يا ساهِرَ الطَرفِ مِن خَوفٍ وَمِن وَجَلِ
نَم في جِوارِ الهُمامِ السَيِّدِ البَطَلِ
O wakeful with fear and awe
Sleep near the glorious hero knight
وَلا تَرُعكَ خَيالاتٌ تَمُرُّ بِها
كانَت تَرُوعُكَ في أَيّامِكَ الأُولِ
Let not images passing alarm you
That did alarm you in your early days
فَقَد كَفاكَ مُقاساةَ الأَذى مَلكٌ
مُتَوَّجٌ بَينَ فَضلِ ذِي النَدى وَعَلي
A king has spared you tribulation’s pain
Crowned amid the bounty of the brilliant and lofty ‘Ali
وَيا أَخا المالِ لا تَوجَل وَباهِ بِهِ
في الناسِ وَاِقطَع عُرى مَن شِئتَ أَو فَصلِ
And o brother of wealth, fret not and boast of it
Among people, and sever any tie you wish or unite
فَقد تَرى دَولَةَ الساداتِ قَد خَفَقَت
أَعلامُها وَتَوَلَّت دَولَةُ الخوَلِ
You may see the dynasty of nobles has crumpled
Its standards and the dynasty of thehelm has declined
وَاِبعَث إِلى المُدنِ بِالبُشرى مُخَبِّرَةً
بِمُلكِ أَروَعَ لا عِيٍّ وَلا وَكِلِ
Send good tidings to the cities reporting
Of a most wondrous kingdom, no failing and no proxy
كَيما تَعُودَ إِلى الأَوطانِ آيِبَةً
قَومٌ رَأَوا قَبلُ فيها خَيبَةَ الأَمَلِ
That a people may return to the homelands in good cheer
Who before saw in them the disappointment of hope
جَلاهُمُ الضَيمُ عَنها فَاِغتَدَوا هَرَباً
مِن غَيرِ ما بغضَةٍ مِنهُم وَلا مَلَلِ
Injustice estranged them so they fled in droves
Without any hatred from them or boredom
في أَرضِ فارِسَ لا يُحصى عَديدُهُمُ
وَفي العِراقَينِ مِلءُ السَهلِ وَالجَبَلِ
In Persian land their number cannot be counted
And Iraq filled, plains and mountains, with them
مُذَبذَبينَ عَن الأَوطانِ كُلّهمُ
مِن شِدَّةِ الشَوقِ وَالتِذكارِ في شُغُلِ
Swaying far from all homelands, all of them
With intense yearning and reminiscence busied
وَمَن أَقامَ بِها قامَت قِيامَتُهُ
وَعايَنَ النارَ مِن خَلفٍ وَمِن قُبُلِ
And he who stayed, his reckoning was made
And saw fire front and back
وَجاءَهُ كُلَّ يَومٍ مَن يُحاسِبُهُ
مِن غَيرِ فَرضٍ يُؤَدِّيهِ وَلا نَفَلِ
And each day came one to take him to account
Without duty paid or bonus
يَبيتُ آمِنُهُم مِمّا يُكابِدُهُ
فَوقَ الحَشِيَّةِ مِثلَ الشارِبِ الثَمِلِ
His safe night like a drunkard atop the litter
And none feels safe but one whose bondman arose
وَلَيسَ يَأمَنُ إِلّا مَن أُذَمُّ لَهُ
عَبدٌ نَشا مِن نِتاجِ الزِّنجِ كَالعَجَلِ
A base offspring of Zanj like a calf
Or the offspring of a wicked Bedouin whose ambition
أَو خَلفُ سُوءٍ مِنَ الأَعرابِ هِمَّتُهُ
ما أَسخَطَ اللَهَ مِن قَولٍ وَمِن عَمَلِ
Is what has provoked Allah in word and deed
O emigrant of home in fear, come! For security
يا هاجِرَ الدارِ مِن خَوفٍ هَلُمَّ فَقَد
نادى بِكَ الأَمنُ أَن أَقدِم عَلى عَجَلِ
Has called you: present yourself swiftly!
