أضَاءَتْ بِكَ الدُّنْيَا وَغَابَ ظَلاَمُهَا

أضَاءَتْ بِكَ الدُّنْيَا وَغَابَ ظَلاَمُهَا

فَأظْهَرَتِ البُشْرَى وَزَادَ ابْتِسَامُهَا

فَأظْهَرَتِ البُشْرَى وَزَادَ ابْتِسَامُهَا

Through you the world grew radiant, and its darkness vanished.

The world shone through you, and its darkness vanished.

It displayed glad tidings, and its smile broadened.

So it displayed glad tidings, and its smile grew.

وَفَاخرت الأرْضُ السَّمَاءَ بأنْعُمٍ

وَفَاخرت الأرْضُ السَّمَاءَ بأنْعُمٍ

حَمَتْهَا أيَادِيكَ المُرَجَّى دَوَامُهَا

حَمَتْهَا أيَادِيكَ المُرَجَّى دَوَامُهَا

The earth vied in glory with heaven, boasting blessings

And earth boasted to heaven of blessings,

safeguarded by your hands—whose endurance is hoped for.

guarded by your beneficent hands, whose endurance is hoped for.

فَلاَ الشَّمْسُ أبْهَى من صَنَائِعكَ التي

فَلاَ الشَّمْسُ أبْهَى من صَنَائِعكَ التي

عَنِ المسكِ أنْبَتْ حِينَ فُضَّ ختَامُها

عَنِ المسكِ أنْبَتْ حِينَ فُضَّ ختَامُها

Neither is the sun more splendid than those deeds of yours

For the sun is no brighter than your benefactions, which

that surpassed musk in bloom when its seal was broken.

spoke of musk when their seal was broken.

وَلاَ الغيثُ أنْدَى من مَوَاهبكَ الَّتِي

وَلاَ الغيثُ أنْدَى من مَوَاهبكَ الَّتِي

يَجُودُ عَلَيْنَا صَوْبُهَا وَرَكَامُهَا

يَجُودُ عَلَيْنَا صَوْبُهَا وَرَكَامُهَا

Nor is the raincloud more generous than those gifts of yours

Nor is rain more bountiful than your gifts, whose

whose downpour and massed clouds lavish bounty upon us.

downpour and massed clouds pour generously upon us.

بِجُودِكَ آفَاقُ البِلاَدِ خَصيبةٌ

بِجُودِكَ آفَاقُ البِلاَدِ خَصيبةٌ

وَهَلْ تَمْحَلُ الدُّنْيَا وَأنتَ غَمَامُهَا

وَهَلْ تَمْحَلُ الدُّنْيَا وَأنتَ غَمَامُهَا

Through your generosity the horizons of the land are fertile;

Through your generosity, the reaches of the lands are fertile.

how could the world suffer drought when you are its raincloud?

And can the world grow barren while you are its rain cloud?

إذاً غِبتَ عَنْ أرْضٍ وَيَمَّمْتَ غَيْرَهَا

إذاً غِبتَ عَنْ أرْضٍ وَيَمَّمْتَ غَيْرَهَا

فَقَدْ غَابَ عَنْهَا سَعْدُهَا وَقَوامُهَا

فَقَدْ غَابَ عَنْهَا سَعْدُهَا وَقَوامُهَا

So if you are absent from one land and turn toward another,

If you leave a land and turn toward another,

its good fortune and sustaining pillar have indeed departed.

then its good fortune and its mainstay have indeed left it.

حويتَ فخاراً لَمْ ينله مشمر

حويتَ فخاراً لَمْ ينله مشمر

بسُحْبِ هبَاتٍ لاَ يُفَك انسجامُهَا

بسُحْبِ هبَاتٍ لاَ يُفَك انسجامُهَا

You have gathered glory no striving man has attained,

You attained a glory no zealous striver has won,

through clouds of gifts whose flowing never breaks.

through clouds of gifts whose downpour never ceases.

وَنِلْتَ بِحُسْنِ الرَّأيِ مَا لاَ يَنَالُهُ

وَنِلْتَ بِحُسْنِ الرَّأيِ مَا لاَ يَنَالُهُ

سِوَاكَ بِبِيضِ الهِنْدِ خيفَ انْفصَامُهَا

سِوَاكَ بِبِيضِ الهِنْدِ خيفَ انْفصَامُهَا

Through sound judgment you attained what none but you could gain

And through sound judgment you gained what cannot be gained

with Indian blades, though their shattering was feared.

by anyone else with bright Indian blades whose breaking is feared.

