1. لَكَ الخَيْرُ قَدْ أَوْفى بعَهْدِكَ خَيْرانُ

    وبُشراكَ قَدْ آواكَ عِزٌّ وسُلطانُ

    Good be yours: Khayran has honored your covenant.

    And glad tidings to you: might and sovereignty have sheltered you.

  2. هو النُّجْحُ لا يُدْعى إِلَى الصُّبح شاهِدٌ

    هو النور لا يُبغى عَلَى الشَّمْسِ بُرْهَانُ

    It is success: no witness is summoned to attest the dawn.

    It is light: no proof is sought for the sun.

  3. إِليكَ شَحَنَّا الفُلكَ تَهْوي كَأَنَّها

    وَقَدْ ذُعِرَتْ عن مَغْرِبِ الشَّمْسِ غِرْبانُ

    Toward you we loaded ships that sped as though

    they were ravens startled away from the sun's setting-place.

  4. عَلى لُجَجٍ خُضْرٍ إذَا هَبَّتِ الصَّبا

    ترامى بنا فِيهَا ثَبيرٌ وثَهْلانُ

    Over green depths where, whenever the east wind blew,

    Thabir and Thahlan tossed us about amid them—

  5. مَوائِلَ تَرْعى فِي ذُراها مَوَائِلاً

    كما عُبدَتْ فِي الجَاهِلِيَّةِ أَوْثَانُ

    refuges tending refuges upon their summits,

    like idols worshipped in the Age of Ignorance.

  6. وفِي طَيِّ أَسْمَالِ الغَرِيبِ غَرَائِبٌ

    سَكَنَّ شَغافَ القلبِ شيبٌ وَوِلْدانُ

    Within the folds of the exile's rags are strange souls,

    lodged in the heart's innermost depths—gray-haired elders and children.

  7. يُرَدِّدْنَ فِي الأَحشاءِ حَزَّ مصائِبٍ

    تزيدُ ظَلاماً لَيْلَها وَهْيَ نِيرانُ

    They repeat within the breast the cutting pain of calamities

    that deepen their night's darkness, though they are fires.

  8. إِذا غِيضَ ماءُ البَحرِ منها مَدَدْنَهُ

    بِدَمْعِ عيونٍ يَمْتَرِيهنَّ أَشْجَانُ

    If the sea's water were drained by them, they would replenish it

    with tears from eyes milked by sorrows.

  9. وإِنْ سَكَنَتْ عنَّا الرياحُ جرى بنا

    زَفيرٌ إِلَى ذِكْرِ الأَحِبَّةِ حنَّانُ

    And if the winds fell still around us, we would be carried onward

    by a sigh yearning at the remembrance of loved ones.

  10. يقُلْنَ ومَوْج البحْرِ والهَمِّ والدُّجى

    تموجُ بنا فِيهَا عُيونٌ وآذانُ

    They say, while the waves of sea, sorrow, and darkness

    set eyes and ears surging with us within them:

  11. ألا هَلْ إِلَى الدُّنيا مَعادٌ وهلْ لَنا

    سِوى البحْرِ قَبْرٌ أَوْ سِوى الماءِ أَكْفانُ

    Is there a return to the living world, and have we

    a grave other than the sea, or shrouds other than water?

  12. وهَبنا رأينا مَعْلَمَ الأَرْضِ هلْ لنا

    مِن الأَرْضِ مأْوىً أَوْ من الإِنسِ عِرْفانُ

    And suppose we saw a landmark of earth: would we have

    shelter on earth, or recognition among humankind?

  13. وصَرْفُ الرَّدى من دونِ أَدْنَى منازِلٍ

    تَباهى إِلينا بالسُّرورِ وتَزدانُ

    With death's vicissitudes barring the nearest dwellings

    that boast of joy before us and stand adorned.