And fear not, for he whom you used to dread
وَلا تَخَف فَالَّذي قَد كُنتَ تَعهَدُهُ
أَزالَهُ سَيِّدُ الأَملاكِ مُنذُ وَلي
The lord of kingdoms eliminated since becoming heir
Abu Sinan, ally of glorious deeds, he who
أَبُو سِنانٍ حَليفُ المَكرُماتِ وَمَن
أَنافَ سُؤدُدُهُ السامي عَلى زُحَلِ
His lofty determination has transcended Saturn
Reviver of lands, and they were healed atop yelling cliffs
مُحيي البِلادِ وَقَد أَشفَت عَلى جُرُفٍ
هارٍ وَمانِعُها بِالبيضِ وَالأَسَلِ
And their barrier with white and brown horses
And justice’s messenger alive again after screaming
وَباعِثُ العَدلِ حَيّاً بَعدَما صَرَخَت
وَأَعلَنَت أُمُّهُ بِالوَيلِ وَالثَكَلِ
And its mother proclaimed alas and woe of bereavement
If his father returned alive and disputed with him
لَو عادَ وَالِدُهُ حَيّاً وَخاصَمَهُ
مُستَضعَفٌ لَم يَحِف جَوراً وَلَم يَمِلِ
A weakened man neither unjust nor tired
How many cases of injustice with the unjust dead
كَم رَدَّ مَظلَمَةً قَد ماتَ ظالِمُها
وَلَم يُناقِش ذَوي الدَعوى وَلَم يَسَلِ
Without discussing the litigants or questioning
And how many hands stretched in harm and wrong
وَكَم يَدٍ في الأَذى وَالظُلمِ قَد بَسَطَت
كَفّاً فَبَدَّلَها مِن بَعدُ بِالشَلَلِ
Then changed after to paralysis
This, and how many wicked slaves whose ambition
هَذا وَكَم عَبدِ سُوءٍ كانَ هِمَّتُهُ
حَملَ النَمائِمِ وَالبُهتانِ وَالنَغَلِ
Bore gossip, calumny, and backbiting,
Has eased Muslims’ hearts, and did not
أَراحَ مِنهُ قُلوبَ المُسلِمينَ وَلَم
يَصحَب وَبَدَّلَهُ نِكلاً مِن النَكَلِ
Take vengeance, exchanging it for lashing,
And how many straying callers were conceited
وَكَم نَدِيِّ ضَلالٍ كانَ ذا لجَبٍ
سَطا فَأَخرَسَهُ عَن قَولِ لا وَهَلِ
Loudmouths, but he silenced them from nonsensical prattle
More protective than a man is Jassas ibn Murra when
أَحمى مِنَ المَرءِ جَسّاسِ بنِ مُرَّة إِذ
أَردى كُلَيباً بِعَزمٍ غَيرِ ذي فَشَلِ
He pursued Kulayb with firm resolve without failing
He would not accept humiliation in exile’s injustice or
لَم يَقبلِ العارَ في ضَيمِ النَزيلِ وَلَم
يَقنَع بِنَقصٍ وَلا يَحتَجُّ بِالعِلَلِ
Be content with any deficiency or excuse with illness
More equitable and just than Chosroes the morn he shot
أَحنى وَأَعدَلُ مِن كِسرى غَداةَ رَمى
بِالسَهمِ قَلبَ اِبنِهِ في الحَقِّ لَم يُبَلِ
Through his heir’s heart in truth without bending
And the Tayyi does not equal him one day in nobility
وَلَيسَ يَعدِلُهُ الطائيُّ في كَرَمٍ
يَوماً وَكَيفَ يُقاسُ البَحرُ بِالوَشَلِ
How can the sea be gauged with a goblet?