لَقَد شَاءَ ربّ النَّاسِ تفصيلَ قَدْرِهِمْ

لَقَد شَاءَ ربّ النَّاسِ تفصيلَ قَدْرِهِمْ

بِأنَّكَ فِي بَيْتِ المَعَالِي إمَامُهَا

بِأنَّكَ فِي بَيْتِ المَعَالِي إمَامُهَا

The Lord of mankind willed their stations to be set apart,

The Lord of mankind indeed willed to distinguish their ranks,

making you the leader in the house of lofty honors.

with you as their leader in the house of high honors.

أرَى حَوْزَةَ الإسْلاَمِ لما وَلِيتَهَا

أرَى حَوْزَةَ الإسْلاَمِ لما وَلِيتَهَا

أهِينَ مُنَاوِيهَا وَعَزَّ كِرَامُهَا

أهِينَ مُنَاوِيهَا وَعَزَّ كِرَامُهَا

When you assumed charge of Islam’s domain, I saw

I see that, since you took charge of Islam's realm,

its adversaries humbled and its noble ones exalted.

its foe was humbled, and its noble ones rose in honor.

حَفِظْتَ بِلاَدَ الغَرْبِ بالهمّةِ الَّتِي

حَفِظْتَ بِلاَدَ الغَرْبِ بالهمّةِ الَّتِي

تُصَانُ نَوَاصِيَها وَتُحْمَى خيَامُهَا

تُصَانُ نَوَاصِيَها وَتُحْمَى خيَامُهَا

You guarded the lands of the West with that resolve by which

You safeguarded the lands of the West with the resolve

their forelocks are kept safe and their tents protected.

by which their forelocks are guarded and their tents protected.

وَقَلَّدْتَهَا مِنْ مَشْرِقِ الفَضْلِ نِعْمَةً

وَقَلَّدْتَهَا مِنْ مَشْرِقِ الفَضْلِ نِعْمَةً

أنَارَتْ بِهَا أرْجَاؤُهَا وَخِيَامُهَا

أنَارَتْ بِهَا أرْجَاؤُهَا وَخِيَامُهَا

You garlanded them, from excellence’s sunrise, with a blessing

And from the sunrise of bounty you adorned it with a blessing,

that illuminated their reaches and their tents.

through which its reaches and its tents shone.

وقيّدت فِيهَا العَدْلَ فضلاً فَأصْبحتْ

وقيّدت فِيهَا العَدْلَ فضلاً فَأصْبحتْ

بِهَا العِيرُ تَرْعَى وَالأسودُ إمَامُهَا

بِهَا العِيرُ تَرْعَى وَالأسودُ إمَامُهَا

Through grace you established justice firmly there, until

And you bound justice fast within it as a boon, so it became

the caravan-camels grazed with lions standing before them.

a place where wild asses graze, with lions at their head.

فَأنْتَ الإمَامُ اللَّيْثُ في مَعْرَكِ الوَغَى

فَأنْتَ الإمَامُ اللَّيْثُ في مَعْرَكِ الوَغَى

إذَا شَابَتِ الهيجا وَشَبَّ ضرَامهَا

إذَا شَابَتِ الهيجا وَشَبَّ ضرَامهَا

For you are the Imam, the lion amid war’s melee,

For you are the leader, the lion on the battlefield of war,

when battle turns gray and its blaze flares young.

when battle turns gray-haired and its blaze flares up.

تَصُولُ بِبِيضٍ للمَنَايَا قَرِيبَة

تَصُولُ بِبِيضٍ للمَنَايَا قَرِيبَة

وَتَرْمِي بِقوسٍ لَيْسَ تُخْطِي سهامها

وَتَرْمِي بِقوسٍ لَيْسَ تُخْطِي سهامها

You charge with white blades, intimate with death,

You charge with gleaming blades that bring death close,

and shoot with a bow whose arrows never miss.

and shoot with a bow whose arrows never miss.

وَتنهضُ للإبطَال تُفْنِي عَدِيدَهَا

وَتنهضُ للإبطَال تُفْنِي عَدِيدَهَا

وَلَوْ أصْبَحَتْ كَالنَّمِل عَدَّا ضِغامُها

وَلَوْ أصْبَحَتْ كَالنَّمِل عَدَّا ضِغامُها

You rise to rout the foe, annihilating its host,

And you rise to vanquish, annihilating their numbers,

even if its lion-warriors were as numberless as ants.

even if their lions became like ants in number.

