على سَعةٍ وفي طُنَفُ الأمان

على سَعةٍ وفي طُنَفُ الأمان

وفي حَبّات أفئدةٍ حواني

وفي حَبّات أفئدةٍ حواني

In spacious ease, beneath the eaves of safety,

In spaciousness and in folds of safety,

And in the cores of tender hearts,

And in grains of affectionate hearts,

بقرب أخيهِما كرماً ولطفاً

بقرب أخيهِما كرماً ولطفاً

وثائرة يُسَرُّ الرافدانِ

وثائرة يُسَرُّ الرافدانِ

At the nearness of their generous, kindly brother,

Close to his brother in generosity and kindness,

And amid a tumult, the Two Rivers rejoice.

And a rebel whom the two rivers please,

فتى عبد العزيز وفيكَ ما في

فتى عبد العزيز وفيكَ ما في

أبيك الشْهمِ من غُررِ المعاني

أبيك الشْهمِ من غُررِ المعاني

Son of Abd al-Aziz, in you is what is in

O Abdulaziz, in you is what is in

Your gallant father: the finest of virtues.

Your father Al-Shahm of the gems of meanings,

لأمرّ ما تُحس منِ انعطافٍ

لأمرّ ما تُحس منِ انعطافٍ

عليك وما ترى من مهرجان

عليك وما ترى من مهرجان

There is a reason for the affection you feel

For some matter you feel a turn,

Toward you, and for the festivities you see.

Upon you and what you see of festivals,

تأملْ في السُّهول وفي الروابي

تأملْ في السُّهول وفي الروابي

ومختلِف الأباطحِ والمغاني

ومختلِف الأباطحِ والمغاني

Look upon the plains and the hills,

Contemplate in the plains and in the hills,

And the varied gravelly valleys and abodes.

And the different terraces and melodies,

ألستَ ترى ارتياحاً وانطلاقاً

ألستَ ترى ارتياحاً وانطلاقاً

يلوح على خمائلها الحسان

يلوح على خمائلها الحسان

Do you not see gladness and exuberance

Do you not see comfort and freedom,

Shining over their lovely groves?

That appears on their beautiful horses?

وفي شتى الوُجوه ترى انبساطاً

وفي شتى الوُجوه ترى انبساطاً

ولو في وجه مكتئب وعاني

ولو في وجه مكتئب وعاني

And in all manner of faces you see delight,

And in various faces you see joy,

Even in the face of one dejected and afflicted.

Even if in a face saddened and suffering,

وذاك لأن كلَّ بني سُعودٍ

وذاك لأن كلَّ بني سُعودٍ

لهم فضل على قاصٍ وداني

لهم فضل على قاصٍ وداني

And that is because all the sons of Saud

And that is because every son of Saud,

Have bestowed their bounty on those far and near,

Has a virtue over a storyteller and supplicant,

وأنّهُمُ الملاجيءُ في الرزايا

وأنّهُمُ الملاجيءُ في الرزايا

وأنَهُمُ المطامحُ والأماني

وأنَهُمُ المطامحُ والأماني

And because they are refuges in calamity,

And they are the shelters in calamities,

And because they are objects of hope and longing,

And they are the aspirations and wishes,

وأنك والذي أُفِدْتَ عنه

وأنك والذي أُفِدْتَ عنه

أباك ملاذةُ الحر المُهانِ

أباك ملاذةُ الحر المُهانِ

And because you and the man on whose behalf you were sent—

And you and the one about whom,

Your father—are a refuge for the humiliated free man.

Your father is the refuge of the oppressed,

تسوسون الرعية بالتساوي

تسوسون الرعية بالتساوي

بفرط العدْل أو فرط الحنان

بفرط العدْل أو فرط الحنان

You govern your subjects equally,

You govern the people equally,

With abundant justice or abundant compassion.

With abundant justice or abundant mercy,

فلا مثلَ الجناة يُرى بريء

فلا مثلَ الجناة يُرى بريء

ولا بَدَلَ البريء يُعافُ جاني

ولا بَدَلَ البريء يُعافُ جاني

No innocent is regarded as a criminal,

So the likes of the guilty are not seen innocent,

Nor is a criminal passed over in an innocent's place.

