1. من فرَّ مِنْكَ فما يُلامُ

    وطريدُ بأْسِكَ مَا ينَامُ

    Whoever flees from you is not to blame.

    And one hunted by your might does not sleep.

  2. وجنابُ عِزِّك لا يُرا

    عُ من الخطوبِ ولا يُرامُ

    The precinct of your glory is not frightened

    by calamities, nor can it be assailed.

  3. فرَّت لخوفِكَ غِلمةٌ

    ولطَالما فَرَّ الْغُلامُ

    A band of lads fled for fear of you;

    and many a time a lad has fled.

  4. خافُوا مَقَامَك ذا العظيـ

    ـمَ فلم يكُن لهمُ مُقَامُ

    They feared this mighty presence of yours,

    and so they found no place to stand.

  5. وشديدُ بأْسِك لا يُقـ

    ـر على سُطاهُ ولا يُقَامُ

    Before your fierce might none can hold firm

    beneath its assaults, nor stand against it.

  6. وهمُ الأُسودُ فما لَهُمْ

    طاروا كما طار الحمام

    They are lions—what has come over them?

    They flew away as doves fly.

  7. ونعم لهم نعم فلم

    شرَدُوا كما شَرَدَ النَّعامُ

    And yes, they enjoy favors—why, then,

    did they scatter as ostriches scatter?

  8. سَخِرَتْ بهم أَوْهَامُهم

    هُزْءاً وبالأَوهام هَامُوا

    Their delusions mocked them

    in derision; they were enamored of delusions.

  9. ومضَوْا وما سُلَّ الحسا

    مُ فكيفَ لو سُلَّ الحُسامُ

    They departed though the sword was not drawn;

    what, then, if the sword were drawn?

  10. لا ينفعونَ ولن يَضُرُّ

    وا إِنْ مَضَوْا أَو إِن أَقَامُوا

    They bring no benefit and will do no harm,

    whether they depart or whether they stay.

  11. ولو اهتدَوْا بَعْدَ الضَّلا

    لَةِ لاستقالُوا واسْتَقَامُوا

    Had they found guidance after going astray,

    they would have sought pardon and walked upright.

  12. ولئِن عفوتَ فإِنَّما

    يعفُو عن الذَّنْبِ الكِرامُ

    And should you pardon, it is only

    the noble who forgive a fault.

  13. وإِن انْتَقَمتَ فإِنَّ أَيْـ

    ـسَرَ ما استحقُّوا الانتقامُ

    And if you take revenge, the least

    that they deserve is vengeance.

  14. ما دارهُم حَرمٌ ولا

    في الشَّام صيدُهُم حَرامُ

    Their dwelling is no sacred sanctuary, nor

    is hunting them forbidden in al-Sham.

  15. يتنادمُون ومن نَدَا

    مَتِهم يُقالُ لهم نُدامُ

    They drink together, and from their remorse

    they are called boon companions.

  16. وهمُ به سكْرَى وليـ

    ـسَ سوى الهُمومِ لهم مُدَامُ

    They are drunk with it, yet

    they have no wine but sorrows.

  17. وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ تحت الرَّجَا

    مِ لما أَجنَّهمُ الرِّجامُ

    Even if they were beneath heaps of stone,

    the stones would not conceal them.

  18. أَوْ في الغمامِ لكان يُمْـ

    ـطِرُهُمْ بساحَتِكَ الغمامُ

    Or in the clouds, the clouds would

    rain them down in your courtyard.

  19. سَتسُوقُهُمْ بِيَدِ الزَّما

    نِ وفي أَنَامِلكِ الزَّمامُ

    You will drive them with the hand of Time,

    while the rein lies between your fingertips.

  20. وتُقيِّد الأَجسامَ إِن

    كُفِرت لك النَّعمُ الجِسامُ

    And you will shackle bodies if

    your mighty favors are met with ingratitude.

  21. قُمْ فاملِكْ الدنيا جَمِيـ

    ـعاً فلقد آن القيامُ

    Rise and possess the whole world;

    the time to rise has surely come.

  22. وَرُمِ السماءِ تنلْ كَوَا

    كِبَهَا فما يُعْيي المَرامُ

    Aspire to the sky: you will reach its stars;

    no goal is beyond your power.

  23. وشِمِ الحسامَ فما يَشَا

    مُ الذلُّ إِن شِيَم الحُسامُ

    Draw the sword: no disgrace appears

    when the sword is drawn.

  24. واحْسِمْ به داءَ النِّقَا

    قِ فإِنَّه الدَّاءُ العُقَامُ

    And with it excise the disease of hypocrisy;

    for it is the incurable disease.

