1. فَدَيْنَاكَ سَيْفاً لَمْ تَخُنْهُ مَضَارِبُهْ

    وبحرَ عَطَاءٍ مَا تَغِيضُ مواهِبُهْ

    We would ransom you—a sword whose edges never betrayed it,

    And an ocean of giving whose gifts never diminish,

  2. وبدراً تجَلَّى فِي سماءٍ رياسةٍ

    كواكبُها آثارُهُ وَمَنَاقِبُهْ

    And a full moon shining forth in the sky of leadership,

    Whose stars are his deeds and his virtues.

  3. تقلَّدَ سيفَ اللهِ وَالتَحَفَ النَّدى

    فَسَدَّدَ رَاجيهِ وَأعْذَرَ هائِبُهْ

    He girded on God's sword and cloaked himself in generosity;

    So those who hoped in him chose rightly, and those who feared him had good reason.

  4. فها هو ذا في كلِّ قلبٍ ممثَّلٌ

    وهاتيك عند الفرقدين مراتبُهْ

    So behold him, portrayed in every heart,

    And there, beside the two Farqad stars, are his ranks.

  5. فَمَا عَرَّجَتْ عنه سبيلٌ لِطَالِبٍ

    ولا رَحُبَتْ أرضٌ بِمَنْ هو طَالِبُهْ

    No seeker's road has ever turned away from him,

    Nor has any land been wide enough for one he pursues.

  6. خلائِقُ مِنْ مَاءِ الحياةِ وطَالَمَا

    يَغَصُّ بِهِ يوم الكريهةِ شارِبُهْ

    Traits drawn from the water of life—and how often

    Its drinker chokes on it on the day of battle!

  7. أَمُلْبِسَنَا النُّعْمى أَلاَ رُبَّ مَلْبَسٍ

    سَنِيٍّ وتاجٍ لِلْعُلا أَنت سَالِبُهْ

    O you who clothe us in bliss, how many a garment

    Of splendor, and crown of glory, have you stripped away!

  8. وَلَيْلٍ كريعانِ الشباب قَذَفْتَهُ

    بِهَوْلِ السُّرى حَتَّى أُشِيبَتْ ذَوَائِبُهْ

    And many a night, like youth in its prime, you assailed

    With the terror of night travel, until its locks turned gray.

  9. وَصَلْتَ بِهِ يوماً أَغَرَّ صَحِبْتَهُ

    غُلاماً إِلَى أَنْ طَرَّ باللَّيْلِ شَارِبُهْ

    You joined to it a radiant day, keeping it company

    As a boy, until its mustache sprouted with the night,

  10. بِكُلِّ مُذَلٍّ كَرَّمَتْهُ جُدُودُهُ

    وَكُلِّ كمِيٍّ أَحْكَمَتْهُ تَجَارِبُهْ

    With every tamed steed ennobled by its forebears,

    And every armored warrior seasoned by his trials,

  11. وَعَضْبٍ يَمَانٍ قَدْ تَعَرَّفْتَ يُمْنَهُ

    وإِنْ يَنْتَسِبْ تَعْطِفْ عَلَيْكَ مَنَاسِبُهْ

    And a keen Yemeni blade whose good fortune you have learned;

    And if it declares its lineage, its kinship turns toward you.

  12. وسُمْرٍ لِدَانٍ كالكواكب سُقْتَهَا

    ليومٍ من الأَعداءِ بَادٍ كَواكِبُهْ

    And supple brown spears, like stars, that you drove

    For a day among the foes, its stars in plain sight.

  13. صليتَ ونارُ الحربِ يَذْكُو سَعِيرُهَا

    وَخَضْتَ وَمَوْجُ الموتِ تَطْفُو غَوَارِبُهْ

    You braved the heat while war's fire burned fiercely,

    And plunged in while death's waves lifted their crests.

  14. ولا مثلَ يومٍ نحو لُونَةَ سِرْتَهُ

    وقد قَنَّعَت شَمْسَ النهارِ غَيَاهِبُهْ

    No day was like the day you marched toward Luna,

    When its deep darkness had veiled the sun of day.

  15. رَفَعْتَ لَهَا فِي عارِضِ النَّقْعِ بَارِقاً

    تَسِحُّ شآبيبَ المنايا سَحَائِبُهْ

    You raised against it a lightning flash in the cloud of dust,

    Whose clouds poured down showers of death.

