قلدت من نصر الإلاه حساما — Ibn Alkhatib

قُلِّدْتَ مِنْ نَصْرِ الإلاَهِ حُسَاماً

حَاطَ العِبَادَ وَمَهَّدَ الأَيَّامَا

You were girded with a sword of God's aid,

That guarded the people and smoothed the course of days.

فَإِذَا تَنَبَّهَ حَادِثٌ نَبَّهْتَهُ

وَتَرَكْتَ أَجْفَانَ الأَنَامِ نِيَامَا

Whenever a calamity stirred, you roused it,

And left the eyelids of mankind asleep.

وَذَعَرْتَ أُسْدَ الْغَابِ فِي أَجَمَاتِهَا

لَمَّا هَزَزْتَ مِنَ الْقَنَا آجَامَا

And you terrified the lions of the woods within their thickets,

When you shook thickets of spears.

فَإِذَا هَمَمْتَ بَلَغْتَ أَقْصَى غَايَةٍ

وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَ الْرَّأْيَ كَانَ لِزَامَا

Whenever you resolved, you reached the furthest goal,

And whenever you formed a judgment, it became binding.

وَإِذَا الْجَزِيرَةُ نَالَ مِنْهَا وَاقِعٌ

شَيْئاً وَهَاجَ بِهَا الْعَدُوُّ ضِرَامَا

Whenever a calamity touched the Peninsula,

Even slightly, and the enemy kindled a blaze within it,

أًصْلَيْتَهَا نَارً السُّيُوفِ فَأَصْبَحَتْ

بَرْداً عَلَى كَبِدِ الْهُدَى وَسَلامَا

You plunged it into the fire of swords, which became

Coolness and peace upon the liver of guidance.

وَقَدِمْتَ فِي يَوْمِ الْهِيَاجِ بِفتْيَةٍ

لَمْ تَدْرِ إِلاَّ الْبَطْشَ وَالإِقْدَامَا

And on the day of battle you advanced with young men

Who knew only fierce assault and bold advance,

مُتَسَرْبِلِينَ هَجِيرَهَا فَإِذَا دَجَا

قَطَعُوا الدُّجُنَّةَ سُجَّداً وَقِيَامَا

Clad in its scorching heat; and when darkness fell,

They passed the darkness prostrate and standing in prayer.

فَلِبَاسُ بَأْسِكَ رَاعَ أَفْئِدَةَ الْعِدَى

وَوُجُودُ جُودِكَ أَعْدَمَ الإِعْدَامَا

So the mantle of your valor terrified your enemies' hearts,

And the presence of your bounty abolished want.

عَجَباً لِرَاحَتِكَ الْمُلِثَّةِ بِالنَّدَى

أَنْ لاَ تَكُونَ عَلَى الْغَمَامِ غَمَامَا

How strange that your palm, unceasing in bounty,

Should not be a raincloud above the clouds!

تَهْمِي وَوَجْهُكَ نُورُهُ مُتَأَلِّقٌ

والْحَزْنُ إِنْ سُحُبُ السَّحَابِ أَغَامَا

It pours forth, while your face's light shines bright;

Yet gloom comes when banks of cloud grow dark.

نُظِمَ الشَّتَاتُ لِيَوْمِ بَيْعَتِكَ الَّتِي

كَانَتْ لِجَمْعِ المُسْلِمِينَ نِظَامَا

The scattered were strung together for your day of allegiance, which

Became a binding thread for the community of Muslims.

فَتَوَاصَلُوا حَتَّى كَأَنَّ قُلُوبَهُمْ

عَقَدَ التَّواصُلُ بَيْنَهَا أَرْحَامَا

So they joined in fellowship, until it seemed their hearts

Were bound by kinship ties that fellowship had knotted.

لِلَّهِ يُوسُفُ مِنْ إِمَامِ هِدَايَةٍ

مَلِكٍ غَدَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامَا

God be praised for Yusuf, an imam of guidance,

A king who became an imam for the God-fearing.

سَاس الْبِلاَدَ وَرَاضَ مِنْ دَهْمَائِهَا

إِبلاً صِعَاباً لاَ تُطِيق خِطَامَا

He ruled the land and tamed, among its populace,

Unruly camels that could not bear a halter.

إِنْ أَمَّه الْعَافُون يَنْتَجِعُونَهُ

يَلْقَاهُمُ مُتَهَلِّلاً بَسَّامَا

If petitioners approach him, seeking his bounty,

He greets them beaming and smiling.

