فاتحة الحمد أيادي من عفى

والحلم أصل للمقامات العلا

The prelude to praise is the bounty of one who pardons.

And forbearance is the foundation of lofty stations.

يزدهر المجد بزهراويهما

مثل انجلاء الشمس في راد الضحى

Glory blossoms with their two radiant blooms,

like the sun emerging in the first light of morning.

ما نتجت من يعرف المجد النسا

لو كان خلواً منهما عمن عصى

Women have never borne a true knower of glory

if he lacks both toward whoever disobeys.

مائدة الاحسان من باسطها

فضل وأزكى الفضل ما يولى الرضا

The table of kindness, from him who spreads it,

is bounty; the purest bounty is what grants contentment.

قد ضل كالانعام من لا يهتدي

إن حلوم ابن ثويني كالهدى

He who finds no guidance has strayed like cattle;

indeed, Ibn Thuwaini's forbearance is like guidance.

حمد السلطان من أعرافه

والفيض من عرفانه غيث الورى

Sultan Hamad, with his noble qualities—

the outpouring of his goodness is rain for humankind.

انفاله الممالك العصم وما

أنفاله إلا ملثات الحيا

His spoils are impregnable kingdoms; yet

his gifts are nothing but unceasing showers.

ويقبل التوبة من مخلصها

ولو يكون الذنب اعداد الحصا

He accepts repentance from one sincere in it,

even if the sins number as many as pebbles.

كم من غريق مشبه يونس في

ظلمة غمه دعاه فنجا

How many drowning men, like Jonah in

the darkness of distress, have called him and escaped!

ملك أبو الملوك من أجداده

هود ونعم المنتمي والمنتمى

A king whose ancestor is the father of kings,

Hud—excellent are both descendant and forebear!

من خاتم التعبيد للدنيا له

إن كان بالاقباط يوسف اكتفى

He who completed the world's subjection to himself,

whereas Joseph was content with the Copts.

من كفه الفياض سحب رعدها

زمازم الصمصام في هام العدا

From his overflowing hand come clouds whose thunder

is the sword's rumbling upon the heads of foes.

من فضله في فضل كل أمة

كمثل ابراهيم فيمن قد خلا

He whose excellence among the excellence of every nation

is like Abraham's among those of old.

من غادرت هيبته أعداءه

مثل صحاب الحجر صرعى في الفلا

He whose awe has left his enemies

like the people of al-Hijr, slain in the wilderness.

مسوم الجرد العوادي عندها

مثل لعاب النحل مسفوح الطلا

He who sends forth sleek, charging steeds, beside which

the blood poured from throats is like bees' honey.

اسراؤها للشرف الأقصى به

تتبع آثار براق المصطفى

Their night journey, through him, toward utmost honor

follows the tracks of the Chosen One's Buraq.

فناؤه كهف الطريد وكذا

كل حمي الأنف مقصود الحمى

His courtyard is a cave for the fugitive, and likewise

for every proud man whose sanctuary is threatened.

لو هز بالنجم تساقطت كيو

م أسقط الجذع لمريم الجنى

If he shook the stars, they would fall, as on the day

when the trunk dropped ripe fruit for Mary.

كان طه أنزلت واصفة

يمينه لما على الملك استوى

It is as though Ta-Ha were revealed to describe

his right hand when he ascended the throne.

استغفر اللّه تكاد نفسه

بسمت هدي الأنبياء تجتلى

I seek God's forgiveness; his soul can almost

be discerned in the bearing of the prophets' guidance.

رحابه مشاعر قدسية

من فرض الحج اليهن اهتدى

His precincts are sacred shrines;

whoever undertakes the pilgrimage finds his way to them.

قد أفلح الدهر به والمؤمنو

ن وفلاحا لكون في يمن الهدى

Through him the age has prospered, and the believers

too; prosperity to all existence through auspicious guidance!

تشعشع النور بوجهه فما

بالشمس من نور فمن ذاك السنا

Light shone forth from his face; whatever

light the sun possesses comes from that radiance.

