1. أُراقِب من طَيْفِ البخيلةِ مَوعداً

    وهان عليها أن أبيتَ مُسهَّدا

    I await a promised visit from the ungenerous beloved's phantom,

    while she cares little that I pass the night sleepless.

  2. أبَى الليلُ إسعادي وقد طالَ جُنْحُه

    فما هدأتْ عيني ولا طَيفُها اهتدَى

    The night refused me solace, though its darkness stretched long;

    my eye found no repose, nor did her phantom find its way.

  3. فبات برَعْيِ النّجمِ طَرْفي موكّلاً

    وبات لذيذُ النومِ عنّي مُشَرَّدا

    So my gaze spent the night entrusted with watching the stars,

    and sweet sleep spent the night driven away from me.

  4. وهل هي إلا مُهجةٌ يَطْلُبونَها

    فإن أرضَتِ الأحبابَ فَهْي لهم فِدى

    Is it anything but a soul they seek?

    If it pleases the beloveds, it is theirs as ransom.

  5. أأحبابَنا كم تَجْرحون بهَجْرِكم

    فؤاداً يَبيتُ الدّهرَ بالهَمِّ مُكْمَدا

    O our beloveds, how often your desertion wounds

    a heart that spends its nights forever consumed by grief!

  6. إذا رُمتُمُ قَتْلي وأنتم أحِبّةٌ

    فماذا الّذي أخشَى إذا كنتُمُ عِدا

    If you seek my death while you are beloveds,

    what must I fear if you become enemies?

  7. سأُضمِرُ في الأحشاء منكم تَحرُّقاً

    وأُظهِرُ للواشين عنكم تَجَلُّدا

    I shall hide within my breast a burning caused by you,

    and show the talebearers fortitude concerning you.

  8. وامَنَعُ عَينْي اليومَ أن تُكثِرَ البُكا

    لتَسلمَ لي حتّى أراكُم بها غَدا

    I restrain my eye today from excessive weeping,

    so it stays sound for me until I see you with it tomorrow.

  9. فهل أنت يا صاحِ الغداةَ مُعرِّجٌ

    لنُحييَ عهداً أو نُحَيِّيَ مَعْهَدا

    Will you, my friend, stop by in the morning,

    that we may revive a bond or greet an old haunt?

  10. حَنَنْتُ فأَسِعدْني ليومٍ لعلّه

    يُضَيَّضُ فيه أن تَحِنَّ فأُسِعدا

    I have yearned; help me, against a day that may come

    when you are destined to yearn, and I shall help.

  11. وما الدّهرُ إلا ما تَرى فمتى علَتْ

    يَدٌ لك في دُنْياكَ فاصنَعْ بها يَدا

    Time is only what you see; whenever there rises

    a hand of yours in this world, use it to offer a helping hand.

  12. دَعُوا الصَّبَّ يَشْفِي العينَ منكم بنَظرةٍ

    فلا بُدَّ للمشتاقِ أن يَتَزوَّدا

    Let the lovesick one soothe his eye with a glimpse of you;

    the longing lover must lay in provisions.

  13. ولا يَطْمَعُ المَغرُورُ أن أدَعَ الهَوى

    وإنْ لامني فيه الخَلِيُّ وفَنّدا

    Let no deluded man hope that I shall abandon love,

    even if one untouched by love rebukes me for it and calls me foolish.

  14. فليس يُبالي بالمَلامِ مَتَيَّمٌ

    إذا كان مَن يَهواهُ بالوَصْلِ مُسْعِدا

    An enthralled lover pays no heed to blame

    when the one he loves grants him happiness through union,

  15. كما لا يَخافُ الدَّهرَ مُلْكٌ غدا له

    وَلِيُّ أميرِ المؤمنين مُؤيِّدا

    just as a realm does not fear Time once it has gained

    the ally of the Commander of the Faithful as its supporter.

  16. أَعز ملوكِ الأرضِ نَفْساً ومَعشراً

    وأعظَمُ أهلِ الدّهرِ مَجْداً وسْؤددا

    The mightiest of earth's kings in person and in people,

    and the greatest of his age in glory and lordship.

  17. تَرى منه مَلْكاً عظَّم اللهُ شَأنَه

    فعِصْيانُه غَيٌّ وطاعتُه هُدى

    In him you see a king whose station God has exalted;

    to disobey him is error, and to obey him is right guidance.

