1. No affliction befell a noble man like Taghlib bin Dawud
Who disdained death by plague though that was his destined fate

2. Another like him disdained dying anywhere but on
Saddled steeds with glinting swords held high

3. After surviving the perils of war with his firmness
And smiting the heads of warriors with might

4. And plunging into the midst of every fray
Where the hearts of the brave tremble in fright

5. Whether we show patience or weep incessantly
Or agonize over him, it is no surprise

6. This ebb in fate’s sea we have not known before
Where are the gifts he would lavish freely

7. On the noble and the commoner equally?
Greetings of peace to his beloved friends

8. Who now must bid peace to sorrow, not felicity
What hopes can souls harbor for an era

9. Whose present is disagreeable, future unsought?
The calamities of time let me recognize

10. That I have long been inured to its hurts
And immersed in all the misfortunes it has inflicted

11. What aid were you unable to render him
When the swords of Hashim’s sons sought you in need?

12. O noblest of the noble, king of all kings
Quick to soar, outmatching all in the hunt!

13. Before you he died by the swords unleashed
Like the stones hurtling down the rugged cliffs

14. You assailed the night with battalions galore
But it assailed their eyes with a tranquilizing spell

15. So at dawn their steeds were limp and languid
Scattered from regiment to lonely abode

16. Their sheaths bore liberation but they
Parried the blows like solid boulders

17. His blow in the resting place of their valor
His scent in the nostrils of their chief

18. You granted him a lofty life he lived to the full
Thanking you in glory and tranquility

19. A weak frame, generous soul, poured anguish
Gushing aid, answered supplication

20. Then his shackle became the dove, and his
Right hand could not be freed from its bond

21. The passing ones do not decrease in number
Among them, Ali of clenched fists lies

22. Battalions of his waft like spirits
On the winds, unanchored, adrift

23. The first letter of his name their hooves etched
Into the earth amidst the fray and blood

24. However the knight may fortify the prince
Not by his valor or open-handedness

25. His remaining forever is a blessing
Until solaced is each newborn child