Nor is the innocent substituted to pardon a criminal,

لكم في ذمة الأحرار دَيْنٌ

لكم في ذمة الأحرار دَيْنٌ

وأكرِمْ بالمدُين وبالمُدان

وأكرِمْ بالمدُين وبالمُدان

Free men owe you a debt,

For you the freemen have a debt,

And how noble the creditor and the debtor!

So be generous to the indebted and accused,

أبوكَ ابن السعود أبو القضايا

أبوكَ ابن السعود أبو القضايا

مشرفةً على مرّ الزمان

مشرفةً على مرّ الزمان

Your father, Ibn Saud, is the father of causes

Your father son of Saud father of issues,

Honorable through the passage of time,

Elevated over the passage of time,

ولمَحُ الكوكب المُلْقي شُعاعاً

ولمَحُ الكوكب المُلْقي شُعاعاً

على شُعَب الجْزيرة والمَحاني

على شُعَب الجْزيرة والمَحاني

And the gleam of the star casting a ray

And the star shedding a ray,

Over the Peninsula's branching valleys and winding hollows,

Upon the people of the peninsula and melodies,

ورمزُ العبقريةِ في زمان

ورمزُ العبقريةِ في زمان

به للعبقرية كلُّ شأن

به للعبقرية كلُّ شأن

And the emblem of genius in an age

And the symbol of genius in an era,

In which genius counts for everything.

In which genius has every glory,

لها كُتِبَ الخلودُ ، وما سواها ،

لها كُتِبَ الخلودُ ، وما سواها ،

برغم دعاية الداعين ، فاني

برغم دعاية الداعين ، فاني

Immortality is decreed for it; everything else,

Immortality has been written for it, and what is other than it,

Despite the advocates' publicity, is transient.

Despite the propaganda of promoters, is fleeting,

ولم أر مثلَهُ إلا قليلاً

ولم أر مثلَهُ إلا قليلاً

مهِيباً في السماع وفي العِيان

مهِيباً في السماع وفي العِيان

I have seen but few like him,

And I have not seen the like of him except a little,

Awe-inspiring when heard of and when seen.

Awe-inspiring in hearing and in sight,

كأني منه بين يَديْ هِزبَرٍ

كأني منه بين يَديْ هِزبَرٍ

أخي لِبَدٍ على بُعدِ المكان

أخي لِبَدٍ على بُعدِ المكان

It is as though I stood before him, a lion,

It is as if I am in front of a magnificent one,

Thick-maned, despite the distance.

My brother to a distance across space,

أقول الشعر محتفظاً وئيداً

أقول الشعر محتفظاً وئيداً

كأني خائفٌ من أن يراني

كأني خائفٌ من أن يراني

I recite my verse cautiously, slowly,

I compose poetry, sad and grieving,

As though afraid that he might see me.

As if I am afraid that he will see me,

وقى اللهُ الحِجزَ وما يليهِ

وقى اللهُ الحِجزَ وما يليهِ

بفضل أبيك من غُصَصِ الهوان

بفضل أبيك من غُصَصِ الهوان

God shielded the Hijaz and what adjoins it,

May God protect Al-Hijaz and what follows it,

Through your father's merit, from humiliation's choking pangs,

With the surplus of your father from the depths of humiliation,

ومتَّعَ ذلك الشعبَ الموقَّى

ومتَّعَ ذلك الشعبَ الموقَّى

بسبع سنينَ شيقةٍ سِمان

بسبع سنينَ شيقةٍ سِمان

And granted that protected people

And gave that protected people,

Seven delightful, fat years,

Seven pleasant years of fertility,

على حينَ اصطلى جيرانُ نجد

على حينَ اصطلى جيرانُ نجد

بجمر لظىً وسمّ الأفعوان

بجمر لظىً وسمّ الأفعوان

While Najd's neighbors were scorched

While Najd’s neighbors were afflicted,

By blazing embers and the great serpent's venom.

With the embers of intense heat and viper stings,

وقد رقَّت لها حتى عِداها

وقد رقَّت لها حتى عِداها

لكابوس بها مُلقى الجِران

لكابوس بها مُلقى الجِران

And even their enemies felt pity for them,

It even softened for them until even its enemies,

For a nightmare whose heavy neck lay upon them.

