1. تلافَيْتَ نصْرَ الدّينِ إذْ كادَ يتْلَفُ

    وأنْجَزْتَ وعْدَ الحقِّ وهْوَ مُسَوّفُ

    You rescued the triumph of the faith when it nearly perished.

    And you fulfilled the promise of Truth while it lay deferred.

  2. وأنشأْتَ في أفْقِ العُلا سُحُبَ النّدَى

    وسَقَيْتَ روْضَ المَجْدِ فهْوَ مفوَّفُ

    And you brought forth clouds of bounty on the horizon of eminence.

    And you watered the garden of glory, so it is many-hued.

  3. وجمّعْتَ أسْباطَ المَكارِمِ والعُلى

    ونادَيْتَ لا تَثْرِيبَ إذْ أنْتَ يوسُفُ

    And you gathered the tribes of noble virtues and eminence.

    And proclaimed, “No reproach!”—for you are Yusuf.

  4. وقَرّ سريرُ المُلْكِ لمّا حلَلْتَهُ

    ولوْ لمْ تشِدْ أرْجاءَهُ كادَ يرْجُفُ

    And the throne of sovereignty stood firm when you occupied it.

    And had you not braced its sides, it would have all but tottered.

  5. دعَتْكَ قُلوبُ النّاسِ إذْ عمّ جذْبُها

    ولَجّ الأسَى فِيها وجَلّ التأسُّفُ

    The people's hearts called you when drought overtook them.

    And grief persisted within them, and regret grew immense.

  6. فأنْزَلْتَ غيْثاً منْ سَماءِ عَجاجَةٍ

    تُرَى دَلْوَها شُهْبَ الأسِنّةِ تَقْذِفُ

    So you sent down life-giving rain from the sky of a dust storm.

    Its bucket is seen hurling the shooting stars of spearheads.

  7. تَهُبُّ رِياحُ النّصْرِ في جنَباتِها

    رُخاءً ورَعْدُ الطّبْلِ خلْفَكَ يقْصِفُ

    The winds of victory blow through its sides,

    gently, and the drum's thunder crashes behind you.

  8. فَما كُنْتَ إلاّ رَحْمَةَ اللّهِ أُرْسِلَتْ

    فأعْطِيَ معْتَرٌّ وأخْصَبَ مُعجِفُ

    So you were only God's mercy, sent forth.

    A needy visitor was provided for, and the owner of lean herds found plenty.

  9. فقرّ بكَ الإسلامُ عيْناً ولمْ يزَلْ

    يعدُّكَ للجُلّى ويسْعَى فتُسْعِفُ

    Through you Islam's eye found comfort, and it has never ceased

    counting on you for great ordeals, striving as you lend aid.

  10. فلِلّهِ منْ يَومٍ أغَرَّ مُحجَّلٍ

    لحِزْبِ الهُدى قِدْماً إليْهِ تشوُّفُ

    God be praised for a day, white-blazed and white-stockinged,

    long yearned for by the followers of guidance!

  11. أرَى الدّينَ دينَ اللّه ما كانَ يرْتَجي

    ودافَعَ عنْ أهْلِيهِ ما يُتَخوَّفُ

    It showed the faith—God's faith—what it had hoped for,

    and warded off from its people what they feared.

  12. فَيا حضْرَةً للعَدْلِ أصْبَحَتْ روْضَةً

    بأنْوارِها روْضُ الهِدايةِ يُتْحِفُ

    O court of justice, now become a garden,

    with whose blossoms the garden of guidance bestows gifts!

  13. ويا كعْبَةَ الُلْكِ التي برَكاتُها

    تفيضُ علَى زُوّارِها وتَوكَّفُ

    And O Kaaba of sovereignty, whose blessings

    overflow upon its visitors and shower down!

  14. ليَهْنِكَ منْصورُ اللّواءِ مؤيَّدٌ

    بِحارُ النّدى منْ جودِ كفَّيْهِ تغْرِفُ

    May one upheld, whose banner is victorious, bring you joy:

    the seas of bounty draw from the generosity of his two hands.

  15. هُمامٌ إذا ما عايَنَ القِرْنَ سيْفُهُ

    فموْعِدُهُ الحشْرُ الذي ليْسَ يُخْلِفُ

    A hero: whenever his sword beholds an adversary,

    that adversary's appointment is the Resurrection, which never fails.

  16. وأقْسِمُ لوْ رامَ الثُريّا لنالَها

    بعزْمِ اقتِدارٍ ما لَها عنْهُ مصْرفُ

    And I swear, were he to seek the Pleiades, he would surely reach them,

    with mighty resolve; they would have no escape from him.

