أَلا هَكَذَا فَلْيَسْمُ للمجدِ مَنْ سَما

ويَحْمِ ذِمارَ الملكِ والدينِ مَنْ حَمى

Should not he who aspires to glory expose himself to peril?

Should not he who guards a kingdom and faith take risks?

وإِلّا فللمنصورِ غاياتُ مَا شَآ

إِلَيْهِ بَني الدنيا وأَغراضُ مَنْ رَمى

Else the Commander of the Faithful’s aims, however lofty,

Will not raise him up to the stars which he wishes to grasp.

وحَقٌّ لِمَنْ لاقى فأَقدمَ سَيْفُهُ

عَلَى غَمَراتِ الموتِ أَن يَتَقَدَّمَا

The courageous one who confronts death's overwhelming flood,

Sword in hand, deserves indeed to climb the ladder of advancement.

ومن حَقَرَتْ مستعظَمَ الهولِ نَفْسُهُ

إِذَا الخيلُ كرَّتْ أَن يكونَ المعظَّما

But he who quails from the awesome and dreadful situations of war

When the steeds stampede, deserves to be utterly humiliated.

ومن مَلَّ أُنْسَ المالِ حَتَّى تحَكَّمَتْ

عَلَى مَا حَوَتْ كفَّاهُ أَن يَتَحَكَّما

He whom love of wealth has so corrupted

That he only thinks of what his hands can seize, deserves to forfeit all.

ومَنْ حَمَتِ العِلْقَ النَّفيسَ سيوفُهُ

من الضيمِ أن تختارَ مُرتَبَعَ الحَما

But he who bare blades guarded the precious, noble blood

Deserves to choose the most impregnable high fortress for his protection.

ومن تَيَّمَتْهُ أَوْجُهُ المجدِ أَن يُرى

وقلبُ العلا صَبّاً إِلَيْهِ مُتَيَّما

He whom aspects of glory captivate, deserves to be seen

As a heart enamored and pouring itself out toward the highest glory.

ولله يَا منصورُ آراؤُكَ الَّتِي

بنيتَ بِهَا نحوَ الكواكِبِ سُلَّما

O Commander of the Faithful, lofty are the principles

By which you have built steps reaching up to the stars!

وهذا عظيمُ الشِّرْكِ قَدْ جاءَ خاضِعاً

وأَلقى بكفَّيْهِ إِلَيْكَ مُحَكِّما

And here is this formidable champion of unbelief now humbled,

Throwing himself down before you seeking arbitration.

سليلُ ملوكِ الكفرِ فِي ذِرْوَةِ السَّنا

ووارِثُ ملكِ الرُّومِ أَقْدَمَ أَقْدَما

Scion of the kings of unbelief in his prime

And inheritor of the empire of Byzantium hastening ever forward,

توسَّطَ أَنسابَ القياصِرِ فانتمى

من الصِّيدِ والأَملاكِ أَقرَبَ مُنْتَمى

Amidst the pedigrees of the Caesars he traced his line

And drew himself nearer to the lords of the hunt and worldly possessions,

ولما تقاضى غَرْبُ سيفِكَ نَفْسَهُ

وحاطَتْ لَهُ الأَقدارُ مُحْتَقَنَ الدِّمَا

But when your flashing sword demanded his lifeblood

And the turns of fate cornered him and blocked his advance,

وَلَمْ يستطِعْ نحوَ الحياةِ تأَخُّراً

بِفَوْتٍ ولا نحوَ النَّجاةِ تَقَدُّما

Unable to retreat to prolong his life

Or advance toward survival, the decree of destiny grasped him

تدارَكُهُ المقدارُ فِي قبضةِ الردى

وخاطَبَهُ حنَّاً عَلَيْهِ فأَفْهَمَا

And fortune addressed him gently and made him understand,

The reprieve brought him assurance of some favor from you,

وبشَّرَهُ التَّأْمِيلُ منكَ بعَطْفَةٍ

تلقَّى بِهَا رَوْحَ الحياةِ تَنَسُّما

He gasped again the breath of life and became emboldened.

Then he brandished the lances of humiliation in full submission

فأَشْرَعَ أرْماحَ التَّذَلُّلِ ظاعِناً

وأَصْلَتَ أَسيافَ الخضوعِ مُصَمِّما

And bared the swords of surrender in utter determination.

