1. هو البدرُ فِي فَلَكِ المَجْدِ دارا

    فما غَسَقَ الخطبُ إِلّا أَنارَا

    He is the full moon, circling in the sphere of glory.

    So no calamity darkened but he brought light.

  2. تَجَلَّى لَنَا فَأرَتْنَا السُّعودُ

    غُيُوبَ المُنى فِي سناهُ جِهارا

    He shone before us, and good fortune showed us

    what lay hidden in our hopes, plainly in his radiance.

  3. وأَوْفَى فكادَتْ صَوَادِي القُلوبِ

    تفوتُ العُيونَ إِلَيْهِ بِدارا

    And he rose into view, and thirsty hearts nearly

    outstripped the eyes in their rush toward him.

  4. وحَلَّ فَحَلَّتْ جِسامُ الفُتُو

    حِ تَبْأَى اخْتِيالاً وتُزْهى افْتِخارا

    And he arrived, and mighty conquests arrived,

    strutting proudly and exulting in glory.

  5. وحَقَّ لَهُ اليومَ رِقُّ الكرا

    مِ طَوْعاً ورِقُّ العُداةِ اقْتِسارا

    And today the nobles' servitude is rightly his,

    freely given, and his enemies' servitude by force.

  6. فَيا رُبَّ غايَةِ مَجْدٍ شَأَوْتَ

    إِلَى فَخْرِها مُعْجِزاً أَنْ تُجارى

    Ah, how many a height of glory you have surpassed,

    in pursuit of its honor, beyond all rivals' reach!

  7. ومن يَسْمُ فِي ذِرْوَتَيْ حِمْيَرٍ

    ويَحْتَلَّ من يَمَنِ المُلْكِ دارا

    And whoever rises to the twin summits of Himyar

    and makes his dwelling in royal Yemen

  8. يُنازِعْ إِلَى شِبْهِ ذَاكَ السَّناءِ

    وتَنْحُ مساعِيهِ ذَاكَ النِّجارا

    strives toward a likeness of that splendor,

    and his endeavors seek that noble lineage.

  9. وحَسْبُ الخليفةِ إِيثارُهُ

    لكُمْ دونَ هَذَا الأَنامِ اقْتِصارا

    And enough honor for the caliph is his preference

    for you alone, to the exclusion of all these people.

  10. تَنَقَّاكُمَا عامِرِيَّيْنِ قاما

    بأَعبائِهِ فاسْتَجَدَّا الفَخارا

    He chose you both, two Amirids who took up

    his burdens and gained fresh glory.

  11. فلَمْ يَأْلُ بحبوحَةَ الملكِ حَظّاً

    ولا ادَّخَرَ المسلمينَ اختيارا

    So he withheld no good fortune from the heart of the kingdom,

    nor his best choice from the Muslims.

  12. رمى بكَ بَحرَ الأَعادِي وأَدْنى

    من المُلْكِ حاجِبَهُ مُسْتَشارا

    He hurled you into the sea of foes, and drew

    his chamberlain close to royal power as counselor.

  13. فكانَ الحسامَ وكُنْتَ السِّنانَ

    وَكَانَ الشِّعارَ وكنتَ الدِّثارا

    So he was the keen sword, and you the spearpoint;

    and he was the inner garment, and you the outer cloak.

  14. ولأْلأَ منهُ عَلَى الدِّينِ نُوراً

    وأَضْرَمَ منكَ عَلَى الشِّرْكِ نارا

    And through him he shed light upon the faith,

    and through you he kindled fire against idolatry.

  15. فأَوْلَيْتَ نُعْماهُ فِي اللهِ عَزْماً

    ترى النَّصْرَ يَقْدُمُهُ حَيْثُ سارا

    So you repaid his favor with resolve in God's cause,

    which victory, as you see, leads wherever it marches.

  16. فصُنْتَ العُلا وأَبَحْتَ النَّدى

    وحُطْتَ الهُدى وحميتَ الذِّمارا

    So you guarded lofty glory and freely bestowed bounty,

    and safeguarded right guidance and defended all held sacred.

  17. فأَصبحَ سيفُكَ للدينِ حِصْناً

    وأَمسى سِنانُكَ لِلْثَّغْرِ جارا

    Thus your sword became a fortress for the faith,

    and your spearpoint became the frontier's protector.

  18. وَفِي شَنْتِ ياقُبَ أَوْرَدْتَها

    شوارِبَ يَبْغِينَ فِي البحرِ ثارا

    And at Shant Yaqub you led them to water,

    as drinkers seeking vengeance in the sea.

  19. فسِرْتَ هِلالاً تُبارِي الهِلالَ

    إِلَيْها وبَحْراً يخوضُ البِحارا

    So you marched, a crescent rivaling the crescent,

    toward it, and a sea wading through seas.

