إِنَّ العُلى المُعيي المُلوكَ طِلابُها
لَكَ دونَ هَذا الخَلقِ يُفتَحُ بابُها
The lofty kingdom sought by kings
Is open to you beyond all humankind
خَطَبَتكَ راغِبَةً إِلَيكَ وَطالَما
رُدَّت عَلى أَعقابِها خُطّابُها
It has wanted you, desiring you
Though its suitors were often turned away
وَلَقَد فَرَعتَ بِما صَنَعتَ مَحَلَّةً
لَولا النُجومُ تَعَذَّرَت أَترابُها
With your deeds you attained an exalted glory
Were it not for the stars, its like would be unattained
وَبِكَ اِنجَلى عَن مُقلَةِ الحَقِّ القَذى
وَاِنجابَ عَن لَيلِ الخُطوبِ حِجابُها
Through you the mote is lifted from the eye of truth
And the veil of sorrow is raised from the night
وَأَعَدتَ أَيامَ الخِلافَةِ غَضَّةً
فَمَضى شَباها مُنذُ عادَ شَبابُها
You made the days of the Caliphate fresh
Since, after its youth, old age came upon it
مُستَرجِعاً بِالمُرهَفاتِ مَمالِكاً
لَولاكَ ما غَصَّت بِها غُصّابُها
Recovering realms with gallant cavalries
Without you, its bosoms would not have swelled
فَاِفخَر فَإِنَّكَ غُرَّةٌ في أُسرَةٍ
دَلَّت عَلى أَنسابِها أَحسابُها
So take pride! You are the choice one of a family
Whose genealogy is shown by its nobility
وَتَمَلَّها خِيَماً حَباكَ النَصرَ مَن
مُدَّت لِنُصرَةِ دينِهِ أَطنابُها
Its protection is completed by the tents of your victory
Which lengthened its cords to defend its religion
طَلَعَت بِأَعلاها نُجومُ دُجىً ضُحىً
زَهَرَت فَمِن أَنوارِها جِلبابُها
Stars of early morning and late evening shone at its peak
And by their light its robes glistened
وَبِها الحَيا وَالشَمسُ طالِعَةٌ فَهَل
عُقِدَت عَلى الفَلَكِ المُدارِ قِبابُها
By it life and the rising sun will remain
Will its dome revolving above the sky stay fastened?
قَصرٌ إِذا الشُعَراءُ رامَت وَصفَهُ
عَجَزَت وَقَصَّرَ دونَهُ إِطنابُها
A palace which, when the poets aspired to describe it
Fell short, though their descriptions flowed boundlessly
في كُلِّ فِترٍ مِنهُ حَربٌ لَم تَرُع
مَن قاتَلَتهُ سُيوفُها وَحِرابُها
In each part of it is a battle never shunned
By the swords within it and the spears of its warriors
كَثُرَت مُهاواةُ الرِجالِ مُشيرَةً
بِظُبى صَوارِمِها وَقَلَّ ضِرابُها
The rising and setting of brave men is many
By the sharp blades of its swords they are few
تَحمي الرُماةُ بِها حَقائِقَها وَلَم
يَسطِع فِراقَ قِسيِّها نُشّابُها
Its archers guard its truths inviolable
And the gleam of its straight sword is inextinguishable
فَتَرى الأُسودَ بِهِ فَوارِسَ حَيثُ لا
تَعدو وَلا تَفري الطُلى أَنيابُها
You will see its lions, like horses, where
The sharp claws of the wolves cannot hunt or flee
وَتَرى الفَوارِسَ لا تَمَلُّ جيادُها
تُزجي الظَعائِنَ لا تَكِلُّ رِكابُها
And you see its horsemen whose steeds never tire
Driving the foes whose mounts never rest their feet
أَبَداً تَسيرُ وَلا تَزولُ فَهَل تُرى
عَرَفَت غُيوثَ الجودِ أَينَ مَصابُها
Forever marching, never withdrawing, can the rains
Of your generosity be seen, wherever droughts lie?
