1. بُلوغُ الأَماني في شِفارِ القَواضِبِ

    وَنَيلُ المَعالي في مَجَرِّ السَلاهِبِ

    The attainment of wishes lies in the edges of keen swords,

    and winning high honors in the course of long-limbed steeds.

  2. وَمَن حَكَّمَ السُمرِ اللِدانِ تَعَبَّدَت

    لَهُ مَع تُقى المَولى رِقابُ المُشاغِبِ

    Whoever makes supple brown lances arbiters wins submission:

    with reverence for the Lord, the rebels' necks are his.

  3. وَمَن قادَها مِثلَ السَراحينِ شُرَّباً

    تَناقَلُ بِالشُمطِ الطِوالِ المَناكِبِ

    And whoever leads them like wolves drinking their fill,

    striding with gray-haired men, towering of shoulder,

  4. وَكُلِّ فَتىً ضَربٍ خُشاشٍ إِذا سَطا

    يَرى المَوتَ أَحلى مِن زُلالِ المَشارِبِ

    and every lean, nimble youth who, when he attacks,

    finds death sweeter than the purest drinking water.

  5. وَفي ذَملانِ العيسِ في كُلِّ مَهمهٍ

    بِكُلِّ جَرٍ عاري الاِشاجِعِ شاحِبِ

    And in the brisk ambling of pale camels through every wilderness,

    with every bold, pallid man, bony of knuckle,

  6. حَليفِ سُرىً لا يَثلِمُ اللَيلُ عَزمَهُ

    إِذا هَمَّ أَلغى حادِثاتِ العَواقِبِ

    a companion of night travel, whose resolve night cannot blunt,

    who, once resolved, dismisses whatever consequences may come.

  7. إِذا نِيَّةٌ أَوفَت بِهِ الشَرقَ طَوَّحَت

    بِهِ نِيَّةٌ أُخرى لِأَقصى المَغارِبِ

    When one purpose has brought him to the East,

    another flings him toward the farthest West.

  8. وَذاكَ قَريعٌ الدَهرِ إِن ماتَ لَم يُلَم

    وَإِن عاشَ أَضحى في سِنِّيِ المَراتِبِ

    Such is the champion of his age: if he dies, he is not blamed;

    if he lives, he attains the loftiest ranks.

  9. أَقولُ لِطُلّابِ المَعالي تَأَخَّروا

    فَقَد طَمَحَت عَنكُم لِأَكرَمِ خاطِبِ

    I say to seekers of high honors: stand back,

    for they have looked beyond you toward the noblest suitor:

  10. لِأَروَعَ مِن عُليا رَبيعَةَ أُحكِمَت

    تَجارِبُهُ مِن قَبلِ حينِ التَجارِبِ

    an awe-inspiring man of noble Rabi'ah, whose

    experience was perfected before the time for trials.

  11. قَعَدتُم وَلَم يَقعُد وَنِمتُم وَلَم يَنَم

    يُساوِرُ هَمّاً كَاِضطِرابِ اللَهائِبِ

    You sat idle while he did not; you slept while he did not,

    as he wrestled with an ambition like the restless leaping of flames.

  12. وَما نالَ هذا المُلكَ حَتّى تَحَطَّمَت

    صُدورُ العَوالي في صُدورِ الكَتائِبِ

    He won this kingdom only after the shattering

    of tall lance-heads against the breasts of battalions.

  13. فَلَولا دِفاعُ اللَهِ عَنكُم بِسَعدِهِ

    لِأَصبَحَ نَجدٌ مُضغَةً لِلنَوائِبِ

    Had God not defended you through his good fortune,

    Najd would have become a morsel for calamities.

  14. لَهُ سَطَواتٌ لَو تَنَحَّينَ مَرَّةً

    عَلى يَذبُلٍ هَدَّت شِعافَ الشَناخِبِ

    His assaults, if even once they turned

    against Yadhbul, would shatter its towering summits.

  15. سَبَرتُ مُلوكاً قَد رَأَيتُ فِعالَهُم

    وَطالَعتُ أَخبارَ المُلوكِ الذَواهِبِ

    I have tested kings whose deeds I have witnessed,

    and studied the accounts of kings long gone.

  16. فَما نَظَرَت عَيني وَلا مَرَّ مِسمَعي

    كَعَبدِ العَزيزِ اِبنِ الهُداةِ الأَطايِبِ

    My eye has never seen, nor has my ear heard,

    the like of Abd al-Aziz, son of noble guides:

  17. بَعيدِ مَرامِ العَزمِ لا مُتَفَيِّئاً

    ظِلالَ الهُوَينا لا ولا بِالمُراقِبِ

    far-reaching in resolve, never seeking

    the shade of ease—no, nor merely watching and waiting;

  18. وَلا عادِلاً عَن مَنهَجِ الحَقِّ يَمنَةً

    وَلا يَسرَةً يَبغي حُطامَ المَكاسِبِ

    nor swerving from the path of truth to the right,

    or to the left, seeking the chaff of gain.

