زنت المواهب منك بالتكرير

وغدوت بالإحسان جد جديرِ

You have adorned your gifts by repeating them,

and become truly worthy of beneficence.

يا خير خلق نحن من أخلاقه

وسماحه في روضة وغديرِ

O best of creatures, we dwell, through your virtues

and your generosity, in a meadow and a pool.

يا غيث جدب في الوغى يحمي حمى

ليث كثيف اللبدتين هصورِ

O rain in drought, who in battle guards the domain

of a fierce lion, thick-maned on both sides.

يا من أرى نصر الإله وفتحه

قد أحدقا بلوائه المنصورِ

O you, I see God's aid and His victory

already encircling your victorious banner.

قسما لقد سست الرعية آخذا

بالراي يشفع منك بالتدبيرِ

I swear, you have governed your subjects, relying

on judgment, reinforced by you with careful planning.

ولقد ونى الوانون عن طلب العلى

وبلغتها بالجد والتشميرِ

Indeed, the weary have faltered in seeking eminence,

while you attained it through diligence and exertion.

قد قلت للمنضي الطلاح أذابها

إيصالها الدلجات بالتهجيرِ

I said to one wearing out spent camels, melted away

by linking their night journeys to travel in midday heat:

لا تعد ربع ابن المظفر مادحا

وأنزل بخير موازر ووزير

Do not pass Ibn al-Muzaffar's abode as a praise-poet;

and alight with the finest supporter and minister,

بمظفر الرايات يشرق رأيه

في كل خطب مظلم الديجورِ

with him whose banners are victorious, whose judgment shines

in every crisis shrouded in deepest darkness.

حلو كطعم الشهد يوم مكارم

وندى ومر في الحروب مرير

Sweet as the taste of honey on a day of noble deeds

and bounty, but bitter, intensely bitter, in war.

يضحي وجر السمهرية دابه

في كل ذي عجاجة مجورِ

Thrusting sturdy lances is his daily wont

on every tumultuous, dust-clouded day of battle.

ما جردّت أسيافه في مأزق

ألا لتغمد في طلىً ونحورِ

His swords were never unsheathed in battle's crush

except to be sheathed in necks and throats.

أجرى من الريح الهبوب إلى ندى

ووغى وأثبت من حرا وثبير

Swifter than the blowing wind toward bounty

and battle, and more steadfast than Hira and Thabir.

عضد الهدى والدين يا ملكا صفت

نعماه للعافي من التكديرٍِ

Strong arm of guidance and faith, O king, how pure

is your bounty to the supplicant, free of taint!

يا من أخفت به الزمان وصرفه

وآمنت ما أخشاه من محذورِ

O you through whom I have frightened Time and its reversals,

and found safety from every danger I dread.

لك يا طويل الباع يوم كريهة

أقدام عنترة وراى قصير

Yours, O long of reach, on a day of battle,

are Antarah's daring and Qasir's judgment.

يا خير من حاز المعالي والعلى

في أول من مجده وأخيرِ

O best of those who have won high honors and eminence,

from your glory's beginning to its end.

أقسمت ما أوليتني مننعمة

إلا وكنت لها أبر شكورِ

I swear, you have never bestowed a favor upon me

without my being most devotedly grateful for it.

يا أجود الأجواد يا مولى علا

في مجده عن مشبه ونظيرِ

O most generous of the generous, O lord who has risen

in his glory beyond any equal or peer.

أنا مذ عرفت بمدحكم وولائكم

ووصفت بالمنظوم والمنثورِ

I, since becoming known for praising you and for loyalty to you,

and portraying you in verse and prose,

في طود عز من ذمامك شامخ

عال وبحر من نداك غزيرِ

have dwelt on a towering mountain of honor through your protection,

lofty, and in a deep sea of your bounty.

زادت مطاعمك الهنيئة واعتلت

قدرا عن الإحصاء والتقديرِ

Your delightful feasts have multiplied and risen

in worth beyond counting and estimation.

فلمفطر مما تعد له قرى

أضعاف أجر الصائم المبرورِ

Thus, one who breaks his fast on the fare you prepare for him

earns many times the reward of one whose fasting is accepted.

لا زلت طلق الوجه مرهوب السطا

ماضي الصريمة حازم التدبيرِ

May you ever be cheerful of face, feared in your onslaught,

unwavering in resolve, prudent in planning.