بدت لجفونك العبر

ولا فكر ولا نظر

Lessons have appeared before your eyes,

yet there is neither thought nor reflection.

وأنذرت النّهي فصمم

ت عما ألفت النّذر

They warned the intellect, yet you turned

deaf to the warnings you had known.

ولم تحفل بأحقاب

لك الأيام والعصر

You paid no heed to long ages—

the days and time that are yours.

وأهملت الصّبا سفهاً

فهذا الشيب والكبر

You squandered youth foolishly;

now here are gray hair and old age.

تطيل مناك مجتهداً

وعمرك خانه القصر

You diligently prolong your hopes,

but brevity has betrayed your life.

وتعطي أيُّها المغرو

ر من عصيانها غرر

You offer, O deluded one,

choice displays of disobedience to them.

وتجحد فضل من شهدت

له الآصال والبكر

You deny the bounty of Him to whom

evenings and mornings bear witness.

وفيه شواهد التّوحي

د بيّنةٌ ولا بصر

In Him, the proofs of divine unity

are plain, yet there is no sight.

تعالى ملك من خضعت

له الأرواحُ والصور

Exalted is the dominion of Him before whom

spirits and forms bow down,

ومن نطقت بفطرته

يقيناً هذه الفطر

and of Him whose act of creation

these innate natures proclaim with certainty.

إلهُ ليس يلحق مل

كَهُ نقصٌ ولا غير

A God whose sovereignty is untouched

by deficiency or change.

وربٌ لا تحوم على

سوى آياته الفكر

A Lord—thoughts hover over

nothing beyond His signs.

فلم ينكر أدلَّّته

صحيح العقل مُدَّكِرُ

Thus His proofs are not denied

by one sound of mind who takes heed.

ولم ينسب إلى أحد

سواه النَّفع والضَّرر

Nor does one ascribe to anyone

but Him either benefit or harm.

له من خلقه حجج

وفي تصريفهم عبر

In His creation He has proofs,

and in His ordering of them are lessons.

غنّي لا افتقار له

ونحن إليه نفتقر

Self-sufficient, He has no need,

while we stand in need of Him.

فسبحان اللطيف بنا

وبأس الخطب منتشر

So glory to Him who is gentle with us,

while the violence of calamity spreads.

وسبحان الذي يُعصى

فيعفو وهو مقتدر

And glory to Him who is disobeyed,

yet pardons, though all-powerful.

له في كل شارقة

أيادٍ ليس تنحصر

At every sunrise, His are

favors beyond all counting.

وهل تخفى وقد وَضُحَت

لها بوجوهنا غُرر

Can they be hidden, when there have appeared

bright marks of them upon our faces?

رياضُ المنِّ باسقةٌ

ففيها الظل والثمر

The gardens of His bounty rise tall;

in them are shade and fruit.

وخير جميعها أثراً

إذا ما عدَّت الخِيَرُ

And best of all in its effect,

when blessings are counted,

إمامُ يأمُرُ الدنيا

بطاعته فتأتمر

is an imam who commands the world

to obey him, and it obeys.

إلى المنصور منتسب

وبالرحمن منتصر

He is affiliated with al-Mansur,

and victorious through the All-Merciful.

شديد شكائم العزمات

ساعة تضعفُ المرر

Strong are the bridles of his resolves

when strength grows weak.

إذا ما ناظره

تكاد الأرض تنفطر

Whenever someone challenges him,

the earth almost splits apart.

هو الدُّنيا لنا والدِّين

وهو الصَّحو والمطر

He is our worldly life and our faith;

he is fair weather and rain.

له من بأسه عدد

ومن عزماته نفر

His valor furnishes him with armaments,

and his resolves with troops.

فإن يصبح خليفتنا

فنعم الركن والوزر

If he becomes our caliph,

what a fine pillar and refuge!

وإن نصبح رعيته

فسعد ساقه القدر

And if we become his subjects,

what fortune destiny has brought!

سمعنا ثم أبصرنا

فطاب الخُبرُ والخَبَرُ

We heard, then saw,

and both experience and report proved pleasing.

وردنا نحو نائله

فلذَّ الورد والصدر

We came to drink from his bounty,

and sweet were both approach and return.

فقد أغنى الورى فضلاً

فأثرى البدو والحضر

His bounty has enriched all people,

making nomads and townsfolk wealthy.

وقد وسع الورى عدلاً

فلا حذر ولا ضرر

His justice has embraced all people,

so there is neither fear nor harm.

وفاق النّاس قاطبةً

فلم يعدل به بشر

He has surpassed all people,

and no mortal is ranked his equal.

وكيف يحيف ملتزم

لما جاءت به السُّور

How could one act unjustly who is committed

to what the Qur'anic chapters have brought?

يروح اللَّيث والأروى

وتعد والشاة والنَّمِرُ

The lion and ibex roam at evening,

and the sheep and leopard run.