هداه فرقان وحد سيفه ال

فاروق في محص الضلال والعمى

His guidance is a criterion; his sword's edge is the

discriminator that purges error and blindness.

صفاته يعجز عنها الشعراء

مثل عجز النمل عن قضى الحصا

Poets cannot encompass his qualities,

as ants cannot crush pebbles.

وكم له من مجده وفضله

من قصص لا ينتهي إلى مدى

How many, from his glory and his bounty,

are his tales, extending without end!

لو جذب الدهر بأدنى عزمة

دك كبيت العنكبوت ووهى

If he pulled the age with the slightest resolve,

it would be crushed like a spider's house and crumble.

إذا تجلى فارساً تحشرجت

ممالك الروم بغصة الردى

When he appears as a horseman,

the kingdoms of Rome choke upon death.

حكمة لقمان فريد نطفه

تحيا بها جرز القلوب كالحيا

Luqman's wisdom is the choice pearl of his droplets;

through it, barren hearts come alive as through rain.

أحزابه النصر فإن تحزبت

أعداؤه تفرقت أيدي سبا

His hosts bring victory; should factions gather,

his enemies scatter like the people of Saba.

ومن يكن فاطر كل فطرة

نصيره أعجز أصناف القوى

Whoever has the Originator of every nature

as his supporter overpowers every kind of strength.

يستقبل العافي من رحمته

بقلب يس ولا يعرف لا

In his mercy, he welcomes the seeker of bounty

with the heart of Ya-Sin, never knowing how to say 'no.'

لو الدراري نزلت صفت له

فصفا فأغزاها مراكز الكرى

Were the shining stars to descend and stand arrayed before him,

he would marshal them against the centers of the spheres.

ومن يك الصاد مصيد عزمه

فليس بدعاً أن يصيد ما عدا

He whose resolve takes Sad as its quarry—

it is no marvel that he should capture all else.

لو عارضته زمر الخطوب ما

كانت سوى أكلة ما ضغ الشبا

Were bands of calamities to oppose him, they

would be but a morsel for the chewer of blades.

أيامه أعياد كل مؤمن

يغتبط الدين بهن والتقى

His days are festivals for every believer;

religion and piety rejoice in them.

جواهر قد نظمت وفصلت

بالعدل والاحسان في سلك الهدى

Jewels arranged and set out

with justice and kindness upon guidance's thread.

لعقله وهمه وعزمه

شورى فعين الرشد ما به قضى

His reason, his aspiration, and his resolve

take counsel; whatever he decrees is true right judgment.

لا يزدهيه زخرف الدنيا ومن

يبذلها لم يثنه منها الزها

The world's adornment does not beguile him; he who

lavishes it is not restrained by its splendor.

كم من دخان فتنة جاثية

جثي الاحقاف جلاه فانجلى

How much smoke of crouching sedition,

heaped like the dunes, has he dispersed until it cleared!

قام بما جاء به محمد

للّه واستن به فيمن رعى

He upheld what Muhammad brought

for God, following his example among those he tended.

ناداه عون اللّه وهو أهله

إنا فتحنا لك فتحاً في العلا

God's aid called him—and he was worthy of it:

'Indeed, We have granted you a victory in the heights.'

ولم يزل في حجرات مجده

أحوط من قد نداه والسخا

Within the chambers of his glory, he has ever been

more encompassing than the measure of his bounty and generosity.

والذاريات الحاملات وقرما

يرومه عزائم شم الذرى

The scatterers bearing the burden of what

he seeks are resolves with towering summits.

يندك دك الطور ما تصدمه

ولو ترقت فلك النجم انزوى

Whatever they strike is shattered as Mount Tur was shattered;

even if they ascended the stars' orbit, it would shrink away.

ولو تعاطى القمر اهتمامها

لا نشق أو بهرام أهوى أو كبا

Were the moon to undertake their concern,

it would split; or Bahram would plunge or stumble.

حتى دنى الرحمن من حيث دنى

فوضع التاج عليه واجتبى

Then the Merciful drew near, from where He drew near,

set the crown upon him, and chose him.

