تَعالى اللَه مِن ملك تَعالى
أَبَدراً شمت أَم نوراً تلالا
Come, O God, from the kingdom come
Did the dawn smile or the hills shine light
وَخوط ماس بَل قَد رَطيب
ثَنى أَطرافه دلاً فَمالا
And Khawat's lines - but it is fragrant
Its edges bent, dripping with dew
وَطفل غادة عَذراء بانَت
عَلى ذعر فَشابهت الغَزالا
And an unmarried doe appeared
Frightened, resembling a gazelle
نَضَت سَجف الحجال فمذ رَأَتني
قَريب الرَكب حللت الحجالا
She lifted the train of her gown when she saw me
Nearby, she let down her train
رَنَت نَحوي بِطَرف بابلي
يُصوِّب نَحو ناظره نِصالا
She glanced at me with a Babylonian eye
That directs its arrows at its onlooker
وَباشرها النَسيم فَفاحَ مِنها
شَذا عطر أَلَم بِنا وَغالى
The breeze blew on her, and from her wafted
A scent that touched and thrilled me
فَغبت كَأَنَّني خامَرت خَمراً
معتقة وَواصلت الوِصالا
I felt as if I had drank preserved wine
And met with the beloved at dawn
فقلت لصاحبي من ذي وَدَمعي
عَلى الخَدين قد وطئ السبالا
So I said to my friend, with my tears
Flowing down my cheeks in streams
فَقالَ هِيَ العَقيلة مِن لُؤي
وَخَير قَبيلة شدوا العِقالا
He said: She is virtuous, from Lu'ayy
The best of tribes, expert with reins
سُراة يَمموا الدَهناء لَيلاً
وَقَد زموا القَلائص وَالجمالا
Horsemen who roam the sands at night
Girded with quivers and camels
سَأَلتهُم مِن الأَعراب أَنتُم
فَقالوا مِن رَبيعة لا محالا
I asked: Are you Bedouins?
They said: We are from Rabee'ah, no doubt
كرام مِن بَني بَكر أَتينا
نرود الخَصب وَالماء الزلالا
Nobles from the tribe of Bakr we came
Seeking fertile land and clear water
تَنكبنا النفانف وَالعَوالي
وَيممنا المَناهل وَالرِّمالا
We avoided the rough terrain and highlands
And headed for springs and sands
وَصبحنا دِيار بَني لُؤي
بِكُل طمرة تَهوى النِّزالا
We arrived at the camps of Lu'ayy
At every sand dune that entices battle
تَقَلدنا المهندة المَواضي
وَنَكسنا الأَنابيب الطوالا
We donned our swords in their sheaths
And lowered our high lances
وَإِنا نَستَضيء إِذا ضَلَلنا
بعَبد اللَه أَزكى الناس آلا
By the light of Abdullah we see our way
When we lose it, the purest man of all
كَريم النجر مِن حسب وَفَخر
عَلى أم الجِبال الشُم طالا
Of noble origin, from ancestry and pride
At the mother of mountains he stayed
مِن الصيد الأولى بِالمَجد طالوا
لَهُم دانَت بَنو الدُنيا جَلالا
The foremost in glorious hunts they are
The world's people bow to their majesty
سَموا كُل العِباد أَباً وَأماً
وَفاقَ جَميعهم عماً وَخالا
They surpassed all people as father and mother
And excelled every uncle and maternal uncle
وَكَم مِن قائل هَل مِن شَبيه
لَهُ في ذا الزَمان فَقُلت لالا
How many asked: Is there anyone like him
In this time, and I said: None
كَفاكَ بجده حَسباً وَفَضلاً
وبِالمِغوار وَالده كَمالا
His grandfather's nobility and excellence suffice
As do his perfect, magnificent father's
هُوَ النور الَّذي لَولاه خفنا
عَلى الدُنيا وَأَهليها الضَلالا
He is the light but for whom we'd lose
Our way in this world and its people, in misguidance
لَهُ قَلم حَكى البيض المَواضي
فَصارَ مِداده للفَضل خالا
His pen described the shining white sands
