1. My guilt was diminished by the sword of forgiveness,
And my patience was armored by the spear of destiny.

2. She revealed camphor of dawn that split the night of amber,
From beneath her musky mole.

3. She came melting away bashfulness from her cheeks,
Lighting upon us the hoor and cool water.

4. She brought near to her mouth branches of her ringlets,
Adorning herself with treasure of jewels.

5. O bearer of the mighty sword, if her languishing eyelid brandishes,
Beware the stroke of her fragmented eyelid.

6. And beware, O lord of the slim spear, the stab, if
She attacks you with braids the color of dark grapes.

7. She came out, so we witnessed the lightning gleaming,
And the full moon peeking out from its hood.

8. She walked by, so the antelope passed us adorned,
And the bough amidst garment and sash.

9. By the nights I spent with her, perfumed
Above meadows with vermilion chamomile.

10. And by the garden of my love in the valley,
Where languor left it confused and wandering.

11. By God! Neither carnelian nor its people were mentioned
Except that love drew it into my verse.

12. If not for it, the frozen tears of my sadness
Would not have melted by the fire of recollection.

13. How many gazelles and lions from the enemy's clan
I have accompanied, a flock and a group!

14. I went astray in the darkness of intoxication,
And was guided by those faces with brilliance.

15. O family with cheeks like perfectly cut carnelian,
You have built your abode in the forest of the rugged valley.

16. I will never forget her visit, nor the scents of dusk
Diffusing their musk when the simoons blow.

17. She nodded and the slim spear shook its blade,
And dawn split the darkness with its dagger.

18. The bow lies ready, its arrow guided
By the claws of the two eagles, the buyer's hands.

19. She began to trill jewels in my hearing,
Else, the composer of my verse would not have scattered them.

20. She draws me close, my cheek upon her shirt,
While I draw close to her, my palm upon her bracelet,

21. At times I see my wrist, and at times
From her I see the rosy palm with bangles.

22. Until the morning arose, and the troops
Of An-Najashi departed from Qaysar’s army.

23. When she saw the garden of violets withering
From our night, and the meadows of sparrows blooming,

24. The star fleeting upon a bay steed,
And dawn approaching on a blond mare,

25. She panicked and snapped carnelian with pearls,
Her tears calmed in the flowing sap.

26. She sighed in anguish, and her palm upon her breast
Affected me with a sight I'd never seen.

27. Pens of coral wrote in amber
Upon a crystal page, five lines.

28. She left, and the blush of her cheek from her dark beauty
Wore the ashes of musk after veiling.

29. Bless her beauty, from a visitor
Whose image my imagination drew in my mind.

30. I have not found sweeter delight than her company,
Except good news at the return of Al-Haydari.

31. Son of the gallant, brother of the clouds, father of dew,
Blessings of the secret sun of our day.

32. The famous suitor since his infancy,
The highest seeker, beyond estimation.

33. The lantern of the generous, the dawn which
The night of stinginess would not have borne unless it shone.

34. A spear, when swords are unsheathed, you would think it
A river flowing from the depth of five seas.

35. He combined intelligence with courage, high morals,
Opinion with pardon and excellent planning.

36. His noble fathers and grandfather,
The best of people, Abu Shubayr and Shaybar.

37. If Moses had come to Pharaoh
With his great miracles, he would not have disbelieved.

38. Or if Adam had summoned Iblees by his name
At the prostration, he would not have been arrogant.

39. Or if his perfection were like the full moon,
It would not have waned, nor the sun become wrapped.

40. Or if the might of his power were in the heavens,
On the day of resurrection, they would not have split.

41. How generous! He humbles the high mountain,
Fearing it may scorn him in its peaks.

42. And he erased the darkness of tyranny with his white justice,
Until every squint-eyed one fears him.

43. He makes the white gazelles like white eggs,
And their shade by the meadows a song of beauty.

44. After hardship, he attained the pleasures of sublimity,
One whose eyes have not lost sleep does not savor blindness.

45. Say to one who seeks glory in generosity,
"Were you raised in spuriousness? Cease overdoing it!"

46. Charity was begun through him, so the acts of generosity
Do not flow except from his essence as a source.

47. While the people are of vile water, he is
Of clear, blessed, and purifying water.

48. O you whose name we seek for good fortune,
Through which the omen of the superstitious is removed.

49. If a glorious one were counted before you in generosity
He would have been beneath you in ancient times.

50. Just so, the thumb is foremost,
In counting, after the ring finger.

51. Your father surpassed the masters of mankind in pride,
And without you, your father would have no pride.

52. Like the eye with brilliant sight excelling,
And without its pupil, the eye would not see.

53. I swear by the flashing lightning garlanding you,
And by the clouds of your generosity pouring forth.

54. If not for your return the peninsula would not have settled,
With its turbulent regions of insecurity calmed.

55. You gave its inhabitants comfort, and long they endured
Inferno and the horror of the resurrection.

56. You clothed it in robes of safety, else without you
It would have become exposed, with none to cover it.

57. Blessings upon you, one who came resolved
Toward the heights, while lions cower.

58. You cut short the lights of empty boasts
With fingers of young men from the fresh green garden.

59. So may enduring glory make you delighted,
And the new holiday return you with greater nobility.

60. Put on the garb of kingship, O Talut,
And drag the train of virtue with pride and conceit.

61. And seek help from the prime of our eloquence, whose speech
Addled with its wisdom the magic of Buhutur.

62. If the Kufan were aware of it, he would not scorn,
Or if the Tayi heard it, he would versify.

63. You remain the crown of glory, the ornament of office,
The emblem of prestige, and decoration of the pulpit.