  18. مَهيباً إذا لم تَلْقَهُ البيِضُ سُجَّداً

    من الناسِ ألقَتْ هامَها البيِضُ سُجّدا

    Fearsome: if the fair ones will not meet him prostrate,

    among mankind, bright swords cast their heads down prostrate.

  19. هوالشّمسُ في العَلْياهوالدّهرُفي السُّطا

    هوالبَدْرُفي النّادي هو البحرُ في النَدى

    He is the sun in exalted rank, and Time in striking power;

    he is the full moon in the assembly, the sea in generosity.

  20. وإنّ أُلوفاً تُصطفَى من محاسنٍ

    إذا ما حَواها واحدٌ كان أوحَدا

    Indeed, thousands may be chosen from fine qualities;

    if one man possesses them, he stands without peer.

  21. هنيئاً لكَ الفَتْحُ الّذي سار ذِكْرُه

    فغارَ بآفاقِ البلادِ وأنْجدا

    Joy to you in the conquest whose fame has traveled,

    spreading through the country's reaches, lowlands and highlands alike.

  22. تَرْكْتَ به شَمْلَ العُداةِ مُفَرَّقاً

    وعَهْدَ المنايا بالعُصاةِ مُجَدَّدا

    Through it you left the enemy's ranks dispersed,

    and death's tryst with the rebels renewed.

  23. سَما لكَ من صَحْنِ العراقِ زَعيمُهم

    يَقودُ جُموعاً تَمْلأُ الأرضَ حُشّدا

    Their leader rose against you from the plain of Iraq,

    leading massed armies that filled the earth.

  24. وقد فرَّق الكُتْبَ اللِّطافَ مَواعِداً

    وروّع بالجيشِ الكثيفِ تَوعُّدا

    He had circulated courteous letters, making promises,

    and struck terror with his dense army and threats.

  25. وما كَذِبُ الأقلامِ هادِمَ دولةٍ

    بَناها لكم صِدْقُ السُّيوفِ وشَيّدا

    But the falsehood of pens cannot demolish a state

    that the truth of swords has built and raised for you.

  26. ولا جَمْعُ أهلِ الأرضِ ينفَعُهم إذا

    بنَصْرِكُمُ ربُّ السماءِ تَفَرّدا

    Nor can the combined people of the earth help them if

    the Lord of heaven takes sole charge of granting you victory.

  27. طلَعْتَ أمامَ الجيشِ في ظلِّ رايةٍ

    نظامّيةٍ يَلْقَى بها المُلْكُ أسْعُدا

    You appeared before the army beneath the shade of a banner,

    a Nizami banner through which the realm meets good fortune,

  28. مُعوَّدةٍ ألا تَزالَ بنَجْمِها

    رَجيماً إذا شيطانُ شَغْبٍ تَمَرّدا

    accustomed, through its star, always to leave

    any demon of turmoil stoned whenever it rebels.

  29. فلم تَلْقَ حَرْباً منذُ أوّلِ عَقْدِها

    فعاودتْ ولم تَمَلأْ من الظّفَرِ اليَدا

    Never since its first raising has it met a battle

    only to return without its hand filled with victory.

  30. فلمّا التقَى الخيلانِ أمرحتَ نحْوَهم

    خُطا كُلِّ طَيّارِ القوائم أجْرها

    When the two cavalry forces met, you set charging toward them

    the strides of every flying-limbed steed [final word unclear].

  31. بقومٍ إذا ثار العَجاجُ تَهافَتُوا

    إلى شَفَراتِ البِيضِ مَثْنَى ومَوْحدا

    With men who, when the battle-dust rises, rush headlong

    toward the edges of bright swords, in pairs and singly,

  32. تَهافُتَ مَبْثوث الفَراشِ وقد رأى

    سَنا النّارِ في قِطْعٍ من اللّيلِ أسْودا

    like scattered moths rushing when they see

    the fire's gleam in a black stretch of night.

  33. فجاؤوا وقد سدُّوا الفضاءَ وسدَّدوا

    قناً بين آذانِ الجِيادِ مُسَدَّدا

    They came filling the open space, and leveled

    well-aimed spears between the horses' ears.

  34. فلمّا رأوا أن قد أصابوا صدَمْتَهم

    كما رُعْتَ رألاً بالقِسيِّ فخَوَّدا

    When they thought they had hit their mark, you struck them,

    as when you frighten an ostrich chick with bows and it bolts.