  14. تَقَسَّمَهُنَّ السيفُ والحَيفُ والبِلى

    وشَطَّتْ بنا عنها عصورٌ وأَزْمانُ

    Sword, injustice, and decay have divided them among themselves,

    and ages and eras have carried us far from them,

  15. كما اقْتَسَمَتْ أَخْدانَهُنَّ يدُ النَّوى

    فَهُمْ للرَّدى والبَرِّ والبحرِ أَخْدانُ

    just as the hand of separation divided their companions,

    who are now companions of death, dry land, and sea.

  16. ظعائِنُ عُمْرانُ المعاهِدِ مُقفِرٌ

    بهنَّ وقَفْرُ الأَرْضِ منهُنَّ عُمْرانُ

    Women in litters: the inhabited familiar dwellings lie deserted

    because of them, while the earth's wasteland is peopled through them.

  17. هَوَتْ أُمُّهُمْ مَاذَا هَوَتْ بِرِحالِهمْ

    إِلَى نازِحِ الآفاقِ سُفْنٌ وأَظْعَانُ

    Woe to their mother! How their baggage has been swept away

    by ships and camel caravans toward distant horizons!

  18. كوَاكِبُ إِلّا أنَّ أفلاكَ سَيْرها

    زمامٌ ورَحْلٌ أَوْ شِرَاعٌ وسُكَّانُ

    Stars—except that the orbits of their travel

    are a rein and camel saddle, or a sail and rudder.

  19. فَإِنْ غَرَّبَتْ أرض المغاربِ مَوئِلي

    وأَنْكَرَنِي فِيهَا خَليطٌ وخِلّانُ

    If the land of the West has made my refuge foreign,

    and associates and friends there have disowned me,

  20. فكَمْ رَحَّبَتْ أَرْضُ العِراقِ بمقدمي

    وأَجْزَلَتِ البُشْرى عَليَّ خُراسانُ

    how often the land of Iraq welcomed my arrival,

    and Khurasan lavished glad tidings upon me!

  21. وإِنَّ بلاداً أَخرجَتنِي لَعُطَّلٌ

    وإِنَّ زَماناً خان عَهدي لَخَوَّانُ

    Indeed, lands that drove me out are bereft of adornment,

    and an age that betrayed my covenant is truly treacherous.

  22. سَلامٌ عَلَى الإِخوانِ تَسليمَ آيسٍ

    وسُقياً لِدَهْرٍ كَانَ لِي فِيهِ إِخْوانُ

    Peace upon the brothers—the farewell of one without hope;

    and may rain bless an age when I had brothers.

  23. ولا عَرَّفَتْ بي خَلَّةً دارُ خُلَّةٍ

    عَفا رَسمَها منها جفاءٌ ونِسيانُ

    May no dwelling of friendship disclose my need,

    its traces effaced by estrangement and forgetfulness.

  24. وَغَرَّتْ ببَرْقِ المُزْنِ من ذكْرِ صَفقِهِ

    ومن ذكْر رَبٍّ كُلَّ يَومٍ لَهُ شانُ

    And it beguiled with raincloud lightning, away from remembrance of its thunderclap,

    and from remembrance of a Lord who each day has His affair.

  25. ويا رُبَّ يومٍ بانَ صدْعُ سلامِهِ

    بصَدْعِ النَّوى أَفْلاذُ قَلْبيَ إِذْ بانوا

    How many a day revealed a rift in its peace

    through separation's rift, when they—pieces of my heart—departed!

  26. نُوَدِّعُهُمْ شَجْواً بشَجوٍ كَمِثلِما

    أَجابت حفيفَ السَّهْمِ عوْجاءُ مِرْنانُ

    We bid them farewell, grief answering grief, just as

    a curved, ringing bow answers the arrow's hiss.

  27. ويَصْدَعُ مَا ضَمَّ الوَدَاعُ تفرُّقٌ

    كما انشَعَبَتْ تَحْتَ العواصِفِ أَغصانُ

    Dispersal cleaves what farewell gathered together,

    as branches split apart beneath the gales.

