يُدرُّ بَلاغاتِ اللِّسانِ مَديحُه
وتُنْطق عَلْياهُ العَييَّ المُجمجِما
Praise of him makes the tongue pour forth eloquence;
his lofty virtues make even the tongue-tied mumbler speak.
وتَبْتَهِجُ الأرواحُ عندَ لِقائهِ
كما فرَّحَ الوصْلُ العميد المُتيَّما
Spirits rejoice at meeting him,
as reunion gladdens the love-stricken, passion-dazed lover.
وما ذاكَ إِلاَّ أنَّ لُقْياهُ لم تَزلْ
تُبيحُ بني الآمالِ بِشْراً وأنْعُما
That is only because meeting him has never ceased
to grant the sons of hope gladness and favors.
فيُولي المُحولَ العارقاتِ مكارِماً
ويفْري الخطوب الطارقاتِ تبسُّما
So he meets the ravaging drought-years with noble gifts,
and cleaves through oncoming calamities with a smile.
وزيرٌ إذا اسْتنْجدْتَهُ لمُلِمَّةٍ
هززت حساماً مرهف الحدِّ مِخْذما
A vizier—if you call on him for aid in a crisis,
you have brandished a keen-edged, cleaving sword.
تُلاقيه هوْجاءَ المَسارحِ زعْزَعاً
في السَّلْم طوداً شامخ النِّيقِ أيهَما
On the fields of war you meet him as a raging, violently tossing gale;
in peace, as a mountain with a towering, inaccessible summit.
إذا نازلَ الأبطال حرْباً وحُجَّةً
غَدا الجيش فَلاّ والمُفوَّهُ مفْحَما
When he faces champions in battle or debate,
the army is routed, and the eloquent speaker struck dumb.
أبو جعفرٍ تاجُ المُلوكِ الذي لهُ
كريمُ بَنانٍ يقطرُ الجودَ والدَّما
Abu Ja‘far, crown of kings, is he whose
generous hand drips bounty—and blood.
يُنيخُ طريدُ الحَيِّ من حَجَراتِه
إلى أريحيٍّ يمنعُ الجارَ والحِمى
Driven from his clan’s dwellings, the fugitive comes to alight
with a magnanimous man who protects both neighbor and sanctuary.
فلا برحتْ غرس الخِلافةِ دولةٌ
مُؤيَّدةٌ ما زالَ بالموْردِ الظَّما
May the Caliphate’s planting never cease to be a dynasty
upheld, so long as thirst remains at the watering-place.
Sol 5.6