  19. عَفُوٌّ عَنِ الجانينَ حَتّى كَأَنَّهُم

    لَدَيهِ كَأَدنى واشِجاتِ الأَقارِبِ

    So forgiving toward offenders that they seem

    to him like his closest blood relations.

  20. يُريدُ اِئتِلافَ المُلِمينَ وَجَمعُهُم

    عَلى مَسلَكِ المُختارِ مِن جَذمِ غالِبِ

    He seeks harmony among those who come to him, and their union

    upon the path of the Chosen One, from Ghalib's stock.

  21. وَإِلّا فلا الواني وَلا مُتَبَلِّداً

    إِذا طُرِقَت أُمُّ الدُهَيمِ بِحاطِبِ

    Otherwise, he is neither slack nor sluggish

    when a wood-gatherer comes by night to Umm al-Duhaym, calamity.

  22. مَتى هَمَّ أَمضى هَمَّهُ بِفَيالِقٍ

    تَسوقُ إِلى الأَعداءِ دُهمَ المَصائِبِ

    Whenever he resolves, he carries out his purpose with armies

    that drive black calamities toward his enemies,

  23. كَما ساقَها يَوماً أَبها وَقَد طَغَت

    وَغُرَّت بِتَسويلِ الأَماني الكَواذِبِ

    as he once drove them toward Abha, when it had rebelled

    and been deceived by the blandishments of false hopes.

  24. رَماهُم بِنَجمٍ زَلزَلَت صَعَقاتُهُ

    دِيارَ مُغَيدٍ مَع تِهامَ وَمَأرِبِ

    He struck them with a star whose thunderbolts shook

    the lands of Mughayd, together with Tiham and Ma'rib,

  25. بِشِبلِ مُلوكٍ أَرضَعَتهُ ثُدِيُّها

    وَمِدرَهِ حَربٍ عُضلَةٍ لِلمُوارِبِ

    with a cub of kings, suckled at their breasts,

    and a champion of war, a thorny problem for the schemer.

  26. فَأَضحَوا وَهُم ما بَينَ ثاوٍ مُجَندَلٍ

    وَبَينَ أَسيرِ في الحَديدِ وَهارِبِ

    So they became either fallen bodies, laid low,

    or captives in iron, or fugitives.

  27. فَلا حَسَنٌ أَجدى عَلَيهِم وَلا اِرعَوى

    لِغُرِّ الثَنايا وَاضِحاتِ التَرائِبِ

    Hasan was no help to them, nor did he turn back

    for women of gleaming teeth and radiant breasts.

  28. وَلكِنَّهُ وَلّى يَداهُ عَلى الحَشا

    لَهُ خَفَقانٌ مِثلُ صَفقِ اللَواعِبِ

    Instead he turned and fled, his hands upon his belly,

    his heart fluttering like the clapping of playful girls.

  29. يَؤُمُّ رِعاناً جارَ وَبرٍ إِذا دَعا

    يُجاوِبُهُ فيها ضُباحُ الثَعالِبِ

    He heads for jutting peaks, a neighbor to hyraxes; when he calls,

    the foxes' yelping answers him there.

  30. يُحاذِرُ ما لاقى مُحمَّدَ إِذ مَضى

    وَأَصحابَهُ جَزراً لِحُمرِ المَضارِبِ

    He fears what befell Muhammad when he perished,

    with his companions, as butchered meat for crimson sword-edges.

  31. وَيَومَ بَني شِهرٍ عَلى العَينِ غودِروا

    وَلائِمِ فيهِ لِلوُحوشِ السَواغِبِ

    And on Banu Shahr's day at al-Ayn, they were left

    as feasts there for ravenous beasts.

  32. أَضَلَّهُمُ الغَرّارُ لا بَل شَقاؤُهُم

    فَصارَ قُصاراهُم عِضاضَ الرَواجِبِ

    The deceiver led them astray—no, rather their own misery;

    so their final lot was biting their knuckles.

  33. فَيا مَلِكاً فاقَ المُلوكَ سَماحَةً

    وَعَفواً وَإِحساناً إِلى كُلِّ تائِبِ

    O king who surpassed kings in generosity,

    in forgiveness, and in kindness to every penitent,

  34. إِلَيكَ زَبَرتُ النُصحَ لا مُتَبَرِّماً

    بِقَولي وَلا أُهدي نَصيحَةَ خالِبِ

    to you I have written counsel, not weary

    of my words, nor offering a deceiver's advice.

