1. يومٌ أَهبَّ صَبَا الهباتِ صباحُهُ

    وروى حديثَ النّصرِ عنكَ رواحُهُ

    A day whose morning stirred the east wind of gifts,

    and whose evening recounted tidings of your victory.

  2. فالسّعْدُ مُشرفَةٌ لنا آفاقُهُ

    والنّصرُ باديةٌ لنا أوضاحُهُ

    Good fortune's horizons rise before us,

    and victory's bright signs stand plain to us.

  3. أَوفى على عُود الثّناء خطيبُهُ

    وشَدا على غُصن المُنى صَدّاحُهُ

    Its orator ascended the bough of praise,

    and its songbird sang upon the branch of wishes.

  4. فالشّامُ مُبْتَلُّ الثّرى ميمونُهُ

    والعامُ مُنْهَلُّ الحيا سَحّاحُهُ

    Syria is blessed, its soil moistened,

    and the year pours abundant, life-giving rain.

  5. والمحلُ زالَ كبارقٍ مُتهلّلٍ

    لمَّ الشُّعوبَ بوَمْضه لمّاحُهُ

    Drought has vanished like a radiant lightning-flash;

    its gleam united the peoples with its flash.

  6. فالحمدُ للَّه الذي إفضالُهُ

    حُلْوُ الجنَى عالي السّنا وضّاحهُ

    So praise be to God, whose bounty

    bears sweet fruit, its light lofty and radiant.

  7. عادَ العدوُّ بظُلْمَةٍ من ظُلمهِ

    في ليلِ ويل قد خَبا مِصْباحُهُ

    The enemy returned in darkness born of his injustice,

    into a night of woe, his lamp extinguished.

  8. ركَدَتْ قبولُ قبولهِ من بَعْد أنْ

    هَبّتْ غُروراً بالرياءِ رياحُهُ

    The east wind of his favor fell still, after

    his winds had blown deceitfully, in ostentation.

  9. أوفى يريدُ له بجرِّ جُنوده

    ربحاً فجرّتْ خَسْرَةً أرباحُهُ

    He came, hoping by dragging his troops along

    for gain—but his gains dragged him into loss.

  10. وجنى عليه جهلُهُ بوقوعهِ

    في قبضةِ البازي فهيضَ جناحُهُ

    His ignorance harmed him when he fell

    into the goshawk's grip, and his wing was broken.

  11. حملَ السّلاحَ إلى القتال وما درى

    أنَّ الذي يَجْني عليه سِلاحُهُ

    He bore arms into battle, unaware

    that his own weapons would do him harm.

  12. أضحى يريدُ مواصليه صدودَه

    وغدا يُجيدُ رثاءَهُ مُدّاحُهُ

    His former companions now wish to shun him,

    and his panegyrists now excel at lamenting him.

  13. ولي بكسر لا يُرَجّى جَبْرُهُ

    وبقَرْح قَلْبٍ لا تُبِلُّ جراحُهُ

    He retreated with a fracture no one hopes to mend,

    and a wounded heart whose wounds will never heal.

  14. ونجا إلى حلبٍ ومن حَلَبٍ الرَّدى

    دَر وفيه نجاتُهُ وفَلاحُهُ

    He escaped to Aleppo, and from Aleppo doom

    flowed; in it lay his deliverance and success.

  15. إن أَفْسَدَ الدِّينَ العصاةُ بحِنْثِهمْ

    فالنّاصرُ المَلكُ الصلاحُ صَلاحُهُ

    If the rebels corrupted religion by breaking their oaths,

    then al-Nasir, the righteous king, is its restoration.

  16. فَرِحَ العدوُّ بجمعهِ ولقيتَهُ

    فتحوّلَتْ أحزانُهُ أَفراحُهُ

    The enemy rejoiced in his host, until you met him;

    his joys then turned into sorrows.

  17. صَحّتْ على ضربِ الكُماةِ كُسورهُ

    وتكسّرَتْ عند الطِّعانِ صِحاحُهُ

    His fractures proved sound under the champions' blows,

    and his sound parts shattered at the spear-thrusts.