أَوْ حَاوَرَ الآدابَ مُبْتَدِعاً لَهَا

رَاضَ الْعُقُولَ وَرَوَّضَ الأَفْهَامَا

Or when he converses with the literary arts, innovating in them,

He disciplines minds and trains understanding.

أَْبدَتْ مَحَبَّتكَ الْمُلوكُ فَإِنَّ مَنْ

وَالاَكَ وَالَى اللَّهَ والإِسْلامَا

Kings have shown their love for you, for whoever

Is loyal to you is loyal to God and Islam.

وَأَتَتْ هَدَايَاهَا إِلِيْكَ فَأَكَّدَتْ

بَيْنَ الْقُلُوبِ مَوَدَّةً وَذِمَامَا

And their gifts have come to you and strengthened

Affection and bonds of loyalty between hearts:

جُرْداً تُلاَعِبُ فِي الْحُلِيِّ ظِلاَلَهَا

عُفْرَ الأَديمِ تَخَالُهَا آرَامَا

Sleek steeds that, decked in ornaments, play with their shadows,

Dust-colored in hide, you would take them for white antelopes;

صُبُراً عَلَى جَوْبِ الْفَيَافِي وَالسَّرَى

لاَ تَسْأَمُ الأَسْرَاجَ والأَلْجَامَا

Patient in crossing deserts and traveling by night,

Never weary of saddles and bridles.

صَحِب الرَّكَائِبَ وَالحُمُولُ حَدِيثُهَا

حَتَّى تَجَاوَزَ لِلْعِرَاقِ الشَّامَا

Talk of them accompanied riding camels and laden caravans,

Until it passed beyond al-Sham toward Iraq.

لِلَّهِ قَوْمُكَ وَالرِّمَاحُ شَوَاجِرٌ

وَالْبِيضُ تَلْتَهِمُ الطّلَى وَالْهَامَا

God be praised for your people when spears interlock,

And bright swords devour necks and heads!

عُرْبٌ صَمِيمٌ مِنْ ذُؤَابَة يَعْرُبٍ

تَأْبَى الدِّنِيَّةَ أَوْ تَمُوتَ كِرَامَا

True-blooded Arabs, from the noblest stock of Ya'rub,

They refuse dishonor, or die nobly.

ذَخَرُوكَ لِلأِسْلاَمِ نَدْباً أَرْوَعاً

سَحَّ النَّدَى ضَخْمَ الْهُمُومِ هُمَامَا

They reserved you for Islam, a gallant, awe-inspiring champion,

Pouring forth bounty, great in ambition, a valiant lord.

وَبَنَوْا لَكَ الْمَجْدَ الْمُؤَثَّلَ وَالْعُلَى

فَفَرَعْتَ مِنْهَا ذِرْوَةً وَسَنَامَا

And they built for you deep-rooted glory and eminence,

And you scaled its summit and crest.

كَمْ مِنْ جُمُوعِ لِلْعَدُوِّ عِظِيمَةٍ

قَدْ غَادَرُوهَا بِالْفَلاَةِ عِظَامَا

How many mighty hosts belonging to the enemy

They have left as bones in the desert!

وَكَتِيبَةٍ جعَلُو االصِّفَاحَ صَحَائِفاً

مِنْهَا وَخَطِّيَّ الْقَنَا أَقْلاَمَا

And many a battalion—they made its broad surfaces pages,

And spears of Khatt pens.

فَتَرَى النُّجُومَ مَنَاصِلاً وَأَسِنَّةً

وَالْقَطْرَ نَبْلاً وَالسَّمَاءَ قَتَامَا

So you see the stars as sword-blades and spearheads,

The rain as arrows, and the sky as battle-dust.

والْخَيْلُ لَمَّا ضَاقَ رَحْبُ مَجَالِهَا

لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ خَلْفاً وَلاَ قُدَّامَا

And the horses, when their spacious field grew cramped,

Could move neither backward nor forward.

مَالَتْ فَوَارِسُهَا عَلَى أَعْرَافِهَا

وَهُمُ سُكَارَى مَا عَرَفْنَ مُدَامَا

Their riders slumped across their manes,

Drunk, though they had never known wine.

فَتَخَالُهُمْ جَزَراً عَلَى صَهَوَاتِهَا

وَتَخَالُهَا مِنْ تَحْتِهِمْ أَوْضَامَا

So you would take them for slaughtered beasts upon the horses' backs,

And the horses beneath them for butchers' blocks.

