العِزُّ حيث البلْدةُ الزوراءُ
والمجدُ حيث القُبَّةُ البيضاءُ
Glory is where the radiant city lies,
And honor where the white dome rises.
فخْرٌ تَسامى أنْ يُزانَ بمدحةٍ
فالنُّطْقُ عِيٌّ والصُّمات ثَناءُ
It is the pride of one exalted by praise
That eloquence is dumb and silence laudation.
فعَلامَ يعْتسفُ الظَّلام مُشمِّرٌ
أودتْ به الشَّدَنيَّةُ الوجْناءُ
Why does darkness rage in turmoil
Led by the pitch-black night of calamities?
إنَّ الجحاجح من قُريشٍ أدركوا
شَرَفاً تُقِرُّ بفضلهِ الأعْداءُ
For the energetic of Quraysh have attained
A nobility that even foes acknowledge.
فلِهاشمٍ منه السَّوامقُ والذُّرى
ولغيرها الهَضَباتُ والأنْقاء
Among them Hashim has the lofty peaks and heights
While others have the plateaus and meadows.
وأصاب سِرَّ اللّه من أبنائهمْ
دونَ الرجالِ ثلاثةٌ كُرَماءُ
And the secret of God was granted to their sons
Three generous men beyond all others.
فأُقِرَّ ذاك السِرُّ في مسترشدٍ
باللّه تخْرسُ دونهُ الضَّوْضاءُ
That secret was established in the rightly-guided one
Beside whom clamor falls silent.
يقْظانُ أبْلجُ ينجلي بجبينهِ
ودليلهِ الإِشْكالُ والظَّلْماءُ
A shining full moon whose forehead
Dispels obscurities and darkness.
فتوهُّمُ المُتَجادلينَ حَقائِقٌ
منه وليلُ المُدْلجينَ ضِياءُ
The disputants’ suppositions are truths from him
And the unenlightened’s night is illuminated by him.
غيثٌ وليثٌ يرْعَوي لبَنانهِ
بأسُ العِدى واللَّزْبةُ الغَبْراءُ
A cloud and a lion grazing its pastures
The plague of enemies and the dusty war.
فلمُحْفِظيهِ مَتالِفٌ ومَعاطِبٌ
ولمُعْتَفيهِ مكارِمٌ وعَطاءُ
His adherents find him gentle and giving
While his assailants find generosity and gifts.
طوْدٌ أشَمُّ وخارقٌ ذو شارَةٍ
حُسَّادهُ الأنْصالُ والحُلَماءُ
A towering mountain surmounting peaks
Envied by rivals and dreamers.
فبهِ إذا نَزَقَ الحَليمُ تأيُّدٌ
ولهُ إذا نَبَتِ السِّهامُ مَضاءُ
With him the forbearing gain strength when provoked
And for him the arrows take flight when planted.
حَبْرٌ إذا ذلَّ الدَّليلُ بموغِلٍ
شهدتْ بصائبِ قولهِ العُلماءُ
An ocean whose evidence perplexes the guide
Whose judgments scholars bear witness to.
وإذا المَقاولُ ساورتْها نُبْذَةٌ
من لفْظهِ فَفَصيحُها فأفاءُ
And when an eloquent one is afflicted by his words
His eloquence relents and yields.
خمصانُ يقْلي الزاد غير ممرَّضٍ
ولهُ التَّقيَّةُ مطْعَمٌ وغِذاءُ
Two cautious ones who prepare food without spoiling it
And for whom prudence is sustenance and provision.
نورٌ أضاء الأفْق ساطعُ لمْعِهِ
فعلى الزمانِ وأهْلهِ لأْلاءُ
A light that illuminated the horizon, radiant
Casting its brilliance upon the world and its people.
نَضرَتْ به أيامُنا فكأنَّها
بين العُصورِ خَميلةٌ غَنَّاءُ
Our days flourished through him as if
Among eras, a beautiful singing slave girl.
يا ساهرَ الظَّلْماءِ يرقبُ صبْحها
كي يستقلَّ به الغَداةَ نَجاءُ
O watcher of the dark nights awaiting his dawn
So the morn will be independent with his appearance.