  18. وافى بسَرْحٍ للنَّقادِ فكانَ في

    لُقيا الأُسودِ الضّارياتِ سَراحهُ

    He came with a herd for the sheep-tenders; its release lay in

    meeting ravening lions.

  19. مَجْرٌ كبحرٍ دارِعو فرسانه

    حيتانُهُ وزعيمُهُم تِمساحُهُ

    A host like a sea, its armored horsemen

    its whales, and their leader its crocodile.

  20. شَحْناؤهُ شَحَنَتْ جواريَ فُلْكهِ

    جَوْراً ومالَ بهُلكهِ مَلاَّحُهُ

    His rancor loaded the sailing vessels of his fleet

    with injustice; his pilot steered toward his ruin.

  21. عَدِموا الفلاحَ من الرِّجالِ فجاءَهم

    من كلِّ صوبٍ مُكْرَهاً فلاّحُهُ

    They found no success among men, so there came to them

    from every quarter its farmer, unwilling.

  22. فهمُ لحرثٍ لا لحربٍ حزْبُهمْ

    أَيثيرُ قُرْحاً من يثارُ قَراحهُ

    Their band is for tillage, not for battle;

    can one whose field is plowed stir up wounds?

  23. قد فاظَ لمّا فاضَ جيشُكَ جأْشُهُ

    غيظاً وغاضَ لبحركمْ ضَحْضاحهُ

    His heart burst when your army surged,

    with rage; his shallow pool ebbed before your sea.

  24. كم سابقٍ برَداهُ يُردَى سابحٍ

    من بَحْرِ هُلْكٍ ما نجا سَبّاحُهُ

    How many a swift, swimming steed was felled by his ruin!

    From a sea of doom no swimmer escaped.

  25. كم عَيْنِ عَيْنٍ غَوَّرَتْ غوّارُهُ

    وقليبِ قَلْبٍ عَوَّرَتْ متّاحُهُ

    How many an eye's spring its raiders dried up,

    and a heart's well its water-drawers stopped up!

  26. إنء آذنتْ بالنتنِ ريحُ قتيلهم

    فالنّصر نفّاحُ الشَّذا فَوّاحُهُ

    If the smell of their slain proclaimed a stench,

    victory breathes fragrance and wafts it abroad.

  27. كم مارقٍ من مأزقٍ دَمُهُ على

    مَسْحِ الحسامِ مُراقُهُ مسّاحُهُ

    How many a fugitive from a strait—his blood, at

    the wiping of the keen sword, was shed by its wiper!

  28. يُصبيكَ نَهْدٌ إن سباهُ ناهِدٌ

    ولديكَ جدٌّ إن أَباهُ مزاحُهُ

    A sturdy steed enchants you, if a budding-breasted maiden captures him;

    and you have earnest purpose, though his jesting rejects it.

  29. ولكَ الكعوبُ مُقَوَّماتٌ للرَّدى

    وله الغَداةَ كَعابُهُ ورَداحُهُ

    You have jointed spear-shafts, straightened for death,

    while this morning he has his nubile maiden and buxom woman.

  30. راحُ النجيعِ بها صحافُ صِفاحكُمْ

    مَلأْى وتملأُ كلَّ كاسٍ راحُهُ

    With the wine of gore, the platters of your sword-blades

    are full, while his palm fills every cup.

  31. وتجولُ في صَهَواتِها فرسانُكُمْ

    وتدورُ في خَلَواتهِ أَقداحُهُ

    Your horsemen wheel upon their saddlebacks,

    and his cups go round in his private retreats.

  32. ويروقُهُ الخمرُ الحرامُ وعندكمْ

    مما يُراقُ من الدِّماءِ مُباحُهُ

    Forbidden wine delights him, while you have

    its lawful counterpart in the blood that is spilled.

  33. ضَرْبُ الطُّلَى بالمشرفيِّ طِلابُكُمْ

    وبراح مَنْ شربَ الطِّلا طُلاّحُهُ

    Striking necks with the Mashrafi sword is your pursuit,

    and the flight of those who drank wine—his wicked men.

