1. بَكى فَقْدَكَ العِزُّ المُؤيَّدُ والمَجدُ

    ونَاحَتْ عَلَيكَ الحَرْفُ والضُّمَّرُ الجُردُ

    Triumphant might and glory wept at your loss.

    And the lean she-camel and slender, sleek-coated horses wailed for you.

  2. وَقَد نَدَبَتكَ البيضُ والسمرُ في الوَغى

    وعدّدَكَ التأييدُ والحَسَبُ العِدُّ

    The bright swords and tawny spears lamented you in battle,

    And victorious aid and age-old nobility recounted your virtues.

  3. وما فَقدت إلّا عَظيماً وفَقدُهُ

    به بين أحشاءِ العلى يُوجَدُ الوَجدُ

    And I lost none but a great man, and his loss

    Stirs grief in the innermost heart of eminence.

  4. وكنتَ أمينَ المَلْكِ حقّاً وسيفَهُ

    ومن حَسَناتِ البرِّ كانَ لَكَ الغِمدُ

    And you were truly the realm's trusted guardian and its sword,

    And deeds of kindness served you as a scabbard.

  5. وأَنتَ ابن حَمدونَ الَّذي كانَ حَمدُهُ

    يُعَبّرُ عَن نادِيه في عَرفِهِ الندُّ

    And you are the son of Hamdun, whose praise

    Incense expressed through its fragrance on behalf of his assembly.

  6. هُمامٌ إِلَيهِ كانَ تَقريبُ غُربَتي

    بِبُزْلٍ خفيفٍ بين أخفافِها الوَخْدُ

    A valiant man, toward whom I was brought near in exile,

    On mature camels, their swift gait light between their hooves,

  7. بِأرْضٍ فلاةٍ تُنْكِرُ الأُسْدُ وَحْشَها

    وَيَرتَدُ في اللَّحظِ العيونُ بها الرُّمدُ

    Through a desert waste whose beasts are strange even to lions,

    And where sore eyes recoil at the very sight of it.

  8. وناجِيةٍ تَنجو بِهَمِّ هُمومِهِم

    تَولَّى بها عن جِسمِها اللَّحمُ وَالجِلدُ

    And on a fleet she-camel, speeding with the burden of their cares,

    Under which flesh and skin fell away from her body.

  9. قَتَلتُ الأَماني من عَلِيٍّ ولم أزَلْ

    مُفَدّى لَدَيه حَيثُ يَعذُبُ ليَ الوِردُ

    I slew my wishes through Ali, and always remained

    Cherished in his presence, where my draught was sweet.

  10. بَكَيتُ علَيهِ والدُّموعُ سَواكِبٌ

    تَخَدّدَ من طولِ البُكاءِ بها الخدُّ

    I wept for him, and the tears poured down;

    With them, my cheek grew furrowed from long weeping.

  11. وذاكَ قليلٌ قَدْرُهُ في مُعَظَّمٍ

    له حَسَبٌ ما إن يُعَدَّ له عَدُّ

    And that is small in worth for one so greatly honored,

    Whose nobility is beyond all reckoning.

  12. فَلَو صَحَّ في الدُّنيا الخُلودُ لِماجِدٍ

    لأُبْقِيَ فيها ثمَّ صَحَّ له الخُلدُ

    Had immortality in this world been possible for a noble man,

    He would have been kept here, and then eternal life would have been his.

  13. ومُختَلِف الطَّعمَينِ من طَبعِ عادِلٍ

    فطعمٌ له سَمٌّ وطَعْمٌ له شَهْدُ

    And he had two contrasting tastes, born of a just nature:

    One taste of him was poison, and another was honey.

  14. وَقَد كانَ في عَليائِهِ مُتَرفِّعاً

    يَلينُ بِهِ الدَّهرُ الَّذي كانَ يَشتَدُّ

    And he was exalted in his eminence;

    Fate, once harsh, grew gentle through him.

  15. وكانَ أبِيّاً ذا أيادٍ غمامُها

    ندى ماجدٍ في قبره قُبِرَ المَجدُ

    And he was proud, with favors whose rainclouds

    Were a noble man's bounty; glory was buried in his grave.

  16. وحَلَّ الرَّدى من كَفِّهِ عَقْدَ رايَةٍ

    وَمِن كَفِّ مَيمونٍ لها جُدّدَ العَقدُ

    And death loosened from his hand the knot of a banner,

    And in Maymun's hand its knot was tied anew.

  17. وَما هُوَ إلّا حازِمٌ ذو كِفايَةٍ

    يُناقِضُ هَزْلَ الرَّوْعِ من بَأسِهِ الجِدُّ

    He is none but a resolute man of competence,

    Whose valor's earnestness contradicts terror's jest.

  18. تقدّمَ من صِنْهاجةٍ كلَّ مُقْدِمٍ

    فريستُهُ من قِرْنِهِ أَسَدٌ وردُ

    He surpassed every bold warrior of Sanhaja;

    The adversary he takes as prey is a tawny lion.

