1. كما شئتَ مُر فالدهرُ مُمَتَثِلٌ أمرا

    تَسوقُ ظِباه خلفَكَ الفتحَ والنَّصرا

    Command as you wish, for time obeys your orders.

    Its blades drive conquest and victory behind you.

  2. رأتكَ المَعالي كُفأها حين أقبلت

    وما طلبت إلا القَبول لها مهرا

    High glory saw in you her equal when you came,

    and asked only for acceptance as her dowry.

  3. إلى الفارسِ المِغوارِ ألقت زِمامَها

    سَلوا الطَّعنةَ النجلاءَ والفَتكَةَ البكرا

    To the valiant knight she cast her reins.

    Ask the gaping spear-thrust and the first deadly strike.

  4. فَسرَت بها كالنُّور في غَسقِ الدُّجى

    وكنتَ منَ الإسراعِ كالطَّيفِ في المَسرى

    So you traveled with her like light through night's deep darkness,

    and in your speed were like a phantom on its nightly passage.

  5. وأبقيتَ مِن مجدٍ تليدٍ أرومةً

    وأحييتَ من دينٍ به عَمَّتِ البُشرى

    And you preserved a root of ancestral glory,

    and revived a faith through which glad tidings spread everywhere.

  6. وما وطِئت أقدامُك الرَّبعَ ما حِلاً

    من اليُمنِ إلا أعشَبَ الرَّوضُ واخضَّرا

    Your feet never trod a barren dwelling-place

    but, through blessing, the garden sprouted grass and turned green.

  7. حَجَجنا لَعَمري مرتين فريضةٌ

    ورُؤيةُ هذي الطلعةِ الحجَّةُ الأخرى

    By my life, we made pilgrimage twice: the prescribed duty,

    and seeing this countenance was the other pilgrimage.

  8. مَليكٌ سَرَت في العالَمينَ خِصالُه

    بِذكرِ فتيقِ المِسكِ فاوَحَهُ نَشَرا

    A king whose virtues traveled through the worlds,

    with a renown whose fragrance rivaled unsealed musk.

  9. رَسَت منه للأنظارِ هضبةُ سُؤددٍ

    على جانِبيها زَهرُ أخلاقِه افتَرَّا

    From him a hill of nobility stood firm before all eyes,

    on whose sides the flowers of his character opened.

  10. مَليكٌ إذا أبصرتَه يومَ جُودِه

    تَرى الطَّودَ يُدعى من سمَاحَتهِ بَحرا

    A king whom, when you see him on a day of giving,

    you see as a mountain called a sea for its generosity.

  11. وما الضَّيغمُ الجاثي تَوقَّد نَظرةً

    بأروعَ منه وهو مُبتسِمٌ ثَغرا

    No crouching lion, its gaze aflame,

    is more awe-inspiring than he when his mouth smiles.

  12. جرى أل سَعودٍ حيثُ جرَّت رِداءَها ال

    مَعالي وحيثُ الطَّفلُ يُتعِدُ الشِّعرى

    The House of Saud went where she trailed her robe—

    greatness—and where the child challenges Sirius.

  13. وحيثُ النَّدى والجودُ أدنى صِفاتِهم

    وحيثُ يَفِرُّ الموتُ من بَأسِهِم ذُعرا

    And where liberality and generosity are their least qualities,

    and where death flees their might in terror.

  14. إذا درجت فِتيانُهم وكُهولُهم

    تُريكَ بُدورَ الأرضَ والأنجمَ الزُّهرا

    When their young men and their mature men walk,

    they show you earth's full moons and radiant stars.

  15. أَفَخرَ مُلوكِ الأرضِ لا زِلتَ فَخرَهُم

    ويَكفيهِمُ أن لا تَزال لهم فَخرا

    O most glorious of earth's kings, may you ever be their pride;

    it is enough for them that you remain their pride.

  16. أعدتَ زمانَ الراشدينَ عدالةً

    وأمناً وإحياءً لشِرعَتِنا الغَرَّا

    You restored the age of the Rightly Guided in justice,

    in safety, and in reviving our radiant sacred law.

  17. وفتَّحتَ في نورِ الشَّريعةِ أعيُناً

    وأظلمتَ من أعدائها المُقَلَ الحَمرا

    And you opened eyes in the light of sacred law,

    and darkened the red eyes of its enemies.

  18. أنرتَ مَن الإسلامِ سُدفَة لَيلِه

    ولولاكَ للإسلام ما أبصَر الفَجرا

    You illuminated the darkness of Islam's night,

    and but for you Islam would not have seen the dawn.

