خَرقَت عوائدَها لكَ الأَقدارُ
وأَتتك طائعةً لما تختارُ
Fate’s decrees broke their accustomed ways for you;
they came to you obedient, granting what you choose.
ونصرتَ بالرعب الذي امتلات به
من خوفِ سطوة بأسك الأَقطارُ
You were aided by the terror that filled
every land with fear of the onslaught of your might.
فإذا هممتَ بفتحِ مصرٍ واحدٍ
كشف الغطا وتفتّحت أَمصارُ
Whenever you resolve to conquer a single city,
the veil lifts, and whole cities open.
سعدَّ يحول له الطباع فلو تشا
لقدحتَ واشتعلت من الما النارُ
A fortune for which the natures of things are transformed: if you wished,
you would strike a spark, and fire would blaze from water.
في كلِّ ما تأتي به فيما نرى
عجبٌ تحيرُ دونَه الأفكار
In everything you bring about, as we behold it,
there is a marvel before which thought stands bewildered.
لكَ كلَّ يوم وقعةٌ في وصفها
تستغربُ الانباءُ والأخبارُ
Each day brings you a battle whose description
makes reports and tidings seem wondrous.
وسطاً لها خضع الملوك يرونها
كالموتِ ما فيه عليهم عارُ
Before your onslaught kings submit, regarding it
as death itself—in which no shame attaches to them.
ساوى العزيز بها الذليل فما بقى
منها الفرار ولا ينال الثارُ
It makes the mighty and the lowly equal; nothing remains
but flight from it, and vengeance cannot be won.
لا ملكَ إلاّ ملك دولةِ أحمدٍ
والحقُّ ما شهِدَت بهِ الآثارُ
There is no kingship but the kingship of Ahmad’s realm,
and truth is what the traces of deeds attest.
يمسي على بعد المدى ولنارهِ
في كلِّ أرضٍ لذعةٌ وشرَارُ
Though he spend the night at the farthest reach, his fire
has a sting and sparks in every land.
وتضلُ أمناً بالرباط خيولُه
ولها عجاجٌ بالحجازِ يُثارُ
His horses remain secure at the frontier fortress,
while their dust is stirred up in the Hijaz.
تهدي الملوك إِليه وهي أتاوة
بقلوبهم بقلوبها استبشار
Kings send him gifts as tribute,
their hearts rejoicing when it is accepted.
هذي صحائفهم بأيدي رُسلهم
بعد العقوبة ملؤها استعفار
Here are their letters in the hands of their envoys,
after punishment, filled with pleas for forgiveness.
طلبوا رضى ملكٍ عظيمٍ ملكُهُ
يعطي المكارمَ فوق ما يختارُ
They sought a king’s favor; pleas for pardon filled them—
he grants noble favors to whomever he chooses.
متواضعاً لله لا متكبرٌ
يطغى بما اوتي ولا جبّارُ
Humble before God, never arrogant,
he does not grow overbearing through what he has received, nor act the tyrant.
تضحي له في كل دارٍ نعمةٌ
وبكلِّ أرضٍ جحفلٌ جرّارُ
For him, in every abode, a blessing dawns,
and in every land, a vast, advancing host.
وافوه خوفاً منغضين رؤوسهم
وعلى الأنوفِ مذلةٌ وصَغارُ
They came to him in fear, their heads bowed,
with humiliation and abasement plain upon their faces.
يدعون أَبلجَ يستجيبُ إِذا دعى
كرماً ويُكثرُ حَمدهُ الزّوارُ
They call upon a radiant one who answers when called,
out of generosity; his visitors multiply their praise.
قبل اعتذارهُم وطابت أنفسٌ
وهدَت أراجيفٌ وقرَّ قَرارُ
He accepted their apology, and souls grew calm;
rumors subsided, and settled order came to rest.
أَينَ المفرُّ لمن عصى ووراءه
ملك يرى أن البسيطة دارُ
Where can one who disobeys flee, when behind him stands
a king who sees the whole earth as a single domain?
ملك متى ما ترضهِ فهو الحيا
جوداً وإِن تسخطه فهو النارُ
A king—when you please him, he is life-giving rain
in generosity; when you anger him, he is fire.
