أَحياهُ بَعدَ اللَهِ إِذ حَيَّاهُ
طَيف يُسرّي الهَمّ عَنهُ سُراهُ
He revived it after Allah when he revived it
A ghost that dissipates worries from it, making it disappear
أَهدى السَلام عَلى تَنائي أَرضِهِ
يا حَبَّذا المُهدى ومن أَهداهُ
He sent peace upon the heights of his land
Oh how excellent is the guided one and the one who guided him
أَهداهُ أَحوَرَ مِن ظباء تِهامَةٍ
كالظَبّي الحاظ الظباء ظُباهُ
He guided him, more dexterous than the gazelles of Tihama
Like the gazelle watching the gazelles, spying on them
كَلَّت ملاحظُ مُقلتيه وَإِنَّما
لحظ العُيونِ أَكلُّه أَمضاهُ
My glances were exhausted, though they only
Glanced at the eyes, their feasting consumed them
يُعدي وَلا يزراه سقم جُفونِهِ
وَالسَيف لَيسَ يَضرُّهُ حَدَّاهُ
It transmits without any sickness of its eyelids harming it
And the sword cannot hurt its sharp edge
ما العَيش غير جواره في رَوضَةٍ
يَنضافُ رَيّاها إِلى رَيّاهُ
What is life without residing in a garden
Whose streams add to its streams?
يَثني النَسيم الأُقحوانُ بِمِثلِهِ
فيها كَما تَتَلاثَم الأَفواهُ
The breeze makes the rosebay willowherbs flutter in it
As the mouths whisper to each other
نَفسي الفِداء لَهُ عَلى هِجرانِهِ
أَبَداً وَمَن لي أَن أَكون فِداهُ
My soul is sacrificed for him during his absence
Forever, and who do I have that I can sacrifice for him?
أَستودع اللَهَ الحِجازَ وَأَهله
وَسَقاهم سَيلَ الحَيا وَسَقاهُ
I entrust Allah with the Hejaz and its people
And He quenched them with the torrent of life and quenched it (the land)
أَهوى الحِجاز وَطلحه وَسيالِهِ
وَأَراكه وَبشامه وَعضاهُ
I yearn for the Hejaz, its meadows and streams
And its plains, mountains and landmarks
فَسَقى الإِلَهَ سهولَهُ وَحزونه
وَمروجَهُ ووهادَهُ وَرُباهُ
So Allah watered its valleys, saddles, meadows,
Plateaus, lowlands, and hills
غَيثاً يُطبِّق بِالفلاة فَيَستَوي
بِالرَوضِ منظر أَرضِهِ وَسَماهُ
With rain that blankets the wilderness and makes
The view of its land equal to its sky
جوداً كجوديد ابن عمران الَّذي
بَهَرَ الأَنامَ سَناؤُهُ وَسِناهُ
Like the generosity of Judayd ibn ‘Imran
Whose glory and eminence dazzled all people
يَحكي الشَريف أَبا عليِّ جودِهِ
يَتَوَسَّم الوَسميُّ في سيماهُ
The noble one recalls the generosity of Abu ‘Ali
The distinguished one sees it in his attributes
كَيَمين عَبّاسٍ أَبي الحسن الَّذي
بَهَرَ الأَنامَ سَناؤُهُ وَسِناهُ
Like the right hand of ‘Abbas Abu Al-Hasan whose
Glory and eminence dazzled all people
ضَحِكَ الزَمانُ وَكانَ عَبّاساً لَنا
بِنَوالِ عَبّاسٍ وَطيب ثَناهُ
Time smiled and it was through ‘Abbas for us
With the bestowment of ‘Abbas and his excellent praise
ملك يُقِرُّ بِفَضلِهِ وَبِبَذلِهِ
وَبِعَدلِهِ أَصحابَهُ وَعِداهُ
A king who acknowledges with his grace, generosity,
And justice his companions and enemies
جبل الأَنامِ عَلى الخِلافِ وَلا أَرى
رَجُلَينِ يَختَلِفانِ في عَلياهُ
A mountain for all people in leadership, and I do not see
Two men differing regarding his supremacy
قَد صاغَهُ الرَحمَنُ مِن كَرَمٍ فَلَو
لمسته راحة باخِلٍ أَعداهُ
The Merciful molded him from nobility, so if
A miser’s palm touched him, it would enrich him
اليمن في يُمناهُ كَيفَ تَصَرَّفَت
أَحواله وَاليُسر في يُسراهُ
Yemen in his prosperity, see how
His conditions turned favorable, and ease in his comfort
ساسَ الأَقاليمَ العِظام بِكَفِّهِ
قلم يَفُلُّ شَبا الخُطوبِ شَباهُ
He governed the great regions with his palm,
