Sol 6.1

  1. لِلَّهِ قَدرُكَ ما أَجَلَّ وَأَشرَفا

    وَمَضاءُ عَزمِكَ أَيَّ حادِثَةٍ كَفا

    God bless your stature—how grand and noble it is!

    And your resolve's keenness—what calamities it has averted!

  2. إِنَّ المُلوكَ جَميعَهُم ما أَمَّلوا

    ساعينَ ما أَحرَزتَهُ مُتَوَقِّفا

    Indeed, all kings together have never hoped,

    while striving, for what you attained while standing still.

  3. وَكَفاكَ أَنَّكَ مُذ حَوَيتَ مَدى العُلى

    خَلَّفتَ كُلّاً دونَهُ مُتَخَلِّفا

    And it suffices you that, since you attained glory's furthest reach,

    you have left everyone below it, lagging behind.

  4. قَد كانَ يُذكَرُ مَن مَضى زَمَناً فَمُذ

    عَفّى العِيانُ عَلى حَديثِهِمُ عَفا

    For a time, those departed were remembered; but once

    what eyes beheld erased their story, it faded away.

  5. كانَت جَهاماً سُحبُهُم فَتَقَطَّعَت

    في الجَوِّ مُذ هَبَّت رِياحُكَ حَرجَفا

    Their clouds were rainless, and they broke apart

    in the sky when your winds blew, fierce and icy.

  6. كَم خُضتَ مَلحَمَةً تَروعُ عُيَينَةً

    وَغَفَرتَ ذَنباً يَستَفِزُّ الأَحنَفا

    How many a battle you plunged into that would terrify Uyaynah,

    and forgave an offense that would provoke al-Ahnaf!

  7. وَأَنَلتَ وَفراً لَو حَواهُ حاتِمٌ

    لَلَوى غَريمَ المَكرُماتِ وَسَوَّفا

    And you bestowed such wealth that, had Hatim possessed it,

    he would have stalled generosity's claimant and put him off.

  8. قُسِمَ الفَخارُ فَلِلوَرى أَكدارُهُ

    وَلِمُصطَفى المُلكِ المُظَفَّرِ ما صَفا

    Glory was divided: humankind received its dregs,

    and kingship's victorious chosen one received what was pure.

  9. مَلِكٌ إِذا ما نابَ خَطبٌ كَفَّهُ

    وَإِذا أَنابَ إِلَيهِ ذو جُرمٍ عَفا

    A king who, whenever trouble strikes, repels it,

    and when an offender turns to him in repentance, pardons.

  10. يَقظانُ إِن أَسدى إِلى باغٍ يَداً

    أَخفى وَإِن أَعدى عَلى باغٍ حَفا

    Ever vigilant: if he extends a hand to a seeker,

    he conceals it; if he gives aid against an aggressor, he shows utmost care.

  11. أَبَداً يُؤَسِّسُ ما بَنى فَفِعالُهُ

    لا تَقتَفي أَثَراً وَلَكِن تُقتَفا

    Always he lays foundations for what he builds; his deeds

    follow no footprints, but are themselves followed.

  12. يَزدادُ جوداً كُلَّما بَخِلَ الحَيا

    وَيَلينُ إِن صَرفُ الزَمانِ تَعَجرَفا

    He grows more generous whenever rain withholds its bounty,

    and grows gentle when the turns of time grow insolent.

  13. تَلقى جَميلَ الصُنعِ مِنهُ خَليقَةً

    كَرَماً وَمِن كُلِّ الأَنامِ تَكَلُّفا

    You find gracious deeds in him an inborn trait,

    born of generosity; in everyone else, an affectation.

  14. عَزمٌ إِذا صَدَعَ النَوائِبَ صَدَّها

    وَنَدىً إِذا أَعطى الرَغائِبَ أَسرَفا

    A resolve that, when it cleaves calamities, repels them,

    and a bounty that, when it grants desired gifts, gives lavishly.

  15. فَطَريدُ هَذا البَأسِ مَبذولُ الحِمى

    أَبَداً وَعافي ذي المَواهِبِ يُعتَفا

    So the fugitive from this might has his sanctuary laid open

    forever; and the seeker of these gifts is himself sought for bounty.

  16. إِنَّ الخِلافَةَ لَم يُرَوَّع سِربُها

    مُنذُ اِنتَضَتكَ فَكُنتَ عَضباً مُرهَفا

    Indeed, the caliphate's flock has not been frightened

    since it unsheathed you, and you proved a keen, finely honed sword.

