نجومُ علاكَ قد طلعَتْ سعودا

وعَرْفُ ثَناك فينا فاحَ عودا

The stars of your glory have risen auspiciously,

And the fragrance of your excellence among us has perfumed abundantly.

فأبْلِ حوادثَ الأيام والبَسْ

رِداءَ الفضلِ فضفاضاً جديدا

So announce the events of time, and don

The garment of virtue openly and anew.

وطالِعْ أوجُهَ الأعوامِ بيضاً

فقد طلعَتْ لمَنْ عاداكَ سُودا

And greet the faces of years with whiteness,

For they have risen black for those who opposed you.

فأنت ابنُ السعيدِ أخو المعالي

ومَن أضحى كوالدِه سعيدا

You are the son of the fortunate, the brother of glories,

And one who, like his father, became happy.

بنيتَ المُلْكَ بالعزَماتِ قصراً

وأعليتَ البِناءَ به المَشيدا

With resolves you built sovereignty a palace,

And with it you elevated the structure, raising it high.

رسا فوقَ الصّعيدِ وطالَ حتى

تخطّى النجمَ مرتفعاً صُعودا

It settled atop the plains and reached so high

It surpassed the stars, climbing loftily.

ومثلُك من تقلّد بالمعالي

فريداً حالياً منها فريدا

And one like you, when assuming glories,

Is unique now among them, singular indeed.

غمامٌ في ندًى ورديٍّ تراه

مفيداً للرغائب أو مبيدا

A cloud in dewy roseate hue it seems,

Benefiting hopes or eradicating them.

وسيدُ معشر ما قال إلا

رأينا سيّداً قد صار سِيدا

The chief of an assemblage who did not say

Except we saw a master become a master indeed.

يفوّق رأيَهُ في الخطب سهماً

سديداً في مقاتلِه شديدا

His view in calamities surpasses arrows—

A sure shot against his staunch foes.

ويفترسُ الأسودَ بمُرهَفاتِ

من العَزَماتِ تفترسُ الأسودا

He savages lions with his piercing

Resolves that savage the lions.

وينشئُ من مثارِ النّقْع سُحْباً

تُسحُّ دماً تبُلُّ به الصّعيدا

And from the fruits of palms he produces clouds

That rain blood, drenching the plains with it.

إذا سُلّتْ صوارمُه بُروقاً

أعانَتْها صواهِلُه رعودا

When his swords are unsheathed lightning,

His panels support them with thunder.

بكلِّ أشمّ ما صديَتْ ظُباه

فأوردَ هيمَها إلا الوريدا

With every fierce lion his swords encountered,

He made their lifeblood pour out abundantly.

وأبلجَ كالصباحِ أضاءَ منه

عمودٌ فاجتليناهُ عميدا

And like the dawn he illuminated brilliantly,

A pillar we saw erected firmly.

جنودٌ بات ياسرٌ المُعلّى

مع الأيام يُتبِعُها جنودا

An army Yaser spent the nights

Pursuing days with troops.

بها كبتَ الحسودَ ومن يصرِّفْ

جنودَ النصرِ قد كبتَ الحَسودا

With it you subdued the envious and those

Who turn the troops of victory—you subdued the envious.

فيابْنَ بلال الملكُ الذي قد

شأى آباءَه وشأى الجُدودا

O son of Bilal, the sovereign whose

Ancestors were illustrious, and their ancestors too.

إليك قدِ ارتمَتْ مسلى مسالي

فجاوزَتِ التّهائمَ والنُجودا

To you have inclined the solace of hopes,

Surpassing the aspirations and ambitions.

وقد عوّدْتَني إسداءَ فضلٍ

أعيشُ به وظنّي أن يعودا

You accustomed me to constant kindness

With which I live, expecting its return.

وإن لم أغْدُ فيك لبيدَ عصري

فكُنْ لي أنت وُفِّقْتَ الوليدا

If I do not survive the era,

Be to me as you were guided, O Valiant One.

فقد أضحَتْ ملوكُ الأرض طُرّاً

لديك على نفاستِها عَبيدا

For the kings of earth have become

Your obedient servants, despite their prestige.

ومثلُك من تلبّيه الأماني

رُكوعاً حولَ كعبتِه سُجودا

And one like you, whom hopes obey

Bowing around his shrine in prostration.

وخذْ مني عُقوداً من كلامٍ

يفوقُ على نفاستِه العُقودا

So take from me strands of words

That surpass jewels in purity.

فقد نُظِمَ الكرامُ فكنت بيتاً

هو المعنى وإن كانوا القصيدا

For the generous were composed into a verse

That is meaning, though they are the ode.