1. أَبَدرٌ بَدا أَم سَنا باهِرٌ

    وَعِطرٌ سَرى أَم ثَنى عاطِرُ

    Has a full moon appeared, or a dazzling radiance?

    And has perfume wafted, or fragrant praise?

  2. أَم اِنبَلَجَت غُرَّةَ العيدِ حَتّى

    تَزاهى بِها وَجهُهُ السافِرُ

    Or has the feast's radiant brow dawned, so that

    Its unveiled face has shone proudly with it?

  3. وَفَتقٌ فيهِ نَوافِجُ مَدحٍ

    أَريجُ العَطايا بِهِ ذافِرُ

    And praise's musk-pods have burst open within it,

    With the heady fragrance of gifts spreading through it.

  4. فَاِنعَم بِهِ عيدُ يُمنٍ جَلا

    هُمومَ الوَرى بِشَرِّهِ الظاهِرُ

    Then rejoice in it—a feast of good fortune that has dispelled

    Humankind's cares with its manifest cheer.

  5. وَأَنساهُمُ اليَومَ نُعماهُ ما

    يَعنَتهُ أَمسُهُ الدابِرُ

    And today its blessings made them forget what

    Their bygone yesterday had made them suffer.

  6. فَلا الخَلقَ في دَهرِهِم ضاجِرونَ

    وَلا الدَهرُ في خَلقِهِ جائِرُ

    So people are not weary of their age,

    Nor is Time unjust toward its creatures.

  7. فَهَل غَفَلَ الدَهرُ في العيدِ أَم

    تَغافَلَ عَن أَنَّهُ داهِرُ

    Has Time, then, become heedless at the feast, or

    Pretended to forget that it is a ravager?

  8. مَآثَرَ طابَت بِهِنَّ النُفوسُ

    جَميعاً وَقرَ بِها الناظِرُ

    Noble deeds that have delighted souls,

    All alike, and gladdened the beholder's eye.

  9. تَبَدَّدَ جَيشُ الهُمومَ بِها

    لَدى كِسرَةَ ما لَها جابِرُ

    Through them the army of cares was scattered,

    In a defeat no one could repair.

  10. أَغارَ عَلَيهِ سُرورَ الوَرى

    وَسَعدُ السُعودِ لَهُ ناصِرُ

    Humankind's joy raided it,

    And Sa'd al-Su'ud is its champion.

  11. وَلَيسَ سِوى هِزَّةَ عامِلٍ

    وَلَيسَ سِوى مِنَّةَ ضامِرُ

    And it is but a shake of a lance-shaft,

    And it is but the strength of a lean steed.

  12. فَأَينَ النِكالَ الأَكولَ الَّذي

    توعِدُنا الزَمَنَ الفاجِرُ

    Where, then, is the ravenous scourge with which

    Wicked Time threatens us?

  13. إِذا كانَ يَأتي عَلى سالِفِ

    بِلادِهِ وَيَسطو لَهُ غابِرُ

    If it once swept away the past

    Of its lands, while a bygone age struck on its behalf,

  14. فَقَد صارَ يَأتي عَلَيهِ الَّذي

    جَناهُ وَيَعنو لَهُ حاضِرُ

    Now there comes upon it that which

    It has wrought, and the present bows before it.

  15. أَلا وَالمَعالي وَبيضُ العَوالي

    لَئِن ناصَبَ الحادِثِ القاهِرُ

    Hear me—by lofty honors and gleaming spearpoints:

    If overpowering calamity sets itself against us,

  16. فَلَسنا وَلَسنا بِمَن يَحذَرونَ

    إِذا الذَمرَ مِن حادِثِ حاذِرُ

    We are not—we are not—among those who fear,

    When the brave man is wary of calamity.

  17. وَأَنا وَأَنا لِقَومٍ إِذا

    فَخِرنا فَما في الوَرى فاخِرُ

    And I—yes, I—belong to a people who, when

    We boast, no one among humankind can boast.

  18. نُباهي المَلا كُلَّ يَومٍ بِما

    حَباهُ بِنا السَيِّدُ الطاهِرُ

    We boast before the assembly every day of what

    The pure lord has bestowed upon it through us:

  19. عَوافرِفَ بَحرٍ لَها نائِلُ

    مَعارِفَ عِضَّ لَها آثِرُ

    An ocean's benefactions [probable reading], with someone to receive them;

    A shrewd man's knowledge, with someone to transmit it;

  20. فَضائِلُ بِرٍّ لَها مادِحٌ

    فَواضِلُ حَرٍّ لَها شاكِرُ

    Virtues of goodness, with someone to praise them;

    A noble man's bounties, with someone grateful for them.

  21. تَظَلُّ البَرايا تُنَوِّلُ مِن

    نَداهُ الَّذي مالَهُ آخِرُ

    Humankind keeps receiving from

    His bounty, which has no end.

  22. مَنائِحَهُ غَبطَةَ المُعتَفي

    مَدائِحَهُ المِثلُ السائِرُ

    His grants are the joy of the supplicant;

    His praises are a proverb on every tongue.

  23. فَلَيسَ لِأَفضالِهِ جاحِدٌ

    وَلَيسَ بِنَعمائِهِ كافِرُ

    No one denies his benefactions,

    And no one is ungrateful for his blessings.

  24. مَديدَ النُهى قَولَهُ كامِلٌ

    طَويلَ اللَهى طولُهُ وافِرُ

    Far-reaching in intellect, his speech is perfect;

    Great in gifts, his bounty is abundant.

  25. حَقيقٌ بِتَمديحِ كُلِّ الوَرى

    عَلى أَنَّ كُلِّ ثَنا قاصِرُ

    Worthy of praise from all humankind,

    Though every praise falls short.

  26. فَكَم بِتُّ أَنضى لَهُ خاطِري

    فَما ظَلَّ أَن خانَني الخاطِرُ

    How often I spent the night exhausting my mind for him,

    And it was not long before my mind betrayed me.

  27. وَما زِلتُ عَن وَصفِهِ عاجِزاً

    عَلى أَنَّني المَدرُهُ الشاعِرُ

    And I still remain unable to describe him,

    Though I am the eloquent orator, the poet.

  28. إِلّا دُمتَ بِالخَيرِ مُستَمسِكاً

    يَنارُ بِكَ الوَطَنُ العامِرُ

    Except to say: may you ever hold fast to goodness,

    Through you the flourishing homeland is illumined.

  29. سَعيدُ الجُدودِ جَديدُ السُعودِ

    يَغارُ لَكَ الفَرقَدُ الزاهِرُ

    Happy in your fortunes, ever renewed in good luck,

    The radiant Farqad is jealous on your behalf.