  28. إِذا شَرَّقَ الحادي بِهِمْ غَرَّبَتْ بنا

    نوىً يوْمُها يومانِ والحِينُ أَحيانُ

    When the camel-driver took them east, we were taken west

    by a separation whose day is two days, whose moment is many moments.

  29. فلا مُؤْنِسٌ إِلّا شهيقٌ وزَفْرةٌ

    ولا مُسعِدٌ إِلّا دُموعٌ وأَجفانُ

    No companion comforts us but a sob and a sigh,

    and none shares our sorrow but tears and eyelids.

  30. وما كَانَ ذَاكَ البَيْنُ بَيْنَ أَحِبَّةٍ

    ولكنْ قلوبٌ فارَقَتْهُنَّ أَبدَانُ

    That parting was not a parting between loved ones,

    but hearts deserted by their bodies.

  31. فيا عَجَباً للصَّبرِ مِنَّا كَأَنَّنَا

    لهمْ غَيرُ مَن كنَّا وهم غَيرُ من كانوا

    How wondrous our patience—as though we

    were different people to them, and they different from those they were!

  32. قَضى عَيشُهُمْ بَعْدِي وعيشيَ بَعْدَهُمْ

    بأَنِّيَ قَدْ خُنتُ الوَفاءَ وَقَدْ خانُوا

    Their living after me, and my living after them, have judged

    that I have betrayed fidelity, and they have betrayed it.

  33. وأَفجِع بمنْ آوى صَفيحٌ وَجَلْمَدٌ

    وَوَارَتْ رِمالٌ بالفَلاةِ وكُثْبانُ

    How grievous the loss of those whom flat stones and boulders sheltered,

    and whom sands and dunes concealed in the wilderness!

  34. وُجوهٌ تَنَاءَتْ فِي البِلادِ قُبورُها

    وإِنَّهُمُ فِي القلْبِ مِنِّي لَسُكَّانُ

    Faces whose graves lie far apart across the lands,

    yet they are truly inhabitants of the heart within me.

  35. وَمَا بَلِيَتْ فِي التُّرْبِ إِلّا تَجدَّدَتْ

    عَلَيْها مِنَ القَلْبِ المُفَجَّع أَحْزانُ

    Whenever they decayed in the earth, there were renewed

    sorrows over them from the bereaved heart.

  36. هُمُ اسْتَخْلَفُوا الأَحبابَ أَمْوَاجَ لُجَّةٍ

    هِيَ المَوْتُ أَوْ فِي المَوْتِ عَنْهُنَّ سُلْوَانُ

    They have taken the deep sea's waves in place of loved ones:

    they are death—or death offers solace from them.

  37. بَقايا نُفُوسٍ منْ بَقِيَّةِ أَنْفُسٍ

    يُمِيتونَ أَحْزانِي فدينوا بما دَانُوا

    Remnants of souls from a remnant of souls,

    they put my sorrows to death—may they be requited as they have requited.

  38. أَقُولُ لَهُمْ صَبْراً لَكُمْ أَوْ عَلَيْكُمُ

    عَسى العيشُ مَحمودٌ أَوِ المَوْتُ عَجلانُ

    I tell them: patience, whether for you or against you;

    perhaps life will be praiseworthy, or death will be swift.

  39. وَلا قَنَطٌ واليُسرُ لِلعُسرِ غالِبٌ

    وَفِي العرْشِ رَبٌّ بالخَلائِقِ رَحْمانُ

    No despair: ease overcomes hardship,

    and upon the Throne is a Lord merciful toward all creatures.

  40. ولا يَأْسَ مِنْ رَوْحٍ وَفِي اللهِ مَطمَعٌ

    وَلا بُعدَ مِن خَيْر وَفِي الأَرْض خَيْرانُ

    No despair of relief while hope rests in God,

    nor any distance from goodness while Khayran is on earth.