  34. محمرُّ خدِّ صقيلةٍ تُفّاحُكمْ

    وأَسيلُ خدِّ عقيلةٍ تُفّاحُهُ

    The reddened cheek of a polished blade is your apple,

    and the smooth cheek of a noblewoman is his apple.

  35. للهِ جيشٌ بالمروجِ عرضتَهُ

    أُسدُ العرين رجالُهُ ورماحُهُ

    By God, what an army you paraded in the meadows!

    Its men and its spears are lions of the lair.

  36. ومن الحديدِ سوابغاً أَبدانُهُ

    ومن المضاءِ عزائماً أَرواحُهُ

    Its bodies are full coats of iron mail,

    and its souls are firm resolves of cutting keenness.

  37. وله فوارسُ بالنُّفوسِ سَمَاحُها

    أَتُعادُ بالعِرْضِ المصونِ شحاحُهُ

    And it has horsemen generous with their lives—

    can its jealous guardians of inviolate honor be matched?

  38. روضٌ من الصُّفْرِ البنودُ وحُمرِها

    والبيضِ يُزهي وردُهُ وأَقاحُهُ

    Its banners are a garden of yellow and red,

    and white, its roses and daisies blooming in splendor.

  39. من كلِّ ماضي الحدِّ طَلَّقَ غمْدَهُ

    فَتْكاً لأَغمادِ الرِّقابِ نِكاحُهُ

    Each sharp-edged blade has divorced its sheath,

    marrying the sheaths of necks in slaughter.

  40. قد كان عزمُكَ للإلهِ مُصَمِّماً

    فيهمْ فلاحَ كما رأَيتَ فَلاحُهُ

    Your resolve had been firmly set for God

    against them; its success shone forth, as you saw.

  41. وكأَنّني بالساحلِ الأَقصى وقد

    ساحَتْ ببحرِ دم الفرنجةِ ساحُهُ

    It is as though I am at the farthest coast, and already

    its open grounds flow with a sea of the Franks' blood.

  42. فاعبُر إلى القومِ الفراتَ ليشربوا ال

    موتَ الأُجاجَ فقد طَما طَفّاحُهُ

    So cross the Euphrates to the people, that they may drink the

    bitter, briny death—for its overflowing flood has swollen.

  43. لتفُكَّ من أيديهمُ رَهْنَ الرُّها

    عجلاً ويدركَ لَيْلَها إصباحُهُ

    To free al-Ruha, held hostage in their hands,

    swiftly, and let its dawn overtake its night.

  44. وابغوا لحرّانَ الخلاصَ فكم بها

    حرّانُ قلبٍ نحوكم مُلتاحُهُ

    And seek deliverance for Harran: how many there

    are thirsting hearts, scorched with yearning for you!

  45. نَجُّوا البلادَ من البلاءِ بعدلكم

    فالظلمُ بادٍ في الجميعِ صُراحُهُ

    Rescue the lands from affliction through your justice,

    for injustice stands openly manifest everywhere.

  46. واسْتَفْتحوا ما كان من مُستَغْلقٍ

    فيها فربُّكُم لكمْ فَتّاحُهُ

    Open whatever has been locked

    within them, for your Lord will open it for you.

  47. قُولوا لأَهلِ الدينِ قَرُّوا أَعيناً

    فلقد أَقامَ عَمُودَهُ سَفّاحُهُ

    Tell the people of faith: 'Let your eyes find comfort,'

    for its shedder of blood has raised its pillar.

  48. بشرايَ فالإسلامُ من سلطانهِ

    جَذِلُ الفؤادِ بنصره مُرتاحُهُ

    My glad tidings! Through its sovereign, Islam

    rejoices at heart, comforted by his victory.

  49. مَلكٌ ليُمنِ المعتفينَ يمينُهُ

    ولراحةِ الراجينَ تُبْسَطُ راحُهُ

    A king whose right hand brings good fortune to suppliants,

    and whose palm is opened for the comfort of those who hope.

  50. لما اجتداهُ من الرَّجاءِ رجالُهُ

    أَوْفَى على قَطْرِ السّماءِ سَماحُهُ

    When his men sought gifts from him in hope,

    his generosity exceeded the rainfall of heaven.