واقعة خافضة رافعة

تنكس الشرك بها على الشوى

A calamity, abasing and exalting,

through which he casts idolatry down upon its head.

صبت على الكفر سيولاً من حدي

د الهند حتى بلغ السيل الزبى

It poured upon unbelief torrents of Indian

steel, until the flood reached the hilltops.

تجادل الأزمان في ظهورها

وما درت أن الرصيد بالشرى

The ages dispute its ascendancy,

not knowing that the watcher waits in the lion-thicket.

وما درى الكفر أن أول ال

حشر دهاه والعظيم ما دهى

Unbelief did not know that the first

gathering had struck it—and dreadful was what struck.

ممتحن الأمر له دوابر

كماله قوابل لا تتقى

Tested in command, he has latter stages

of his perfection that are advances none can withstand.

وصف أمر اللّه لا تنقضه

جمعة شرك ونفاق من عتا

And the rank of God's command cannot be broken by

a gathering of idolatry and the hypocrisy of a rebel.

تغابن العصور في دولة قو

م طلقوا الدنيا وحرموا الرخا

The ages are outbargained in the reign of a people

who divorced the world and forbade themselves ease.

قد وقع الملك على منشوره

من الشؤون إذ تغادروا للعلا

The king has signed his proclamation

concerning affairs, as they set forth for the heights.

اثال نون ما اقتنوا وقلم

إن أثالاً منهما كنز الوحا

Nun and a pen have enriched what they acquired;

indeed, riches from those two are a treasury of revelation.

حقت لهم جلالة وصولة

تناولت بحولها رأس السهى

Grandeur and might are rightfully theirs,

reaching, through their power, the head of Suha.

يا ملكاً لعزه معارج

تجاوز النجم فأين المنتهى

O king whose glory has ascents

surpassing the stars—where, then, is the limit?

لا عاصم اليوم لمن تطرده

كخطب نوح وابنه لما غوى

There is no protector today for anyone you banish,

as in Noah's plight with his son when he went astray.

من ضحت الجن لهول بأسه

فالبشر الضعيف أدنى للردى

He whose terrible might has laid the jinn bare—

feeble humankind is still nearer to destruction.

يا ملكاً مزملاً مدثراً

بالحلم أنت اليوم أحفى من عفى

O king enfolded and cloaked

in forbearance, today you are the kindest of those who pardon.

قد قامت اليوم قيامة امرء

لولا التأسي بالرجا منك قضى

Today a man's resurrection has arisen;

but for solace in hope from you, he would have died.

لا يسلم الانسان من شائبة

لينظر العاقل ضمن هل أتى

No human being is free of blemish;

let the discerning look within 'Has There Come.'

كم زلة أعفيتها بالمرسلا

ت من رياح العفو عن عبد جنى

How many slips have you pardoned with the sent-forth

winds of forgiveness for a servant who sinned!

والنبأ العظيم ما عودته

من حلمك الشامل أي من عصى

The mighty tidings are what you have accustomed him to:

your forbearance embracing anyone who disobeys.

والنازعات للنفوس غضب

منك واعراض وطرد وقلى

The wrenchers of souls are anger

from you, aversion, banishment, and hatred.

عبس دهري وتولى جنفاً

فلتحمني منه وحسبي وكفى

My age frowned and turned away unjustly;

protect me from it—that is all I need, and enough.

ما كورت شمس يقيني فيك مذ

أمسكت منك بوثيقات العرى

The sun of my certainty in you has not been folded away since

I grasped your firmly secured bonds.

دام انفطار كبدي لنكبة

لو صادفت قلال رضوى لهوى

My liver keeps splitting from a calamity

that would topple Radwa if it struck its summits.

وصادف القضاء تطفيف زما

ن كيله بخس وإن يكتل طغى

Fate coincided with the short measure of an age

that gives scant measure, yet overreaches when measuring for itself.

لولا وثوقي بك في صروفه

لانشق ذرع العزم منى وصما

Were it not for my trust in you amid its vicissitudes,

the reach of my resolve would have split and shattered.