  17. وَصولٌ الى الغاياتِ يُرْجَى ويُتّقى

    كريمُ السّجايا لمْ يشُبْهُ التّكلّفُ

    A consummate achiever of goals, looked to with hope and feared,

    noble in character, untainted by affectation.

  18. يؤلّفُ بالحُسْننَى قُلوباً تفرّقَتْ

    يفرِّقُ بالإحْسانِ ما لا يؤلِّفُ

    He unites through kindness hearts that were divided.

    He distributes through generosity what he does not amass.

  19. أمَوْلايَ إنْ عبَد نِعْمَتِك الذي

    علَيْكَ ثَنائِي ما حَييتُ موَقّفُ

    O my lord, truly I am the servant of your bounty, whose

    praise is devoted to you for as long as I live.

  20. وما الشعرُ إلا بعْضُ نُعْماكَ إنّه

    وإنْ راقَ منْ أزْهارِ مجْدِكَ يَقْطِفُ

    And poetry is only part of your bounty; it,

    even when pleasing, plucks from the blossoms of your glory.

  21. تكلّفْتَ بالإحْسانِ بَدْءً وعودةً

    فخيْرٌ تسنّيهِ وشِعْرٌ تُشَرِّفُ

    You committed yourself to kindness, at first and yet again:

    bounty you confer, and poetry you honor.

  22. بلَغْتُ بأمْداحي لمُلْكِكَ رُتْبَةً

    تُطِلُّ على أوْجِ السِّماكِ وتُشْرِفُ

    Through my praises of your sovereignty I have attained a rank

    that overlooks al-Simak's zenith and towers above it.

  23. وأحْرزْتُ في شأوِ امتِداحِكَ غايةً

    تقرِّرُ مُدّاحَ المُلوكِ فتُنْصِفُ

    And in the race of praising you I have reached a final goal

    that exacts acknowledgment from kings' panegyrists and renders justice.

  24. أجَرِّرُ ذَيْلي عندَ ذِكْرِ جَريرِها

    بَيانا فلا أهْفو ولا أتوقّفُ

    I trail my robe's hem when its Jarir is mentioned,

    in eloquence, neither faltering nor hesitating.

  25. وأنْتَعِلُ الجوْزاءَ عُجْباً وإنْ غدَتْ

    تُقَرّطُ آذانٌ بِها وتُشَنَّفُ

    And in pride I wear al-Jawza' as sandals, though it has come to be

    worn upon ears as earrings and pendants.

  26. وماذا عسَى يُثْني فصيحٌ وشاعِرٌ

    وماذا عسَى يُحصي كلامٌ مُزَخْرَفُ

    And what praise can an eloquent speaker and a poet offer?

    And what can embellished speech hope to enumerate?

  27. وأنتَ أبا الحجّاجِ حُجّةُ دينِنا

    بكَ اللهُ يجْلو الشّكّ والسّوءَ يصْرِفُ

    And you, Abu al-Hajjaj, are the proof of our faith.

    Through you God dispels doubt and turns evil away.

  28. وأنتَ ابْنُ أنْصارِ الهُدَى وحُماتِهِ

    هَنيئاً لهُمْ هَذا الثّناءُ المُخَلَّفُ

    And you are the son of guidance's helpers and its defenders:

    may this bequeathed praise bring them joy!

  29. نَحا نحْوَ أرْباب العُلَى ففَعالُهُمْ

    على السَّنَن المَرْضيِّ والعدْلِ يعطِفُ

    He followed the path of the lords of greatness; their conduct

    inclines toward the approved way and justice.

  30. شِعارُهُمُ عِلْمٌ وحِلْمٌ ونائِلٌ

    وحرْبٌ ومِحْرابٌ وسيْفٌ ومُصْحَفُ

    Their emblems are learning, forbearance, and bounty,

    and war, a prayer niche, a sword, and a Qur'an.

  31. فكمْ أطْلَعوا في الحرْبِ منْ بحْرٍ صارمٍ

    يعَفِّر آنافَ الطُغاةِ ويُرْعِفُ

    How many a fierce sea they have brought forth in war,

    rubbing tyrants' noses in the dust and making them bleed!

  32. وكمْ عائِلٍ أغنَوْا وكمْ خائِفٍ حمَوْا

    وكم معْدِمٍ أثْرَوْهُ جوداً وأتْرَفوا

    How many a needy man they have enriched, and how many a frightened one protected,

    and how many a destitute man they have enriched with bounty and pampered!