هابَ الظَّلامَ وذاعريه فجرْسهُ
هَمْسٌ ونُطْقُ لسانهِ إيماءُ
He dismayed the darkness and its fugitives, so his whisper
Was a warning and his tongue's movement a sign.
نَسَعَ المَطايا والجيادَ مخافَةً
منْ أنْ ينُمَّ تَصاهُلٌ ورُغاءُ
He urged on the steeds and stallions fearing
That distraction and babbling would slumber.
سرْعانَ ما ظنَّ الإكامَ مَناسراً
دلَفَتْ إليه بشَرِّها الفَيْفاءُ
How soon he imagined the criminal to be a confidant
His innate nobility exposing the deception.
يُغْفي فيحلمُ بالعِدى فهُبوبهُ
فَرَقٌ وجالِبُ رَوْعهِ الإِغْفاءُ
He sleeps and dreams of harming the enemy
So his fervor disperses and his calmness keeps guard.
سَعْياً جَريئاً أو فَنَمْ مُتَوَدِّعاً
ففِناءُ بيتكَ والعَراءُ سَواءُ
Whether undertaking a bold endeavor or bidding farewell
Your home and the wilderness are the same.
والأمرُ مزْمومٌ بعَدْلِ خليفَةٍ
تَلِغُ الذئابُ لخوفهِ والشَّاءُ
The command is determined by the justice of a caliph
Whose fear causes wolves and goats to huddle.
لفظتْ سياسته السيوفَ فضربُهُ
في الدارعينَ تَبَكُّتٌ وإِباءُ
His rule restrained swords so his strike
Made coats of mail on fighters weep and wail.
وتماسكَ المُتَحرِّبونَ فكادَ أنْ
يسْجو بمُنْحَدرِ المَسيلِ الماءُ
The belligerents came together so it was as if
The torrent's slope poured down water.
وفَشا الحِذارُ به فكلُّ قبيلةٍ
جُهَّالُها من خوْفهِ حُلَماءُ
His caution spread so each tribe
Had reasonable men fearing him.
وجرى اللسانُ من الفقيرِ وطالما
حصِرَ الفَصيحُ وخصْمُه الإثراء
And the tongue of the poor and wealthy spoke alike
While the eloquent and his rival the nobleman were equal.
فالمُرْمِلُ الممْلاقُ منْ إِرْهابهِ
والمَلْكُ في حَقِّ المَقالِ سواءُ
The beggar and the prince under his might
Are the same regarding the word spoken.
الصَّائمُ اليومَ الهجيرَ تأجَّجَتْ
تحت الكُسورِ لوَقْدهِ الرَّمْضاء
The faster's fire was lit today beneath the cooking pots
And the sleepless one's eyelids were blackened by the lamp's smoke.
والسَّاهرُ الليل الطويل وقد ثوتْ
بالرَّاقدينَ نمارقٌ ومُلاءُ
The leader drove the noble steeds, proud
To be adorned by eminence through them.
والقائدُ الخيلَ العِتاقَ يؤمُّها
مُتغطْرفٌ يُزْهى به الخُيَلاءُ
Their hooves erased the dawn's dust as if
The brilliant moons were clothing them in darkness.
نَسخَ الغُبارُ صباحَها فكأنما
بيضُ الشُّهور حَوالِكٌ دَهْماءُ
Reward the man who rode the stallions against the enemy
With a heart more patient than the banners above him.
أجْرا فتىً ركب الجياد إلى العِدى
قلْباً وأصْبَرُ مَنْ عَلاهُ لِواءُ
And if calamities attacked and doubts
Besieged the security of the subjects.
وإذا تعرَّضت الخطوبُ وساورت
أمْنَ الرَّعيَّةِ ضخْمةٌ بَزْلاءُ
And the impetuous ones held back from destruction
Fearing the corpses and the bereaved.
وتقاعسَ المُتهافتونَ على الرَّدى
حَذرَ الحُتوفِ وصانَعَ الأحياءُ
He gave the pulpits and platforms stubbornly
Adorned by where he placed his steps.
مَنحَ المنابرَ والضَّوامِر أخْمصاً
تُزْهى بموقعِ وطْئهِ الجَوْزاءُ
The swords and words flowed together so
The keen and the unripe new moon withdrew.