خُصِصْتَ بِنصرْ وَانْتَصَرْتَ بعِزَّةٍ

خُصِصْتَ بِنصرْ وَانْتَصَرْتَ بعِزَّةٍ

تُهَزّ عَوَالِيهَا وَيُنْضَى حسامهَا

تُهَزّ عَوَالِيهَا وَيُنْضَى حسامهَا

You were singled out for victory and triumphed through a might

You were favored with victory and triumphed with a might

whose lofty lances are shaken and whose sword is drawn.

whose lofty spears are brandished and whose keen sword is drawn.

عَلَى يدكِ البَيْضَاءِ أيّ يَرَاعَةٍ

عَلَى يدكِ البَيْضَاءِ أيّ يَرَاعَةٍ

يُرَاعَى مُعَادِيهَا وَيُرْعَى ذِمَامُهَا

يُرَاعَى مُعَادِيهَا وَيُرْعَى ذِمَامُهَا

In your beneficent hand—what a pen!

In your white hand, what a reed pen—

Its enemies are terrified, while it guards its sacred honor.

its foe is kept in view, and its covenant upheld;

مُسعَوَّدَةٍ سحرَ البيَانِ فَبَيْنَمَا

مُسعَوَّدَةٍ سحرَ البيَانِ فَبَيْنَمَا

تَرُوقُ مَعَانِيهَا يَرُوعُ كَلاَمُهَا

تَرُوقُ مَعَانِيهَا يَرُوعُ كَلاَمُهَا

Blessed with eloquence’s magic: even while

inscribing the magic of eloquence: even as

its meanings delight, its words strike terror.

its meanings delight, its words strike terror.

فَرَائِدُ لا تَرْضَى ابن عبَّاد عَبْدَهَا

فَرَائِدُ لا تَرْضَى ابن عبَّاد عَبْدَهَا

وَيُزْرِي بنظم ابن الخطيب نِظَامُهَا

وَيُزْرِي بنظم ابن الخطيب نِظَامُهَا

Rare gems that would not accept Ibn ʿAbbād even as their servant;

Peerless pearls would not accept Ibn Abbad as their slave;

their ordering makes Ibn al-Khaṭīb’s verse seem slight.

and their arrangement puts Ibn al-Khatib's verse to shame.

يَمِيناً أمِيرَ المُؤْمِنِينَ بما حَوَتْ

يَمِيناً أمِيرَ المُؤْمِنِينَ بما حَوَتْ

أبَاطحُ أرْضِ المُصْطَفَى وَأكَامُهَا

أبَاطحُ أرْضِ المُصْطَفَى وَأكَامُهَا

I swear, Commander of the Faithful, by all that

I swear, Commander of the Faithful, by what is held

the valley-flats and hills of the Chosen One’s land contain:

in the broad valleys and hills of al-Mustafa's land:

لَقَدْ سَرَّنِي أنَّ الخِلاَفَةَ فِيكُمُ

لَقَدْ سَرَّنِي أنَّ الخِلاَفَةَ فِيكُمُ

مُخَيِّمَةٌ مَا أنْ يُخَافُ انفصَامهَا

مُخَيِّمَةٌ مَا أنْ يُخَافُ انفصَامهَا

it has delighted me that the Caliphate is among you,

It has indeed delighted me that the caliphate among you

encamped secure, with no fear that its bonds will break.

has pitched its tent, with no fear of its rupture.

جَمَعْتُمْ بَنِي الفَارُوق مُفْتَرِقَ العُلَى

جَمَعْتُمْ بَنِي الفَارُوق مُفْتَرِقَ العُلَى

فَكُنْتُمْ عُقُودَ الدُّرِّ زَانَ انْتِظَامُهَا

فَكُنْتُمْ عُقُودَ الدُّرِّ زَانَ انْتِظَامُهَا

It gathered the sons of al-Fārūq at glory’s branching ways;

You, sons of al-Faruq, gathered the scattered heights of honor,

you became strings of pearls made lovely by their ordering.

and so became necklaces of pearls, beautified by their ordering.

فَلاَ زِلْتَ تَبْقَى للعُلَى مَا تَأوَّدَتْ

فَلاَ زِلْتَ تَبْقَى للعُلَى مَا تَأوَّدَتْ

غُصُونٌ وَقَدْ غَنَّى عَلَيْهَا حَمَامُهَا

غُصُونٌ وَقَدْ غَنَّى عَلَيْهَا حَمَامُهَا

May you remain for glory as long as branches sway

So may you live on for glory as long as there sway

and their doves sing upon them.

branches, with their doves singing upon them.