أثنتْ عليك بأسرها الدولُ

أثنتْ عليك بأسرها الدولُ

وتشوقتكَ الأعصرُ الأولُ

وتشوقتكَ الأعصرُ الأولُ

All the realms have praised you,

The nations have praised you altogether

And the ages of old have yearned for you.

And the early eras longed for you

وأعدتَ للأيَّام جدّتها

وأعدتَ للأيَّام جدّتها

فاليوم عمر الدهر مقتبلُ

فاليوم عمر الدهر مقتبلُ

And you restored freshness to the days,

You prepared resurgence for the days

So today the life of Time is young again.

So today, the lifetime of time looks forward

وأرى الممالك يا ابن بجدتها

وأرى الممالك يا ابن بجدتها

لكَ شكرُها كنداك متَّصلُ

لكَ شكرُها كنداك متَّصلُ

And I see the kingdoms, O master of their affairs:

And I see the kingdoms, O son of his ancestors

Their thanks to you, like your bounty, are unceasing.

Grateful to you, continuously growing

أوسعتها وفضلتها كرماً

أوسعتها وفضلتها كرماً

عنه يضيقُ السهلُ والجبلُ

عنه يضيقُ السهلُ والجبلُ

You lavished generosity on them and surpassed them in it,

You have expanded them and preferred them generously

Too vast for plain and mountain to contain.

Beyond this, the plains and mountains are too narrow

وسبرتَ غورَ زمانها فغدا

وسبرتَ غورَ زمانها فغدا

لا جرحَ إلاَّ وهو مندملُ

لا جرحَ إلاَّ وهو مندملُ

And you plumbed the depths of their age, so now

And you have probed the depths of their time so it has become

There is no wound that is not healed.

Every wound has now healed

ما في الحياةِ لخالعٍ أملٌ

ما في الحياةِ لخالعٍ أملٌ

أنتَ الحمامُ وسيفك الأجلُ

أنتَ الحمامُ وسيفك الأجلُ

No rebel has any hope of life:

There is no hope for an abdicator in life

You are death, and your sword the appointed end.

You are the pigeon and your sword is death

مَن ذا يردُّ لعزمتيكَ شباً

مَن ذا يردُّ لعزمتيكَ شباً

وشباكَ يقطع قبلَ ما يصلُ

وشباكَ يقطع قبلَ ما يصلُ

Who can turn aside the keen edge of your two resolves,

Who can restrain your determination as a young man

When your edge cuts before it reaches its mark?

And your nets that cut before they arrive

إن تنتعلْ قممَ الملوك فقد

إن تنتعلْ قممَ الملوك فقد

توّجتهم بالفخر لو عقلوا

توّجتهم بالفخر لو عقلوا

If you wear kings’ heads as sandals, then

If you wear the crowns of kings then you

You have crowned them with glory, if they only understood.

Have crowned them with pride, if they were wise

وطأتْ لك الدنيا بأخمصها

وطأتْ لك الدنيا بأخمصها

هممٌ بساطُ نعالها القلل

هممٌ بساطُ نعالها القلل

The world was trodden down for you beneath the soles

The world has knelt to you

Of aspirations whose sandals have the peaks for a carpet.

Ambitions are carpets, shoes are hills

ولئن أقمتَ بحيث أنت وقد

ولئن أقمتَ بحيث أنت وقد

أمنت بك الأقطار والسبلُ

أمنت بك الأقطار والسبلُ

And even if you remain where you are, now that

And if you stand where you are, and have

The lands and roads are safe through you,

Secured the regions and roads with you

فالأرض حيث تجوسها بلدٌ

فالأرض حيث تجوسها بلدٌ

والناس حيث تسوسها رجلُ

والناس حيث تسوسها رجلُ

Then the earth, wherever you traverse it, is one town,

Then the land wherever you set foot is a country

And the people, wherever you govern them, are one man.

And the people wherever you govern are a man

وإذا الصواهلُ أرعدتْ وعلى

وإذا الصواهلُ أرعدتْ وعلى

برقِ الصوارم أمطرَ الأسلُ

برقِ الصوارم أمطرَ الأسلُ

And when the neighing steeds thundered, and upon

And when the swords roar and on

The swords’ lightning the spears rained down,

The lightning of blades the harvest pours

وعلتْ رياحُ الموتِ خافقةً

وعلتْ رياحُ الموتِ خافقةً

بأجشّ قسطله لها زجلُ

بأجشّ قسطله لها زجلُ

And the winds of death rose, gusting,

And the winds of death blow fluttering

In a roaring host whose battle-dust rang with their din,

With every heavy downpour a flood

خضتَ السيوفَ وكلُّها لججٌ

خضتَ السيوفَ وكلُّها لججٌ

تحتَ الرماح وكلُّها ظللُ

تحتَ الرماح وكلُّها ظللُ

You waded through the swords, all of them ocean deeps,

You have reddened the swords and all of them sparks

Beneath the spears, all of them canopies.