  16. وَعَذْرَاءَ لَمْ يأَتِ الزمانُ بِكُفْئِهَا

    ولا رامها بَعْلٌ وإِنْ عَزَّ جانِبُهْ

    And a virgin whose equal Time had never brought forth,

    Nor had a husband sought her, however mighty his power;

  17. معوَّذةٍ لَمْ يَسْرِ خطبٌ بِأَرْضِهَا

    ولا عَرَفَتْ بالدَّهْرِ كَيْفَ نوائِبُهْ

    Guarded by charms, no calamity had passed by night through her land,

    Nor had she ever learned what Time's misfortunes were.

  18. ثَوَتْ بَيْنَ أَحْشَاءِ الضَّلالِ وَأُشْرِعتْ

    أَسِنَّتُهُ مِنْ دُونِهَا وَقَواضِبُهْ

    She dwelt within the entrails of error, and leveled were

    Its spearheads and keen blades in her defense.

  19. وأَصْبَحْتَ يَا عبد المليكِ مَليكَهَا

    وَأَنْجَحَ سَاعٍ جَاءَ والسَّيفُ خاطِبُهْ

    And you became, O Abd al-Malik, her king,

    And the most successful suitor to come, with the sword pleading his suit.

  20. وَسُقْتَ لَهَا صِدْقَ اللقاءِ مُعَجَّلاً

    صَدَاقاً إِذَا مَا هَلْهَلَ الضَّرْبَ كاذِبُهْ

    And you brought her steadfastness in battle, paid at once,

    As a dowry, when a pretender's blows fell feebly.

  21. وجيشٍ أَضاءَ الخافِقَيْنِ رِمَاحُهُ

    وفاضت عَلَى رَحْبِ البِلادِ كتائِبُهْ

    And an army whose spears illuminated east and west,

    And whose battalions flooded the broad expanse of the lands.

  22. وقد ضَمَّهَا فِي نَفْنَفِ الجوِّ مَعْقِلٌ

    عَسِيرٌ عَلَى عُصْمِ الوُعُولِ مَرَاقِبُهْ

    A stronghold had enclosed them in the heights of the air,

    Its watchposts hard even for white-legged ibexes to reach.

  23. بَعَثْتَ عليها منكَ دَعْوَةَ واثقٍ

    صَفَا شاهِدُ الإِخْلاصِ منه وغَائِبُهْ

    You sent against them your prayer as one assured,

    Whose sincerity was pure, both manifest and hidden.

  24. فسَرْعَانَ مَا أَقْوى الشّرى من أُسودِهِ

    وأُبرِزَ من حُرِّ الحِجَالِ كواعِبُهْ

    How swiftly al-Shara lay empty of its lions,

    And its nubile maidens were brought out from the finest bridal chambers.

  25. ثَلاثَةُ آلافٍ حِسَاباً وَمِثْلُهَا

    وَقَدْ غَلَّ عَازِيهِ وأَسَأَرَ حَاسِبُهْ

    Three thousand by count, and as many again,

    Though its reporter had withheld some, and its counter left some uncounted.

  26. فيا لَيْتَ قُوطاً حين شادَ بِناءَهُ

    رآه وَقَدْ خَرَّتْ إِلَيْكَ جَوانِبُهْ

    If only Qut, when he raised its structure,

    Had seen it, its sides fallen before you!

  27. ويا ليت إِذْ سَمَّاهُ بَدْراً مُعَظَّماً

    رآه وَفِي كِسْفِ العَجَاجِ مَغَارِبُهْ

    And would that, when he called it an exalted full moon,

    He had seen it, setting amid the banks of swirling dust!

  28. فَيَعْلَمَ أَن الحقَّ دَافِعُ كَيْدِهِ

    وَأَنَّكَ حِزْبَ اللهِ لا شَكَّ غَالِبُهْ

    Then he would know that Truth repels his schemes,

    And that you, God's host, are undoubtedly his conqueror.

  29. فلا خُذِلَ الدِّينُ الَّذِي أَنت سَيْفُهُ

    ولا أَوْحَشَ المُلْكُ الَّذِي أَنت حَاجِبُهْ

    So may the faith whose sword you are never be forsaken,

    Nor may the kingdom whose chamberlain you are ever be desolate.