بك الإسلامُ قد لبسَ الشبابا
وكان سناه قد ولّى فآبا
Islam donned its youth with you
Though its years had passed and gone
وهزّ الملكُ عطفَيهِ بمَلْك
تقلّد أمره وكفى ونابا
The kingdom shook its shoulders mightily
Taking its affairs into its own hands
ومذْ لبِسَتْ به الدنيا حِلاها
جلاها حُسنُها خَوْداً كَعابا
And since the world wore its finest garments
Your beauty made it radiant like stars
وما عطُلَتْ رِقابُ الدهرِ إلا
وحلاّها عقوداً لا سِخابا
The necks of time were never free
Except adorned with your peerless gems
فلو أنّ اللياليَ عُدْنَ غيداً
شجَتْ ليلى وتيّمتِ الرّبابا
If only the nights would sing gently
Layla would yearn and the lutes would play
وأحسبُ أن أنجُمَها كؤوسٌ
تكونُ لها مجرّتُها شرابا
And I imagine its stars to be cups
With the galaxies as their drink
ومَنْ للشمس أن تُكسى سَناه
فتُغشي الناظرينَ لها التهابا
What garment can the sun wear
To dazzle those who gaze upon it?
ولو حيّا محيّاها بنورٍ
لما كان الظلامُ لها حِجابا
If it were to greet the morn with light
Darkness would not veil it
صباحٌ يملأُ الآفاقَ نوراً
يقيم إذا سنا الإصباحِ غابا
A morn that fills the horizon with light
That remains as the dawn fades away
وغيثٌ بات يُردي المحلَ طوعاً
وليثٌ ينزِعُ المهجَ اغتصابا
A rain that willingly ruins the abode
And a lion that seizes its prey
وسعدٌ من بني سعدٍ تجلّى
وقد جعل الدروعَ لها سَحابا
A Saad from the clan of Saad appeared
Making armor seem like clouds
ولم يُرَ قبلَهُ بحرٌ خضمٌّ
أفاضَ على معاطِفِه سَرابا
No tumultuous sea overflowed
Onto his coats of mail before him
رسا طَوْداً وأسفرَ بدرَ تِمٍّ
وجادَ غمامةً وسَطا شِهابا
It landed as a swollen sea and rose like a full moon
And roamed like a shooting star
مَروضُ الحِلمِ طمّاح المواضي
إذا ساموهُ عفواً أو عقابا
Tamed by clemency, lofty in battle
Whether pardoned or punished
وما صابَتْ سماءُ الحربِ إلا
سقى أبطالَها شرْياً وصابا
The sky of war was not struck
Except to quench its heroes' thirst
وكم زهِرَتْ رياضُ دمٍ تغنّى
ذُبابُ حُسامه فيها ذُبابا
How many gardens of blood did it sing to
As its swords buzzed around them like flies
يواصلُ شُرْبَ كأسِ البأسِ صِرْفاً
ويجتنبُ المُدامةَ والرّضابا
Drinking from the cup of might in gulps
Avoiding revelry and frivolity
ويبتعدُ الأعارِب ناعماتٍ
ويستَدْني المُضمّرةَ العِرابا
Shunning the soft and fragrant women
And drawing near the rugged nomads
وقالوا أطولُ الأبطالِ باعاً
فقلت نعمْ وأعلاهُم رِكابا
They said he had the longest reach in battle
I said yes, and the highest position
وأفصَحُهُم إذا نطقوا لساناً
وأفسَحُهُم إذا طُرِقوا جَنابا
The most eloquent tongue when he spoke
The most generous when asked
وقد سمعوا رُقاهُ وجرّبوها
فلا ينسابُ كيدُهُمُ حُبابا
They had heard his soft voice and tested it
So their cunning flowed not like pebbles
ولا يغْرُرْهُمُ عفوٌ لديه
فربّ عذوبةٍ نتِجَتْ عَذابا
His clemency does not fool them
For many a sweetness bore punishment
سَلوا عنه بَني رُزّيكَ لما
أفادَ الحربَ منهم والحِرابا
Ask the clan of Ruzzik when
He brought war and dispute upon them
وأقدَمَ نحوهُم أسَداً مُشيحاً
فولّوا بين أيديه ذئابا
And approached them like an angry lion
As they fled like frightened jackals
فإن عمرَتْ جموعُهُمُ الفيافي
فقد تركوا رُبوعَهمُ خرابا
If their armies lasted in the plains
They would have left their lands in ruins
أهابَ بهم لسانُ الخوفِ حتى
أقامَهُمُ لراحتِه نهابا
Fear silenced their tongues
As he gave them rest from fear
ومنّتْهُم ظنونُهُم نجاةً
ورُبّ حجًى رأيَ خطأَ صوابا
Their suspicions gave them false hopes
How often does a faulty view seem right?