Its ink became oceans of virtue
وَقَلب نير لَولاه خَفا
عَلى ما في جَوانحه اِشتِعالا
His heart, but for which thoughts would perish
That set his essence aflame
وَعَقل وَطأ الحكم المعلى
بِكلكله وَلَولاه لمالا
His mind grasped the highest wisdom
With its every flash and turn
وَعلم بِالأُمور إِذا ألمت
يصرفها اِختِراعاً وَارتِجالا
His knowledge, when disasters strike
Redirects them with invention and spontaneity
وَذات كُلما تَلقاه بشت
وَكَف كُلما تَرجوه سالا
His being - when it inclines, it rewards
His palm - when asked, it bestows
وَكُل يَد إِذا مدَّت إِلَيه
يعلمها بِأَن تهب النّوالا
Every hand, when stretched out to him
He teaches it to grant gifts
كَريم علم الدُنيا سَخاء
وَعلم غَيث وابلها اِنهِمالا
He taught the world generosity
And taught its clouds downpour
عَليم عِنده جمعت كُنوز
مِن العرفان ما تركت مَقالا
Learned - in him gathered treasures
Of wisdom, leaving no question
تَقي باسل تَعنو العَوالي
لحدته إِذا صَلى وصالا
Godfearing and valiant, he aims for the highest
His weapon, when he prays, joins with him
مَضى شَهر الصِّيام وَعَنهُ راض
وَلَكن لَم يرد عَنهُ اِنتِقالا
The month of fasting passed with his pleasure
Though he did not wish it to end
وَأولى عيدنا مِنهُ سُروراً
وَأَورثه بغرته جَمالا
He brought our Eid happiness
And his smile brought it beauty
وَأَومض مِن مُحياه وَميض
فَصارَ لِوَجه شَوال هِلالا
A flash of his smile shone
Making Shawwal's crescent glow
وَلَولا اللبس كانَ عَلَيه بَدراً
تَماماً سَرمدياً لَن يزالا
Were it not for obscurity, it would be
A full moon, everlasting, eternal
وَلَو تُعطى الأَهلة فَضل عَقل
غَدَت لِنعاله السامي قبالا
If new moons were given his mind's merit
They would bow to his noble shoes
وَلَو سَمعت بِهَيبته الضَواري
لَجاوَرت السَباسب وَالجِبالا
If the wild beasts sensed his awe
They would dwell on the roads and mountains
وَلَو عَلمت بِحدته المَواضي
لأَورثها السآمة وَالكلالا
If the prairies knew his sharpness
He'd bring them despair and decay
وَلَو طعنت أَسنته الرَّواسي
لَصارَ سَنامها العالي مهالا
If his tongue pierced the firmaments
Their towering heights would bow
وَلَو تليت كتايبه لِجَيش
لفرقهم يَميناً أَو شِمالا
If his writings were read to an army
He would scatter them left or right
وَلَو سحت يَداه في فَضاء
لَضاقَ بِمائِهِ الوادي وَسالا
If he waved his hands in the horizon
The valleys would brim and pour
وَلَو نظرت إِلَيه الشَمس حَقاً
لَذابَ شُعاعها خَجلاً وَحالا
If the sun truly saw him
Its rays would melt, shy and confounded
وَلَو عَبثت يَداه بِبَحر ملح
لأَصبح ماؤه عَذباً زُلالا
If his hands roiled the briny sea
Its water would turn sweet and clear
فَدُم وَاهنأ بِهَذا العيد وَاسمع
نِظاماً في مَديحك قَد تلالا
So congratulate this Eid, and listen
To an ode crooned for you and rising
لِغَيركم غَدا سحراً حَراماً
وَفيكُم قَد غَدا سحراً حَلالا
For others, dawn was forbidden
Yours made it permitted and pure
سَأَلتُكُم القبول لَهُ وَإِني
وَحَق أَبيك حَرمت السُؤالا
I asked you to accept it, by the right
Of your father I forbid any asking
فَلا زالَت مَكارمكُم عراضاً
وَلا بَرحت مَناقبكُم طوالا
So may your virtues remain lofty
And your merits remain long