  19. أتَذكُرُ يا عبدَ العزيزِ ولم تَكُن

    بِناسٍ وليلُ الجَهلِ قد سَدلَ السِّترا

    Do you remember, O Abd al-Aziz—and you are not

    one to forget—when ignorance's night had drawn its curtain?

  20. وإذا عمَّتِ الفَوضى وعمَّ بَلاؤُها

    وعاثَ فساداً أهلُها وارتَضَوا كُفرا

    And when chaos spread and its affliction spread,

    and its people wrought corruption and accepted unbelief;

  21. وقد نَفقَت سوقُ الفُجورِ وشُيِّدَت

    مَعالِمُه واستَعذَبوا طَعمَه المُرَّا

    when the market of wickedness flourished and there were erected

    its landmarks, and they found its bitter taste sweet;

  22. ومُدَّت يدُ العُدوانِ تَفتِكُ جُهدَها

    وسالت دُموعُ الدِّينِ من مُقلةٍ غَبرى

    when aggression's hand stretched out, killing with all its might,

    and faith's tears flowed from a dust-clouded eye;

  23. وماتت عنِ الإسلامِ والدِّينِ غيرةٌ

    وَطمَّ عليه السَّيلُ من بِدَع كُبرى

    when zeal for Islam and religion died,

    and a flood of great innovations overwhelmed it—

  24. فَرَدَّدَ فيكَ الدِّينُ طَرفَ رَجائهِ

    ونادى الرَّجا سِراً فَلبيَّتَه جَهرا

    then faith turned its hopeful gaze repeatedly toward you,

    and hope called secretly, and you answered it openly.

  25. وثارَ منَ الآسادِ ثائرُ شِبلِها

    وقد أَبرزَ النَّابَ المُحَدَّدَ والظُّفرا

    And from among the lions their cub sprang in revolt,

    having bared its sharpened fang and claw.

  26. وما كنتَ بالمَوفورِ قَبلُ ذَخيرةً

    ولكنَّ عونَ اللهِ أعظِم بهِ ذُخرا

    You had not previously possessed abundant stores,

    but God's help—what a mighty reserve it is!

  27. وما قلَّ مِن باللَّهِ كانَ اعتِصامُه

    وما كثُرَ المَوفورُ بالخَيرِ مُغتَرَّا

    Never was he scant in strength whose refuge was in God,

    nor great the well-provisioned man deluded by prosperity.

  28. حرارةُ إيمانٍ وصدقُ عَويمةٍ

    وعِزَّةُ نفسٍ لا تُباعُ ولا تُشرى

    The ardor of faith and the sincerity of resolve,

    and a pride of soul neither sold nor bought.

  29. فَسِرتَ بِجيشِ الأربعينَ ولم تَكُن

    لِتَرهَبَ من أعدائِك العَدَدَ الكَثرا

    So you marched with the army of forty, and you were not

    one to fear your enemies' great numbers.

  30. نعم كانَ جيشُ الأربعينَ وقد طَما

    وفاضَ على وجهِ الثَّرى عَسكَراً مُجرا

    Yes, it was the army of forty, yet it swelled,

    and flooded the face of the earth, a vast host.

  31. فسرت بهم أن يصبروا في نفوسهم

    فعن نصر دين الله لن يجدوا صبرا

    You led them on, that they might be steadfast in themselves,

    for they could not bear to hold back from aiding God's faith.

  32. ضَرَبتَ بِهم قلبَ الفَلاةِ ورُبَّما

    شَقَقتَ بِهِم عن بَطنِ أفيحَ مُغبَرَّا

    With them you struck into the desert's heart, and many a time

    with them you cleft the belly of a broad, dust-covered expanse.

  33. تَرى صافِناتِ الخَيلِ تَختالُ تَحتَهُم

    كأنَّ الجِيادَ الصَّافناتِ بِهم سَكرى

    You see the poised steeds strut beneath them,

    as though those poised steeds were drunk with their riders.

  34. فأدهمُ أمَّا الليلُ فهو إهابُهُ

    ويُسفِرُ عن صُبحٍ منَ النَّصرِ إن كَرَّا

    And a black steed—as for night, it is its hide,

    yet it unveils a dawn of victory whenever it charges.

  35. وأشقرُ في لَونِ الضُّحَى غيرَ أنَّه

    يَجُرُّ على الأعداءِ ليلَ الرَّدى جَرَّا

    And a chestnut steed, the color of morning, except that it

    drags the night of death upon the enemy.