بروج عزمي أبداً مشيدة

إلا على مقتك فالعزم كلا

The towers of my resolve are always strongly built,

except before your hatred: then resolve grows weary.

وكيف أخشى طارقاً من زمني

ووجهك الأعلى معاذي والحمى

How could I fear a night visitor from my age

when your lofty countenance is my refuge and sanctuary?

وما دجت غاشية من خطبه

إلا جلا فجر أياديك الدجى

No overwhelming darkness of its calamities descends

but the dawn of your benefactions disperses the dark.

لولا عسى عشت بأي بلد

كأنني فيه على جمر الغضى

Without a 'perhaps,' wherever I might live,

I would seem to stand upon burning ghada embers.

يا ملك العالم يا شمس الهدى

يا حجة اللّه على أهل الدنا

O king of the world, O sun of guidance,

O God's proof to the people of the world!

أدعوك والزلة ليل قد سجى

مستمطراً منك بوارق الرضا

I call upon you, while my fault is a settled night,

asking you for rain from the lightning flashes of approval.

أطلب منك فطرة في شقوتي

ونظرة تلمح فيها والضحى

I ask you for an instinct of kindness in my misery,

and a glance in which you glimpse 'By the Morning Brightness,'

وفي ألم نشرح وقصدي ووض

عنا عنك وزرك العظيم لا سوى

and 'Did We Not Expand'; my intent is 'And We removed

from you your mighty burden'—nothing else.

عفوك فرق الذنب والذي افترى

في آخر التين يلقى ما افترى

Your pardon scatters sin; whoever fabricated falsehood

at the end of 'The Fig' meets what he fabricated.

ما ولغت ناصية كاذبة

في علق فلم يفاجئها الردى

No lying forelock ever lapped

in clotted blood without doom suddenly overtaking it.

وقدرك الأعلى أجل رتبه

من أن ترد توب عبد ارعوى

Your loftiest rank is far too exalted

to reject the repentance of a servant who has turned back.

يا من له في المكرمات آية

بينة يشهدها أولو النهى

O you who have, among noble deeds, a sign

plainly witnessed by those of understanding!

ومن إذا استلأم في لهامه

زلزلت الأرض وغصت بالشجا

He who, when he dons armor amid his mighty host,

makes the earth quake and choke upon affliction.

ومن يثير العاديات في الوغى

كقطع الليل إذا الليل عسا

He who unleashes the charging steeds in battle,

like fragments of night when night grows dark.

ومن إذا الخطب شجا القمه

قارعة تبثه بس السفا

He who, when calamity grieves him, feeds it

a crashing blow that scatters it like dust.

ومن له شكيمة من الهدى

تلهيه عن تكاثر فيمن لها

He who has a bridle of guidance

that keeps him from rivalry among the distracted.

ومن يزيد العصر عن صروفه

كأنه لأمره عبد العصا

He who makes the age rise above its vicissitudes,

as though it were a cudgel-driven slave to his command.

ومن يصك خطوات الهمز واللم

ز بويل في قذال من خطا

He who strikes the footsteps of slander and mockery

with woe upon the nape of whoever takes such a step.

ومن سيرمي ربه بحوله

أعداءه بما به الفيل رمى

He whose Lord, through His might, will strike

his enemies with what He hurled against the Elephant.

ومن كايلاف قريش رحلة

قد ألف البر وأعطى واتقى

He who, like Quraysh's accustomed journey,

has grown familiar with goodness, given, and feared God.

ومن تولى اللّه واستغرق في

ايالة الدين الحياة والقوى

He who has taken God as protector and spent

his life and strength governing the faith.

ومن حبا الأكوان من عطائه

بكوثر ضاق به رحب الملا

He who has gifted all worlds, from his bounty,

with abundance that the vast expanse cannot contain.

ومن ردى الكفر بربانية

فسقط الكفر بها ولا لعا

He who has cast down unbelief with divine power,

so unbelief fell, with no blessing to lift it again.