  19. بأيديهمُ نَوْرُ البَنَفسَجِ في ظُبىً

    ينوّرُ من نارٍ لها حَطَبَ الهندُ

    In their hands are violet blossoms upon sword-edges,

    Blooming from a fire for which India gathered fuel.

  20. وَقَد لَبِسوا من نَسجِ داود أعيُناً

    مُداخَلَةً خُوصاً هي الحَلَقُ السرْدُ

    And they wore eyes from David's weaving,

    Interlinked and narrow—the closely woven rings of mail.

  21. يَسُدُّونَ خلّاتِ الحروبِ إذا طَمَتْ

    بِشَوكِ الرّدى حتَّى كأنَّهُمُ السَّدُّ

    They plug the gaps of war when it surges,

    With the thorns of death, till they seem a dam.

  22. ويقتادهم منهُ شهامَةُ قائدٍ

    به جُمْلَة الجيشِ العَرَمرَمِ تَعْتَدُّ

    And his gallantry as a commander leads them,

    In whom the whole vast army takes pride.

  23. جوادٌ عميمُ الجود بيتُ عطائِهِ

    لِقاصِدِهِ بالنَيلِ طَيَّبَهُ القَصدُ

    A generous man of all-embracing bounty; his house of gifts

    Is sweet to its seeker through a quest rewarded.

  24. له هِمَّةٌ في أُفقِها فَرقَدِيَّةٌ

    كَواكبُها زُهْرٌ أحاطَ بِهِ السَّعدُ

    His aspiration is lofty as the Farqad stars in its horizon;

    Its stars are radiant, and good fortune surrounds him.

  25. وَأَثبَتَ لِلعَلياءِ مِنهُم قَواعِداً

    لأعدائِهِ منها قواعدُ تَنْهَدُّ

    And he established foundations of eminence from among them,

    Through which his enemies' foundations crumble.

  26. أَرى يُمْنَ مَيمونٍ تَعاظَمَ في العُلا

    بنيلِ مَعَالٍ لا يُحَدّ لها حَدُّ

    I see Maymun's good fortune grow great in eminence,

    Through attaining high honors to which no limit can be set.

  27. وهِمَّةُ يَحيَى شَرَّفَتهُ بِخُلَّةٍ

    بها يُسْعَفُ المَولى ويَبتَهِجُ العَبدُ

    And Yahya's aspiration ennobled him with a virtue

    That aids the master and makes the slave rejoice.

  28. كَأَنَّ نُضَاراً ذائِباً عَمَّ جِسمَها

    وإنْ رامَ حُسناً في العُيونِ له حَمدُ

    As though molten gold had covered its body,

    And if he seeks beauty in people's eyes, his is the praise.

  29. وما مُطْرَفٌ إلّا أبيٌّ بِحُرْمَةٍ

    عُبابٌ خِضَمٌّ حُلَّ عن حَسرِهِ المَدُّ

    And Mutraf is a proud man of inviolable honor,

    A vast, surging sea, its flood tide freed from ebbing.

  30. إذا أَعملَ الآراءَ عَنَّ لهُ الهدى

    سَدادٌ هوَ الفَتحُ الَّذي ما لَهُ سَدُّ

    When he puts his thoughts to work, guidance appears to him:

    Sound judgment—the opening no barrier can close.

  31. يَروحُ وَيَغدو في المنى وَحَسودُهُ

    بعيدُ رَشادٍ لا يَروحُ ولا يَغدو

    He goes at evening and morning amid his hopes, while his envier,

    Far from right guidance, goes neither at evening nor morning.

  32. ومِن حَيثُ ما ساورتَهُ خِفتَ بأسَهُ

    وَلِلنّارِ مِن حَيثُ انثَنَيتَ لها وَقدُ

    From whatever side you assail him, you fear his might;

    And fire blazes from whatever side you turn toward it.

  33. وإن جادَ كانَ الجودُ منه مهنأً

    كغَيثٍ هَمَى ما فيه برقٌ ولا رعدُ

    And when he gives, his generosity is a welcome joy,

    Like rain pouring down, with neither lightning nor thunder.

  34. ولِلَّه في الإِجلالِ ذِكرُ مُحَمَّدٍ

    بِكُلِّ لسانٍ في الثناءِ له حَمدُ

    God be praised for Muhammad's name, held in reverence;

    Every tongue gives him praise in words of tribute.

  35. هُمُ السّادَةُ الأمجادُ والقادَةُ الأُلى

    تُعَدُّ المَعالي منهُمُ كُلَّما عُدّوا

    They are the illustrious lords and the leaders whose

    Lofty achievements are counted whenever they themselves are counted.

  36. وَيَأمُرُهمْ بالصَّبرِ والحزمِ خاذِلٌ

    لَهُم صبرٌ ووجدانُهُ فَقدُ

    And a betrayer urges them to patience and resolve—

    Patience, for them, whose attainment is loss.

  37. وَأَيَّ اصطِبارٍ فيه للنّفسِ رَحمَةٌ

    عَنِ القائِدِ الأَعلى الَّذي ضَمَّهُ اللَّحدُ

    And what endurance can show the soul any mercy

    In parting from the supreme commander whom the grave enfolded?