النَّصْرُ نَصُّكَ وَالْحُسَامُ دَلِيلُهُ

وَالْفَتْحُ وَعْدُكَ وَاْلإلاَهُ كَفِيلُهُ

Victory is your ally, the sword your guide,

Conquest your promise, God your guarantor.

كَفَلَتْ رِيَاضُ الْمُلْكِ مِنْك بِدَوْحِهَا

فَرْعاً نَضِيراً لاَ يُخَافُ ذُبُولُهُ

The gardens of kingship are secured by you,

A flourishing branch that will never wither.

وَاهْتَزَّ دَوْحُ الْمُلْكِ مِنْهُ مُنَعَّماً

رَيَّانَ يَعْطِفُهُ النَّدَى وَيُمِيلُهُ

The tree of kingship sways gracefully because of you,

Branches dripping with dew, leaning gently.

وَطَلَعْتَ بَدْراً لاَ يُخَافُ مُحَاقُهُ

يَوْماً وَلاَ يُخْشَى عَلَيْهِ أُفُولُهُ

You rose like a full moon with no fear of setting,

A day with no dusk to make it fade.

حَتَّى إِذَا خَطَبَتْكَ أَلْسِنَةُ الْهُدَى

وَحَبَاكَ هَذَا الْعَهْدَ إِسْمَاعِيلُهُ

When the tongues of guidance spoke in your favor,

And this era embraced you as its heir,

وَرَآكَ أهْلاً لِلْخِلاَفَةِ بَعْدَهُ

فَأرَاكَ قِدْحَ الْمُلْكِ كَيْفَ تُجِيلُهُ

Seeing you fit for the caliphate after him,

He showed you the flint of kingship, how to ignite it.

وَكَسَتْ إِيَالَتُكَ اَلْبِلاَدَ وَأَهْلَهَا

ظِلاًّ تَكَفَّلَ بِالْعِبَادِ ظَلِيلُهُ

Your rule covered the lands and their people

With a shade that protected all who sought shelter.

وَحَبَا السِّيَاسَةَ مِنْكَ حَامِلُ عِبْئِهَا

فَمَضَتْ عَزَائِمُهُ وَعَزَّ قَبِيلُهُ

The burden of politics was carried by you,

His resolutions passed, his tribe grew mighty.

ثُمَّ اسْتَحَثَّ إِلَى الإِلاَهِ رِكَابَهُ

وَغَدَا وَفِي دَارِ النَّعِيمِ حُلُولُهُ

Then he hurried to his Lord,

And departed for the Abode of Bliss.

وَهَفَتْ بِديِنِ الْكُفْرِ أَطْمَاعٌ قَضَتْ

أَنْ تُقْتَضَى أَوْتَارُهُ وَذُحُولُهُ

The religion of unbelief nursed ambitions

That its strings would be severed, it would wilt.

ثُمَّ اسْتَبَدَّ الْعَزْمُ فِيكَ وَمَا ارْتَأَى

وَالْعَزْمُ يُوهِنُ عَقْدَهُ تَأَجِيلُهُ

Then determination took hold of you, whatever it intended,

While determination makes light its firm knots if delayed.

وَرَمَى إِلَيْكَ مَقَالِدَ اَلأَمْرِ الَّذِي

تُرِكَتْ إِلَيْكَ فُرُوعُهُ وَأُصُولُهُ

It handed over to you the reins of command,

Which, with all its branches and roots, was left to you.

وَاسْتَنْجَزَ النَّصْرَ الْعَزِيزَ وَلَمْ يَزَلْ

يَلْوِي بِدَيْنِ الدِّينِ فِيكَ مَطُولُهُ

It accomplished glorious victory and continued

To wave the banner of the faith because of you.

فَارْتَاحَ دِينُ اللهِ فِي رَيْعَانِهِ

وَاُعِيدَ مُقْتَبَلَ الشَّبِيبَةِ جِيلُهُ

So the religion of God rested in its meadows

And the youthful generation regained its vigor.

وَتَكَنَّفَ الإْسْلاَمَ مِنْكَ وَأَهْلَهُ

نَظَرٌ يَدِقَّ عَنِ النَّهَى تَأوِيلُهُ

Guidance sought you out, analyzing

Any interpretation that strayed from what is right.

عَالَجْتَهُ بِالْمَشْرِفيّ وَطَالَمَا

أَعْيَى مُزَاوَلَةَ الأسَاةِ عَلِيلُهُ

You cured it with wisdom though the evildoers

Had often wearied of resisting the wretched.

حَتَّى إِذَا غَدَتِ الْبِلاَدُ قَرِيرَةً

وَالأَمْنُ تُسْحَبُ بَيْنَهُنَّ ذُيُولَهُ

Until the lands became secure

And safety spread its coverlets between them.