And where is Kulayb amid battle if
وَأَينَ مِنهُ كُلَيبٌ في النِزالِ إِذا
عَضَّت حُدودُ السُرَيجِيّاتِ بِالقُلَلِ
The hilts of the Suriyyat swords bite the hills
Ask about him the day their steeds from Qatif attacked
سَل عَنهُ يَومَ أَغارَت في كَتائِبِها
خَيلُ القَطيفِ مِنَ القَرحا إِلى الجَبَلِ
In droves from Qarhaa to the mountain
Each malicious Uqayl urging them on
يَحُثُّها مِن عُقَيلٍ كُلُّ ذي أَشَرٍ
مَولى فَوارِسَ لا ميلٍ وَلا عُزَلِ
A loyalist to the unswerving knights without faltering
He gave their tongues the steed’s jugular and allowed them not
أَعطى أَسِنَّتَهُم نَحرَ الجَوادِ وَلَم
يَسمَح لَهُم في مَجالِ الطَعنِ بِالكَفَلِ
On the field of battle to stab the shoulder
Until he protected his steeds by force and aided him
حَتّى حَمى خَيلَهُ غَصباً وَساعَدَهُ
قَلبٌ جَرِيءٌ وَرَأيٌ غَيرُ ذي خَطَلِ
A bold heart and plan without failing,
Then withdrew, victory accompanying him,
ثُمَّ اِنثَنى راجِعاً وَالنَصرُ صاحِبُهُ
يَمشي بِهِ المُهرُ مُختالاً عَلى مَهلِ
The stallion walking proudly at an easy gait,
How many a quandary of battle his blade revived
كَم مِن أَخي كُربَةٍ أَحيا بِصارِمِهِ
وَكَم أَماتَ بِهِ مِن ثائِرٍ بَطَلِ
And how many a rebel hero it killed
And how much tyranny and turmoil its obscurities dispelled
وَكَم ظَلامِ وَغَىً جَلّى غَياهِبَهُ
مِن بَعدِ أَن صارَ وَقتُ الظُهرِ كَالطَفَلِ
After their time became like an infant at noon
O good days of his, beauty of his dynasty!
يا طِيبَ أَيّامِهِ يا حُسنَ دَولَتِهِ
لَقَد أَبَرَّت عَلى الأَيّامِ وَالدُوَلِ
They surpassed eras and dynasties
If only they continued and their continuance was without
فَلَيتَ أَنّهُما داما وَدامَ وَلَم
يَكُن لَهُم أَبَدَ الأَيّامِ مِن دُولِ
End of eras for them until posterity
If not for the hope we anticipated in them
لَولا الرَجاءُ الَّذي كُنّا نُؤَمِّلُهُ
فيها لَمُتنا بِغِلِّ النَفسِ عَن كملِ
We would have died choked with soul’s spite from perfection
But delusions trouble souls when they are about
لَكِن تحاتي حُشاشاتُ النُفوسِ إِذا
كادَت تَقضّى بِقَولٍ فيهِ مُتَّصِلِ
To believe a saying with connection,
That he is the rebel, made victorious, supported
بِأَنَّهُ الثائِرُ المَنصُورُ يسنِدُهُ
عَن الرُواةِ عَن الأَبدالِ وَالرُسُلِ
By narrators, the substitutes, and messengers,
By him Bahrain’s villages were illuminated and its lands
بِهِ أَنارَت قُرى البَحرَينِ وَاِبتَهَجَت
بِقاعُها وَتَسَمَّت قُرَّةَ المُقَلِ
Gladdened, and the breast of the strangled breathed relief,
And they wore, after the garb of humiliation,
وَأَصبَحَت بَعدَ ثَوبِ الذُلِّ قَد لَبِسَت
ثَوباً مِنَ العِزِّ ذا وَشيٍ وَذا خَمَلِ
A splendid robe with embroidery and ornament
And gone from its wrap was an immense cleft
وَراحَ من حَلّها في رَأسِ شاهِقَةٍ
لَو رامَهَا الأَسوَدُ النَعّابُ لَم يَصِلِ
That even if lions with claws approached could not attain
If Adam inhabited it after his garden
لَو حَلَّها آدَمٌ مِن بَعدِ جَنَّتِهِ
لَم يَبغ عَنها إِلى الفِردَوسِ مِن حِوَلِ
He would not have left it for Paradise and shifted at all
O son of sublime kings who erected their realms
يا اِبنَ المُلوكِ الأُلى شادُوا مَمالِكَهُم
بِالمَشرَفِيّاتِ لا بِالمَكرِ وَالحِيَلِ
With glories, not deceit and cunning,
Every youth of Ibrahim’s line dozes protected
نَماكَ مِن آلِ إِبراهِيمَ كُلُّ فَتىً
مُنَزَّهِ العِرضِ مِن غِشٍّ وَمِن دَغَلِ
Of uncorrupted honor, untainted and direct
They are the people supreme in valor and nobility,
قَومٌ هُمُ القَومُ في بَأسٍ وَفي كَرَمٍ
وَفي وَفاءٍ وَفي حِلٍّ وَمُرتَحَلِ
In loyalty and oath and wandering life,
They fulfill among people what they have said while others,
يُمضُونَ في الناسِ ما قَالُوا وَغَيرُهُم
إِن أَنكَرُوا مِنهُ بَعضَ القَولِ لَم يَقُلِ
If they deny some of the saying, do not speak at all,
In every clan but a few you see
في كُلِّ حَيٍّ تَرى إِلّا أَقَلَّهُم
بَيتاً وَمَفخَرُ ذاكَ البَيتِ في رَجُلِ
A house, glory of which is in one man,
You are a people, if your boy wished
وَأَنتُمُ مَعشَرٌ لَو رامَ طِفلُكُمُ
نَيلَ السَماءِ لَصَكَّ الحوتَ بِالحَملِ
To obtain the sky, he would grasp the whale with worry
Who would consider Abdullah your grandfather
مَن ذا يُعَدُّ كَعَبدِ اللَهِ جَدِّكُمُ
جَدّاً وَيَدعُو فَتىً كَالفَضلِ أَو كَعلي
As grandfather and call a youth like Al-Fadl or ‘Ali a youth?
