1. I seek refuge from accompanying a heart unfeeling,
And from being occupied with blaming the devoted lover.

2. My love called me to give the best of my guidance,
And let fervent passion overcome all that had come before.

3. Without the one the young beauties desired in their prime,
I was struck by cupid’s arrows down love’s slippery slope.

4. Whenever lightning flashed, my tempestuous heart
Struck out sparks of longing and desire.

5. My dear friend, the day intentions changed,
I was made wretched by one who, had he wished, could have blessed me.

6. And the day we marched away, O Umm Malik,
My heart remained behind, suffering in your fetters.

7. The possessor of the sweetest, softest neck
Gives me the water of delight to drink, pure and fresh.

8. I stay up late with him till the dark of night,
And dawn finds me athirst, beyond the roses languishing.

9. The light of the stars illuminates the darkness in my chest
Whenever the Najdi lightning begins to flash.

10. We pitched our tents on the sands, and the sands are an abode
Where my youth once passed so sweetly.

11. I have not seen a single quarter of it since, without
The most tormenting passions and the most delightful trysts.

12. I gave to drink the passion of love in the valleys,
And from the drops I composed verses on the branches.

13. I tell you, though far removed, I remain faithful
To the bond of love - if only you would keep faith with me!

14. I ask you by the truth - and the noble keep their oaths -
Never to deprive kindness and goodness their due.

15. Is love not that which the impassioned defender maintains,
While the shameless suitor fails in his quest?

16. Turn me away, though the night arouses its passions
And draws from the skirts of its blackness threads of light.

17. The blossoms of stars on its horizon
Are like bubbles floating on the river of the Milky Way.

18. A phantom in the faraway tombs took hold of me -
So remember me, for my heart cannot forget!

19. I am amazed that he found his way to my bed,
Though nothing of me remained for him but sickness and longing.

20. I raised for him the fire of my chamber lamp, and he followed it,
Crossing through the blackness of night towards me.

21. And, provoking even greater passion were the wild geese
Gliding on the plains, burnishing themselves.

22. They distracted my eyes from all sights,
And so they captivated the hearts' baby gazelles.

23. When I saw the flock, I said to my companion,
“Beware the sickness of the eyes, for it is contagious."

24. But the Commander of the Faithful, Muhammad,
Can heal anything the physician cannot cure.

25. The brilliant stars shine through him;
He exudes the sublime spirit of the age.

26. Sublime deeds, when a star takes aim
At surpassing them, it remains suspended and weak.

27. He outdoes the winds in rising high,
And exposes the emptiness of their wandering.

28. He turns away from the blind with the patience of the Able,
And favors wisdom, though the mountains be steep.

29. A protector who terrifies the lion amidst the fray,
As the lion terrifies the fleeing deer.

30. Merits that rise above pride, as though
They compete with the stars in their course.

31. If one day the angels race towards a goal,
You refuse to concede the finish line.

32. You dazzled and eclipsed the kings when you appeared,
And no wonder, for the sun hides the stars!

33. You dispelled the darkness of injustice wrought by the oppressors,
And it's no surprise, for you illuminate the darkest nights.

34. You guided to the path of God those who had lost their way.
So you remain a guide, leading them true.

35. You gave the essence of kingship what you gave it,
And crowned the noblest of kings.

36. Some you recognized with precedence,
So that nights bow to them in virtue.

37. Abu Ziyad was excellent though abandoned,
So you adorned him until he relied on you.

38. Yours is the good - you did not intend what you gave
As payment, but as the generosity of your nature.

39. Thus no angel but you commands,
Nor does any noble but you forbid.

40. Nor do the days complain of the plague of chaos,
For in you they know the healing physician.

41. Andalusia you made your own, as was your right,
And you watered it with a draught of untroubled peace.

42. You mended the vulnerability of this land on the brink,
And it recovered from the illness of disasters.

43. After suspicions darkened its people’s minds,
And they wandered hungering for the meadows of hopes -

44. They did not expect to live except very precariously,
And knew no safety but in wishes -

45. You had compassion on those times with the pity of the merciful,
And clothed them in the garb of your care.

46. Through your initiative, the King rediscovered wisdom,
And with you, Islam obtained what it yearned for.

47. You stood guard over Islam with a noble soul
That turns enemies back from its protection.

48. With a resolve that splits the dawn, and a will
That whets the sword's blade to a Yemeni sharpness!

49. Spear shafts of the Khatt were quivering shoots
From which you harvested blood in the meadows.

50. You unsheathed the sword's blade, gleaming white,
Then sheathed it, red with carnage.

51. Yours is the resolve to face troubles with guidance,
And when swords are drawn, to be unfaltering.

52. If you do not pride yourself on what you deserve,
How can dawn be proud of its radiant daybreak?

53. You instituted a feast unlike any other day of celebration,
Where congratulations blossom in the heart.

54. You established with it a tradition of the true religion,
And renewed the pattern of guidance.

55. A work whose pride God Himself worked to perfect,
And for which He rewarded you as it deserved.

56. The stars and blooms wish that they might represent it,
And from afar send their yearnings to you.

57. Still the day's face shines with the sun in delight,
And the night glitters with stars in procession.

58. The pride of excellence should place its crown upon its likeness,
And thereby rise above the stars, transcendent.

59. It plunges skeptics into spiritual rapture,
And inspires those in the desert to press on.

60. With it, Joseph is content with his beauty,
As though every heart intimately confided in him.

61. He came with a gravity that enhances his brilliance,
Turning the full moon's face to a blossoming splendor.

62. He proceeded undeterred by the grandeur of the occasion,
Neither hesitant nor faltering in his stride.

63. In him are attributes from his father and grandfather -
You see glory residing and spreading through him.

64. If only we could ransom you with our innermost souls,
You would not have overcome us!

65. You walked, and our tears flowed in sympathy,
As you inspired joy within them.

66. How many devoted guardians are at your door,
Willing to sacrifice their precious souls to guard you!

67. A prey of lovely gazelles, the scions of the tribe,
Who drive attackers away, or make enemies perish!

68. Young beauties - if they prepare for a raid,
They return at daybreak with the enemy darker than night.

69. By God, were you not concerned with gaining the Almighty's approval,
Which contents you however your Lord wills -

70. They would have unleashed such chaos
As to turn the youths' temples white with shock!

71. Leaving the twisted bodies of the elderly prone,
And the gazelles’ flanks red with gore.

72. But when God's destiny fulfilled itself,
And the stars themselves envied your achievements -

73. We came to congratulate the most generous patron.
God forbid generosity ever ceases!

74. So the Indian swords and courage congratulate you,
And the highland chiefs and honored nobles.

75. As do the pulsating stars - for you will tie them
To the covenant of victory as a conqueror.

76. I imagine you distressing the swords and deer alike,
And destroying the firmest heroes in combat.

77. I imagine you crowned King in your youth,
Gathering together the fragments of glory.

78. Fulfilling the rights of pride in your virile prime,
And excelling in the debt of perfection.

79. You are none but fortune itself, if you rise to the occasion,
With your Lord Himself guiding your aim!

80. You remain, O pride of the Caliphate, a guardian,
And you remain, O best of imams, sufficient.

81. You remain, delight of his eye, to his joy,
With your Lord as protector.

82. I composed verses of potent speech as talismans for him,
Substituting rhymes for pearls within them.

83. Talismans which make kings recoil in amazement,
And, by my life, refuse to belong to any but him.

84. I see time casting them before him as marvels,
While only praise persists and remains.