  17. فَالحَقُّ مُرتَجَعٌ بِسَيفِ إِمامِهِ

    وَالمُلكُ مُمتَنِعٌ بِعِزِّ مَنِ اِصطَفا

    Right is restored by the sword of its imam,

    and kingship is impregnable through the might of the one he chose.

  18. لِتَزِد بِكَ العَلياءُ طَولاً إِنَّها

    عَهِدَت إِلَيكَ وَكُنتَ أَوفى مَن وَفا

    May glory grow taller through you, for it

    entrusted itself to you, and you were the truest of those who kept faith.

  19. أَعطَيتَ لا مُتَكَلِّفاً وَمَنَعتَ لا

    مُتَخَوِّفاً وَحَكَمتَ لا مُتَحَيِّفا

    You gave without affectation, and withheld without

    fear, and you judged without injustice.

  20. فَرَأَتكَ أَندى مَن سَخا وَأَعَزَّ مَن

    أَعدى وَأَعدَلَ مُستَعانٍ أَنصَفا

    Thus it saw you as the most generous giver, and the mightiest of those who

    gave aid, and the fairest helper to render justice.

  21. هِمَمٌ إِذا هِمَمٌ أَذالَت أَهلَها

    بَلَغَت بِصاحِبِها المَحَلَّ الأَشرَفا

    Aspirations that, when other aspirations abase their bearers,

    carry their possessor to the noblest station.

  22. حَكَمَت لِعِزِّكَ أَن تَذِلَّ لَهُ العِدى

    وَأَبَت لِجارِكَ أَن يُرى مُستَضعَفا

    They decreed for your might that foes should submit to it,

    and refused to let your protected neighbor be seen as weak.

  23. إِن نَوَّمَت أَهلَ الشَآمِ فَبَعدَما

    مَنَعَت عُيونَ عَدُوِّهِم أَن تَطرِفا

    If they lulled the people of al-Sham to sleep, it was only after

    they prevented their enemy's eyes from even blinking.

  24. جارَ الزَمانُ فَما رَأَوهُ مُنصِفاً

    حَتّى رَأَوا هامَ الطُغاةِ مُنَصَّفا

    Time dealt unjustly; they never saw it act fairly

    until they saw the tyrants' heads cleft in two.

  25. ذُدتَ الخُطوبَ حَديثَها وَقَديمَها

    حَتّى لَصارَ حَديثُها مُستَطرَفا

    You drove away calamities, new and old,

    until tales of them became a curious novelty.

  26. وَحَمَيتَ مِن بُلدانِهِم ما لَم يَزَل

    غَرَضاً لِعادِيَةِ الرَدى مُستَهدَفا

    And protected those of their lands that had always been

    a target exposed to death's assault.

  27. حَصَّنتَ طارِفَها وَكَم مُتَوَسِّطٍ

    لَولاكَ أَصبَحَ بِالقَنا مُتَطَرِّفا

    You fortified their borderlands; how many a central town

    would, but for you, have been thrust to the edge by spears!

  28. فَلَهُم لَدَيكَ حِياضُ جودٍ قَد صَفا

    لِلوارِدينَ وَظِلُّ أَمنٍ قَد ضَفا

    So with you they have pools of bounty, clear

    for those who come to drink, and a broad-spread shade of safety.

  29. وَشَأَوتَ مُنهَلَّ السَحابِ بِنائِلٍ

    لَمّا طَفا أَعيا السَحابَ الأَوطَفا

    And you outstripped the clouds' downpour with a bounty

    that, when it overflowed, outmatched the heavy-laden clouds.

  30. فاضَلتَهُ فَفَضَلتَهُ لَمّا هَمى

    وَخَلَفتَهُ بِنداكَ حينَ تَخَلَّفا

    You vied with it and surpassed it when it poured,

    and replaced it with your bounty when it fell behind.

  31. يا مَن نُفوسُ الخَلقِ بَعضُ هِباتِهِ

    وَسَحائِبُ النَكَباتِ مِمّا كَشَّفا

    O you whose gifts include the lives of humankind,

    and who dispelled, among other things, the clouds of calamity!

  32. أَمّا وَقَد أَوطَنتَ آسادَ الشَرى

    مِمَّن طَغى أَوطانَ حَيّاتِ السَفا

    Now that you have lodged the lions of al-Shara

    from among the rebels in the abodes of sand-snakes,

  33. فَليَعسُرَنَّ عَلى اللَيالي بَعدَما

    كَلَّفتَها الإِسهالَ أَن تَتَعَسَّفا

    it must surely be hard for the nights, after

    you compelled them to offer ease, to deal unjustly.

  34. قَد دانَتِ الدُنيا لِعِزَّتِكَ الَّتي

    مَنَعَت نُفوساً أَن تَعِزَّ فَتَعزُفا

    The world has submitted to your might, which

    kept souls from growing proud and turning away.