Under the spears and all of them shadows

وجنيتَ عزّ الملك محتكماً

وجنيتَ عزّ الملك محتكماً

من حيث تنبت في الكلى الذبلُ

من حيث تنبت في الكلى الذبلُ

And you reaped sovereignty’s glory, holding full sway,

And you have reaped the glory of kingship by judgement

From where slender spears sprout in the kidneys.

Wherever weakness grows in the kidneys

ولديكَ آراءٌ مثقفةٌ

ولديكَ آراءٌ مثقفةٌ

ما مسَّها كمثقفٍ خطلُ

ما مسَّها كمثقفٍ خطلُ

And you possess well-honed judgments,

And you have cultivated views

Like a straightened spear, they are untouched by fault.

That no other cultivated one has marred

فإذا طعنتَ بها العدى وصلتْ

فإذا طعنتَ بها العدى وصلتْ

منهم لحيث السمرُ لا تصلُ

منهم لحيث السمرُ لا تصلُ

So when you pierce your foes with them, they reach

So when you stab the enemy with them, they reach

Places within them that brown spears cannot reach.

Where arrows cannot reach

وعزائمٌ كالشهب ثاقبةٌ

وعزائمٌ كالشهب ثاقبةٌ

في كلِّ ناحيةٍ لها شعلُ

في كلِّ ناحيةٍ لها شعلُ

And resolves that pierce like meteors,

And resolves like meteors, penetrating

With flames of their own in every quarter.

In every direction, each has a flame

قلْ للقبائل لا نعدُّكم

قلْ للقبائل لا نعدُّكم

جمعَ القبائل كلّها رجل

جمعَ القبائل كلّها رجل

Tell the tribes: “We do not count you;

Say to the tribes, we do not count you

One man has gathered all the tribes into himself.”

The collection of all tribes as one man

أسدٌ قلوبُ عداه من فرقٍ

أسدٌ قلوبُ عداه من فرقٍ

ذهلٌ ونابلُ فكره ثعلُ

ذهلٌ ونابلُ فكره ثعلُ

He is a lion (Asad); his foes’ hearts, through fear,

A lion whose enemies' hearts are fragments

Are dazed (Dhuhl); his thought’s archer is Thuʿal.

Stunned, and his thoughts are strong

فاطرحْ أحاديثَ الكرام له

فاطرحْ أحاديثَ الكرام له

فيه لكلٍّ منهم مثلُ

فيه لكلٍّ منهم مثلُ

So set aside tales of the noble in his favor:

So discard the honorable words about him

In him there is a likeness of each of them.

In him, each of them has an example

واتركْ تفاصيلَ الملوك فقد

واتركْ تفاصيلَ الملوك فقد

أغنتكَ عنها هذه الجمل

أغنتكَ عنها هذه الجمل

And leave detailed accounts of kings, for

And leave the details of kings for you

These summaries have spared you the need for them.

Have made them needless with these phrases

يا ابن الوزارة أنت أوحدُها

يا ابن الوزارة أنت أوحدُها

لا راعها بفراقك الثكلُ

لا راعها بفراقك الثكلُ

O son of the vizierate, you are its one and only;

O son of ministry, you are the only one

May bereavement at losing you never terrify it.

Without you, grief has no shepherd

ومَن ادَّعى للعين ليسَ سوى

ومَن ادَّعى للعين ليسَ سوى

إنسانها ابنٌ تشهدُ المقلُ

إنسانها ابنٌ تشهدُ المقلُ

And whoever claims that the eye has no other

And whoever claims the eye is nothing but

Son than its pupil—the eyes bear witness for him.

A human, the eyelid testifies

فأقمْ وبدرُك كاملٌ أبداً

فأقمْ وبدرُك كاملٌ أبداً

والبدر منتقصٌ ومكتملُ

والبدر منتقصٌ ومكتملُ

So remain, your full moon forever complete,

So remain, and your full moon is always full

While the moon wanes and grows full,

While the moon itself waxes and wanes

في دولةٍ صلحتْ وزارتها

في دولةٍ صلحتْ وزارتها

لكَ فهي تحسدُها بك الدولُ

لكَ فهي تحسدُها بك الدولُ

In a realm whose vizierate is suited

In a state whose ministry has been set right by you

To you—so the realms envy it because of you.

So nations envy it because of you