1. وبارقَ بعضُ العالمينَ نساءَهم

    وضاقَ بهم من ذلك الوعرُ والسهلُ

    And some people parted from their wives,

    And because of this, rugged land and plain grew too narrow for them.

  2. وقلّ البِنَا والحرثُ والزرعُ للورَى

    وضاقَ بأهليها بها العُلوُ والسُّفْلُ

    Building, tillage, and crops dwindled for humankind,

    And the land's heights and lowlands grew too cramped for its inhabitants.

  3. وقد يَبِس الآبارُ إلا نوادراً

    وأكْدَى جميعُ الخلق وافترقَ الأهلُ

    The wells had dried up, save for a rare few,

    And all the people became destitute, and families scattered.

  4. فبعضٌ غدا في الغرب يطلبُ رزقه

    وبعضٌ غدَا في الشرق واضطربَ الجُلّ

    Some went west in search of their livelihood,

    And some went east, while most were thrown into turmoil.

  5. ترَى الناسَ سَكْرَى خاشعين تذللاً

    مِن القلّ حتى لا يَصيحَ لهم طِفلُ

    You see people reeling like drunkards, humbly bowed in abasement,

    From scarcity, until no child of theirs even cries out.

  6. وعهدِي ببعض يلقطُ النخَلَ بلحها

    ويشربُ ماءَ لا يُمِرُّ ولا يَحْلُو

    I remember some gathering the palms' unripe dates,

    And drinking water that is neither bitter nor sweet.

  7. وبعضٌ تولى يطلبُ الناس بُلْغَةً

    فحلَّ به من سوءِ مطلبه الذل

    Some set out asking people for bare sustenance,

    And humiliation befell them through their wretched begging.

  8. وبعضٌ تغدى بالقليلِ ولم يسلْ

    وبعضٌ تراهُ سائِلاً وهو الكلُّ

    Some ate a scant midday meal and did not beg,

    And some you see begging, wholly dependent.

  9. وبعضٌ فلا يبكى ولا هو ضاحِك

    يكابِدُ أشغالاً من الهم لا يخُلو

    Some neither weep nor laugh,

    Enduring burdens, never free of anxiety.

  10. وبعضٌ تمنى للحمام لِفَقْرِه

    وممّا رأى السُّوأى وحَل به القُلُّ

    Some wished for death because of their poverty,

    And because of the misery they had seen and the want that befell them.

  11. وذلك في عام الثمانين حجةً

    وألف توالتْ مع ثمان وما حلوا

    That was in the year reckoned as eighty,

    Plus a thousand elapsed and eight—years without sweetness.

  12. ولولاكَ سلطان بن سيف بن سالك

    لحلَّ بنا مِن أجْل مَا مَسَّنَا الخبْلُ

    Were it not for you, Sultan ibn Saif ibn Salik,

    Madness would have befallen us because of what had afflicted us.

  13. فأمطرْتنا مِن جُود كَفّيْك وابلاً

    أقام مقاماً لا يقومُ به الولُ

    You showered us with a downpour from the bounty of your two hands,

    Which fulfilled a role that rainfall could not fulfill.

  14. فأحييكَ أرضَ اللهِ بالعدلِ والندى

    إلى أن أمتّ الجهلَ وانتشر العدلُ

    Thus you revived God's land with justice and generosity,

    Until you put ignorance to death and justice spread.

  15. وهذا قديمٌ منكم ليس محدثاً

    كذَا كانَ أجدادٌ لكَ العزُّ مِنْ قبلُ

    This has long been your way, not something newly begun.

    So were your forefathers; glory was yours long before.

  16. هُمُ مَعشر لا خابَ راجى نوالهم

    لهم بحرُ جود لا يكدره مَطْلُ

    They are a people who never disappoint those hoping for their bounty;

    Theirs is a sea of generosity unclouded by delay.

  17. ومن تكنْ الغُرّ الكرامُ جدودَه

    ليوثاً ضوارى هَكذا يكن الشبلُ

    Whoever has illustrious, noble forefathers,

    Fierce lions—so too will the cub be.

  18. فعِشْ إِن مَدْحى فيكَ حَقٌّ مؤثرٌ

    ومَدْحُ سواى في سواك هو الجَهلُ

    So live on! My praise of you is true and moving,

    And anyone else's praise of anyone but you is ignorance.

  19. دعوتُ إِلهي أَنْ يخلِّدَ مُلككم

    ويسقَينا غيثا به يُجمعُ الشملُ

    I prayed to my God to make your reign everlasting,

    And give us rain through which our scattered people are reunited.

  20. فيا ربِّ يا مولايَ ندعوكَ فاسقما

    حياً ذا شآبيبٍ بموتُ بهِ المْحلُ

    O Lord, O my Master, we call upon You: give us rain,

    Rain in heavy showers, through which drought dies.

  21. ويا خيرَ مسئولٍ دعوناك فاستجبْ

    وأكرمَ مأمولٍ به وثق الكُلُّ

    And O best of those petitioned, we have called upon You: answer

    And noblest of those hoped in, in whom all have trusted,

  22. عبادَك يا ربَّ العبادِ إغاثةً

    بِفَضْلِكَ يا مَنْ منه قد عمّنا الفضلُ

    Your servants, O Lord of servants, with relief,

    By Your grace, O You whose grace has encompassed us all.

  23. دَعَوناكَ يا رْحمن دعوةَ واثقٍ

    بجودِك يا مَن قوله الحقُّ والعدْلُ

    We have called upon You, O All-Merciful, with the prayer of one trusting

    In Your generosity, O You whose word is truth and justice.

  24. ويا مَن هُو الربُّ العظيمُ جلاله

    ومَنْ بيديه الخلقُ والأمرُ والفعلُ

    And O You who are the Lord, great in majesty,

    And in whose two hands lie creation, command, and action:

  25. فأنت الحكيمُ الخالقُ الرزاقُ الورَى

    أغثْنا فمنك الجود يا رب والفضلُ

    For You are the Wise, the Creator, the Provider for humankind.

    Relieve us: from You, O Lord, come generosity and grace.

  26. فأنتَ العليمُ الفادرُ الواهبُ الذي

    تسبِّحه الحيتانُ في البحر والنملُ

    For You are the All-Knowing, the Powerful, the Giver, whom

    The fish in the sea and the ants glorify.

  27. وأنتَ الجوادُ السيدُ الصمدُ الذي

    تفردَ عزّاً أنْ يكونَ له مِثْلُ

    And You are the Generous, the Master, the Self-Sufficient, who

    Stands alone in might, with none His equal.

  28. تعالَى إلهُ الخلق عَنْ كلِّ واصفٍ

    لقدرتِه أو أنْ يحيطَ به عَقْلُ

    Exalted is the God of creation beyond anyone's describing

    His power, or any mind's encompassing Him.

  29. وصلِّ إلهَ الخلق جلَّ ثناؤُه

    عَلَى أَحْمَدَ المختارِ ما سارتْ بِه الإبلُ

    And send blessings, O God of creation—exalted be His praise—

    Upon Ahmad, the Chosen, as long as camels journey with him,

  30. صلاةً توالى ليس يُحصَى عدادُها

    كمَا ليس يُحْصَى القَطْرُ ولويْلُ والرمْلُ

    Blessings following one another, whose number cannot be counted,

    Just as raindrops, downpours, and sand cannot be counted.