Were a nightmare in which necks are thrown,

أرادَتْه اضطراراً لا اختياراً

أرادَتْه اضطراراً لا اختياراً

وليس لها بدَفْعَتِه يدان

وليس لها بدَفْعَتِه يدان

They accepted it under compulsion, not by choice,

It wanted him out of necessity, not choice,

And they had no hands to drive it away.

And it has no means to repel him,

فليت الساهرين على دَماراً

فليت الساهرين على دَماراً

فداءُ الساهرين على الكيِان

فداءُ الساهرين على الكيِان

Would that those keeping vigil over destruction

May those awake to destruction be sacrificed,

Were a ransom for those keeping vigil over the nation's life!

For those awake to the entity,

وما سِيانِ مشتملون حَزْماً

وما سِيانِ مشتملون حَزْماً

ومشتملون أحزمةَ الغواني

ومشتملون أحزمةَ الغواني

Not alike are those girded with resolve

And the cautious and the reckless are not equal,

And those girded with the belts of beauties.

Nor are the chaste and the adulterers,

تُحاك له الدسائسُ تحت ليل

تُحاك له الدسائسُ تحت ليل

من الشحناء داجي الطَّيْلسان

من الشحناء داجي الطَّيْلسان

Plots are woven against him beneath a night

Plots are woven against him at night,

Of rancor, its mantle pitch-dark,

By the maliciously sly and twisted tongues,

على يد مصطلينَ بهِ غِضابٍ

على يد مصطلينَ بهِ غِضابٍ

على عليائه حرِدِي اللسان

على عليائه حرِدِي اللسان

At the hands of men seared by him, furious

At the hands of those who are angry at him,

At his eminence, wrathful of tongue,

For his loftiness, blunt in tongue,

وحُسّاد لذي شرف مَهيب

وحُسّاد لذي شرف مَهيب

رَمَوْا منه بسُلٍّ واحتقان

رَمَوْا منه بسُلٍّ واحتقان

And men envious of one possessed of awe-inspiring honor,

And envious of one whose glory is revered,

Stricken, because of him, with consumption and congestion,

They threw at him sticks and outrage,

من القوم الذين إذا استُجيشوا

من القوم الذين إذا استُجيشوا

ذكا لأُنوفهم أَرجُ الجِنان

ذكا لأُنوفهم أَرجُ الجِنان

Among those who, when called to arms,

Of those people who when incited,

Find the gardens' fragrance growing strong in their nostrils.

The smells of their mouths are the worst stench,

مشى للناس وضّاحاً وجاءوا

مشى للناس وضّاحاً وجاءوا

إليهم تحت أقنعة القِيان

إليهم تحت أقنعة القِيان

He walked among the people radiant, while they came

He went to the people clearly and they came,

To them beneath the masks of singing girls.

To them under the masks of monkeys,

فقل لهُمُ رويداً لا يَطيشوا

فقل لهُمُ رويداً لا يَطيشوا

ولا يَغُررْهُمُ فرطُ التواني

ولا يَغُررْهُمُ فرطُ التواني

So tell them to go gently, and not act rashly,

So say to them slowly, do not be reckless,

Nor let prolonged inaction deceive them.

And do not let the excess of delay deceive them,

فبالمرصادِ صِلٌّ أرقميٌّ

فبالمرصادِ صِلٌّ أرقميٌّ

شديدُ البطش مرهوبُ الجَنان

شديدُ البطش مرهوبُ الجَنان

For in ambush lies a speckled asp,

For in ambush there is a strong lion,

Fierce in striking, fearsome of heart.

Severe in might and feared in claws,

يُريهِمْ غفلةً حتى إذا ما

يُريهِمْ غفلةً حتى إذا ما

تمادَوْا في اللّجاجة والحِران

تمادَوْا في اللّجاجة والحِران

He shows them heedlessness until, when

He shows them inattention until when,

They persist in obstinacy and recalcitrance,

They go too far in stubbornness and confusion,

مشى لهم كأروعِ ما تراه

مشى لهم كأروعِ ما تراه

حديدَ الناب محتشدَ الدُّخان

حديدَ الناب محتشدَ الدُّخان

He advances upon them, the most fearsome sight you see,

He goes to them like the finest you see,

Sharp-fanged, with smoke thickly massed,

Steel-toothed gathered in smoke,

وقال لشيخهم إن شئتَ ألّا

وقال لشيخهم إن شئتَ ألّا

أراك ترفعاً أفلا تراني ؟

أراك ترفعاً أفلا تراني ؟

And says to their chief: 'If you wish me not

And said to their Shaykh: If you want me not,

To see you, out of pride—do you not see me?