A pen that foils the thorns of calamities
يَجلو جَبيناً لِلعُفاةِ تَرَقرَقَت
وَتَدَفَّقَت للبشر فيهِ مياهُ
He reveals a serene forehead for the wretched whose
Tears flowed from it in streams
وَيُبَشِّر العافين بِشر جَبينه
بِالنُجح قَبلَ يَنالهم جَداوه
And he gives good tidings with his serene forehead
Of success to the prosperous before misfortune reaches them
وَلِجودِهِ مِن نَفسِهِ داعٍ إِذا
ناداهُ حَيَّ عَلى النَدى لَبّاهُ
His soul calls him to generosity whenever
It calls him, alive with dew, yearning for him
يَدري الجَوادَ إِذا استَوى في مَتنِهِ
أَنَّ الفَقير إِلى الحِزام سِواهُ
He knows the generous one when he mounts his saddle
That the poor man needs the girth other than him
فَكَأَنَّهُ لِثَباتِهِ في طَرفِهِ
عضو تَمَكَّن في سواء قُراهُ
So it is as if for his firmness in his manner
A limb enabled over its plateau steadied him
لا يَقتَني العليا إِلّا بِالظُبى
قدماً إِذا ونيَت صُدور قَناهُ
He does not gain supremacy except with gazelles
When the chests of their necks bow down
فالبيض السنة نَواطِق مالها
إِلّا الجَماجِمُ وَالرِقابُ شِفاهُ
So the seasoned white swords - their tongues have no
Eloquence except the skulls and the necks are their lips
ماضي العَزيمِ لَو اِستَنابَ عَزيمَةً
عَن كُلِّ حَدِّ مُهَنَّدٍ أَغناهُ
Resolute, if you seek resolution
From every honed blade, it will make you self-sufficient
يا مَن يُفَنِّدُهُ عَلى إِعطائِهِ
لَومُ السَحائِبِ أَن تَشُحَّ سَقاهُ
O you who criticizes him for his charity
As if the clouds are miserly to water it
أَتَلومَهُ في الجودِ وَهوَ رَضاعة
قِدماً ومن بعد الرَضاعِ غَذاهُ
Would you blame him for generosity when it is his nature
To nurse since infancy and after nursing, he fed it?
فَإِذا نَهاهُ عاذِلٌ عَن جودِهِ
لَم يُثنِهِ وَكأَنَّهُ أَغراهُ
So if a critic prohibits him from his charity
He does not prevent him, as if enticing him
لا يُستَطاع لِفَضلِهِ وَصفٌ وَلَو
أَنَّ العِبادَ بأَسرِهم أَفواهُ
His grace cannot be described, even if
All the servants altogether moved their lips
فَقَد اِغتَدى في كُلِّ شَيء كامِلاً
فَوَقاه مِن عَينِ الكَمالِ اللَهُ
He has certainly perfected everything so
Allah has protected him from the evil eye of perfection
إِقدام حَيدَرَةٍ وَبأس مُحَمَّدٍ
فيهِ وَلا يعدوهما أَبواهُ
The resolve of Khaydar and the might of Muhammad
Are in him, no parents transcend them
نَسَباً تَرى عنوانه في وَجهِهِ
فَلَو أَنَّ أُميّا يَراهُ قَراهُ
A lineage whose title is evident in his face
If an illiterate sees him, he would recognize him
أَشبهتَ في العَلياء جَدَّكَ أَحمَداً
إِنَّ الأَكارِمَ في العُلى أَشباهُ
You resemble your grandfather Ahmad in supremacy
The noble ones in elevation are similar
قُسِمَ النَدى فَجَرى الأَنام بِأَسرِهِم
مِنهُ اسمه وَحويتُمُ مَعناهُ
Generosity was distributed so all people
In their entirety flowed from his name, and you encompassed its meaning
فَمَنِ ادَّعى بَعدَ النَبيِّ وَآلِهِ
مَعنى الفَضائِلِ كُذِّبَت دَعواهُ
So whoever claims, after the Prophet and his progeny,
The qualities of excellence, his claim is belied
لَو يَنسِل المَعروف كنتَ إِبناً لَهُ
أَو كانَ مَولوداً لَكُنتَ أَباهُ
If kindness begot an offspring, you would be his son
Or if he was born, you would be his father
أَنتَ الرَبيع وَكَيف يَحيا مَوضِع
غير الرَبيع بِهِ فَما أَحياهُ
You are spring, and how can a place live
Other than by spring, so what revived it?
