1. قضى الله فينا وهو حكم بحكمهِ

    بأن الورى ما بين حىٍّ وميتِ

    God has decreed concerning us—He is the judge in His judgment—

    that all people are either living or dead.

  2. فلا تجز عن مما قضى وكرهته

    ففيما قضاه الله أعظم خيرةِ

    So do not grieve over what He decreed and you disliked,

    for in what God has decreed lies the greatest good:

  3. ثوابُ وذخر فأحمد الله أنُّه

    ليوم لقاءِ الله خير ذخيرةِ

    a reward and a treasure. Praise God, for it

    is the finest provision for the day of meeting God.

  4. فأطفالنا الموتى غدا شفعاؤنا

    بهم نرتجي غفرانَ كل خطيئةِ

    Our children who have died will tomorrow be our intercessors;

    through them we hope for forgiveness of every sin.

  5. يطوفون بالأكواب في والديهم

    ونحن عطاش شربة بعد شربةِ

    They pass among their parents bearing cups,

    while we thirst—draught after draught.

  6. يعيظك عنه الله أبرك مولداً

    وأحسن في خُلق وخَلق وبسطهِ

    May God give you, in his stead, one more blessed in birth,

    and finer in character, form, and openhandedness.

  7. وما مات إِلا بعد بشرى لأخوةٍ

    له نحوكم قد أقبلوا بعد أخوةِ

    He died only after glad tidings of brothers

    of his, who have come to you, brothers after brothers.

  8. يعيشون حتى يبصروا لأب منكحا

    لابناء أبناهم بكل كريمةِ

    They will live until they see a father arranging marriages

    for the sons of their sons, to every noble woman.

  9. وتبصرهم غيظُ العدو إِذا امتطوا

    ظهور المذاكي القب في السائريةِ

    And you will see them, to the enemy’s fury, as they mount

    the backs of mature, lean-bellied steeds, in mail armor.

  10. لهم في الأعادي غارةٌ بعد غارةٍ

    ووقعة قتلى بهم بعد وقعة

    Against their enemies they launch raid after raid,

    and battle after battle, with men slain by them.

  11. وأما الذي ناداه بالأمسِ ربه

    ليربو في الجنات أحسن ربية

    As for the one his Lord called yesterday,

    to grow in the gardens of Paradise with the finest nurture,

  12. فما كان مخلوقاً لبقيا وعيشةٍ

    ولكن لتعطي فيه أجر المصيبةِ

    he was not created to remain and live on,

    but that you might receive through him the reward of bereavement.

  13. فإن البرايا ما ينال مليكهم

    ينالهم من ترحة ومسرةِ

    For whatever befalls the sovereign of humankind

    befalls them too, in sorrow and in joy,

  14. ولا سيّما من كان مثلكَ هكذا

    يحب الرعايا عادلاً في القضيةِ

    especially one who is like you in this:

    loving his subjects and judging justly,

  15. ينزلهم نزل النبوة رحمة

    ويحنو على الكل حنو الأبوةِ

    sheltering them with the hospitality of prophethood, in mercy,

    and caring for all with a father’s tenderness.

  16. فأيديهم ممدودةً لك بالدعا

    وألسنهم تثني ثناء المودةِ

    So their hands are outstretched in prayer for you,

    and their tongues praise you with loving praise.

  17. هنيئاً مريئاً دولة قد ملى بها

    لكم كل قلب بالرضا والمحبةِ

    A sweet and wholesome blessing is a reign that has filled

    every heart with contentment and love for you.

  18. ولا ملك يرضى غير ملك خليفةِ

    تسر بمراه قلوبُ الرعيةِ

    And no rule is pleasing save the rule of a caliph

    whose appearance gladdens the hearts of his subjects.

  19. يذكرهم في حين يبدو عليهم

    بما قلدتهم كفهُ من صنيعهِ

    Whenever he appears before them, he reminds them

    of the kindnesses with which his hand has adorned them.

  20. وأحسن وجهٍ طالع وجه محسنٍ

    ورؤيته في العين أحسن رؤيةِ

    And the fairest face to appear is a benefactor’s face,

    and the sight of him is the fairest sight to the eye.

  21. يفديه منهم من رأه بنفسه

    وبالأقربا من عترة وعشيرةِ

    Whoever among them has seen him would ransom him with his own life,

    and with his nearest kin, his family and clan.

  22. فدتكَ ملوك قد أساؤوا بجورهم

    إذا برزوا لم يعدموا سوء سمعةِ

    May kings who have done evil through tyranny be your ransom;

    whenever they appear, they are never without ill repute.

  23. وما أنت إلا رحمة الله أنزلت

    على الخلق تحييهم وأية رحمةِ

    You are nothing but God’s mercy, sent down

    upon creation to revive them—and what a mercy!

  24. وما موت من واريَت إِلا مثوبةٌ

    أتتك وغفرانٌ محى كلَّ زلةِ

    The death of the one you buried is nothing but a reward

    that has come to you, and forgiveness that has erased every lapse.

  25. ومن بعده لم يبق إلا بشائر

    توافيك منها فرحةٌ بعد فرحةِ

    And after him nothing remains but glad tidings,

    from which joy after joy comes to you.

  26. تريد بمن ترعاه خيراً وربَّنا

    عليم بما أضمرت من حسن نّيةِ

    You seek good for those you care for, and our Lord

    knows the good intention you hold within.

  27. وتجرى ضروراتٌ يسوءك كونَها

    وقد يركب المحذورُ عند الضرورةِ

    And necessities arise whose occurrence grieves you,

    and what is feared may be undertaken under necessity.

  28. الهي أعنْ يحي على ما يسرهُ

    ويبديه من عدل وحسن طويةِ

    My God, help Yahya in what he keeps hidden

    and reveals of justice and goodness of heart.

  29. وكفّ أكفاً قصدها غير قصده

    بلطفٍ وأغلق عنه باب الأذيةِ

    Restrain hands whose purpose differs from his,

    with gentleness, and close the door of harm to him.

  30. ومهَد له الدنيا وأحمد شرورها

    وسكنّ به ما ثار من كل فتنةِ

    Make the world smooth for him, and quell its evils;

    and through him still every strife that has arisen.

  31. ودبّرهُ تدبير الحفي بعبده

    فأنت الذي استخلفته في الخليفْةِ

    Govern his affairs as One solicitous toward His servant,

    for You are the One who appointed him a successor among creation.