and be
Merciful to them; you shall find it the best of investments.
وَاِحذَر أُناساً أَصارُوا العِلمَ مَدرَجَةً
لِما يُرَجّونَ مِن جاهٍ وَمِن نَشَبِ
But beware of those who have turned knowledge into a ladder
To reach the status and worldly wealth they crave.
هذا وَفي عِلمِكَ المَكنونِ جَوهَرُهُ
ما كانَ يُغنيكَ عَن تَذكير مُحتَسِبِ
This I say, though in your wisdom—its essence deeply hidden—
Lies enough to dispense with the reminders of a well-wisher.
وَخُذ شَوارِدَ أَبياتٍ مُثَقَّفَةٍ
كَأَنَّها دُرَرٌ فُصِّلنَ بِالذَهَبِ
Accept these roaming verses, polished and refined,
As if they were pearls set in intervals of gold.
زَهَت بِمَدحِكَ حَتّى قالَ سامِعُها
اللَهُ أَكبَرُ كُلُّ الحُسنِ في العَرَبِ
They glow with pride in your praise, until the listener cries:
"Allahu Akbar! All beauty resides within the Arabs."
ثُمَّ الصَلاةُ وَتَسليمُ الإِلهِ عَلى
مَن خَصَّهُ اللَهُ بِالأَسنى مِنَ الكُتُبِ
Then, may the prayers and peace of God be upon
The one God distinguished with the most radiant of Books;
المُصطَفى مِن أَرومٍ طابَ عُنصُرُها
مُحَمَّدِ الطاهِرِ بنِ الطاهِرِ النَسَبِ
The Chosen One, from a lineage whose root is pure,
Muhammad the Pure, of immaculate descent.
وَالآلِ وَالصَحبِ ما ناحَت مُطَوَّقَةٌ
وَما حَدَ الرَعدُ بِالهامي مِنَ السُحُبِ
And upon his Family and Companions, so long as the ring-dove coos,
And thunder drives the pouring rain from the clouds.