وجرى الصيالُ مع المقال فأقْدَمَ
الضَّاري وخاسَ الأخضرُ الدَّأماءُ
So at daybreak to the hearing and the hopes
There were horses raiding and an awe-inspiring sermon.
فعلى المسامعِ والمطامعِ بالضُّحى
خَيْلٌ تُغيرُ وخُطْبَةٌ رَوْعاءُ
The army recoils from him while he is determined
And the unflinching intensity turns away from him.
ينجابُ عنه الجيش وهو مُصممٌ
وتَحيدُ عنهُ الشِّدَّةُ الصَّمَّاءُ
Might and generosity in the illumination of firm resolve
Drawing near the distant one, and modesty and shyness.
بأسٌ وجودٌ في مَضاءِ عزيمةٍ
يُدْني البَعيدَ وعِفَّةٌ وحَياءُ
The bitterest life is sweeter protecting the land
Where bounty and bliss taste pleasant.
وأغرُّ مُرُّ العيش من حفظ الورى
يحلو وتَعْذُبُ عندهُ النَّعْماءُ
The season of rule does not make his heart doubtful
With fantasies, nor is it led by passions.
فصلُ الحكومة لا يُخامر قلبهُ
صَوَرٌ ولا تمضي بهِ الأهْواءُ
The limit of determination suffices him over the summit of ambition
And opinions are revealed to him before their voices.
يُغنيه حدُّ العزم عن حدِّ الظُّبى
وتُريهِ قبلَ لِحاظِه الآراءُ
There is no frowning with nostrils flaring in anger
Rather a glow and flash within it.
ما ضَيْغمٌ شثْنُ البراثنِ عازبٌ
بِالخيس فيه نَغَشْرُمٌ ومَضاءُ
A harmful one whose roar frightens his peers
So through him the fierce and resolute find respite.
ضارٍ يُعفِّرُ زأرُه أقْرانَه
فبهِ عن الصَّوْل الشَّديد غَناءُ
The enemy walks delicately when he passes
Frightened, while the desert shakes beneath him.
يتقصَّفُ العاديُّ عند مرورهِ
فَرَقاً وترْجُفُ تحتهُ الصَّحراء
He caused the hill's cubs to sweat and the old hyenas to warn each other
While he is courageous, beaming.
عَرقَ الطَّوى أشْبالَه وتَناذرَ الأظع
انُ فهو مُلَجِّجٌ سَرَّاءُ
He clung to the twogetattr()
With no illusion appearing of him, nor any calmness upon him.
لَزِمَ الثَّنِيَّةَ لا يَلوحُ لشخصه
شَبَحٌ ولا يبدو عليه رُواءُ
Then he continued like an arrow forcefully shot
By a strong archer towards its target.
ثمَّ استمرَّ كراشقٍ قذفتْ به
نحو الرَّميِّ شديدةٌ فَجْواءُ
He bent the infidels' crooked bow
While the notches broke its stiff bowstring.
فثنى الخميسَ المَجْرَ قُرُّ جَنانه
والذِّمرُ تُنْغض عِطفه العروَاء
Each one says, "I am the fallen one," but truly
The prey of the polished sword is the brilliant gazelle.
كُلٌّ يقولُ أنا الصَّريعُ وإنما
صَيْدُ الهِزَبْرِ الأصْيَد الأبَّاءُ
So in the morning he dragged to his family and self
Those whom the gray cavalry did not watch over.
فغدا يجُرُّ إلى العيالِ ونفسهِ
منْ لمْ تَرُعْهُ الفيْلق الشَّهباءُ
More forceful than the Imam's power when the voice of screaming rises
And confusion stirs.
بأشدَّ من بأسِ الإِمامِ إذا عَلا
صوتُ الصَّريخ وهاجت الهيْجاءُ
Like a roaring sea stirred by a storm
The wilderness turned white by its crashing waves.
وعرمرمٍ كاليمِّ هيجَ بعاصِفٍ
شرِقتْ بفضل عُبابه البَيْداءُ
His steeds erased the distinction between night and dawn
So the land is air and the dawn is night.
نسخ الفلا والصبح ركضُ جياده
فالأرضُ جَوٌّ والصَّباحُ عِشاءُ
His horsemen expelled the enemy without even discerning them
Eagerly, as each brigade was a whirlwind.
