1. Weariness prevailed, so I did not sit,
That is the wont of the discreet.

2. When I saw the waning of passion
And how I was forgotten by the one forgotten,

3. I returned your mantle to you
For it was not dirtied at my abode or sullied.

4. Treat me with one consistent manner,
If love is guarded it is not guarded through vigilance.

5. For you, remote from boredom,
Is sweeter than sleep in the eyes of the sleepy.

6. If between life’s hope from you
And familiar affluence you reside,

7. Then I am but passion’s thrall,
When will it recover from its malady and be erect?

8. He says, “I fear they will find you
So you are exposed in the ugliest of clothing.”

9. What is the difference were it not for men’s convention
Between turban and hat?

10. I am the son of fathers, so I have no peer
And no pleasure in the buffoon.

11. I have fulfilled every ambition and refused every disgrace,
I have traversed every land without being detained.

12. I obscure its sun with darkness
And the daylight with the darkness.

13. So I openly declare with it a spring
That is arduous for the mounted traveller.

14. Neither does inadequate provision pain me
Nor does the sword - I have a brave companion.

15. And when we stuffed the pebbles of men
Between the molars and the incisors,

16. We found Ali ibn Abd al-Aziz
Gave them to drink the freshest nectar,

17. And he hastened in his wealth eagerly
Like fire among dry wood.

18. How many wealthy men have been impoverished by their aspirations!
And others made destitute by their wealth!

19. I owe no debt to him
Except the honor of the firmest.

20. Verily the generous man hedges against suspicions
In which misery flourishes.

21. He volunteered freely like the basil plant
He gave its produce though it was not planted.

22. In the seat of the caliphate a lion
Rules the people without being advised.

23. When he encounters evil he is not afraid
And if he misses good he does not despair.

24. Blame’s bite and speech’s barbs
Slip off his smooth honor.

25. As if in him a penetrating sword
When it scorns the spear does not unsheathe.

26. You see - when a noble one surprises them -
The people standing in awe of his prestige

27. As if their eyes were dazzled
By seeing the eyes of an evil person.

28. You repelled the blades of enmity when they threw
At you between the mailed and the unarmed.

29. You turn upon them the dues of harm
Like the rotation of the cup in the drinking-vessels.

30. And you play with their lives
As death plays with souls.

31. You were only the place of fear
And loathing despite that despised one.

32. The head of the brave takes flight in fear of you
And your upright sword has not been touched.

33. I saw you like the moon in its procession
Clarifying auspiciousness from the inauspicious.

34. A near wish to the beholder
A far attainment to the toucher.

35. When they conceal their eyes from him
To hide - though he did not sink into gloom.

36. Were it not for the disparity between men
The vociferous would be like the mute.

37. How many stars in the Swath
Are imperceptible due to their closeness!

38. You stood and towered over Anam
Like the towering of one wearing an overcoat.

39. You defend it without a shield
Like the palm branch defending the heads.

40. When they stab you with the daggers of a lance
You stab with the nib of the pen.

41. Before him I have not seen a speaker
With decisive speech without stuttering.

42. So Abu al-Fadl live until someone takes your place
In these difficult times!

43. For him are the gentle sheaths in sheathing
And good tidings in looking.

44. The heart of depravity is terrified
With the love for the banner of a bow.

45. There have come to you like the fringes of Adhmi
Whoever wears it has dressed.

46. The daughters of thoughts were not borrowed
For the presentation of the chief and were not worn.

47. Meters that ring when recited
With the ringing of the luth in the decorated bridal chamber.