  36. بِقَفر ولكن بالقَنا شَجَراً بَدا

    كَرَوضٍ جَرى ماءُ الحَديدِ به نَهرا

    A wilderness, yet with spears it appeared a grove,

    like a garden through which the water of iron flowed as a river.

  37. وأوقَد فحمَ اللَّيلِ جمرُ كَواكب

    إلى أن رَمادُ الصُّبحِ من فَوقِها ذُرَّا

    And the embers of stars kindled the charcoal of night,

    until the ashes of dawn were scattered over them.

  38. ومُدَّ لِسانُ الصُّبحِ يَلمَسُ رُقعَةَ ال

    وُجودِ وقد سالَ الدُّجى فوقَها حِبرا

    And dawn's tongue stretched out to touch the expanse of

    existence, over which darkness had flowed like ink.

  39. فأوقدتَ نارَ السَّيفِ في حَطَبِ العِدى

    وأدرَيتَهُم ما كان من حَقِّه يُدرى

    Then you kindled the sword's fire in the firewood of your foes,

    and taught them what rightly should be known.

  40. ركوعٌ سجودٌ فيهمُ السُّمرُ والظبى

    وقد جعلت مِحرَابَها الصَّدرَ والنَّحرا

    The brown lances and blades bowed and prostrated among them,

    having made the breast and throat their prayer niche.

  41. تَخُطُّ سطوراً في صَحائفِ صَدرِهم

    ببيضٍ ومِن سُمرِ القنا تُعجِمُ السَّطرا

    They write lines on the pages of their breasts,

    with bright swords, and with brown lances they dot the script.

  42. لهُ اللهُ في يومٍ عبوسٍ ولَيلةٍ

    وكم مثلُها مرَّت وكم مثلُه مَرَّا

    God aid him on a grim day and a night!

    How many such nights passed, and how many such days!

  43. بكيريَّة واليومُ في القوم يَومُها

    يُطالِبُ نسرُ الموتِ في هامِهِم وَكرا

    Bukayriyya—and among the people that day was hers—

    the vulture of death demanded a nest in their skulls.

  44. ويومُ سديرٍ والرِّياضِ ومَحملٍ

    ويومُ الحَسا والوشمِ والشَّمر والشَّفر

    And the day of Sudayr, Riyadh, and Mahmal,

    and the day of al-Hasa, al-Washm, al-Shamr, and al-Shafr,

  45. ويوم عسيرٍ والقَصيمِ وحائلٍ

    وبالجوفِ والسرحانِ قد حُصِروا حَصرا

    and the day of Asir, al-Qasim, and Ha'il;

    and at al-Jawf and al-Sirhan they were tightly besieged.

  46. فأفنيتَهم قَتلاً وأسراً وذِلَّةً

    وكانَ جزاءُ الظَّالمِ القتلَ والأسرَا

    You annihilated them through killing, captivity, and humiliation,

    and the wrongdoer's recompense was death and captivity.

  47. ولم تنسَ حقَّ الحِلمِ حين أسَرتَهُم

    ومُقلتُهم عَبرى وأنفاسُهم حَرَّى

    Yet you did not forget the claim of forbearance when you captured them,

    their eyes tearful and their breaths burning.

  48. أسَرتَهُمُ والصَّفحُ عنهمُ مُنتَوىً

    فما هُم منَ الأسرىَ وإن هُم منَ الأسرى

    You captured them, intending to pardon them,

    so they were not captives, though they were captives.

  49. ظَفِرتَ بأربابِ الحَفائظِ بَعدَما

    عفوتَ وبعدَ العفوِ أولَيتَهُم بِرَّا

    You prevailed over those harboring rancor after

    you had pardoned them and, after pardon, bestowed kindness upon them.

  50. فخانوا وعادوا بالِخَسارِ تِجارَةً

    وحاقَ بِهم مكرٌ وقد أمِنوا المَكرا

    But they betrayed you and came back with a losing bargain,

    and plotting engulfed them, though they had felt safe from it.

  51. لقد نَكَثوا بالعهدِ من خُبثِ نَفسِهم

    ألاَ إنَّ خُبثَ النفسِ داؤُه لن يَبرا

    They broke the covenant through their souls' wickedness;

    indeed, the sickness of a wicked soul will never heal.

