برقُ الحِمى لاحَ مُجتازاً على الكثُب

وَراحَ يَسحبُ أَذيالاً مِن السُحبِ

The lightning of passion flashed over the sand dunes

And it began to drag tails of clouds

أَضاءَ وَاللَيلُ قد مُدَّت غياهبُه

فاِنجابَ عَن لهبٍ يَذكو وعن ذَهبِ

It shone and the night had extended its darkness

So it responded with a flame that flickers and with gold

فَما تحدَّرَ دَمعُ المزنِ من فَرَقٍ

حتّى تبسَّم ثغرُ الرَوضِ من طربِ

The tear of sadness had not rolled down a cheek

Until the meadow's lip smiled with joy

وَغَنَّت الورقُ في الأَفنان مُطربةً

وَهَزَّت الريحُ أَعطافاً من القُضبِ

And the leaves in the branches sang cheerfully

And the wind shook the boughs of the sedges

وَالصبحُ خيَّم في الآفاق عَسكرُهُ

وَاللَيلُ أَزمعَ من خَوفٍ على الهَربِ

And the morning pitched its army's tent on the horizons

And the night crept away in fear of defeat

فَقُلتُ للصَحب قوموا للصَبوح بنا

يا طيبَ مُصطَبح فيه وَمُصطَحَبِ

So I said to my companions, arise for the dawn with me

O the fragrance of a beautiful morning and friends

واِستَضحكوا الدَهر عَن لَهوٍ فقد ضحكت

كأَسُ المُدامة عَن ثَغرٍ من الحَبَبِ

And laugh at fate for you have laughed

As the cup of wine laughed from a lip of loved one

فَقام يَسعى بها الساقي مُشَعشَعةً

كأَنَّها حَلَبُ العُتّاب لا العِنَبِ

So the cupbearer came rushing with it glittering

As if it were the milk of the Pleiades not grapes

حَمراءُ تسطعُ نوراً في زجاجَتها

كالشَمسِ في البَدر تَجلو ظُلمة الكُربِ

Red, radiating light in its glass

Like the sun in the full moon dispelling the gloom of sorrows

وَراحَ يثني قَواماً زانَه هَيَفٌ

بمعطفٍ من قضيب البانِ مُقتَضَبِ

And he swayed gracefully, adorned with a loose outer garment

Of striped fabric of the make of a well-tailored robe

في فتيةٍ يَتَجلّى بينهم مَرَحاً

كأَنَّه البَدرُ بين الأَنجم الشُهبِ

Amongst youth in whom cheerfulness was manifest

As if he were the full moon among shooting stars

مُهفهفُ القدِّ مَعسولُ اللَمى ثَمِلٌ

يَتيهُ بالحُسنِ من عُجب ومن عَجَبِ

With swaying gait, sweet of gesture, plump

Wandering in beauty and vanity and conceit

لا يَمزجُ الكأسَ الّا من مَراشفِه

فاِطرب لما شِئتَ من خمرٍ ومن ضَرَبِ

He mixes the wine only from his casket

So enjoy as much as you wish of wine and music

قَد أَمكنت فُرَصُ اللذّات فاِقضِ بها

ما فاتَ منك وَبادر نُهزَةَ الغَلَبِ

The opportunities for pleasures are available so seize them

And make up for what you missed and anticipate the common fate

واِغنَم زمانَكَ ما صَافاكَ مُنتهِباً

أَيّامَ صَفوِكَ نَهباً من يَدِ النوَبِ

And utilize your time while it passes you by plundering

The days of your prime plundered by the claws of time

ولا تَشُب مَورِداً للأنس فزتَ به

بِذكرِ ما قَد قَضى في سالف الحُقبِ

And do not water at a place of companionship and so go early

With the memory of what has passed in previous eras

أَنَّ الزَمانَ على الحالينِ مُنقلِبٌ

وَهَل رأَيتَ زَماناً غَيرَ مُنقلِبِ

That time turns back and forth on the two conditions

And have you seen a time other than fickle?