الناصرُ الملكُ الذي عزماته
عن سعيهن خطا الرياح قصارُ
The victorious king, the king whose resolves
leave the wind’s own strides far behind.
يطوي البلاد فما يرد جيوشَه
بعد المدى عنها ولا الأسفارَ
He folds up the lands; neither immense distance
nor long journeys turn his armies back from them.
فكأنَ ابعدَ كل أرضٍ شقةٌ
لخيولهِ مهما غزا مضمارُ
It is as though the farthest reach of every land
were but a racecourse for his horses whenever he campaigns.
يا فارسَ الإِسلامِ قد أرضيَتهُ
وعلته منك سكينةٌ ووقار
O knight of Islam, you have won its contentment,
and through you calm and dignity have come over it.
صنتَ الخلافةَ بالقنا وحميتها
إِذ جاورتك وكنتَ نِعمَ الجارُ
You guarded the caliphate with lances and protected it
when it became your neighbor—and excellent was the neighbor you proved.
ما مُلككَ الميمونُ إلا آيةٌ
ملئت بها الأسماع والأبصارُ
Your blessed reign is nothing less than a sign
with which ears and eyes have been filled.
كم مستحيلٍ نيله غادرته
وبه لك الايراد والإِصدارُ
How many a prize deemed impossible to attain have you left behind,
with its coming and going at your command.
نفسي فداؤك هل يواخذ ناصحٌ
فجعْتُه طرقٌ ما بها آبارُ
My soul be your ransom: should a sincere counselor be blamed
when waterless roads have terrified him?
وجد الأحبة والنفوسَ كريمة
لا تنثنى وأمامهم أخطارُ
Love for the beloved, while souls are precious,
does not bend, though dangers stand before them.
وبقدر ما يزدادُ في الحبِّ الفتى
يزدادُ منه على الحبيب حِذارُ
The more a young man grows in love,
the warier he becomes for his beloved.
يمسي الخليُّ وقلبه مستأمنٌ
والخوفُ للقلب الشجيِّ شِعارُ
The carefree man passes the night, his heart secure;
fear is the sorrowing heart’s emblem.
مع أَنه ذنبُ إِذا ناقشتني
حاججت فيه وقامت الأعَذارُ
Though it be a fault, if you press me over it,
I will argue its case, and excuses will arise.
أعلى من اعتبر الأمور بمثلها
لوم إذا ما أبطل المِعيارُ
Is one who measures matters by their analogues to be blamed
when the very standard has been overturned?
ما حدت عن سنن القياسِ وإِنما
عكس القياس لسعدك المقدارُ
I did not stray from the established path of analogy;
it was destiny that reversed analogy for your good fortune.
من جرع الأملاك ما جرّعتهم
كاساتِ غيظٍ كالعِقار تُدارُ
You made kings swallow what you made them swallow—
cups of rage passed around like wine.
لو كان غيرُك ما أتوه لما يشا
عجلين لا غزٌّ ولا استكبارُ
Had it been anyone but you, they would not have come to him at his wish,
hurrying, without disgrace or arrogance.
إن كان مثلُك في السعادةِ قد جرى
فعلىَّ فيما خِفتُه الإِنكارَ
If ever your equal has appeared in such good fortune,
then let him condemn me for what I feared.
قَدرتَ ما يأتي ومثلك ما أتى
ما كلُّ ريحٍ عاصف إِعصارُ
I judged by what might come—but none like you has ever come;
not every raging wind is a hurricane.
من كان نصرُ الله قائدُ جيشهِ
فلقاؤه لمحاربيه دمارُ
When God’s victory leads a man’s army,
meeting him is destruction for his foes.
يا فارسَ الفرسانِ يا ليثُ الشَّرى
يا صارماً قُطِعَتْ به الأَعمارُ
O knight of knights, O lion of the thickets,
O sharp sword by which lifespans are cut short:
اغمدْ سيوفك فالملوك رعيةٌ
والأسْدُ شاو والزبير خوارُ
Sheathe your swords—the kings are subjects now;
the Lion is the one far outstripping, and al-Zubayr is faint-hearted.
وأحمد إِلهك دائماً واشكرْ فقد
وجب الرضا وتقضّت الأوطار
Praise your God always, and thank Him, for
contentment is now due, and all desires are fulfilled.
