1. He is elegant, though with a touch of laziness,
And in his cloak a willingness to be at ease.

2. What hue does the darkness take on from his tresses?
What full moon is the face that he displays?

3. Bewildered, I kiss the sun that's in my palm -
Does a mortal ever get to kiss the sun?

4. I've begun to push my sorrows far away
And ply them with the spoils, after toil, of locks.

5. We are safe now from the spy's malicious ways
And the keenly cunning sentinel's sly skills.

6. And blossoms rhyming, as the twilight spills.
We pass around a wine-filled cup on a vine-shoot stem,

7. Flowing unstinted over us, free of stops and spills.
Though we live humbly on a lofty perch,

8. Secure in fortune, free of nagging fears.
In the realm of King al-Mu'mini, his emblem

9. Is me, Ali ibn Hussein, called Malik ibn Ali.
Girded with the sword of victory, robed in

10. Justice and mercy for frailties and human ills.
Pure of soul, no blemish in his repute.

11. Adorned with piety and knowledge and deeds.
His self-restraint from all the law forbids -

12. Were it proclaimed, no sin would mar his name.
If I called the sun unjust while in Aries,

13. Never would the sun abandon Aries' realm.
In fighting foes he's fearsome on the day of war,

14. With might to shatter the staunchest mountain's form.
When he bares his blade against the enemy host,

15. He makes them bid farewell to soul and earthly frame.
His open hand could make the world suppose

16. It coaxed the rain from drought-struck dusty hills.
Lost in invoking God and duty's call

17. At dawn, upholding practice and sacred norms.
Studying scripture, exegesis, theology,

18. Religion's jurisprudence and practical reforms.
He shuns all sin, obeys each divine command -

19. No rebel he, but wholly God's obedient slave.
O you who shower my mind's garden with your grace,

20. Till it is decked in garlands of praise for you I've made.
Gifts run out, but praise for you will never fade,

21. Enduring through all time, unchanged in its acclaim.
My lord, you have repaid all debts I owed,

22. Corrected my mistakes and covered every blame.
You still acquit yourself of debts you owe to time,

23. However you desire, constant, still the same.
Always I've had your noble court's support

24. For my dependents' sustenance, and none but you to aid
With stipends for ten souls in my two abodes -

25. Those you've decreed, who share in my employ.
With executive orders setting aside

26. All usual dues, preferring consolidated pay.
The sea is not diminished when clouds uptake

27. Their fill, nor swelled when showers pour down in spate.
No, glory raises you through life, and on the day

28. While my poor praise exalts your eminence, in truth,
You merit better - mine is marred by great defects.

29. My soul's in turmoil, body racked with pains,
My heart engrossed - let alone all its defects!

30. Yet I, a stranger here, am led to praise
And find in you familiarity.

31. Soon will come a eulogy that lasts, whose fame
Equals the brightest stars, on earth or in the depths.

32. Till one who needs no boast sees wondrously
In latest songs, those of the ancients or the first.

33. Your generosity dictates to my mind
Pure pearls of praise - display them with no change.

34. Still I await, O sovereign of all kings,
Honor's zenith, lacking hope or expectation.

35. Still I wear the raiment of secure contentment
In a life of joy - matchless, beyond comparison.

36. Good fortune is your servant, greatness serves your needs,
While you stand sovereign, perfected, holding all.

37. This, when my poor talents limit how I praise
And sing your worth - yet you merit so much more.