تحلت يمنه الدنيا

فلم يعزب لها وطر

The world is adorned by his good fortune,

and no desire of hers is left unmet.

فكلُّ بلادها زهر

وكلُّ زمانها سحر

Every land of hers is blossom,

and every hour of hers is dawn.

له جودٌ كأن البحر

تطفو فوقه الدُّرر

His generosity is like a sea

with pearls floating upon it.

وحِلمٌ هل رأيت الطَّو

د لا ريح ولا قتر

And his forbearance—have you seen a mountain

with neither wind nor dust?

وبأسٌ هل لمحت النَّار

لا تبقى ولا تذر

And his might—have you glimpsed the fire

that spares nothing and leaves nothing?

سيكفيه العدا ظفر

بظهر الغيب مدَّخر

Victory will suffice him against his foes,

stored away in the unseen,

وأدعيةٌ تؤكدها

دموع العين والسهر

and prayers strengthened

by tears of the eye and sleeplessness.

وطائفةٌ موحدةٌ

لنصر الحَقِّ تبتدر

And a company affirming divine unity

hastens to uphold the truth.

فقد وثقت بأنَّ الفت

ح في الأعداء منتظر

It is certain that victory

over the enemies is awaited.

فلم يعرض لها فشل

ولم يقعد بها خور

No failure has befallen it,

nor has faintheartedness held it back.

لها من سمرها شجر

ومن راياتها زهر

Its dark spears form a forest,

and its banners form blossoms.

إذا ركبوا حسبت البح

ر فوق البحر ينهمر

When they ride, you would think a sea

is pouring down upon another sea.

وإن حملوا ظننت النَّا

ر تحت الرِّيح تستعر

And when they charge, you would think fire

is blazing beneath the wind.

كأن قتامهم سُحُبٌ

وفيها الشُّهب تنكدر

Their battle dust is like clouds,

within which meteors tumble.

كماةٌ خيرة نجب

حماةٌ ذادةٌ صُبُرُ

Armored champions, chosen and noble,

protectors, defenders, steadfast.

أمامَهُمُ إمامُهُمُ

وحسبكم فنقتصر

Before them stands their imam;

that is enough for you, so we say no more.

وكيف تضل طائفةٌ

يسير أمامها القمر

How could a company go astray

with the moon marching before it?

تَقَدَّمُهُم بَسَالَتُهُ

وفيها البيض والسمر

His valor goes before them,

and there are bright swords and dark spears.

وتكنفهم سعادتهُ

فلا خوف ولا خَوَرُ

His good fortune surrounds them,

so there is neither fear nor weakness.

فلا تحذر أعاديه

فهم لسيوفه جزر

Do not fear his enemies:

they are slaughter-beasts for his swords.

ولا ترهب مناوئه

وإن أملى له البطر

Nor dread his adversary,

even if arrogance gives him free rein.

إذا سيمت رقاق الهند

لم تعدل بها الإِبر

When slender Indian swords are appraised,

needles are not reckoned their equals.

وإن زأرت ليوث الغيل

لم تثبت لها الحمر

And when the lions of the thicket roar,

wild asses cannot stand against them.

فيا من غرَّه ناظره

جهام مالها مطر

O you whom your own gaze has deceived—

barren clouds, bearing no rain.

أفق فاللَّيث مطّلع

عليك وأنت منتظر

Awake! The lion is looming

over you, while you wait.

أغرّك حلمه زمناً

ستعلم حين تختبر

Has his forbearance deceived you for a while?

You will know when you put him to the test.

يلين الغمد تلمسه

وفيه الصَّارم الذَّكر

The scabbard feels soft to your touch,

yet within it lies the keen, virile sword.

كذاك النار ساكنة

وتحت سكونها الشَّرر

So too the fire lies still,

with sparks beneath its stillness.

كأني عن عرضت له

ولا عين ولا أثر

I can almost see you, [if] you confront him:

no sign or trace of you remains.

فبادر باب من يعفو

لمن يهفو فيعتذر

So hasten to the door of one who pardons

those who err and then apologize.

وأيقن أن أمر اللّ

ه عقد ليس ينتثر

And know with certainty that God's command

is a necklace whose beads never scatter.

وسوف تنال ما يجني

عليك الغَدر يا غَدِرُ

You will receive what treachery brings

upon you, O treacherous one.

تذكّر ما الذي انقلبت

به أشباهك الآخر

Remember what became

of the others who were like you.

خليفتنا هو المنصور

فاحتفلوا أو احتضروا

Our caliph is al-Mansur;

so muster all you can, or face death.

سيعلو الصَّفو مرتفعاً

ويسفل تحته الكدر

The pure will rise on high,

while the dregs sink beneath it.

ومن كان الهدى معه

فمضمون له الظَّفر

Whoever has guidance with him

is assured of victory.