وَالسَّلْمُ قَدْ كَفَّتْ أَكُفَّ عِدَاتِهَا

وَالْبَأسُ نَامَتْ فِي الْغُمُودِ فُصُولُهُ

Peace sheathed the blades of its fighters

And war slept, its seasons folded away.

أَرْضَيْتَ دِينَ اللهِ مَقْتَدِياً بِمَا

نَطَقَ الْكِتَابُ بِهِ وَسَنَّ رَسُولُهُ

You gave comfort to the faith, following

What the Book related and what the Messenger legislated.

تَسْتَوْدِعُ الأَنْسَابَ غُرَّةَ يَعْرُبٍ

وَتُشِيدُ فَخْراً لاَ يُطَالُ أَثِيلُهُ

The lineages took pride in you, a glorious Arab,

And you built a pride no ages would erode.

وَذَهَبْتَ تَعْتَامُ الْبُيُوتَ مُيَمِّماً

مَا يَمِّمَتْ أذْوَاؤُهُ وَقُيُولُهُ

You went about erecting the fallen houses

Whose corners and walls were askew.

فَحَدَاكَ تَوفِيقُ الإِلاَهِ لِمَنْصِبٍ

مَثْوَاكَ مَثْوَاهُ وَغِيلُكَ غِيلُهُ

So divine guidance made you worthy

Of a position whose ends were just like its beginnings.

حَيْثُ الْمَعَالِي وَالْعَوَالِي وَالظَّبَا

وَالْبَيْتُ عَادِيَّ الْبِنَاءِ أَصِيلُهُ

Where there is glory, eminence, wild cows,

And a house whose builder made it everlasting.

حَتَّى إِذَا رَفَّتْ عَلَيْكَ ظِلاَلُهُ

وَسَرَتْ بِأَرْوَاحِ الْقَبُولِ قُيُولُهُ

Until its shadows stretched over you

And its spirits of acceptance blew gently.

وَتَوَشَّجَتْ أَغْصَانُ دَوْحَةِ خَزْرَجٍ

ذِمَماً وَحِيزَ لِكُلِّ مَجْدٍ سُولُهُ

The branches of Khuzaymah’s date palms clustered thickly,

To give glory to each and delimit it duly.

أَعْرَسْتَ فِي مَثْوَى الْخِلاَفَةِ بَعْدَمَا

عَكَفَتْ عُلاَكَ تُشِيدُهُ وَتُطِيلُهُ

You wed the caliphate after they

Had labored long to erect and extend it.

فَبَذَا كَمَا لاَحَ الصَّبَاحُ لِنَاظِرٍ

مُتَأَلِّقاً يُعْشِي الْعُيُونَ صَقِيلُهُ

So it shone, when dawn broke, to the beholder

Dazzling, making eyes squint at its sharp brilliance.

تَبْلَى اللَّيَالِي وَهْوَ يَنْدَى جِدَّةً

وَيَجِفُّ زَهْرُ الزَّهْرِ وَهْوَ بَلِيلُهُ

Nights pass while it grows ever newer,

And spring blooms fade while it remains fresh.

حَيْثُ الرِّيَاضُ تَفَتَّحَتْ أَزْهَارُهُ

وَهَمَى عَلَيْهَا مِنْ نَدَاكَ هَمُولُهُ

There the gardens opened their flowers,

And your clouds stretched out to water them.

حَيْثُ الْجَلاَلُ يَهُولُ أَفئِدَةَ الْوَرَى

وَيَنِدَّ عَنْ إِدْرَاكِهِمْ تَمْثِيلُهُ

There awe made people’s hearts tremble,

His likeness too sublime for their minds to picture.

وَقَدِ ازْدَهَى الدِّيبَاجُ فِي رَوْضَاتِهِ

خَضِلاً كَمَا جَلَتِ الرَّبِيعَ فُصُولُهُ

In its meadows silk was threaded

Through, like brocade, the seasons being unveiled.

مِنْ كُلِّ مُنْسَدِلِ الْجَنَاحِ مُهَدَّل

تَضْفُو بِمُذْهَبَة الْقِبَابِ سُدُولُهُ

With each bird of colorful wings alighting,

Their domes glazed with patterned glass on every side;

وَمُوَسَّدٍ فَوْقَ الأَرَائِكِ رَائِقٍ

يُزْهَى عَلَى مَوْضُوعِهَا مَحْمُولُهُ

And atop the thrones, luxurious cushions

Whose fine covers added to the beauty.

ثُمَّ اغْتَدَيْتَ وَمُلْكُكَ السَّامِي الْعُلَى

مَجْمُوعُ شَمْلٍ بِالْمُنَى مَوْصُولُهُ

Then, fulfilled, your lofty kingdom

Became an embodiment of perfect unity.