  41. سَتَنْسَوْنَ أَهوالَ العذَابِ ومالِكاً

    إذَا ضَمَّكُمْ فِي جَنَّةِ الفَوْزِ رِضْوَانُ

    You will forget the terrors of torment and Malik

    when Ridwan embraces you in the garden of triumph.

  42. مَتى تَلحَظُوا قَصْرَ المَرِيَّةِ تظفرُوا

    بِبَحْرٍ حَصى يُمناهُ دُرٌّ ومَرْجَانُ

    When you behold the palace of Almería, you will find

    an ocean whose right hand's pebbles are pearls and coral.

  43. وتَسْتَبْدِلُوا مِن مَوْجِ بَحْرٍ شَجاكُمُ

    ببحْرٍ لَكمْ مِنهُ لُجَيْنٌ وعِقْيانُ

    You will exchange the waves of a sea that grieved you

    for a sea from which you receive silver and pure gold.

  44. فَتىً سَيفُهُ لِلدِّينِ أَمْنٌ وإِيمانُ

    ويُمناهُ لِلآمالِ رَوْحٌ ورَيْحَانُ

    A young man whose sword is safety and faith for religion,

    and whose right hand is relief and sweet basil for hopes.

  45. تَقلَّدَ سَيفَ اللهِ فينا بحَقِّهِ

    فَبَرَّتْ عُهودٌ بالوفاءِ وَأَيْمَانُ

    He rightfully girded himself with God's sword among us,

    and covenants and oaths were fulfilled with fidelity.

  46. وحَلَّى بتاجِ العِزِّ مَفرِقَ مُخبتٍ

    يُقَلِّبُهُ داعٍ إِلَى اللهِ دَيَّانُ

    He adorned a humble man's head with the crown of glory;

    a devout caller to God turns it.

  47. وبالخيْرِ فَتَّاحٌ وبالخَيْرِ عائدٌ

    وبالخَيْلِ ظَعَّانٌ ولِلخَيلِ طَعَّانُ

    He begins with goodness and returns with goodness,

    rides forth on horses and thrusts his lance at horses.

  48. فقُضَّتْ سُيوفٌ حارَبَتْهُ وأَيْمنٌ

    وشاهَتْ وُجُوهٌ فاخَرَتْهُ وتيجانُ

    Thus swords and right hands that fought him were shattered,

    and faces and crowns that vied in glory with him were disgraced.

  49. لَهُ الكَرَّةُ الغَرَّاءُ عنْ كُلِّ شَارِدٍ

    أَضَاءَتْ لَهُمْ منها دِيارٌ وأَوْطَانُ

    His is the glorious charge on behalf of every exile,

    from which their homes and homelands shone with light.

  50. وَرَدَّ بِهَا يَوْمَ اللِّقاء زِنانَةً

    كما انْقَلَبَتْ يَومَ الهَباءةِ ذُبيانُ

    With it, on the day of battle, he drove Zinana back,

    as Dhubyan turned back on the day of al-Haba'a,

  51. بِكُلِّ كَمِيٍّ عامِرِيٍّ يسوقُهُ

    لحرِّ الوَغى قَلبٌ عَلَى الدِّينِ حَرَّانُ

    with every armored 'Amiri warrior, driven

    into battle's heat by a heart burning for religion.

  52. حُلُيُّهُمُ بيضُ الصَّوارِمِ والْقنا

    لَهَا وحُلاها سابغاتٌ وأَبْدَانُ

    Their ornaments are gleaming swords and lances;

    these have, as their ornaments, full coats of mail and cuirasses.

  53. تَراءاكَ حزْبُ البغْي منهُم فأَقبَلوا

    وَفِي كُلِّ أَنْف للغِوَايَةِ شَيطانُ

    The faction of rebellion among them sighted you and advanced,

    and in every nose lurked a devil of misguidance.