  51. فاقصدْ بِبَرْجِ الفقرِ رَحْبَ جَنابهِ

    فبِراحِهِ يومَ النّوالِ بَراحُهُ

    So, with poverty's tower, seek his spacious court;

    in his palm, on the day of giving, lies release from it.

  52. مَلكٌ تَملّكَ جَدُّهُ من جِدِّهِ

    فالمجدُ مَجْدٌ والمَراحُ مِراحُهُ

    A king whose fortune won mastery through his earnest striving;

    glory is true glory, and his high spirits are its pasture.

  53. ملكٌ يُحبُّ الصفحَ عن أعدائه

    فلذاكَ تَصفَحُ عن عِداهُ صِفاحهُ

    A king who loves to pardon his enemies;

    therefore his sword-blades spare his foes.

  54. لكَ بيتُ مجدٍ ليس يُدْرَكُ حَدُّهُ

    يعيا بذرعِ عُروُضهِ مَسّاحُهُ

    Yours is a house of glory whose bounds cannot be reached;

    its surveyor tires of measuring its breadth.

  55. المُلْكُ غابٌ أَنتمُ أَشبالُهُ

    والدينُ رُوحٌ أَنتمُ أَشباحُهُ

    Kingship is a forest, and you are its lion cubs;

    religion is a spirit, and you are its bodily forms.

  56. ما شَرْحُ صَدْرِ الشّرْعِ إلا منكمُ

    ولذاكَ منكُمْ للهدى إيضاحُهُ

    Only through you does sacred law's breast expand,

    and thus through you guidance is made clear.

  57. فخراً بني أَيوبَ إنَّ محلَّكُمْ

    ضاقتْ على كلِّ الملوكِ فِساحُهُ

    Take pride, sons of Ayyub! Your station

    has broad expanses too narrow for all kings.

  58. لولا اتساعُ جنابكم لعَدَدْتهُ

    خصْراً وفودُ المعتفينَ وِشاحُهُ

    Were your court not so spacious, I would reckon it

    a waist, with delegations of suppliants as its sash.

  59. أَنتمْ ملوكُ زماننا وسَراتُهُ

    وكِرامهُ وعظامُهُ وفصاحُهُ

    You are the kings and nobles of our age,

    its generous men, its great ones, and its eloquent ones;

  60. عظماؤهُ كبراؤهُ فضلاؤهُ

    ورِزانُهُ ورِصانهُ وصِباحُهُ

    its mighty men, its chiefs, its men of merit,

    its dignified, its steadfast, and its handsome ones;

  61. أقمارُهُ وشموسُهُ ونجومُهُ

    وبحارُهُ وجبالُهُ وبطاحُهُ

    its moons, its suns, and its stars,

    its seas, its mountains, and its broad plains.

  62. أنتم رجالُ الدَّهرِ بل فرسانُه

    ولذي الحلومِ الطائشاتِ رِجاحُهُ

    You are the men of the age—indeed, its knights;

    for the flighty-minded, you are its sober ones.

  63. فُتّاكُهُ نُسَاكُهُ ضُرّارُهُ

    نُفّاعُهُ منّاعُهُ مُنّاحُهُ

    Its deadly fighters, its ascetics, its harm-bringers,

    its benefactors, its withholders, its lavish givers;

  64. وأبو المظفّرِ يوسفٌ مِطْعامُهُ

    مِطْعانُهُ مِقْدامُهُ جَحْجاحُهُ

    and Abu al-Muzaffar Yusuf is its lavish feeder,

    its mighty lancer, its bold warrior, its noble chief.

  65. وإذا انتدى في محفلٍ فَحييُّهُ

    وإذا غدا في جَحْفلٍ فَوَقاحُهُ

    When he joins an assembly, he is its modest one;

    when he goes forth amid an army, he is its audacious one.

  66. أسْجَحْتَ حينَ ملكتَ عفواً عنهمُ

    إنَّ الكريمَ مُؤمّلٌ إسجاحُهُ

    You showed clemency when you gained mastery, pardoning them;

    indeed, a noble man's clemency is hoped for.