ومن يد اللّه امام عزمه

بالنصر والفتح له لما نوى

He before whose resolve God's hand goes,

with victory and conquest for what he intended.

ومن إذا البغي شبا آونة

تبت يد البغي صماه بالشبا

He who, whenever aggression sharpens its blade,

makes aggression's hand perish, striking it dead with blades.

ومن على الاخلاص في طاعته

يضاعف الحسنى ويستقضي الغنى

He who, for sincere devotion in obedience to him,

doubles goodness and brings prosperity to fulfillment.

ومن إذا شاهدته في دسته

أيقنت أن الفلق الثاني بدا

He whom, when you see him upon his throne,

you know to be the appearance of a second dawn.

ومن هو الناس فمن نظيره

منهم ومن يبلغه في مهتدى

He who embodies all mankind—who is his equal

among them, and who can match his guided course?

أقل عثاري والقران شافعي

إليك أن عز الشفيع المرتضى

Forgive my stumbling: the Qur'an is my intercessor

with you, if an acceptable intercessor is hard to find.

فليس بعد كلمات اللّه من

وسيلة يقبلها ذوو الحجا

For after God's words there is no

means of approach that the discerning will accept.

وإن تكن من بعدها ذريعة

فعصمة العفو رجاء من هفا

And if there is any means after them,

refuge in pardon is the erring one's hope.

تجاوز القلوب عن مقترف

وصفحه لمجده قطب الرحى

Hearts' overlooking of a wrongdoer,

and pardoning him, is the axle of his glory's mill.

نقيبة العفو كمال جامع

للمجد والمجد لوجهك انتهى

The disposition to pardon is an all-embracing perfection

of glory—and glory has reached its utmost in your countenance.

ولم تفت مجدك من مزية

كالفلك المحيط حاو للكرى

No virtue has eluded your glory,

like the encompassing celestial sphere containing the globes.

وثقت منك بالتي عهدتها

من رحمة لمن أطاع أو عصى

I trusted in what I have known from you:

mercy toward whoever obeys or disobeys.

ذرة عفو منك تمحو زلتي

عندي هي الدنيا وغاية المنى

An atom of pardon from you, erasing my slip,

is to me the whole world and the utmost of wishes.

أوردت هيم أملي صادية

بحر يديك وهو أروى للصدى

I brought the thirsty camels of my hope

to the sea of your hands, most quenching for the thirsty.

إن تسقها العفو فأنت أهله

وإن تذدها فعلى الحظ العفا

If you water them with pardon, you are worthy of it;

if you drive them away, dust upon my fortune!

يا من تسترت بذيل عزه

من غيلة الدهر واشراك السفا

O you beneath whose hem of glory I sheltered

from time's treachery and folly's snares!

وبعت فيه بشراك نعله

دهري والدنيا ومن فوق الثرى

And for him, for the strap of his sandal, I sold

my time, the world, and all upon the earth.

ومن رميت غرضي بسهمه

فصوب السهم وفاز من رمى

He with whose arrow I shot at my target—

the arrow struck true, and the archer prevailed.

ومن أغظت الدهر في ولائه

غيظاً سقاه السم في كأس الردى

He through allegiance to whom I enraged time

with a rage that made it drink poison from death's cup.

أن يغظ الدهر ولائي لكم

فلا شفى من غيظة ولا اشتفى

If my allegiance to you angers time,

may it never recover from anger or find relief!

قد خفر الدهر الذمام فانتصر

يا حامي الجار غضنفر الشرى

Time has violated its pledge of protection: avenge it,

O protector of the neighbor, lion of the thicket!

لا تذر الأيام تطوي طيها

تختبط الكلا وتعثو في الحمى

Do not let the days fold away at will,

stripping the herbage and ravaging the sanctuary.

فهي لما تنفذه رهائن

وهي سبايك بأطراف القنا

For they are hostages to what you execute,

and ingots at the spearpoints.

لا برح الدهر على جبهته

لعزك الأعلى يقبل الثرى

May time forever, upon its brow,

kiss the dust before your loftiest glory.