  54. فأَيُّ صُقورٍ قَلَّبَتْ أَيَّ أَعْيُنٍ

    إِلَى أَيِّ لَيثٍ ردَّهَا وَهْيَ خِلْدَانُ

    What falcons turned what eyes

    toward what lion, who sent them back as moles!

  55. عُيوناً بِهَا كادُوا الهُدى فَفَقَأْتَها

    فَهمْ فِي شِعابِ الغيِّ والرُّشْدِ عُمْيانُ

    Eyes with which they plotted against guidance—you gouged them out,

    so they are blind in the ravines of error and right guidance.

  56. وَمَا لَهُمُ فِي ظُلمَةٍ بَعدُ كَوكَبٌ

    وَمَا لَهُمْ فِي مُقْلَةٍ بَعدُ إِنسانُ

    They have no star in darkness any longer,

    nor any pupil remaining in an eye.

  57. يَضيقُ بِهِمْ رَحْبُ القُصورُ وَوُدُّهُمُ

    لَوِ احتازَهُم عَنها كُهوفٌ وغِيرانُ

    The spaciousness of palaces grows narrow around them, and they wish

    that caves and caverns would shelter them away from those palaces.

  58. وأَنْسَيْتَهمْ حَمْلَ القنا فَسِلاحُهمُ

    عَلَيْكَ إذَا لاقَوْكَ ذُلٌّ وإِذْعانُ

    You made them forget carrying lances; their weapon

    against you, when they meet you, is abasement and submission.

  59. وأَنَّى لِفَلّ القِبطِ فِي مِصْرَ مَوْئلٌ

    وَقَدْ غِيلَ فِرْعَونٌ وأُهْلِكَ هامانُ

    How could the routed remnants of the Copts find refuge in Egypt,

    when Pharaoh has been slain by stealth and Haman destroyed?

  60. فَيا ذُلَّ أَعلامِ الهُدى يَوْمَ عِزِّهِمْ

    ويا عِزَّ أَعْلامِ الهُدى بِكَ إِذْ هانُوا

    How abased were the banners of guidance on the day of their might,

    and how exalted those banners are through you, when they are humbled!

  61. حَفَرْتَ لَهُمْ فِي يَوْمِ قَبْرَةَ بالقَنا

    قُبوراً هَواءُ الجَوِّ مِنهنَّ ملآنُ

    On the day of Qabra, you dug for them with lances

    graves with which the open air is filled:

  62. يَطيرُ بِهَا هامٌ ونسْرٌ وناعِبٌ

    ويعدُو بِهَا ذيبٌ وذيخٌ وسِرْحانُ

    owls, a vulture, and a cawing crow fly off with them,

    and wolf, male hyena, and wolf race off with them.

  63. فلَوْ شَهدَ الأَملاكُ يَومَكَ فِيهِمُ

    لألقى إِليكَ التَّاجَ كِسْرى وخَاقانُ

    If kings had witnessed your day against them,

    Kisra and Khaqan would surely cast their crowns to you.

  64. ولَوْ رُدَّ فِي المنصور روحُ حياتِهِ

    غداةَ لقيتَ الموتَ والموتُ عُرْيانُ

    And if the spirit of life were returned to al-Mansur

    on the morning you met death, with death laid bare,

  65. وَنادَيْتَ لِلهَيجَاءِ أَبناءَ مُلْكِهِ

    فَلَبَّاكَ آسادٌ عَبيدٌ وفتيانُ

    and summoned the sons of his kingdom to battle,

    and lions answered you—slaves and young men,

  66. جبالٌ إذَا أَرْسَيْتَها حَوْمَةَ الوَغى

    وإِنْ تَدْعُهُمْ يوماً إِليكَ فعقبانُ

    mountains when you plant them firmly in the thick of battle,

    and eagles whenever you summon them to you;

  67. يقودُهُمُ داعٍ إِلَى الحقِّ مُجْلبٌ

    عَلَى البغي يُرضي ربَّه وهو غضبانُ

    a caller to truth leads them, rallying forces

    against rebellion, pleasing his Lord while wrathful.