قُولاَ لِطَاغِيَةِ الْفِرَنْجِ وَقَدْ أَبَى

إِلاَّ لَجَاجاً قَادَ مِنْهُ حِمَاما

Say, you two, to the tyrant of the Franks, who has refused

All but obstinacy, which drew death upon him:

قَدْكَ اتَّئِدْ فَهِيَ الَّتِي عُوِّدْتَهَا

مِنْ قَبْلُ سَامَتْ أَنْفَكَ الأَرْغَامَا

'Enough! Take heed: these are the forces you have known,

Which once forced your nose into the dust:

الْخَيْلُ جُرْداً وَالرِّمَاحُ ذَوَابلاً

وَالْبِيضُ ذُلْقاً وَالْخَمِيسُ لُهَامَا

Sleek horses, slender spears,

Keen-edged swords, and a vast, devouring army.'

نَكَثُ الْعُهُودَ وَغَرَّهُ شَيْطَانُهُ

وَرَأَى الْوَفَاءَ بِمَا وَفَيْتَ حَرَامَا

He broke his covenants, and his devil deceived him,

And deemed it forbidden to honor the pledge you honored.

وَإِذَا تَنَكَّبَتِ الْوَفَاءَ سِيَاسَةٌ

فَأَضَلَّتِ الآرَاءَ وَالأَحْلاَمَا

And whenever a policy shuns fidelity,

It leads counsel and understanding astray.

فَالْغَدْرُ مَرْتَعُهُ وَخِيمٌ كُلَّمَا

لاَذَ امْرُءٌ بِحِمَاه خَابَ وَخَامَا

For treachery's pasture is noxious; whenever

A man seeks shelter in its sanctuary, he fails and quails.

قَدْ أَدْهَشَ الذُّعْرُ الْمُخِيفُ قُلُوبَهُمْ

وَدَهَا الْعُقُولَ وَزَلْزَلَ الأَقْدَامَا

Terrifying dread has confounded their hearts,

And overwhelmed their minds and made their feet quake.

هَمُّوا وَأَفْرَطَ رُعْبُهُمْ فَتَوَقَّفُوا

فَعَلاَمَ لاَ تُنْضَى السُّيُوفُ عَلاَمَا

They meant to act, but terror overwhelmed them, and they halted.

Then why are swords not drawn—why?

أَنْتَ الْمُؤَمَّلُ لاِفْتِتَاحِ بِلاَدِهِمْ

كَمْ مِنْ دَلِيلٍ دُونَ ذَلِكَ قَامَا

You are the one hoped for to conquer their lands;

How many a sign has appeared in advance of that!

لِمَ لاَ وَرَبَّكَ قَدْ قَضَى لَكَ بِالْعُلاَ

وَبِنَصْرِ مُلْكِكَ أَحْكَمَ الأَحْكَامَا

Why not, when your Lord has decreed high station for you,

And sealed His decrees with victory for your kingdom?

فَإِذَا اسْتَعَنْتَ اللَّهَ وَاسْتَنْجَدْتَهُ

اسْتَنْجَدَوا الصُّلْبَانَ وَالأَصْنَامَا

For when you seek God's aid and call on Him for help,

They call on crosses and idols for aid.

فَافْتَحْ مَعَاقِلَهَا الْمُنِيفَاتِ الذُّرَى

وَانْشُرْ عَلَى شُرُفَاتِهَا الأَعْلاَمَا

So conquer their strongholds, lofty of summit,

And unfurl banners upon their battlements.

وَاحْسِمْ بِسَيْفِكَ كُلَّ دَاءٍ كَامِنٍ

فَلِذَاكَ مَا دُعِيَ الْحُسَامُ حُسَامَا

And cut off with your sword every lurking sickness;

For that is why the sword is called husam, 'the severer.'

وَاهْنَأ بِعِيدٍ عَائِدٍ لَكَ بِالْمُنَى

وَانْعَمْ بَقَاءً فِي الْعُلَى وَدَوَامَا

And rejoice in a festival returning to you with fulfilled hopes,

And enjoy enduring life, forever in high station.

وَصِلِ السُّعُودَ بِكُلِّ جَدٍّ صَاعِدٍ

وَاسْتَقْبِلِ الأَعْصَارَ وَالأَعْوَامَا

And link good fortune to ever-rising prosperity,

And welcome the ages and the years,

مَادامَ ثَغْرُ الزَّهْرِ تَلْثُمُهُ الصِّبَا

فَتَحُطُّ عَنْهُ مِنَ الْكِمَامِ لِثَامَاك

As long as the east wind kisses the blossom's mouth,

Then lifts your veil of flower-sheaths away from it.