طردتْ فوارسهُ وما لاحَ العِدى
حِرْصاً فكلُّ كَتيبةٍ دَفْواءُ
The necks of monsters approach him
As the destitute crowd around the charitable one.
تدنو له عنق القَشاعمِ مثْلما
تحْتفُّ بالمُتَصدِّقِ الفُقراءُ
The swords compete to be the first drawn
And perhaps a charger's swift blow strikes.
تجري مُسابقَة السيوفِ فربما
نَسَرتْ وضرْبةُ طائحٍ رَعْلاءُ
The horses plunge into the dust as if they are
Arrows of the quiver skillfully shot.
والخيلُ تقتحمُ الغُبارَ كأنها
نَبْلُ الجَفيرِ وقد أُجيدَ رِماءُ
Their bridles pour out a cloud whose drops
Are a life-giving rain and blood from them.
تزجي سنابكُها سَحاباً قطْرهُ
منها مَسيحٌ هاطِلٌ ودماءُ
They convey every determined fighter
Whose sword's edge the clouds make clear.
ينقلن كلَّ مُساورٍ ذي هِمَّةٍ
تُجْلى بحدِّ حُسامهِ الغَمَّاءُ
Diversion and play, the garden of his joy
Honor, and the place of his recreation, the desolate area.
زوْلٌ رياضُ سروره سمر القَنا
عِزّاً وملْعبُ أنْسهِ الجَأواءُ
The owls longed for the resting place and its color
Thus every gang was red.
حَنَّ الكُماة إلى النَّجيعِ ولونهِ
فلذاكَ كلُّ عِصابَةٍ حَمْراءُ
And when the war grew intense its water
Was the blood of horsemen and heads were filthy.
وطما أتِيُّ الحربِ حتى ماؤُهُ
مُهَج الفوارس والرُّؤوسُ غُثاءُ
The Commander of the Faithful raced his steeds
Thirsty and returned with them sated.
أجْرى أميرُ المؤمنين جيادَهُ
ظمأى وعادَ بِهِنَّ وهي رِواءُ
So the horses of the seekers are slow
While the horses of the fleeing are swift.
فبطاءُ خيلِ الطَّالبينَ سَريعةٌ
وسِراعُ خيلِ الهاربينَ بِطاءُ
They flee in terror with no escape for the fleeing
Even if the stars themselves sheltered them.
رَهَباً لأغْلبَ لا مفرَّ لهاربٍ
منه ولو أنَّ النجومَ وِقاءُ
His might spread in the wilderness and his attacks
As if in both cases, he is prudent.
عَمَّ البَريَّةَ بأسهُ ونَوالُهُ
فكأنه في الحالتين ذُكاءُ
Then that disturbing dust settled from those
Whose news and reports had grown.
ثُمَّ انجلى ذاكَ العجاجُ عن التي
عَظُمتْ لها الأخْبارُ والأنْباءُ
So the next morning the prisoners and captives received
Pardon, and the slain were granted amnesty.
فغَدا على العاني الأسيرِ من النَّدى
عَفْوٌ وراحَ عن القَتيلِ عَفاءُ
The darkness of imprisonment did not harm the free ones
While you are the shining radiant one.
ما ضرَّ أبناء السُّرى حَلكُ الدجى
لهمُ وأنت الأبْلَجُ الوَضَّاءُ
Never! The caravans were not banned and caused drought
While you are the Giver and Bestower.
كَلاَّ ولا حُبس القطار فأجْدبت
أرضٌ وأنت الواهِبُ المِعْطاءُ
You have shown unprecedented superiority and gained
A position none before you of the caliphs attained.
برَّزْتَ سبْقاً وافترعتَ محِلَّةً
لم يرْقَها منْ قبلكَ الخُلَفاءُ
Misfortunes befell where the precedents were
And the pretentious ones collapsed where resoluteness stood firm.
وجريت حيث السَّابقاتُ عواثِرٌ
وثَبَتَّ حيث الشَّامخاتُ هَواءُ
The summits of kings were humiliated and seemed
To your sword's deception powerless and tame.