  52. وأعضلَ مِن مرضى القُلوبِ نِفاُُهم

    فكانَ الجزاءُ الحَقُّ أن يَسكُنوا القَبرا

    The hypocrisy of those with diseased hearts became incurable,

    so the just recompense was that they should inhabit the grave.

  53. بأطرافِ نجدٍ والقَبائلِ كلِّها

    وفَتحُ حجازٍ كانتِ الآيةَ الكُبرى

    At the edges of Najd and among all the tribes,

    and the conquest of the Hijaz was the greatest sign.

  54. تَقاسَمتَها بعدَ اللِّقاءِ غَنيمةٌ

    فمِن مُجتَنٍ نَصراً ومِن مُجتَنٍ كَسرا

    You divided it as spoils after the encounter:

    one reaping victory and another reaping defeat.

  55. فمن جُثتِ القتلى أسَرتَهم كَما

    أدَرتَ عليهم من كؤوسِ الرَّدَى خَمرا

    From the bodies of the slain you took them captive, just as

    you passed among them wine from the cups of death.

  56. كأنَّ رِكاباً فُتِّحت في جُفونِهم

    لِتُطفئَ ما بالصَّدرِ يَلتهبُ الصَّدرا

    As though mounts had been opened in their eyelids,

    to quench what blazes within the breast.

  57. وفُزتَ بِنَصرٍ حين لم يَنجُ منهمُ

    سوى مَن على الساقَين من عُمرٍ فَرَّا

    And you won victory, when none of them escaped

    save those who fled on two legs with what life remained.

  58. وكم بينَ مَن يغزو لِدينِ مُحمَّدٍ

    لِينصرَهُ نصراً وينشُرَه نَشرا

    How great the gulf between one who fights for Muhammad's faith,

    to give it victory and spread it far and wide,

  59. وبين الذي يَغزو ويُجهِدُ نفسَه

    ليُشِبع لذَّاتٍ ويَنعَمَ بالذِّكرى

    and one who fights and exerts himself

    to sate his pleasures and delight in remembrance.

  60. فهذا لَعَمري مَيِّتٌ قبلَ موتِهِ

    وذلك عُمرُ الدَّهرِ أضحى له عُمرا

    For this one, by my life, is dead before his death,

    while for that one, the lifespan of time has become his own.

  61. حياةُ الفتَى إدراكُ سرِّ حياتِهِ

    وما الموتُ إلا جَهلُه ذلكَ السِّرَّا

    A man's life lies in grasping his life's secret,

    and death is only his ignorance of that secret.

  62. إذا لم يقِم ملكٌ شَعائرَ دينِهِ

    وأعوزَهُ للدِّينِ نَشرٌ فلا خَيرا

    If a king does not uphold the rites of his faith,

    and cannot spread that faith, there is no good in him.

  63. فدُم لِلعِدى تُرديهمُ منكَ نظرةٌ

    وتَسقيهمُ سُمًّا وتُصليهمُ جَمرا

    So endure against your foes: a glance from you lays them low,

    giving them poison to drink and scorching them with embers.

  64. ولا تُغمِدِ السيفَ الطَّويلَ نِجادهُ

    فليسَ سِواهُ مُرهَمٌ يكشفُ الضُّرَّا

    And do not sheathe the sword whose baldric is long,

    for no salve but it can dispel harm.

  65. وأبلجَ وضَّاحَ المُحَيَّا إذا بَدا

    دُجى مُدلَهمَّاتِ الخُطوب يَلُح فَجرا

    And remain radiant, bright of countenance—when there appears

    the darkness of dire calamities, shine forth as dawn.

  66. وأمنٌ يُجيرُ الشاةَ من خُبثِ أطلسٍ

    ومن خيسٍ لَيثٍ يُحِمُ الظبيةَ الوَعَّر

    And a safety that shelters the ewe from a gray wolf's malice,

    and guards the gazelle in rugged country from a lion's thicket.

  67. بدأتَ طريراً دونَ عشرينَ حِجَّة

    وأتمَمتَ لِلخمسينَ أعمالَك الكُبرى

    You began, a fresh-faced youth, not yet twenty years old,

    and by fifty completed your great deeds.

  68. وما زالَ منكَ الدِّينُ يرجو امتدادَهُ

    فلا زلتَ يا عبدَ العزيزِ له ذُخرا

    And faith still hopes for its expansion through you,

    so may you ever remain, O Abd al-Aziz, its reserve.