عَزمٌ مَتى تَصِلِ العِدى أَخبارُهُ
قَبلَ العِيانِ تَقَطَّعَت أَسبابُها
When your intent to reach the enemy spreads
The means to it are cut before it is seen
يا مُتعِبَ النَفسِ النَفيسَةِ حَسبُ مَن
قارَعتَ عَنهُ راحَةً إِتعابُها
O you who tire a noble soul, enough for one
Whose comfort you opposed with toil and exhaustion
مَن هَمَّ بِالعَلياءِ هامَ فُؤادُهُ
وَجداً بِها وَحَلا بِفيهٍ صابُها
One who aspires to the most high, his heart devotes itself
Seriously to it, and settles for nothing less than its peak
أَيَنالُ مَن صَعُبَت عَلَيهِ سُهولُها
ما نالَ مَن سَهُلَت عَلَيهِ صِعابُها
Can he who found its ascents hard attain
What evaded one who found its slopes smooth?
تَفديكَ مِن غَيرِ الزَمانِ خَلائِقٌ
في راحَتَيكَ ثَوابُها وَعِقابُها
For you creatures of other than this age ransom themselves
In your rest lies their reward and punishment
إِنَّ السَماءَ رَأَت فَعالَكَ في الوَرى
فَإِذا دَعَوا لَكَ فُتِّحَت أَبوابُها
Heaven has seen your deeds in the world
So if you call out to it, its doors will open
وَالأَرضُ إِن خافَت فَمِنكَ ذَهابُ ما
تَخشى وَإِن ظَمِئَت فَمِنكَ ذِهابُها
And the earth - if you dispel what it fears
And if it thirsts, you make its thirst disappear
لا تَشتَكي ظُلماً وَعَدلُكَ جارُها
كَلّا وَلا ظُلَماً وَأَنتَ شِهابُها
It will not complain of injustice; your justice surrounds it
No, nor of darkness, for you are its shining light
خَبُثَت فَمُذ طَهَّرتَها بِدِماءِ مَن
خَبُثَت بِهِم طَهُرَت وَطابَ تُرابُها
It was corrupt, but since you cleansed it with the blood
Of those who corrupted it, its soil is purified
لَولا فِعالُكَ بِالطَواغي لَم تَلُذ
حَذَرَ البَوارِ بِرومِها أَعرابُها
Without your deeds against the tyrants, the Arabs
Would not have dared to attack Rome and its people
هَيهاتَ لا عِزٌّ يُتاحُ لَها وَقَد
دانَت لِمُلكِكَ كَلبُها وَكِلابُها
Never! No honor can be attained when
Its dogs and dogs have submitted to your rule
وَبِلادُ أَرمانوسَ سَوفَ تَشيمُها
إِن حانَ مالِكُها وَحانَ خَرابُها
And the lands of the Armenians will be disgraced
If their ruler falls, as will his lands eventually
وَالمُلكُ لا يَبقى لَهُ إِلّا كَما
يَبقى عَلى وَجهِ المُدامِ حَبابُها
And a kingdom remains only like
The bubbles that linger on wine when poured
وَالرومُ ثابِتَةٌ كَما زَعَمَت إِذا
ثَبَتَت عَلى وَقعِ السُيوفِ رِقابُها
And Rome remains established, as it claims, only if
When the swords strike, its necks remain steadfast
وَلَها مِنَ البيضِ الرِقاقِ رِهافُها
إِن لَم تُنِب وَمِنَ العِتاقِ صِلابُها
It has delicate females and rugged males
If they do not flee, and stout slaves if they stand
خَيلٌ إِذا رَكَضَت تَساوى عِندَها
مِن كُلِّ أَرضٍ وَهدُها وَهِضابُها
Horses, when they gallop, are equal in its eyes
No matter their breed, gait, or natural terrain
تَردي بِآسادٍ خَوادِرَ في القَنا
مِنها أَظافِرُها وَمِنها غابُها
They drive lions back with their hooves in battle
Their claws and fangs both engage in the combat
وَأَمامَها ظَفِرٌ يَذِلُّ لَهُ العِدى
وَيُفَلُّ ظُفرُ النائِباتِ وَنابُها
And ahead of them is a triumph that debases the foe
As the claws of the lionesses and their fangs fail