مَن كانَ نَحو ابنِ الإِمامَةِ سَيره
فالنُجح وَالتَوفيق مُكتَنِفاهُ
Whoever’s conduct is like the son of Imamate
Success and victory will envelop him
سَيف لَهُ في وَجهِ شفرة وَجهِهِ
وَجه إِذا كُلُّ الوجوهِ لَجاهُ
A sword that has a blade in the edge of his face
A face that if all faces sought refuge, they would resort to it
ما قالَ لا مُذ كانَ إِلّا قوله
عِندَ الشَهادَةِ لا إِلَه سِواهُ
He did not say “no” since he existed except his saying
“There is no god but He” at the time of testification
وَقَد اِعتَزمت عَلى الرَحيلِ فَإِن رأى
إِمضاءُ أَمرِ وَليِّهِ أَمضاهُ
And I had decided on departure, so if the fulfillment
Of his guardian’s order willed it, he would fulfill it
وَلَقَد علمت بِأَنَّ مَوتي عِندَهُ
هَزَلاً يَفوق العَيش عند سِواهُ
And indeed I knew that my death to him
Is a jest that transcends life next to others
لِكِنَّهُ هَجَمَ الشِتاء وَعِندَهُ
مِمَّن تَكون تِهامَة مَثواهُ
But winter has come and next to him are
Those whose home Tihama will be
يا أَيُّها الملك الَّذي لَم أَغتَرِب
عَن أَرضِ قَومي خُطوَةَ لَولاهُ
Oh you, the king whom I did not live
A foot away from my people’s land but for him
أَيَجوز أَن أَشكو إِضاقَة عيشة
وَالمال عندك واهِن وَالجاهُ
Is it permissible for me to complain of straitened livelihood
While wealth is humiliated next to you and prestige?
مُتَصَرِّف أَنّى يَشاءُ بِرأيِهِ
وَيَمينه لا في يَمين سِواهُ
One who does as he wills with his opinion
And his hand, not by the hand of another
وَكَذاكَ ظفر اللَيث في يَد غَيرِهِ
يَنبو وَيفري الهام في يُمناهُ
And likewise the lion’s claws in another’s hand
Roar and the cares freely range in its prosperity
قَلَم بِخِلقَتِهِ المَنايا وَالمُنى
كالصِلِّ فيهِ سُمّه وَشفاهُ
A pen whose nature death and demise
In it is its poison and its remedy
قَطُّ العِدى في قَطِّهِ وَمِدادِهِ
تَنفيس مُدَّة كل مَن والاهُ
The protector of alliances in his protection, for as long as
Whoever befriended him lived
يا مَن يَلومُ المُعصِراتُ عَلى النَدى
وَالمزن أَكرَم أَن يَضنَّ نَباهُ
Oh you who the pressing blames for moisture
While the drawn one, most generous not to hoard its outpour
ملك إِذا قسناهُ أَو قُسنا بِهِ
قالَت بَدائِع فَضلِهِ حاشاهُ
A king, if we judge him or judge by him
The wonders of his grace say far be it
ينميه من زيدانٍ يشبه مَعشَرٌ
لَهُمُ من الشَرَفِ الرَفيع ذراهُ
Prosperity sprouts from him resembling a people
Who have the highest, loftiest lineage
مِن كُلِّ وَضّاحٍ إِذا أَفنى النَدى
من كَفِّهِ المال اِقتَنى بقناهُ
Whoever, when ease passes, gains property
With his palm that spent it seeking its channels