  69. حباكَ إلهُ العرشِ أشرَفَ رُتبَةٍ

    وعَظَّمَ منكَ اللهُ جاهَكَ والقَدرا

    The God of the Throne granted you the noblest rank,

    and God magnified your standing and your worth.

  70. وأولاكَ مُلكاً في جوارِ نَبيِّهِ

    وألهمَكَ التَّوفيقَ والعدلَ والبرَّا

    He bestowed upon you a kingdom beside His Prophet,

    and inspired you with success, justice, and goodness.

  71. تَبوَّأتَه عرشَ العُروشِ وكيفَ لا

    ومن خيرِ خلقِ اللهِ قد جاوَرَ القَبرا

    You ascended it, the throne of thrones—and why not,

    when it has stood beside the grave of the best of God's creation?

  72. بِه مِن جوارٍ زِد سُروراً وغِبطَةً

    فساكِنُه خيرُ الورى بكَ قد سُرَّا

    Through this proximity, grow in joy and gladness,

    for its dweller, the best of mankind, was gladdened by you.

  73. وكيف وقد أحيَيتَ سُنَّتَهُ وقد

    أقَمتَ حُدوداً من شَريعتِه الغَرَّا

    And how could he not, when you have revived his practice and

    established ordinances from his radiant law?

  74. وقُمتَ بما أوصَى به اللهُ خَلقَهُ

    وجئتَ إلى الأوثانِ أفنَيتَها كَسرا

    And fulfilled what God enjoined upon His creation,

    and approached the idols, destroying them by smashing them.

  75. ولولاكَ يا مَن وطَّدَ الأَمنَ سَيفُه

    لَمَا كنتُ في أرضٍ وأصبحتُ في أُخرى

    Were it not for you, O you whose sword secured peace,

    I could not have been in one land and awakened in another.

  76. ولِدتَ بِشَهِر الحجِّ مَغزى إشارةٍ

    إليكَ بتَظيم فعظمتَهُ شَهرا

    You were born in the pilgrimage month: a sign's meaning

    pointed to your exaltation, and you exalted that month.

  77. فَدُم لِحِمى الإسلامِ تَحمي لِواءَهُ

    ودُم لِبني الإسلامِ إن تَستَنِد ظَهرا

    So endure for Islam's sanctuary, protecting its banner,

    and endure as a back on which the sons of Islam may lean.

  78. ودُم رابضاً حولَ العرَينِ ولا تَنَم

    فما زالتِ الأعداءُ تَرمُقُه شَزرا

    And remain crouched around the lion's den; do not sleep,

    for the enemies still eye it askance.

  79. ومِن شاعرٍ لم يعرفِ المَدحَ شِعرُهُ

    فَخُذهَا على استِحيائها غادةً بِكرا

    And from a poet whose verse has never known praise,

    take it, bashful as it is, a virgin maiden.

  80. وعِزَّة نفسٍ لا تُبيحُ لِشاعرٍ

    مَديحاً ولكن كانَ منِّي الثَّنا شُكرا

    And a pride of soul that permits no poet

    panegyric—yet from me, the praise was thanks.

  81. فما هي إلا سردُ أعمالِكَ التي

    أضاءَت فَغَطَّى نورُها البَرَّ والبَحرا

    For it is nothing but a recounting of your deeds, which

    shone until their light covered land and sea.

  82. وعفوا أيا مولايَ إن كنتُ عاجزاً

    على حصرِ ما الأرقامُ أعجزَها حَصرا

    And pardon me, O my lord, if I have been unable

    to number what numbers themselves could not encompass.

  83. فما أنتَ إلا الشمسُ يَرتَدُّ طَرفُنا

    كليلاً إذا رُمنا لِنُصِرَها قَسرا

    For you are only the sun: our gaze turns back

    weary whenever we try to look upon it by force.

  84. وكيف يعُدُّ الشعرُ منكَ محاسِناً

    ولو أنني أفنيتُ في مدحِكَ الشِّعرا

    How can verse enumerate your virtues,

    even if I were to exhaust all poetry in your praise?

  85. فدونَكَها فهي انتَحَتكَ على النَّوى

    كَكُفءٍ وقد أبدى الحياءُ لها عُذرا

    So take it: it has sought you despite the distance,

    as a worthy match, while modesty has offered it an excuse.

  86. منَ المغربِ الأقصى أتتكَ تَحِية

    يُبَلِّغُها عن أهلِه شاعرُ الحَمرا

    From the farthest Maghreb a greeting came to you,

    borne on its people's behalf by the Poet of al-Hamra.