And who would aspire to Abu Mansur your father
وَمَن يُسامي أَبا المَنصُورِ وَالِدَكُم
فَخراً وَأَينَ الثَرى مِن مَعقَلِ الوَعلِ
In pride? And where is the land from the towering summits?
And who like his sons on the day of ‘Adiya
وَمَن كَمِثلِ بَنيهِ يَومَ عادِيَةٍ
يَمشي الكُماةُ إِلَيها مِشيَةَ الوَجَلِ
Regal geldings walked to it with harried gait
And in Abu Mis’ar lies pride with which all tribes admit
وَفي أَبي مِسعَرٍ فَخرٌ تُقِرُّ بِهِ
كُلُّ القَبائِلِ مِن حافٍ وَمُنتَعِلِ
Whether traveling or Bedouin that settled,
And where are like the Al al-Fadl, whenever asked
وَأَينَ مِثلُ بَني الفَضلِ الَّذينَ إِذا
سُئِلُوا أَنالُوا بِلا مَطلٍ وَلا مَذلِ
They accorded without hesitation or mortification?
If I mentioned kings of your forefathers
وَلَو ذَكَرتُ مُلوكاً مِن أُبُوَّتِكُم
مَضَوا تَرَكتُ مُلوكَ الأَرضِ في خَجَلِ
I would make earth’s kings ashamed
But praising you with your ancestors I saw
لَكِن رَأَيتُ اِمتِداحيكُم بِسالفِكُم
في الجاهِلِيَّةِ نَفسُ العيِّ وَالخَطَلِ
In the Days of Ignorance to be worthlessness and failing,
For of your glories we have seen with some
لِأَنَّ مَن قَد رَأَينا مِن أَماجِدِكُم
بِبَعضِهِم يَكتَفي السامي عَلى الأُوَلِ
The highest endeavors could be fulfilled
And you, o son of Abu Sinan, are one heir of them,
وَأَنتَ يابا سِنانٍ مِنهُمُ خَلَفٌ
وَذَلِكَ النُبلُ مِن آبائِكَ النّبلِ
And that is nobility of your noble ancestors,
You outpaced the race, time protected you, and enmity’s mother
جُزتَ المَدى وَتَحاماكَ الرَدى وَغَدَت
أُمُّ العِدى بِكَ أُمّ الوَيلِ وَالهَبَلِ
Became with you the mother of woe and confusion
And may your noble sons live whom among us
وَعاشَ أَبناؤُكَ الغُرُّ الَّذينَ هُمُ
في الجُودِ وَالبَأسِ فينا غايَةُ الأَمَلِ
In nobility and valor are the limit of hope,
For in your lives lies the best of life, for us
فَفي حَياتِكُمُ صَفوُ الحَياةِ لَنا
بِغَيرِ شَكٍّ وَطيبُ اللَهوِ وَالجَذَلِ
Without doubt, and fine amusement and gathering,
And he who envied you died of rage
وَماتَ غَيظاً عَلى الأَيامِ حاسِدُكُم
وَإِن يَعِش فَبِذُلٍّ غَيرِ مُنتَقِلِ
And if he lives it is in continuous humiliation
