1. Is it the arrival of a beloved or the blossoming of a bower,
Or is it the voice of a herald or the warbling of a guide?

2. My friend, have the ties of affection been severed,
And has the time of reunion, my wish, drawn near?

3. Has the sun of communion risen after
A long dark night of separation?

4. Have days returned to us white like flowers
After having worn the garb of mourning?

5. If what the herald said was truly awake
And not just dreams and false slumber,

6. Then rise, O Fate, roll up the skirts of illusion
And limp, limping with joy like someone overjoyed,

7. And O she-camel, you have suffered from traveling at night
And roaming the depths and crossing the wilderness,

8. So rise, my boy, unload my camel’s litter,
Take off her trappings and remove the cords,

9. Calm the snorting of the mare and remove her bridle,
And place my cloak over the back of my steed.

10. For I had intended to brave the hostility
And cross the barren wastes and deserts,

11. Seeking, in every abode, nothing
But chasing horses and climbing peaks,

12. Capturing souls that do not fail to meet
And though they face war’s fierce executioner in battle.

13. My traveling was not to gather riches
Which I seek in every land.

14. Nor was it to meet with boon companions in drinking sessions
Where cups are passed around from the nectar of martyrdom.

15. How could one like me rein in his steed
Heading towards Zainab or seeking happiness?

16. My day had risen with its rejected ones
And it had been a dark night in its darkness.

17. The crow that was my comrade and whose nest
I frequented flew away, leaving behind many eggs.

18. The years of life are complete at thirty-seven
With thirty years before them that signaled maturity.

19. Is there any sport left for youth after them
Or any meadow left for love after them?

20. Rather, my travel is to visit the glorious Ma’jed
Who built the highest edifice of glory,

21. A young man who settled in an abode of triumph
And he attained in it the dearest rest,

22. And he excelled in the race track of virtues and piety
On a path that no longer hits the target of righteousness.

23. His narrations about noble deeds are treasures
That travelers narrate at every abode.

24. The transmitters have chronicled them in ink
Whenever an asker narrates and questions.

25. If the youth engage him in virtue,
He confines them with his highest virtue.

26. And if his daughters chant poetry to him,
Every singer announces his precedence.

27. And if the scholars dispute with him some knowledge,
He narrates what exhausts every inquiring questioner.

28. He roams with a thought that unravels every problem,
Lighting the way to clarify with the spark of his mind.

29. O Abu Ahmad, you have bestowed upon me praise
That falls short of my compositions and poems.

30. You have garlanded me with that which I cannot
Fulfill in gratitude, even if I mounted every steed.

31. You began by gifting vows – the lofty rain of virtue
Quenched you from the clouds of highness and nobility.

32. So here I am, repaying your pearl with pebbles
And I face your sun with my firebrand.

33. For I am not one who is content with his mind’s poetry,
Nor has it ever obeyed me since I submitted to destiny.

34. And if I guide it, it flows to what I want,
Galloping rebelliously at full speed.

35. I direct it east, and it goes west,
And if I guide it uphill, it flows downhill.

36. How many places have I set it loose in their expanses
And chased glory in them with every chase!

37. Yet I return with all the witnesses in its plains
Bearing witness that the steed is no racer.

38. A person cannot be tasked beyond what
He can endure, nor attain every wish.

39. And how often a young man desires glories and attaining them
Yet the young man’s fortune comes with every obstinacy!

40. Surely a man who accomplishes every goal
And delves deep into the track of every guidance

41. Will have, in every assembly, someone apologizing for him
A speaker in every land defending him among people.

42. So last, O son of Yahya, for as long as you live darkened
With your glory held high by every pillar.

43. Your deeds never ceased to be wondrous in the land
With travelers guided by them in every land.