And victory, whose choicest portion belongs to you,

وقابَلَهُ النصرُ الَّذِي لَكَ صَفوُهُ

مع السَّعدِ حَتَّى احتازَهُ لَكَ مَغْنَما

Together with good fortune, met him and made him a profitable captive for you.

It led him perforce toward your rope of bondage

وقادَ لحبلِ الرِّقِّ نحوكَ نَفْسَهُ

فلاقاكَ مُمْتَنّاً ووافاكَ مُنْعِما

That he might meet you generously and generously greet you.

Your chamberlain, the commander, encompassed him about,

وحَفَّتْ بِهِ للحاجِبِ القائِدِ الَّذِي

أَبى الدهرُ إِلّا مَا أَمَرَّ وأَحْكَما

One whom fate granted all he decreed and executed.

The protection of fathers and the refuge of the Omnipotent

حمايَةُ آباءٍ ومنعةُ قادرٍ

يتَيهُ عَلَى صرفِ الزمانِ مُحَرَّمَا

Wandering aimlessly through the permutations of time sacrosanct.

So he came lowly but then was made honorable,

فَراحَ ذليلاً ثُمَّ أَضحى مُبَجَّلاً

وأَمسى مُهاناً ثُمَّ أَصبحَ مُكْرَما

And he spent the night abased but then greeted the morn venerated.

He found the means to safety abundant

وأَصبحَ من حظِّ السلامةِ وافِراً

بأَن راحَ من عزِّ الإِمارَةِ مُعْدِما

Because he had left behind the glory of authority and become resourceless.

He met you seeking to humble himself before you

ولاقاكَ فاسْتَخْذى لديكَ تذلُّلاً

ليحتازَ من أدنى رضاكَ تَرَحُّما

That he might gain even a little of your good pleasure.

If the guarantee of the Omnipotent has lowered him,

لئن خَفَرَتْهُ منكَ ذمَّةُ قادرٍ

لقد فارقَ الكُفْرَ الخَذُولَ مُذَمَّما

He has indeed left unbelief and become despicable!

If at home you called him wretched,

لئن سُمْتَهُ البأْساءَ فِي عُقْرِ دارِهِ

لقد عُضْتَهُ فِي دارِ ملكِكَ أَنْعُما

If in coming to meet you he mixed the boons of munificence and hospitality,

He has waded in the vestiges you left among them of death and blood!

لَئِنْ خاضَ فِي اسْتِقبالِكَ الجودَ والنَّدى

لَقَدْ خاضَ فِي آثارِكَ النَّقع والدِّما

Passing by the landmarks of his kingdom he wept

Over monuments which the swords had erased and obliterated,

ومَرَّ يُبَكِّي من معاهِدِ مُلكِهِ

معالِمَ عَفَّتْها السيوفُ وأَرْسُما

By which mountains tremble at the shattering reverberations

And birds startle and flutter in fright.

تُراعُ بِهَا الأَجبالُ من رَنَّةِ الصَّدى

ويُذْعَرُ فِيهَا الطيرُ أَن يَتَرَنَّما

You extended security to him while he exposed to danger

The land of his realm because of you, O Most Sublime!

بسطْتَ لَهُ أَمْناً وَقَدْ بَسَطَ القنا

ثَرَى أَرضِه من هَلَّهَا بكَ أَعظُما

You let him taste Islam's sweet draught, yet many a time

He made them drink from the cup of death, unmixed and bitter.

سقيتَ بِهِ الإِسلامَ أَرْياً وطالما

سقاهُمْ بكأْسِ الموتِ صاباً وعلقما

But here he is now, abased before you,

A hostage to the conditions you have decreed and executed.

وها هُوَ ذَا فِي راحَتَيْكَ مُذَلَّلاً

رهيناً لما أَمْضَيْتَ فِيهِ مُحْكَّما

He flung himself perforce toward the Sovereign

Who saw all time itself subjected to him, and he learned obedience.

رمَى نفسَهُ قَسْراً إِلَى المَلِكِ الَّذِي

رأَى الدهرَ مملوكاً لَهُ فَتَعَلَّما

Had it not been for the swords of victory you unsheathed,

This deed would have seemed too momentous to be imagined!

ولولا سيوف النصرِ حينَ انْتَضَيْتَها

لقد جلَّ هَذَا الصُّنعُ أن يُتَوَهَّما

So he came with the awe of dread shortening his step

While submission stretched his stride forward in your bond.