والْبِشْر ُمُنْسَحِبُ الْجَنَاحِ عَلَى الْوَرَى

وَالأُنْسُ تَشْتَمِلُ الْوُجُودَ شَمُولُهُ

While good news spread over the land,

And intimacy embraced all creation.

وَاللَّحْنُ قَدْ وَشَجَتْ غُصُونُ ضُرُوبِهِ

فَسَبَى الْعُقُولَ خَفِيفُهُ وَثَقِيلُهُ

The rhythms branched out in their melody,

Captivating minds with their tempo, slow and fast.

خَلَّدْتَ سِرَّ النَّصْرِ فِي أَعْقَابِهِ

وَسَلَكْتَ قَصْداً لاَ يُضَلُّ سَبِيلُهُ

You made victory eternal, following its tracks,

And you tread a path from which none stray.

نِعْمَ الْخُلُودُ بِهَا قُصُورُ مُقَامَة

يَحْبُوكَ سَعْدُكَ عِزَّهَا وَيُنِيلُهُ

What great eternity, to dwell in those palaces

As your good fortune imparts their glory and reaches it.

حَتَّى تَزَيَّنَ بِالبَنِينَ صُدُورَهَا

وَيَبِينَ فِي بَاعِ الْخِلاَفَةِ طُولُهُ

Until their walls were adorned with boys

And the extent of the caliphate displayed its length.

فَكَأَنَّنِي بِالْمُلْكِ قَدْ عَقَدَ الْحُبَى

وَزَهَا بِفَاخِرِ دِرْهَمٍ إِكْلِيلُهُ

So I can see the royal bond tied securely,

Its splendid filigree like a crown for it.

فَكَأَنَّنِي بَكَ وَالْفُتُوحُ سَوَافِرٌ

وَالسَّبْيُ قَدْ عَمَرَ الرُّبَى تَنْفِيلُهُ

I can see you as the conquests pour forth

And the captured foes throng the meadows.

نَصَرَ الْهُدَى سَعْدٌ وَفَازَ بِإِرْثِهِ

مِنْ بَعْدُ يُوسُفُ سِبْطُهُ وَسَلِيلُهُ

With happiness Saʿd upheld guidance and gained its legacy—

After Yūsuf, his grandson and progeny.

مِلِكٌ عَزِيزُ الْجَارِ مَمْنُوعُ الْحِمَى

مَمْنُوحُ مُنْهَلِّ النَّدَى مَبْذُولُهُ

A mighty king, honored neighbor, protected sanctuary,

Bestower of meadows dripping with bounty, open-handed.

يَقْظَانُ لاَ حِفْظُ الثُّغُورِ يَؤُودُهُ

كَلاَّ وَلاَ صَعْبُ الأُمُورِ يَهُولُهُ

Ever wakeful, not wearied by guarding frontiers,

Nor daunted by formidable tasks.

وَإِذَا دَعَاهُ الْمُلْكُ مِنْهُ لِلَذَّةٍ

نَاجَاهُ مِنْ تَقْوَى الإِلاَهِ عَذُولُهُ

And if kingship summoned him to pleasure,

Godwariness called him back from transgression.

شَمَلً الْبِلاَدَ وَأَهْلَهَا تَأَمِينُهُ

وَهَمَى عَلَيْهِمْ بِالنَّدَى تَأَمِيلُهُ

His care encompassed the lands and their people,

His clouds showered them with rain gently.

أَخَلِيفَةَ اللَّهِ الَّذِي آرَاؤُهُ

شُهْبٌ تُنِيرُ دُجَى الْهَوَى وَتُحِيلُهُ

The caliph of God whose opinions

Are meteors giving light, transforming blindness.

خُذْهَا إِلَيْكَ عَقِيلَةَ الشِّعْرِ الَّذِي

تُبْدِي لَهُ سِمَةَ الْخُضُوعِ فُحُولُهُ

Receive from me, as token of submission, these verses

That show poetry abasing itself before you.

دُرًّاتَكَوَّنَ فِي بِحَارِ بَلاَغَةٍ

يُهْدَى إِلَيْكَ ثَمِينُهُ وَجَلِيلُهُ

Pearls formed in oceans of eloquence,

The precious and priceless are gifted to you.

وَصِلِ الدَّوَامَ إِذَا نَبَتْ بِيضُ الظُّبَى

تَمْضِي وَإِنْ عَثَرَ الزَّمَانُ تُقِيلُهُ

Give greetings eternal when the eggs of ostriches appear,

Going on even if Time should stumble and halt.

فَالْمُلْكُ أَنْتَ عِمَادُهُ وَعَتَادُهُ

وَالدِّينُ أَنْتَ مَلاَذُهُ وَمَقِيلُهُ

For you are the pillar and pillar of kingship,

Just as you are the refuge and shelter of faith.