  35. وَتَحَقَّقَ الإِسلامُ أَن لا عُدَّةً

    تَحميهِ إِلّا عُدَّةُ اِبنِ المُصطَفى

    And Islam knows for certain that no armament

    protects it but the armament of al-Mustafa's son.

  36. مَن كانَ رَأيُكَ رُمحَهُ وَمِجَنَّهُ

    لَم يَلقَ رَيبَ الدَهرِ أَعزَلَ أَكشَفا

    Whoever has your counsel for his spear and shield

    has not faced time's perils unarmed or shieldless.

  37. خالَفتَ رَأيَ الدَهرِ فِيَّ وَلَم تَزَل

    تُعدي عَلى الأَقوى الأَذَلَّ الأَضعَفا

    You opposed time's designs upon me, and have always

    helped the humbler, weaker man against the stronger.

  38. فَأَجَرتَني لَمّا عَدا وَلَطَفتَ بي

    لَمّا قَسا وَوَصَلتَني لَمّا جَفا

    You sheltered me when it attacked, and were kind to me

    when it grew harsh; you kept ties with me when it shunned me.

  39. أَوسَعتَني حِلماً وَزِدتَ تَطَوُّلاً

    وَعَطَفتَ عَفواً قَبلَ أَن تُستَعطَفا

    You lavished forbearance on me and increased your bounty,

    and showed kindness unbidden, before being entreated.

  40. وَهَدَيتَني كَرَماً إِلى سُبُلِ الغِنى

    فَلَأُهدِيَنَّ لَكَ الثَناءَ مُفَوَّفا

    And generously guided me toward the paths of wealth,

    so I shall surely offer you richly patterned praise,

  41. يَستَوقِفُ الرُكبانَ عَن أَعراضِهِم

    فَإِذا يَمُرُّ عَلى القَطينِ اِستوقِفا

    that stops riders short of their aims;

    and when it passes the settled folk, it is detained.

  42. باقٍ عَلى الأَيّامِ يُخلِفُ ما تَوى

    فيهِ إِذا وَعدُ الأَماني أَخلَفا

    Enduring through the days, it makes good what is lost

    within it, when the promise of hopes fails.

  43. وَهِيَ المَناقِبُ لَن يَسيرَ حَديثُها

    حَتّى يَسيرَ بِهِ القَريضُ فَيوجِفا

    Such are the virtues: their story will not travel

    until verse carries it onward and gallops with it.

  44. لا تَطلَبَنَّ لَهُنَّ غَيري ناظِماً

    ما كُلُّ مَن أَلفى الجَواهِرَ أَلَّفا

    Seek no one but me to string them into verse;

    not everyone who finds jewels can string them.

  45. مَعَ أَنَّ مَجدَكَ لا يُحاطُ بِوَصفِهِ

    قَد جَلَّ حَتّى دَقَّ عَن أَن يوصَفا

    Though your glory cannot be encompassed in description,

    it has grown so great as to be too subtle to describe.

  46. مِن حُسنِ ذي الأَيّامِ دامَ بَهاؤُها

    قَد كادَتِ الأَعيادُ أَن لا تُعرَفا

    From the beauty of these days—may their splendor endure—

    the festivals have almost become indistinguishable.

  47. فَاِسلَم عَلى غَيرِ الزَمانِ لِأُمَّةٍ

    لَولاكَ لَم يَكُ شَملُها مُتَأَلِّفا

    So remain safe through time's upheavals for a nation

    whose ranks, but for you, would not be united.

  48. إِنّي إِذا عَدَّ الرِجالُ قَديمَهُم

    وَرَأَيتُ كُلّاً ذاكِراً ما أَسلَفا

    Indeed, when men recount their ancestral past,

    and I see each recalling his earlier deeds,

  49. أَلغَيتُ آبائي وَشامِخَ ما بَنوا

    لي مِن عُلىً وَعَدَدتُ هَذا المَوقِفا

    I set aside my fathers and the lofty heights they built

    of glory for me, and count this occasion instead.

  50. لا تُكذَبَنَّ فَلَيسَتِ الأَشعارُ لي

    حَتّى تُنَكِّبَ عَن سِواكَ وَتَصدِفا

    Do not be deceived: the verses are not mine

    unless they shun all but you and turn away.

  51. وَقفٌ عَلى ذا المَلكِ مَدّاحٌ مَتى

    لَم يَسعَ في الطَلَبِ الشَريفِ تَوَقَّفا

    A panegyrist devoted solely to this king: whenever

    he does not strive in a noble pursuit, he holds back.