1. بِسَعدِكَ لا بسعدٍ أو سُعادِ

    تَنقَّلَ كلُّ هَمٍّ عن فُؤادِي

    Through your good fortune—not through Saʿd or Suʿad—

    every care departed from my heart.

  2. قعَدتُ عنِ الصِّبا وظَلِلتُ أدعُو

    بأن تُعطى الظهورَ عَلَى الأعادي

    I forsook youthful passion and kept praying

    that you be granted triumph over your foes.

  3. وذلكَ حين أبصرتُ العَوالي

    تُميلُ إليكَ أفئِدَةَ العِبادِ

    That was when I saw the tall spears

    turning people's hearts toward you.

  4. عَلِمتُ بأنَّكَ المَلكُ الَّذي لا

    تَدِينُ لغيرِهِ كُلُّ البِلادِ

    I knew that you were the king to whom alone

    all the lands owe allegiance.

  5. عجِبتُ لمارِقٍ يعصيكَ جهَلاً

    وَقَدْ سَبَقَتْ إليهِ لكَ الأيادي

    I marveled at a renegade who ignorantly disobeys you,

    though your favors had already reached him.

  6. فَسلْهُ مُخْزِياً هل كَانَ يَدرِي

    بأنَّ الخِزْيَ فِي طَلَبِ العِنادِ

    So ask him, putting him to shame, whether he knew

    that disgrace lies in seeking defiance.

  7. ألَمْ يَكُ لَوْ أنابَ إليك طَوْعاً

    ينالُ منَ العلا فوقَ المُرادِ

    Would he not, had he returned to you willingly,

    have attained eminence beyond his desire?

  8. ومَنْ لَمْ يَدرِ أنَّ الهامَ زَرْعٌ

    لِينَظُرْ فِعْلَ سيفكَ فِي الأعادِي

    And whoever does not know that heads are a crop,

    let him behold your sword's work among the foes.

  9. حُسامَكَ لاستحالَتْ بالفَسادِ

    فإنَّ الدهرَ عندَكَ فِي قِيادِ

    Your keen sword ... it would have turned corrupt.

    For Time is held in your reins.

  10. وَمنْ يَكُنِ الزمانُ لديه عَبْداً

    يَنَلْ مَا شاءَ من غَيْرِ ارتِيادِ

    And whoever has Time as his slave

    attains what he wishes without seeking.

  11. فَنَفْسُكَ بالمكارِمِ قَدْ تَحَلَّتْ

    ورأيُكَ قَدْ تَحلَّى بالسَّدادِ

    For your soul is adorned with noble virtues,

    and your judgment is adorned with soundness.

  12. وسيفُكَ حيثُما وَجَّهتَ ماضٍ

    ونُورُكَ حيثُما يَمَّمْتَ هادِ

    And your sword cuts through wherever you direct it,

    and your light guides wherever you turn.

  13. ونجمُكَ طالِعٌ بالسَّعْدِ يَجْرِي

    فسعدُكَ كُلَّ يومٍ فِي ازْدِيادِ

    And your star rises, running its course with good fortune,

    so your fortune increases every day.

  14. ونُصْحُكَ فِي الديانَة ليْسَ يَخْفى

    وَمَا تَسْعى إلى غيرِ المَعادِ

    And your sincerity in religion is not hidden,

    and you strive for nothing but the Hereafter.

  15. وما صُوِّرْتَ إلا من حديدٍ

    ولا استعْمِلتَ إلا للجِلادِ

    And you were fashioned from nothing but iron,

    and put to use for nothing but combat.

  16. وما تَرْضى بغيرِ الدِّرْعِ لِبساً

    ولا فَرْشاً تحب سِوى الجِيادِ

    And you accept no clothing but a coat of mail,

    and love no bed but noble steeds.

  17. أرى الأقدارَ مَا أمضَيْتَ تُمْضي

    أأنْتَ تَسُوقُها أمْ أنتَ حادِ

    I see fate's decrees carry out what you have ordained;

    do you drive them, or lead them with a camel-driver's song?

  18. أرى جَدْواكَ للإملاقِ ضِدّاً

    وَفِي يَدِكَ المنونُ لمَنْ تُعادِي

    I see your bounty set against poverty,

    and in your hand is death for those you oppose.

  19. أظُنُّكَ أنت مِفتاحَ المنايا

    وَقَدْ مُلِّكْتَ أرزاقَ العِبادِ

    I think you are the very key to death,

    and you have been made master of people's livelihoods.

  20. أتَتْ كُتُبُ الأوائِلِ عنكَ تُثْني

    تُبَشِّرُنا وتُنْذِرُ قَوْمَ عادِ

    The books of the ancients have come praising you,

    bringing us glad tidings and warning the people of ʿAd,

  21. لأنكَ سوفَ تُهْلِكُ كُلَّ عادٍ

    وتُنْصَرُ بالملائِكَةِ الشِّدادِ

    for you will destroy every aggressor,

    and be given victory by mighty angels.

  22. ولَيْسَتْ فَعْلَةٌ تشناكَ لكِنْ

    تَمَلَّكَ أهلَها ضِدُّ المعادِ

    And no deed bears you hatred; rather,

    the foe of the Hereafter has possessed its people.

  23. ولو وَجَدُوا السبيلَ إليكَ يوماً

    لما خَفِيَتْ لهُمْ طُرُقُ الرَّشادِ

    And had they found the way to you one day,

    the paths of right guidance would not have been hidden from them.

  24. أشِرْ نحوَ الشَآمِ وأرْضِ مِصْرٍ

    تَجِئْكَ مُجيبَةً لكَ بالقيادِ

    Point toward al-Sham and the land of Egypt;

    they will come to you, answering in submission.

  25. وهل مَلِكٌ يُقاسُ إلى ابنِ يَحْيى

    لَدى الهيجاءِ أو فِي كُلِّ نادِ

    And can any king be compared with Ibn Yahya

    amid battle's tumult or in any assembly?

  26. مليكٌ إن حَلَلْتَ بِهِ مُقِلّاً

    نَزَلتَ عَلَى أجَلَّ من التِّلادِ

    A king: if you lodge with him in poverty,

    you alight upon something greater than ancestral wealth.

  27. هَلِ المنصورُ للأيام إلّا

    يَدٌ قِبَلَ البَرِيَّةِ بل أيادِ

    Is al-Mansur anything but the days'

    helping hand to humankind—rather, many hands?

  28. يَحلُّ قصورُ مِثلِكَ فِي مِثالي

    حُلولَ الماء فِي ظَمْآنَ صادِ

    The shortcoming of one like you settles in one like me,

    as water settles in one thirsty and parched.

  29. لئِنْ غَلَبتْ مناقِبُكمْ لِساني

    فإنَّ العُذْرَ من بعضِ السِّدادِ

    If indeed your noble qualities have overwhelmed my tongue,

    then an excuse is part of sound judgment.