فإن جعلوا الظلام لهم مطايا
فقد جعلَ النجومَ له رِكابا
If they take the darkness as their steeds
Then he takes the stars as his mounts
فلا يهْنِ الذين نجوا هروبٌ
فلو آبوا لكان الملك يابى
Those who survived fleeing cannot grieve
If they returned the rule would remain
ولو شاءَتْ صوارِمُهُ المواضي
أقامَتْ دونَهُم سوراً وبابا
If his sharp swords wished
They would erect a wall and door before them
ولم يُرسِلْ شفارَ ظُباه إلا
غدَتْ قُلَلُ الملوكِ لها جوابا
He unleashed not his young lion's fangs
Except the crowns of kings responded
إذاً لأزارَهُم تيّارَ حربٍ
تكون له جماجِمُهُمْ حَبابا
Else the torrent of war would surround them
And their skulls would be its pebbles
وساقَ إليهمُ غرْباً ورُعْباً
يسمّيها الكتيبةَ والكتابا
He brought them horror and fear
Calling it the regiment and the book
وصدّعَ شعبَهُمْ بوميضِ عزمٍ
يروّي من دمائِهمُ الشِّعابا
He cracked their mountain with resolute lightning
Watering the valley with their blood
وكم فتحٍ أبو الفتحِ اجتناهُ
بقُبٍّ في العُلى رفعَتْ قِبابا
How many conquests has Abu al-Fath claimed
With domes raised on the heights as his answer
ولما لم يجدْ رُزّيكُ عنه
الى غير الملاذِ به ذَهابا
When Ruzzik found no refuge from him
Except flight, he came to him
أتاهُ ورهطُه في الهَوْنِ سعياً
وقد سُلِبوا الحميّةَ والثيابا
He and his comrades in humiliation
Having lost their honor and clothes
وقد قادوا الصواهلَ مُقرَباتٍ
فقُلْنَ لهم الى الذُلِّ اقترابا
They led the horses in submission
Brought low to degradation
وكم ملؤوا الدروعَ وليس تُغني
وقد مُلئَتْ قلوبُهُمُ ارتِعابا
How often they wore armor to no avail
When their hearts brimmed with terror
وكم شاموا ظُباً بأكُفِّ غُلْبٍ
قضَتْ شؤماً عليهم أو غِلابا
How often they rode swelling with pride
To meet misfortune and defeat
وكم ركَزوا رماحَهُمُ كِناساً
وسمّوها وما صدَقوا غيابا
How often they planted their spears in the ground
Deceitfully claiming absence
وخالوا أنّ راحَهمُ غمامٌ
فغادرَها مؤمِّلُهُم ضَبابا
Thinking their respite was a cloud
While their hopes had deserted them like mist
فجازَهُمُ إليه المُلْكُ طوعاً
ومَنْ وصلَ الرؤوسَ جَفا الذُنابى
He generously gave them rule
One who joins heads severs tails
فحسّن رُتبةً قبُحَتْ لديهمْ
وكان التاجُ في الأرساغِ غابا
He improved a position they saw as vile
Though the crown seemed lost
ليَهْنِ المُلكَ أن أمسى مَصوناً
عشيةَ راحَ عزُّهُمُ مُصابا
It does not shame rule that it remains protected
On the eve its glory was struck
بأنّ الله أكرمَهُ بمَلْكٍ
أذلّ له الغطارفةَ الصِّعابا
For God honored him with a kingdom
That humbled the haughty lions