وتخاذلت قِممُ الملوكِ وقد بدتْ
لِغرارِ سيفكَ عِزَّةٌ قَعساءُ
You will possess the world with the grip of one who grasps
As the raven and white submit to you.
وستملكُ الدُّنيا تملُّكَ قابضٍ
وتُطيعُكَ الحمراءُ والبيضاءُ
Your gaze turns in its east and west
While the arrogant west casts down its eyes.
ويجولُ طِرفُك في مشارق شمسها
والغربُ يُنْغِض عِطفه الخُيلاء
You were granted from men a loyal adviser
With no defect in his devotion.
ولقد حُبيتَ من الرجال بناصِحٍ
ما في نميرِ ولائهِ أقْذاءُ
He abandoned worldly concerns, protecting what you entrusted him
So his eyelids blackened from lack of sleep.
هجرَ الكَرى رعْياً لِما ولَّيْتهُ
فجُفونهُ لسُهادهِ مَرْهاءُ
Awake, the flint of your resolve sparks his intellect
So the passionate one kindles it.
يقظان يقدح زندُ عزمكَ فكرَه
فينرَه المُتَلَهِّبُ الوَرَّاءُ
You were honored above the caliphs through him, then adorned him
With the shadow of the Exalted, so the ministers flourished through him.
زُهيت بك الخلفاء ثُمَّ كسوْتهُ
ظِلَّ العُلى فَزَهَتْ به الوزراءُ
For you among Quraysh are all the bold conquerors
Feared for their difficult lives by the wretched.
لك من قُريشٍ كلُّ أغلب باسلٍ
تخشى سُطاهُ الصَّعْبةُ الشَّقَّاءُ
A people, who when they witness adversity become
Either invaders or martyrs.
قومٌ إذا شهدوا الكريهةَ أصبحوا
وهُمُ غُزاةٌ أو هُمُ شُهداءُ
Praise walks toward them voluntarily
While vileness avoids their gathering.
يمشي الثَّناءُ إليهُمُ مُتبرِّعاً
وتحيدُ عن ناديهُمُ الفَحْشاءُ
And when scandals erupted and tore down
The veils of homes quaking tumultuously,
وإذا تَغَبَّرتِ الفِجاجُ وهتَّكتْ
سُتُرَ البيوتِ الزَّعْزعُ الهوجاء
And the torrents of valleys dropped their heavy loads
Upon the villages so they were things flung down,
واسَّاقطتْ غُرُّ العِشارِ أجِنَّةً
للقُرِّ فهي طَوائحٌ ألْقاءُ
And the containers around their tents spilled
From the floods that the downpours poured out,
وتعَفَّتِ الآناءُ حولَ خِيامِها
للسَّيْل مما سَحَّتِ الأنْواءُ
And the companion ofSlimah and the howler slept
Exhausted, so a fireplace and woodpile were idle,
وخبا وأغْفى ذو الصِّلاء ونابِحٌ
خَصَراً فأعْوَزَ موْقِدٌ وعُواءُ
Their saddlebags are abundant for the sleeping
And their leather mats ample for the eating.
فرِحالُهُمْ للنَّائمينَ وثيرَةٌ
وجِفانُهمْ للطَّاعِمين مِلاءُ
I smelled the early morning breeze from your dew
And hope hastening my riding-beasts and desire drove me.
شُمْتُ البوارق من نداكَ وساقني
أملٌ يحثُّ رَواحِلي ورَجاءُ
And for the spreader of the line, the midday sun appeared
Vanquishing the other lights in his eyes.
وبدتْ لساري الخطِّ شمس ظهيرة
فتَماحَقتْ في عينهِ الأضْواءُ
So look upon the lasting words that eloquent ones
Fell short of in praising you.
فانظُر إلى مأثورِ قولٍ قصَّرَتْ
عن شأوهِ في مدحكَ الفُصَحاءُ
A plentitude of heroism and a share of high ambition
And a yearning for the Exalted are in him.
هوْلٌ عليه من البسالةِ نَفْضَةٌ
وبه إلى حُبِّ العُلى بُرَحاءُ
The creation fell short of what I uniquely created and refuted
When I spoke your praise, O poets!
ذلَّ الورى عما افْترعتُ وأفحمت
لما نَطَقْت بحمدكَ الشُّعراء