فجاءَ وقَيْدُ الرَّوْعِ يَقصُرُ خطوَهُ

ويَمْتَدُّ فِي حبلِ الخضوعِ تَقَدُّما

He addressed you in fear though eloquent,

And was eloquent in dread though tongue-tied.

يخاطِبُ عن رعْبٍ وإِن كَانَ مفصحاً

ويُفْصِحُ عن ذعرٍ وإِن كَانَ أَعجما

When the awe of the armies daunted him he drew back,

But the memory of your good pleasure emboldened him to advance.

إِذا راعَهُ هولُ الجنودِ فأَحْجَما

تدارَكَهُ ذِكرى رِضاكَ فأَقدما

Never did he glance backward but gloom overcame him,

Fear making him stammer in the terror of the encounter.

وَمَا كرَّ رجْعَ الطرفِ إِلّا وضَيغَمٌ

يُساوِرُ فِي رُعْبِ الأَسِنَّةِ ضيغما

Arqam roams the sky, his agitation plain to see,

Muttering in the darkness of the death and carnage.

وأَرْقَمُ يسطُو بالهواءِ اضْطِرابُهُ

يناهِسُ فِي ليلٍ من النقعِ أَرقما

The eagles of standards passing by, he imagines them to be

Swooping down upon him in the heat of battle.

وعِقبانُ أَعلامٍ تَمُرُّ يخالُها

عَلَى نفسِهِ فِي مَعْرَكِ الحربِ حُوَّما

By God, it was a day whose worth was mighty,

And its equipment the like of which, as if

فلله يومٌ جلَّ قدرُ عديدِهِ

وعُدَّتِهِ عن مِثْلَما وكأَنَّما

Armies whose gleaming made the earth seem

Flashes of lightning over the hills or a blaze flaring up!

جنودٌ كَأَنَّ الأَرضَ من لَمَعانِها

بروقٌ تلالا أَوْ حَريقٌ تَضَرَّما

A cloud of flying white wings rising high,

A sea of close-joined armor overflowing and swelling!

سحابٌ من البيضِ الخوافِقِ قَدْ عَلا

وبحرٌ من السَّرْدِ المضاعَفِ قَدْ طَمى

With every armed company fully prepared as if

The dawn had been clothed in a coat of mail and wrapped in a turban!

بكلِّ كَمِيٍّ عامِرِيٍّ كَأَنَّما

تَسَرْبَلَ من شمس الضِّحى وتَعَمَّمَا

Its leader it was about to slay with death it greeted,

Though it foretold him of life, thus wisely informing him.

يُحَيِّي الأَميرَ بالحياةِ مُبَشِّراً

وإِن كَانَ قَدْ فاجاهُ بالموتِ مُعْلِما

Many a time had he met it confronting him closely,

But their final meeting it was as a band submitting:

وَقَدْ طالَما لاقاهُ قِرْناً مُساوِراً

فَوَشْكَانَ مَا لاقاهُ حِزْباً مُسَلِّما

As if the stars of the heavens accompanied his approach

To present him guarded to the moon of the celestial sphere.

كَأَنَّ النجومَ الزُّهْرَ حَفَّتْ بوجْهِهِ

فأَدَّتْهُ محروساً إِلَى قَمَرِ السَّما

So he met a face crowned with beauty,

And kissed a hand sealed with generosity.

فقابَلَ وجهاً بالجمالِ مُتَوَّجاً

وقبَّلَ كَفّاً بالسماحِ مُخَتَّما

You were congratulated, O Commander of the Faithful, on renewed good fortune

And the perfect fulfillment of your remarkable feat!

فَهُنِّيت يَا منصورُ سَعْداً مُجَدَّداً

وإِقبالَ صُنعٍ بالبقاءِ مُتَمَّما

You have appointed as chamberlain for your glory and pride

One who will always take the lead in valour and merit.

ومُلِّيتَ من أَسباطِ مَجْدِكَ حاجِباً

يباشِرُ منه المجدُ والفخرُ مَقْدِما

You cast him into the sea of error and he reached its depths.

You burdened him with the load of exaltation and he bore it!

رَمَيْتَ بِهِ بحرَ الضلالَةِ فانْتهى

وجَشَّمْتَهُ عِبْءَ العُلا فَتَجَشَّما