  68. كَتائبُ بلْ كتبٌ بنَصْرِكَ سُطِّرَتْ

    وَوَجْهُكَ باسمِ اللهِ والسَّيفُ عُنوانُ

    Battalions—rather, writings inscribed with your victory,

    your face their 'In the name of God,' and the sword their heading.

  69. هو السَّيفُ لا يَرْتَابُ أَنَّكَ سَيفُهُ

    إذَا نازَلَ الأَقرَانَ فِي الحَرْبِ أَقرَانُ

    He is the sword; he does not doubt that you are his sword

    when champions meet champions in battle.

  70. كَأَنَّ العِدى لَمَّا اصْطَلَوا حرَّ نارِهِ

    أَصابَ هواديهمْ مِنَ الجَوِّ حُسبانُ

    As though, when the foes were scorched by the heat of its fire,

    thunderbolts from the sky struck their necks.

  71. وأَسمَرُ يسرِي فِي بحارٍ من النَّدى

    بيُمناكَ لكنْ يَغْتدي وهوَ ظَمْآنُ

    And a brown lance travels through seas of generosity

    in your right hand, yet sets out in the morning thirsty.

  72. تَلألأَ نوراً من سناكَ سِنانُهُ

    وَقَدْ دَعَتِ الفُرْسَانَ لِلحَرْبِ فُرْسانُ

    Its spearhead glittered with light from your radiance

    when horsemen had summoned horsemen to battle—

  73. لَحَيَّاكَ من أَحْيَيْتَ منهُ شمائلاً

    يموتُ بِهَا فِي الأَرْضِ ظُلْمٌ وعُدوَانُ

    he whose virtues you revived would surely greet you,

    virtues through which injustice and aggression die upon the earth.

  74. وناجاكَ إِسرَاراً وناداكَ مُعلناً

    وَحسبُ العُلى مِنه سِرَارٌ وإِعلانُ

    He would whisper to you in secret and call to you openly;

    his private speech and public proclamation suffice for glory.

  75. أَلا هكذا فَلْيَحْفَظِ العَهْدَ حافِظٌ

    أَلا هكذا فَلْيَخْلُفِ المُلكَ سُلْطَانُ

    Indeed, thus should a keeper preserve the covenant!

    Indeed, thus should a ruler succeed to sovereignty!

  76. فَلِلَّهِ مَاذَا أَنْجَبَتْ منكَ عامِرٌ

    وللهِ مَاذَا ناسَبتْ مِنكَ قَحطانُ

    God be praised—what noble offspring 'Amir has produced in you!

    And God be praised—what kinship Qahtan claims through you!

  77. وللهِ مِنَّا أَهلَ بَيتٍ رَمَتْهُمُ

    إِلَى يَدِكَ العُليا بُحورٌ وبُلدانُ

    And God be praised for us, a household whom

    seas and lands have cast into your exalted hand!

  78. وكلَّهُمْ يُزْهى عَلَى الشَّمْسِ فِي الضُّحى

    وبَدرِ الدَّياجِي أَنَّهم لَكَ جيرانُ

    Each of them boasts over the sun at forenoon

    and the full moon of dark nights that they are your neighbors.

  79. وَقَدْ زَادَ أَبناءُ السَّبيلِ وَسِيلَةً

    وحَلُّوا فَزَادُوا أَنَّهم لَكَ ضِيفانُ

    As wayfarers, they gained a further claim to favor,

    and, alighting, added that they are your guests.

  80. فما قَصَّرَتْ بي عن عُلاكَ شفاعَةٌ

    ولا بِكَ عن مِثلي جَزَاءٌ وإَِحسانُ

    No intercession fell short in bringing me to your eminence,

    nor did reward and kindness from you fall short toward one like me.