  35. فأضْحوا وقد هاجُوا أُسوداً ضَوارياً

    وأمسَوا وقد عاجُوا نَعاماً مُطَرَّدا

    At morning they had surged as ravening lions;

    by evening they had turned away as ostriches driven off.

  36. وكلُّ له في أوَّلِ الشّوطِ مَرْحَةٌ

    ولكنْ يَبيِنُ السّبقُ في آخِرِ المَدى

    Everyone has a burst of high spirits at the race's start,

    but the winner becomes clear at the course's end.

  37. أسَلْتَ لهم مّدَّ النّهارِ فَوائراً

    من الطّعنِ تَثْنِي ناظرَ الرُّمحِ أرمدا

    All day you made streams gush for them

    from spear-thrusts that sent the spear's eye back inflamed.

  38. فما غابَ شمْسُ الأفْقِ إلا ومِن دَمٍ

    بَدا شَفَقٌ قانٍ به الأفُقُ ارتدى

    No sooner had the horizon's sun set than, from blood,

    a crimson twilight appeared, clothing the horizon.

  39. فلولا طلامٌ يَرقَع النَقْعُ خَرْقَهُ

    لأمسَتْ حِياضُ المَوْتِ للقوم مَوردا

    Had there not been darkness whose rents the dust patched,

    death's pools would have become the men's watering-place.

  40. وقد حُقِنَتْ منهم بقايا دِمائهم

    بأنْ راح سيفُ الشّمسِ في الغَرْبِ مُغْمَدا

    Their remaining blood was spared

    because the sun's sword went sheathed into the west.

  41. وبات سوادُ اللّيلِ لمّا أظَلّهم

    هوىً بسوادِ العَيْنِ والقلبِ يُفْتَدى

    When night's blackness spread its shade over them, it became

    a beloved ransomed with the eye's dark pupil and the heart.

  42. عَجِبتُ لقومٍ قد أراغوا لِمَطْلَبٍ

    مَعاداً ولما يَحَمْدوا منه مُبْتَدا

    I marvel at men who have sought, in a pursuit,

    a return, though they have yet to find its beginning praiseworthy.

  43. ألم يَشْهدوا بالأمسِ منك نِكايةً

    سقَتْ حَتْفَه منهم هُماماً مُمَجَّدا

    Did they not witness yesterday a devastating blow from you

    that gave one of their celebrated champions his death to drink?

  44. فتىً كان أشَقى النّاسِ إذ كنتَ خَصْمَهُ

    وإن غَلِطَ المُسْمِي فَسَمّاهُ أسْعَدا

    A young man who was the unhappiest of men when you were his foe,

    though his namer erred and called him As'ad, 'Most Fortunate.'

  45. فَبيْنا يَسوسُ النّاسُ مَلْكاً مُعظّماً

    تَحَّولَ حتّى خَرَّ شِلْواً مُقَدَّدا

    While he was ruling the people as an exalted king,

    he changed, until he fell a carcass cut to pieces.

  46. وقام لك الأقبالُ يَهتِفُ مُنْشِداً

    أصابَ الرَّدى مَن كان يَهْوى لك الردى

    Good fortune rose for you, crying out in verse:

    'Death has struck the one who desired death for you.'

  47. هُناك ترَكتَ المُلْكَ منهم مَطَلّقاً

    وغادرْتَ شَمْلَ التّرْكِ عنهم مُبَدَّدا

    There you left kingship divorced from them,

    and left the Turks' ranks dispersed away from them.

  48. فإن لم يُطيقوا في مَغيِبك مِنْعةً

    فِلمْ حاولوا أن يَشهدوا لك مَشْهَدا

    If they could not hold their ground in your absence,

    why did they try to face you on the battlefield?

  49. وإذْ راع منك الاسْمُ فانهزموا له

    فكيف رجَوا صَبْراً وشَخْصُك قد بدا

    Since your name frightened them and made them flee,

    how could they hope to stand firm once your person appeared?

  50. لقد أسْأَرَتْ فيهم ظُباك صُبابةً

    فأولىَ لهم إن عاد أطرافَها الصَّدى

    Your sword-edges have left among them only a small remnant;

    woe to them if thirst revisits those edges!

