1. It is as if your loved ones have renewed their covenant,
And the days have fulfilled their promise of reunion.

2. They have returned to their familiar company,
Blessings have been bestowed, and joy abounds.

3. My hopes, though futile, torment my soul with yearning -
Like embers of desire, fanned by every sigh.

4. I yearn for Layla though her home is near,
With the longing of one parted from a lifelong friend.

5. My body sheds tears like drops of dew,
Else I'd have adorned her neck with a pearl necklace.

6. I conceal my fatal love for her though it destroys me,
Like the hidden spark that sets alight the tinder.

7. They are crescent moons, though we live far apart -
Is there a way to guide me to their encampment?

8. Gazelle-like maidens, when they show their faces -
Covered or bare, dark-eyed or rosy-cheeked.

9. When I visit, warriors block my path with spears
To guard her from all suitors' amorous pursuit.

10. They guard the castle's moat to bar my entry -
As bees defend their hive and stores of honey.

11. My last glimpse was at Marj Raqqah with her people -
Their cheeks all henna-stained from recent weddings.

12. As she approached unveiled, her jealous kinsmen
Seethed with rage though she drew near.

13. I came to trade my soul for just one look
At her lithe form - how cheaply life is sold!

14. I mourn the loss of days shared with my beloveds,
Though the bereaved have no power to reclaim the past.

15. When absent, the morning is spent in torment;
When present, their aloofness wounds all the more.

16. When they visit I find no joy in their company,
So deep the hurt of past desertion.

17. How often their nearness fails to fulfill me,
And how often their distance leaves me inconsolable!

18. It was a mere glance from a Bedouin lass
That pierced my heart - no intention to wound me.

19. I'm amazed that Layla, usually so demure,
Once felled the stoutest warrior in single combat.

20. She wields her staff like a lioness hunting prey -
As if it were a cub she'd snatched from the mother's den!

21. Just rule has spread prosperity in Imam's realm,
So neither wolf nor lion stalk the grazing lambs.

22. A leader who shepherds his people for God
Enabled his subjects to live in comfort and plenty.

23. Rightfully, God entrusted our affairs to his hands,
And he fulfilled his duty to God in guiding the faithful.

24. With his works he has graced the world,
Magnanimous himself, he taught others detachment.

25. He frets for his people, wanting them to feel safe -
Should fate stir up turmoil, he would firmly guide them.

26. His enemies' hearts fear him like his own people's hearts love him -
His eyes watch over them as their own kin would guard them.

27. When sleepless worries besiege him by night
His sound judgment dispels them like the morning sun.

28. May he live long, best of rulers, a downpour of bounty -
We know none to rival him in virtue and wisdom.

29. You inherited your ancestor's integrity and generosity
Before the cold hand of death could snatch them away.

30. You took up the scepter like one worthy to wield it -
One whose decree won him honor and glory.

31. It was but to you that your nation's cause came -
You were the unique peerless one among them.

32. Divine mysteries are folded in God's decrees -
The learned may fathom them, but you are the most guided.

33. When genius Arabs perceive them, their tongues
Become eloquent models for all orators.

34. Did you not see the two sons of Nizār assume power -
One took the crimson dome, the other the sleek steed.

35. Each was clear proof of your authority to lead -
God, Lord of the Throne, guided you best to guide.

36. We love you not out of habit, but sincerely -
By that oath to God we solemnly pledged our devotion.

37. We know of no greater duty to God
Than serving the Prophet's mission - that, we hold sacred.

38. Through your clan - the Abbasids - come all our blessings,
The first to be lavished, the last to be taken away.

39. You ransomed the prisoner from unjust confinement -
You freed him, earning all praise for your action.

40. Can any house boast of purer motives than yours
When they vaunt their merits? For you the clouds bow!

41. Adam established your right to rule on this earth,
And for your sake, did not despair when expelled from Paradise.

42. Abraham's back served as a hiding place for your hands -
Thus the fire became cool when he entered its flames.

43. Without you as vicegerents, no Judgment or Resurrection -
The universe would not exist, nor continue its course.

44. You superseded others so perfectly you became
Twin pillars of divine guidance and human dominion.

45. You are the pinnacle of the religion of truth,
Beyond you, none can climb to a higher summit.

46. You left the faithless bereft in every abode,
God's sword razed their structures to the ground.

47. They mixed Islam with unbelief - a vile concoction!
So by the sword's edge you decisively parted them.

48. Whenever grasping hands made a bid for your birthright,
You drew the sword without hesitation to defend it.

49. Whenever a tyrant turned from you in ignorance,
His wicked neck inevitably fell to the blade.

50. No traitor defected and then returned in disgrace
But religion itself barred all hope of return.

51. For ages you allowed no breach in religion's rampart,
Placing your sword as a barrier before it.

52. To you, Commander of the Faithful, we pilgrims have journeyed,
Our mounts knelt before your court to be honored with gifts.

53. With hennaed hands they would pat the cheeks of horses
That raced with abandon to leave their mark.

54. I come to add my ancient allegiance in verse
Though my poor talents hardly match your merit.

55. No poetry suffices to pay your due -
But the weak strive to give what they are able.

56. Without religion's laws that you righteously championed,
My mind's creations would roam unfettered.

57. I sacrifice myself, though a worthless slave,
One like me, who can redeem? One like you, who needs redeeming?

58. I pray to my Lord that you and your noble shade
Endure long, sheltering mankind, ever-expanding.

59. May you live graced with fortunes - feasting ever,
The zenith of glory your eternal vantage.

60. May you remain undimmed by time, immortal,
For no glory awaits a sword left sheathed in idleness!