إِذعَر جُيوشَهُمُ بِجَيشِكَ إِنَّها
نَعَمٌ وَأَطرافُ الوَشيجِ ذِئابُها
Their armies were routed by your forces; they are
A blessing, though the writhing serpents bite
وَالقَومُ إِن شَطَّت بِعِزِّهِمُ النَوى
فَاِبنُ المُفَرِّجِ لا تَشُكَّ غُرابُها
And those people, if their glory swells with pride
Then the son of deliverance does not doubt their overthrow
إِن زُرتَ مَملَكَةَ النَصارى زَورَةً
أَعيا عَلى أَصحابِها إِصحابُها
If you visit the domain of the Christians on a raid
Ruin will befall its inhabitants intensely
ثَبَتَت بِأَفئِدَةِ العِدى لَكَ هَيبَةٌ
سَتَزولُ مِن إِلبابِها أَلبابُها
In the hearts of your enemies, awe of you remains fixed
And from their minds, sanity will depart
هَمِمٌ يُهيبُ بِهَ الوَليُّ لِدَفعِ ما
يَخشى وَلَكِنَّ العَدوَّ يَهابُها
A resolve that terrifies the ruler to repel what
He fears, but which the enemy dreads even more
عَزَّت وَجادَت فَالمَروعُ طَريدُها
في كُلِّ أَرضٍ وَالمَريعُ جَنابُها
They have become mighty and generous, so the frightened are prey
In every land, and the fearful are outcasts
يا مُصطَفى المُلكِ المُظَفَّرَ دَعوَةً
عَدواكَ إِن عَدَتِ الخُطوبُ جَوابُها
O chosen one of kingdom and victory, may you pray
When troubles recur, that your foes have no reprieve
حَسُنَت بِكَ الدُنيا فِإِن هِيَ أُعجِبَت
تيهاً فَلَيسَ بِمُنكَرٍ إِعَجابُها
Through you, worldly life is improved, so if it is amazed
There is no wonder, for amazement suits it
إِنَّ القَوافِيَ وَهيَ غَيرُ مَلومَةٍ
مُذ أَصبَحَت دَأبي فَمَدحُكَ دابُها
When it is my habit to praise you, there is no blame
For rhyme, though it wearies me, so your eulogy is its theme
فَاِلبَس مِنَ الحَمدِ المُؤَثَّلُ موقِناً
أَنَّ المَحامِدَ لَن تَرِثَّ ثِيابُها
Wear praise embroidered lavishly, confident
That accolades will never wear out their garb
حُلَلاً عَلَيَّ وَما أُكافِئ نَسجُها
وَعَلى مَناقِبِكَ العُلى إِذهابُها
They are gifts to me, though I cannot reciprocate their quality
Or match the virtues they confer upon your noble traits
وَإِذا الخُيولُ تَسابَقَت في حَلبَةٍ
بانَت هُناكَ هِجانُها وَعِرابُها
And when horses race on the track, it shows
Their vigor and pure breed of Arabian stock
قَد صَحَّ لي كَدَرُ المُلوكِ وَغَدرُها
لَمّا وَفى لي صَفوُها وَلُبابُها
To me the deception of kings and their betrayal was healed
When their sincerity and loyalty kept true to me
غَريَت صُروفُ الدَهرِ بي إِن غَرَّني
مِن بَعدِ أَن هَطَلَت يَداكَ سَرابُها
The turns of fate estranged me after your hands
Poured down on me like rain quenching thirst
أَحلَيتَ لي العَيشَ الأَمَرَّ بِأَنعُمٍ
صَدَقَت بَوارِقُها وَسَحَّ سَحابُها
You made life sweet for me with blessings
Whose flashes were true and whose clouds poured down
وَنَذَرتَني كَرَماً بِمُقلَةِ عالِمٍ
أَنَّ الرِجالَ حُليُّها آدابُها
And you left me, generously, in the care of a learned man
Who said: The ornament of men is their moral manners
فَاِسلَم وَإِن رُغَمَت عِداكَ لِأُمَّةٍ
لَولاكَ طالَ عَلى الزَمانِ عِتابُها
So submit, even if your enemies oppose a nation
Without you, the reproach on the age would have prolonged