  35. إِذا لَجَأَت يَوماً عَدُوَّكَ حاجَةٌ

    إِلَيكَ فَلا تَأمَنهُ عِندَ النَوائِبِ

    If need should one day drive your enemy

    to you, do not trust him when calamities come.

  36. يُريك اِبتِساماً وَهوَ لِلمَكرِ مُبطِنٌ

    وَيومي إِلى الأَعدا بِرَمزِ الحَواجِبِ

    He shows you a smile while concealing treachery,

    and signals to enemies with movements of his eyebrows.

  37. وَأَنتَ خَبيرٌ بِالذي قَد تَواتَرَت

    بِهِ قَبلَنا أَقوالُ أَهلِ التَجارِبِ

    You are well versed in what has been handed down

    before us in the sayings of men of experience.

  38. وَلكِنَّهُ مَن يَتَّقِ اللَهَ وَحدَهُ

    يَجِد فَرَجاً عِندَ اِزدِحامِ الكَرائِبِ

    Yet whoever fears God alone

    finds relief when sorrows crowd together.

  39. ضَمَمتَ إِلى عَدنانَ قَحطانَ وَالتَقَت

    عَلَيكَ قُلوبُ الناسِ مِن كُلِّ جانِبِ

    You joined Qahtan to Adnan, and there converged

    upon you the hearts of people from every side.

  40. فَما مُسلِمٌ إِلّا يَراكَ إِمامَهُ

    سِوى مارِقٍ عَن مَنهَجِ الرُشدِ ناكِبِ

    No Muslim fails to see you as his imam,

    save a renegade, straying from the path of right guidance.

  41. دَعَوتَ إلى الوَحيِ المُقَدَّسِ حاكِماً

    بِما فيهِ مِن حَقٍ مُبينٍ وَواجِبِ

    You called people to the sacred revelation, ruling

    by the clear truth and duty it contains.

  42. وَشَرَّدتَ قَوماً خالَفوهُ فَحُكمُهُم

    بِأَوضاعِ كُفرٍ جُزِّئَت في العَواقِبِ

    You scattered a people who opposed it; their rule

    rests on ordinances of unbelief, divided in their outcomes.

  43. يَقولونَما شِئتُم مِنَ الفِسقِ فَاِفعَلوا

    أَوِ الشِركِ بِالّلاطينَ تَحتَ النَصائِبِ

    They say, “Commit whatever debauchery you wish,

    or idolatry with those lying beneath the grave-markers;

  44. فَإِنَّكُم حُرِّيَةٌ في فِعالِكُم

    وَأَقوالِكُم لا تَحذَروا مِن مُعاتِبِ

    for you have freedom in your deeds

    and your words: fear no reprover.

  45. إِذا ما تَراضى الفاسِقانِ عَلى الخَنا

    فَلَن يَخشَيا ما لَم يَكُن بِتَغاصُبِ

    If two debauchees consent to lewdness,

    they need not fear, so long as there is no coercion.”

  46. فَيا عَجَباً مِن عالِمٍ يَدَّعي الهُدى

    يُواليهِمُ مَع فِعلٍ تِلكَ المَثالِبِ

    How strange that a scholar claiming guidance

    should be their ally despite such disgraceful deeds!

  47. وَهَل أُنزِلَت كُتبٌ وَأُرسِلَ مُرسَلٌ

    بِغَيرِ اِفعَلوا أَو فَاِترُكوا بِالتَراتُبِ

    Were scriptures ever revealed, or a messenger sent,

    with anything but ‘Do’ or ‘Refrain,’ in due order?

  48. فَيا مَن عَلا فَوقَ السَماءِ بِذاتِهِ

    وَيَعلَمُ ما تَحتَ الطِباقِ الرَواسِبِ

    O You who are exalted above heaven in Your very essence,

    and know what lies beneath the deeply sunken layers,

  49. أَدِم عِزَّ مَن لِلدّينِ كَهفٌ وَلِلدُّنا

    وَأَيَّدهُ بِالإِسعادِ يا خَيرَ واهِبِ

    sustain the glory of him who is a refuge for faith and the world,

    and support him with success, O best of givers.

  50. وَصَلِّ إِلهي كُلَّما حَنَّ راعِدٌ

    وَما ناضَ بَرقٌ في خِلالِ السَحائِبِ

    And send blessings, my God, whenever a thundercloud moans

    and whenever lightning flashes amid the clouds,

  51. عَلى خَيرِ مَبعوثٍ إِلى خَيرِ أُمَّةٍ

    كَذا آلِهِ الأَطهار مَع كُلِّ صاحِبِ

    upon the best one sent to the best of communities,

    and likewise his pure family and every companion.