  25. وأَهِبْ تَجِئْك من العِدى

    أَيدِ ولَبَّاتٌ وهَامُ

    And call out: from your foes will come

    hands, throats, and heads.

  26. أَنت العظيمُ ولَيْسَ تَمْـ

    ـلأُ صدْرَك النُّوَبُ العِظامُ

    You are mighty; they cannot fill

    your breast, those mighty calamities.

  27. ولأَنْتَ وحْدَك ليس يُنْـ

    ـجِي منك إِلا الانْهزَامُ

    You alone—nothing can save

    from you except flight.

  28. أَسمى الملوكِ فلا يُسا

    مى المجدُ منك ولا يُسَامُ

    Loftiest of kings, no one can rival

    your glory, nor put a price on it.

  29. تُغْني عن الجيش اللَّها

    مِ لأَنك البَدرُ التَّمَامُ

    You suffice in place of a mighty army,

    for you are the moon at its full.

  30. لولاكَ تَنْظِم عِقدَ هـ

    ـذَا الدَّهرِ لا نَحلَّ النِّظَامُ

    Without you to string the necklace of this

    age, its order would unravel.

  31. ولَمَا بدا لَوْلاَكَ في

    ثَغْرِ الزَّمانِ الإِبتسام

    And but for you, no smile would appear

    upon the lips of Time.

  32. حُمِدَ الزمَانُ وقد ملكـ

    ـتَ فلا يُذَمُّ ولا يُذَامُ

    Time is praised, now that you reign,

    and is neither blamed nor reproached.

  33. ونَهَضْتَ إِذْ قَعَدَ الملُو

    كُ وقُمْتَ إِذْ نَامَ الأَنامُ

    You rose when kings sat still,

    and stood when humankind slept.

  34. صَلَّت عَلْيكَ وخلفَك الـ

    ـأَملاكُ إِذْ أَنْتَ الإِمامُ

    Prayers were offered for you and behind you

    by the angels, for you are the imam.

  35. يأَيها البَحْرُ الَّذي

    أَرْوَى وبي وَحْدي أُوامُ

    O sea that has quenched thirst,

    while I alone burn with thirst!

  36. أَشكو جَفَاءً منك حَتَّى

    لا السلامُ ولا الكلامُ

    I lament your coldness, so complete that

    there is neither greeting nor speech.

  37. فعلامَ أَظمأُ ثُمَّ لا

    أُسْقَى وقد سُقِيَ الأَنامُ

    Why, then, do I thirst and receive no

    drink, though all mankind has been given drink?

  38. وأَرى الزمانُ ووجْهُهُ

    جَهْمٌ وعارضُه جَهَامُ

    And I see Time, its face

    grim, its cloud rainless.

  39. صَحَّ الزمانَ من السَقَّا

    مِ وصَحَّ لي مِنْه السَّقامُ

    Time has recovered from sickness,

    yet sickness from it is assured for me.

  40. وَنَعَمْ سِوايَ له الوِصَا

    لُ كما أَرَى ولي الغَرَامُ

    And yes, another enjoys union,

    as I see, while mine is love's torment.

  41. إِنِّي بِعُرْوتِكَ اعْتَصَمْـ

    ـتُ وما لعُرْوَتِكَ انفِصَامُ

    I have held fast to your handhold,

    and your handhold never breaks.

  42. وبك اعْتَصَمْتُ وليس يُخـ

    ـذَلُ من له مِنْكَ اعْتِصَامُ

    I have sought refuge in you; none is forsaken

    whose protection is from you.

  43. فَمتَى أَرى ما تَرْتَجِيـ

    ـه وترْتَوِي هِمَمي الحُيام

    When shall I see what my ambitions long for,

    and those thirsty ambitions drink their fill?

  44. ومتى أَراني قد وَصَلْـ

    ـتُ إِليك وانفرجَ الزِّحَامُ

    And when shall I see that I have reached

    you, and that the crowd has parted?

  45. وما زالَ ملكُكَ لا يزو

    لُ ولا يُضَارُ ولا يُضَامُ

    May your reign ever endure, never passing away,

    neither harmed nor wronged.

  46. يبقى مُوَفيًّ لا انْصِرا

    فٌ يَتَّقيه ولاَ انْصِرَامُ

    May it remain undiminished, with no departure

    to fear, nor any end.

  47. ونزيلُ راحتِك النَّدى

    وحليفُ دوليتِك الدَّوَامُ

    And bounty is the guest of your palm,

    and permanence the ally of your reign.