  20. وشمساً تَطَلَّعُ بالمَغْرِبَيْنِ

    بحيثُ تُوافِي ذُكاءُ الغُبارا

    And a sun rising in the two wests,

    where Dhuka, the sun, meets the dust.

  21. فما رِمْتَ حَتَّى عَلَتْ جانِباها

    بأَيدِي المَذَاكِي عَجاجاً مُثارا

    You did not depart until both its flanks rose

    as dust stirred up by the mature steeds' forehooves.

  22. تهُبُّ بِهَا فِي الهواءِ الرِّيا

    حُ إِمَّا دُخاناً وإِما غُبارا

    The winds sweep it through the air,

    either as smoke or as dust.

  23. وَلَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ ياقُبٌ نَصْرَها

    ولا دَفَعَ الخَسْفَ عنهُ انْتِصارا

    And Yaqub could not defend it,

    nor ward off his own humiliation in triumph.

  24. لَئِنْ غَوَّرَتْ فِي شَغافِ الشّمالِ

    لقد أَنْجَدَ الفَتْحُ مِنْها وغَارا

    Though it lay deep in the very heart of the north,

    conquest surely spread from it through highlands and lowlands.

  25. وأَخْلَفَ بِرمُنْدَ منها الرَّجاءُ

    وَمَا زادَهُ الشِّرْكُ إِلّا تَبارا

    And hope in it failed Birmund,

    and idolatry brought him nothing but ruin.

  26. أَطَرْتَ إِلَى ناظِرَيْهِ عَجاجاً

    تركتَ بِهِ عَقْلَهُ مُسْتَطارا

    You sent dust flying toward his eyes,

    leaving his wits, with it, scattered in terror.

  27. فما يعرفُ العَهْدَ إِلّا امْتِراءً

    ولا يُوقِنُ العهدَ إِلّا ادِّكارا

    So he recognizes the covenant only with doubt,

    and is certain of the covenant only through recollection.

  28. ولما ادَّرَعْتَ إِلَيْهِ اليَقِي

    نَ لَمْ يَدَّرِعْ منكَ إِلّا الفِرارا

    And when you armored yourself against him with certainty,

    he donned no armor against you but flight.

  29. وشامَ غِرَارَيْ حُسامِ المنايا

    فما يَطْعَمُ النَّوْمَ إِلّا غرارا

    And he glimpsed the twin edges of death's keen sword,

    so he tastes sleep only in brief snatches.

  30. ولَنْيُوشُ أَمْطَرْتَها صائباتٍ

    تُصِيبُ النفوسَ وتَعْفو الدِّيارا

    And Lanyush—you rained unerring shafts upon it,

    that strike down souls and wipe out dwellings.

  31. هَزَزْتَ إِلَيْها رِماحاً طِوالاً

    تُصَيِّرُ أَعمارَ قومٍ قِصارا

    You brandished long spears against it,

    that cut a people's lifespans short.

  32. فغادَرْتَها فِي ضَمانِ الإِلهِ

    ويَمَّمْتَ أعلى وأَنْأَى مَزَارا

    So you left it in God's protection,

    and turned toward a loftier, more distant destination.

  33. وَقَدْ يَفْرِسُ الليثُ أَرْوى الهِضابِ

    ويُهْمِلُ حَرْشَ الضِّبابِ احْتِقارا

    And a lion may prey upon the ibex of the hills,

    and scorn to hunt lizards.

  34. وخَلَّفْتَ فِيهَا مُبِيدَ الضَّلالِ

    يُقَرِّبُها لَكَ ثوباً مُعَارا

    And you left there a destroyer of error,

    who brings it to you as a borrowed robe.

  35. يُكَفكِفُ أَدْمُعَ عَيْنٍ سِجاماً

    ويُبْرِدُ أَحشاءَ صَدْرٍ حِرَارا

    He wipes away an eye's streaming tears,

    and cools the burning depths of a breast.

  36. فَإِنْ أَخْطَأَتْهُ كُؤوسُ المنايا

    لقد خَلَّدَتْ فِي حَشاهُ خُمارا

    And if the cups of death have missed him,

    they have surely left an everlasting hangover within him.

  37. وعمَّ بِهَا فتحُكَ الأَرضَ نُوراً

    كَمَا ذَرَّتِ الشمسُ فِيهَا النَّهارا

    And through it your conquest filled the earth with light,

    as the sun shed daylight upon it.

  38. فَعَرِّجْ عَلَى الحَجِّ بالمسلمينَ

    بِعُقْبِ اصْطِلامِكَ حَجَّ النَّصارى

    So turn toward the Hajj with the Muslims,

    in the wake of your destruction of the Christians' pilgrimage.

  39. فقد نَشَرَتْ مِصْرُ والقيروانُ

    ومَدَّتْ عيونُ الحجازِ انْتِظارا

    For Egypt and Qayrawan have come alive,

    and the eyes of the Hijaz stretch out in expectation.