To see you rising, do you not see me?

إذا لم تَقْوَا أن تبنى فحايد

إذا لم تَقْوَا أن تبنى فحايد

وكن شَهمْا يقدِّرُ صنعَ باني

وكن شَهمْا يقدِّرُ صنعَ باني

If you lack the strength to build, remain neutral,

If you cannot build then withdraw,

And be a gallant man who values a builder's work.'

And be a noble one who appreciates a builder,

مَشَيْتُمْ والملوكُ إلى مجالٍ

مَشَيْتُمْ والملوكُ إلى مجالٍ

به أحرزتُمُ قَصَبَ الرِّهان

به أحرزتُمُ قَصَبَ الرِّهان

You and the kings entered an arena

You have walked and the kings to a field,

Where you carried off the prize of the race,

In which you have won the canes of the bet,

فجاء مقامُهُمْ عنكم وضيعاً

فجاء مقامُهُمْ عنكم وضيعاً

مقام الزَج زلَّ عن السِّنان

مقام الزَج زلَّ عن السِّنان

And their station beside yours proved lowly,

So their position became neglected from you,

Like a spear's butt-cap, fallen below its point.

The position of the intertwined slipped from the spears,

فلا تحسَبْ بأن دعاةَ سُوءٍ

فلا تحسَبْ بأن دعاةَ سُوءٍ

تحرَّكُ من فلانٍ أو فلان

تحرَّكُ من فلانٍ أو فلان

So do not think that advocates of evil,

So do not assume that evil callers,

Set in motion by so-and-so or so-and-so,

Move from so-and-so or so-and-so,

ولا شتى زحاريفٍ ركاكٍ

ولا شتى زحاريفٍ ركاكٍ

ولا شتى أساليبٍ هِجان

ولا شتى أساليبٍ هِجان

Or sundry flimsy tricks,

Nor various rubbish nonsense,

Or sundry ignoble methods,

Nor various savage methods,

تَحَوَّلَ عَنْكُمُ مجرى قُلوب

تَحَوَّلَ عَنْكُمُ مجرى قُلوب

موجهةٍ إليكم بِاتزان

موجهةٍ إليكم بِاتزان

Can divert from you the course of hearts

Have turned the course of hearts,

Steadfastly directed toward you.

Directed to you in composure,

يسُرُّ الناسَ أنَّ فتىً كريماً

يسُرُّ الناسَ أنَّ فتىً كريماً

يُسَرَّ ، كما يعاني ما يعاني

يُسَرَّ ، كما يعاني ما يعاني

It gladdens the people that a noble youth

It pleases people that a generous youth,

Is gladdened, just as he suffers what he suffers.

Is pleased, just as he suffers what he suffers,

ترفع يا سرورُ عن القوافي

ترفع يا سرورُ عن القوافي

فانكَ لَلْغنيُّ عنِ البيان

فانكَ لَلْغنيُّ عنِ البيان

Rise above rhymes, O Joy,

Rise up O happiness from rhymes,

For you truly have no need of eloquence.

For you are needless of rhetoric,

وَهبني كنتُ ذا حَصَرٍ عِيِيّاً

وَهبني كنتُ ذا حَصَرٍ عِيِيّاً

وهبني كنت منحبسَ اللسان

وهبني كنت منحبسَ اللسان

And suppose I were tongue-tied, inarticulate,

And grant me I was having paucity, utterly weak,

And suppose my tongue were imprisoned:

And grant me I was muted of tongue,

فما قدْرُ العواطف والنوايا

فما قدْرُ العواطف والنوايا

إذا احتاجت لنقْلِه تَرجَمان

إذا احتاجت لنقْلِه تَرجَمان

What worth have feelings and intentions

So what is the worth of feelings and intentions,

If they need an interpreter to convey them?

If they need a translator to convey them?