  51. خُلِقْتَ حميدَ البَدْءِ في كلّ مَوقِفٍ

    فإنْ عُدْتَ يوماً كان عَوْدُك أحْمَدا

    You were made praiseworthy from the outset in every encounter;

    if you return one day, your return is more praiseworthy still.

  52. فحتّى متَى يَصْلَى ببأسِك خائن

    منَ الجهلِ في آيات مُلكِكَ ألحَدا

    How long will a traitor burn in your might,

    who, through ignorance, has denied the signs of your sovereignty?

  53. يُداوي له كَسْراً بكَسْرِ ضَلالهِ

    كفىً وغدا للنّارِ بالنّارِ مُخْمِدا

    His folly treats a fracture for him by breaking

    hands, and sets out to extinguish fire with fire.

  54. ويَجْمَعُ طولَ العامِ شَمْلاً لعَسْكرٍ

    وتَجْعلُه في ساعةٍ مُتَبَدِدّا

    He spends the whole year gathering an army's ranks,

    and you scatter them in a single hour.

  55. إذا ظَلَّ مَن طَوَّقْتَه البِرَّ جاحِداً

    عَقدتَ مكانَ الطَّوقِ منه المُهَنّدا

    If one whom you have collared with kindness remains ungrateful,

    you bind an Indian blade upon him where the collar stood.

  56. إذا جَرَّدَ الباغي أمامَك سَيْفَه

    تَقطَّر مَقْتولاً بما هو جَرَّدا

    When a rebel draws his sword before you,

    he falls slain by the very thing he drew.

  57. قَدِمْتَ معَ الشّهْرِ الشّريفِ مُظَفَّراً

    فهُنّئْتَ عَهْديْ قادِمَيْنِ تَجَدَّدا

    You arrived victorious with the noble month,

    and were congratulated on the renewed seasons of two arrivals.

  58. فكُلُّ فَمٍ للنُسكِ صامَ منَ الوَرى

    وكلُّ فؤادٍ بالمَسرّةِ عَيّدا

    Every mouth among mankind fasted in devotion,

    and every heart kept festival in gladness.

  59. فعِشْ ما رنا طَرفُ الظّلامِ مُكَحَّلا

    ودُمْ ما بدا خَدُّ الصّباح مُورَّدا

    Live as long as darkness gazes with its kohl-lined eye,

    and endure as long as dawn displays its rosy cheek.

  60. نَصْرتَ غياثَ الدّينِ بالهِمّةِ الّتي

    كَفاهُ بها للنّصْرِ جُنْداً مُجَنّداً

    You aided Ghiyath al-Din with the resolve that

    served him, for victory, as a fully mustered army.

  61. وأصبَحْتَ سُدّاً عالياً دونَ مُلْكِه

    وأصبحَ مُلْكٌ لستَ راعيَه سُدى

    You became a lofty barrier defending his kingdom,

    and any realm you do not tend became neglected.

  62. لِذا المُلْكِ كانَتْ ذي الوِزارةُ تُقتنَى

    وإن غاظَ أعداءً فثاروا وَحُسّدا

    For this realm, this vizierate was acquired,

    though it enraged enemies, who rose up full of envy.

  63. قضَى اللهُ هذا الأمْرَ يومَ اصطحَبْتُما

    فكنتَ أبا بَكْرٍ وكان مُحَمّدا

    God decreed this matter the day you two became companions:

    you were Abu Bakr, and he was Muhammad.

  64. فلا زال يَجْلو ناظِرُ الدّهرِ منكما

    سنَا فَرقدٍ آخَى من اللّيلِ فَرْقَدا

    May Time's eye never cease to reveal, from you both,

    the radiance of one Farqad star twinned in the night with another.

  65. ولا زال للمَولىَ الشهيدِ تَحيّةٌ

    من اللهِ ما ناحَ الحَمامُ وغَرّدا

    May a salutation ever reach the martyred lord

    from God, as long as doves lament and sing.

  66. ولا زِلت في عَرْضِ العَبيدِ مُوفَّقاً

    لمدْحكَ عُمْري أن أقولَ وتَنْقُدا

    May I, among the servants, ever be granted success

    throughout my life in praising you: I speak, and you pay.

  67. وقالتْ لك العلياءُ أحسَنْتَ نائلاً

    فأحسَنَ تَقْريظاً وجُدْتَ فَجَوَّدا

    And Glory said to you, 'Well have you bestowed!'

    So he excelled in praise: you were generous, and he excelled.