1. لكَ في الملوك خوارقُ العاداتِ

    وغرائبٌ من صالح الفِعلاتِ

    Yours, among kings, are marvels that defy custom,

    And rare wonders of worthy deeds.

  2. حَسنت بك الدنيا وعاد سناؤها

    فالعيش صافٍ والسرورُ مواتي

    Through you the world grew beautiful, and its splendor returned;

    Life is untroubled, and joy readily at hand.

  3. والخلق شكراً للذي أوليتهم

    لك بالدعاء تضج بالأصوات

    And the people, grateful for what you bestowed on them,

    Raise their voices in resounding prayers for you.

  4. ثق بالالهِ فإِنَّ ربك غافرٌ

    ودعاؤهم لك أَعظم القرباتِ

    Trust in God, for your Lord is forgiving,

    And their prayers for you are the greatest means of drawing near to God.

  5. فاجعل صنيعك فيهمُ كفارةً

    تمحو مآثرَ سائرِ الهفَواتِ

    So make your beneficence toward them an atonement

    That erases the traces of all missteps.

  6. ما هذهِ الدنيا بدارِ إقامةٍ

    فاغنْم لنفسكَ صالحَ الدعواتِ

    This world is no permanent dwelling,

    So secure worthy prayers for yourself.

  7. وقد استجيبَ دعاؤهم لك إذ دعوْا

    ودليلهَ التوفيقُ في الحركاتِ

    Their prayers for you were indeed answered when they prayed,

    And the proof is divine favor in your actions.

  8. أَو ما تراك إِذا هممتَ بصالحٍ

    نفذَ القضاءُ به نفوذَ بتاتِ

    Or do you not see that, when you intend a good deed,

    The decree fulfills it with irrevocable finality?

  9. ومتى يخادعَك المشيرُ بضلةٍ

    والمرءُ لم يعصمْ من الغَفلاتِ

    And whenever an adviser deceives you with a misguided plan—

    For no person is protected from heedlessness—

  10. أَتتِ العوائقُ دونها وشواغلٌ

    دونَ القضا لفوائتِ الأوقاتِ

    Obstacles arise to bar it, and distractions

    Block its completion as timely chances slip away,

  11. حتى يبين لك الصوابُ فتنثى

    عنها وتقلع صادقَ العزماتِ

    Until the right course becomes clear to you, and you turn

    Away from it and desist, sincere in your resolve.

  12. ملكَ يدبرهُ المهيمنُ لا تخفْ

    فيه على الآرا من العَثراتِ

    A kingdom governed by the Guardian—do not fear

    That its counsels may stumble into error.

  13. للهِ فيكَ عنايةٌ تكفي بها

    عن حسنِ تدبيرِ وكيدِ عُداةِ

    God's care attends you; through it you are spared

    The need for skillful planning and the schemes of foes.

  14. وسعادةٌ أغنتك عن ضربِ الطلا

    وطراد فرسانٍ وطَعنُ كماةِ

    And good fortune has spared you the striking of necks,

    The pursuit of horsemen and the spearing of armored warriors.

  15. فارقتنا والنَّخلُ يؤتى أُكلَهُ

    والقطرُ لم يصدع ربىً بنباتِ

    You left us as the palms were granted their fruit,

    And rain had not cleft the hills with vegetation.

  16. والجدب مغرٍ بالشقاقِ ومركب

    أهلَ الفساد مراكب الهَلكاتِ

    Drought incited discord and set

    The corrupt upon mounts of destruction.

  17. ورأوا هناك وقد نأيتُم أَنهم

    يفدون موتاً حاضراً بمماتِ

    And there, once you had gone far away, they saw that they

    Were buying off imminent death with death.

  18. فتعاقدوا والله ينقضُ عهدَهم

    وتواعدوا من أَوعدوا ببياتِ

    So they made a pact, while God undid their pledge,

    And agreed on a night attack against those they had threatened.

  19. وإِذا السمآء تصبُّ فوق رؤوسهم

    ما عمَّ شملُ جميعهم بشتاتِ

    And behold, the sky poured down above their heads

    What scattered their entire company.

  20. فتفرّقوا شذراً الخراب مزارع

    ألقت عليهم ذِلةَ الأموَاتِ

    So they scattered in fragments; wastelands became fields

    That cast upon them the abasement of the dead.

  21. فدروا بأن لكم وراء جنودِكم

    جندٌ من الأَمطار والبركاتِ

    So they realized that, behind your armies, you have

    An army of rains and blessings.

  22. وإِذا تولّى الله أَمر محاولٍ

    أمراً فما يخشى ابتلا بِفواتِ

    And when God takes charge of one pursuing

    An aim, he fears no ordeal of failure.

  23. من لم ينل ما نلتَ من حبِّ الورى

    لم يدرِ ما للمُلكِ من لَذاتِ

    Whoever has not won such love from humankind as you have

    Does not know the pleasures kingship holds.

  24. يبدو بوجه عمَّ بالفضل الورى

    فإِذا بدَا فدوهُ بالمهِجاتِ

    He appears with a face whose bounty embraces humankind,

    And when he appears, they ransom him with their lifeblood.

  25. يفديكَ عنهم كلُّ ملكٍ جائرِ

    لا يأمن الدعواتِ في الخلواتِ

    May every unjust king be your ransom in their stead—

    Never safe from prayers uttered in solitude.

  26. لم يرضَ عبدُ الله إِذعانَ الورى

    بالخوفِ دونَ الحبِّ في الطاعاتِ

    Abd Allah was not content with people's submission

    Through fear rather than love in their obedience.

  27. الأبلجُ المنصورُ من جازى الورى

    في المكرماتِ فأحرَزَ القَصباتِ

    The radiant al-Mansur, who repaid humankind

    With noble deeds, and won the victor's stakes.

  28. وأَطاعها نفساً تحنُّ إِلى العلى

    حيثُ النفوسُ تحنُّ للشَّهواتِ

    And he obeyed his soul, which yearns for the heights,

    Where other souls yearn for sensual pleasures.

  29. فأَصاب مرماهُ وقد ظهرت لَهُ

    بدلالةِ التوفيقِ في مرآةِ

    So he attained his aim, already revealed to him

    Through the guidance of divine favor, in a mirror.

  30. خذ من زمانِك ما أَثابك واغتنم

    فرض الثنا نوافلَ الحسناتِ

    Take what your time has rewarded you with, and seize the chance;

    Praise has made voluntary good deeds obligatory.

  31. فاللهُ راض والبريةُ كلهُمْ

    راضوان فاستكثر من الخيراتِ

    For God is pleased, and all creation

    Is pleased; so multiply your good deeds.