وإنَّما المَرءُ مَن وفَّته همَّتُهُ

حظَّيهِ في الدَهرِ مِن جِدٍّ ومن لَعبِ

But man is only given what his resolve grants him

As his fortune in fate, of seriousness and of play

كَم قلَّبتني اللَيالي في تصرُّفها

فَكُنتُ قُرَّةَ عَينِ الفَضلِ والأَدبِ

How the nights have tossed me around in their procession

And I was the delight of merit and propriety

تَزيدُني نوبُ الأَيّام مكرُمةً

كأَنَّني الذَهبُ الإبريز في اللَهبِ

The days increase me in honor and favor

As if I were Indian gold in the flames

لا أَستَريبُ بعينِ الحقِّ أَدفعُه

ولا أُرابُ بغَين الشَكِّ والريبِ

I do not avert the truth even if it hurts

Nor do I doubt with the eye of suspicion and doubt

لَقَد طَلبتُ العُلى حتّى اِنتهيتُ إِلى

ما لا يُنالُ فَكانَت مُنتهى أَرَبي

I have sought the sublime until I attained

That which cannot be attained, so it was the limit of my hopes

حسبي من الشَرف العليا أَرومَتهُ

أَن أَنتَمي لِنظام الدين في حَسبي

It sufficed me of honor, I aspired for the highest

That I belong to the order of faith in my lineage

هَذا أَبي حين يُعزى سيِّدٌ لأبٍ

هَيهات ما لِلوَرى يا دَهرُ مثل أَبي

This is my father when a master is consoled for a father

Alas! The world, o fate, has no one like my father

قُطبٌ عليه رَحى العَلياء دائِرَةٌ

وَهَل تَدورُ الرَحى الّا عَلى القُطُبِ

A pole around whom the millstone of the eminent rotates

Does the millstone rotate except around a pole?

كاللَيثِ والغَيثِ في عَزمٍ وفي كَرَمٍ

وَالزَهرِ والدَهرِ في بِشر وفي غَضَبِ

Like a lion and rain in determination and in generosity

And flowers and time in cheer and anger

مُملَّكٌ تَهَبُ الآلافَ راحتُه

فَكَم أَغاثَت بجَدواها من التَعَبِ

A ruler whom thousands repose comfortably in his care

So how much distress has his struggle relieved?

أَضحَت به الهِندُ للأَلبابِ سالبةً

كأَنَّها هِندُ ذاتُ الدلِّ والشَنَبِ

By him India seemed to the wise

Like an India with sagacity and glory

مولىً إِذا حَلَّ مُحتاجٌ بساحتِه

أَغناهُ نائلهُ عَن وابِلٍ سَرِبِ

A master - if one in need resides in his abode

He enriches and fulfils him without a pouring rain

تَرى مَدى الدَهر من أفضاله عجباً

فَنَحنُ كُلَّ شهورِ الدَهر في رَجَبِ

You see the extent of time in wonders from his virtues

While we are in all the months of time in spring

رَقى مِن الذِروةالعَلياءِ شامخَها

وحلَّ مِن هاشِمٍ في أَرفَع الرُتَبِ

He ascended the highest pinnacle

And settled from Hashim at the highest rank

حامي الحَقيقةِ مِن قَومٍ نوالهُمُ

يَسعى الى مُعتقيه سَعي مُكتسِبِ

Defender of the truth from a people whose habit

Is to strive to their protector with earning effort

الباسمُ الثَغرِ والأَبصارُ خاشعةٌ

والحَرب تُعولُ والفُرسانُ بالحَرَبِ

The smiling lip and the downcast eyes

And war howls and the horsemen with war

يَقومُ في حَومة الهَيجاءِ مُنفرداً

يَومَ الكِفاح مَقام العَسكر اللَجِبِ

He stands alone in the fury of battle

On the day of struggle, in the position of the solid battalion

لَو قابَلته أُسودُ الغاب مُشبلةً

لأَدبرَت نادِماتٍ كَيفَ لم تَغِبِ

If lionesses of the forest met him baring fangs

They would turn away regretting they had not fled

يَفنى المَقالُ وَلا تَفنى مدائحهُ

نظماً ونثراً من الأَشعار والخُطَبِ

Poetry falls short, his praises do not fade

In prose or verse, of poems and sermons

لا زالَ غَوثاً لِمَلهوفٍ ومُعتَصماً

لخائِفٍ وَنجاةَ الهالِكِ العَطِبِ

He remains a succor to the anguished, and a protection

For the frightened, and safety for the stricken

ما رَنَّحت نَسماتُ الريح غصنَ رُبىً

وأومضَ البَرقُ مُجتازاً على الكُثُبِ

The breezes of the wind have not fluttered a branch of basil

And the lightning did not flash over the sand dunes