  33. بعَثْتَ الى أرضِ العِدَى بكَتيبةٍ

    تكادُ بِها شمْسُ الظّهيرةِ تكْسِفُ

    You sent a battalion to the land of the enemy,

    by which the noonday sun is almost eclipsed.

  34. قَبائِلُ أدْواها السُّرَى فتنكّرَتْ

    ولكنّها عندَ الكَريهةِ تُعرَفُ

    Tribes that night marches have worn down, making them unrecognizable,

    yet in the ordeal of battle they are recognized.

  35. تقودُ إلَيْهمْ كلَّ أجْرَدَ سابِحٍ

    تُهَدُّ بهِ شُمُّ الهِضابِ وتُنْسَفُ

    They lead toward them every sleek, swimming steed,

    by which the lofty hills are shattered and blown away.

  36. يُكَبّرُ عنْ لَبْسِ الحَديدِ الى الوَغى

    فقامَ مَقامَ الدِّرْعِ بُرْدٌ ومُطْرَفُ

    He is too exalted to wear iron into the fray,

    so a striped cloak and a bordered mantle took armor's place.

  37. تنكّبُ عنْها البيضُ وهْيَ بواتِرٌ

    ويَقْصُرُ عنْها السّمْهَريُّ المُثَقّفُ

    Bright swords swerve away from it, though they are keen cutters,

    and the straightened Samhari spear falls short of it.

  38. وما كُلُّ زَنْدٍ يحْمِلُ الكفَّ ساعِداً

    وما كُلُّ مصْقولِ الشِّفارَيْنِ مُرْهَفُ

    Not every wrist bearing a hand is a mighty arm,

    and not every blade polished on both edges is keen.

  39. فجاسَتْ أقاصي أرضِهِمْ وتعسّفَتْ

    غَنائِمُهُمْ للّهِ ذاكَ التعسُّفُ

    It scoured the far reaches of their land and seized by force

    their spoils—by God, what a forcible seizure!

  40. فأبْصَرَ ملْكُ الرّومِ منكَ مؤيَّداً

    إذا همّ لا وانٍ ولا متخَلِّفُ

    So the king of the Romans beheld in you a man upheld,

    who, when he resolves, neither slackens nor lags behind.

  41. فسالَمَ إشْفاقاً وكفّ تَخوّفاً

    وعفّ فَما أنْجاهُ إلا التّعفُّفُ

    He made peace from apprehension and desisted from fear,

    and restrained himself; only self-restraint saved him.

  42. ووجّهَ يسْتَجْدي عُلاكَ رسولَهُ

    وكاتَبَ يسْتَدْني رِضاكَ ويُلْطِفُ

    And he sent his envoy to beg bounty from your highness,

    and wrote, seeking your favor with gracious words.

  43. فأقبلَ لا يدْري الى النّجْمِ يرْتَقي

    أمِ البحْرَ يبْغي أمْ الى اللّيْثِ يدْلِفُ

    He approached, not knowing whether he rose toward the star,

    or sought the sea, or advanced toward the lion.

  44. يؤمِّلُ تقْبيلَ البِساط ومَنْ له

    بهِ وبروقُ الهِندِ عيْنَيْهِ تخْطِفُ

    He hopes to kiss the carpet—but who can grant him

    that, while Indian blades' lightning flashes snatch at his eyes?

  45. وقدْ جنَحوا للسِّلْمِ فاجْنَحْ تفضُّلاً

    فَما مِنْهُمُ عيْنٌ منَ الرُّعْبِ تطْرِفُ

    They have inclined toward peace; so incline too, in generosity,

    for not an eye among them blinks from terror.

  46. فَلا برِحَتْ أيّامُكَ الغُرُّ تقْتَفي

    بكَ الفَتْحَ والآمالُ لا تتوقّفُ

    May your radiant days never cease to pursue

    victory through you, and may hopes never falter.

  47. ولازالتِ الأمْلاكُ تأتيكَ خُضَّعاً

    ولازِلْتَ بالإحْسانِ والعَفْوِ تكْلَفُ

    May kings ever come to you in submission,

    and may you ever be devoted to kindness and forgiveness.

  48. ويُنْشِدُ مَنْ يأتي لبابِكَ وافِداً

    تلافَيْتَ نصْرَ الدّينِ إذْ كادَ يَتْلَفُ

    And may whoever comes as a visitor to your door recite:

    You rescued the triumph of the faith when it nearly perished.