1. He passed round the cup, clear wine,
Slim as an eyelash, erect in form,

2. And the steeds of dawn had galloped
In the wings of darkness with goblets of rapture.

3. And I saw a maiden of the clan of Shem
Superior to the rest of Ham’s descendants.

4. The stars of the horizon inclined toward sunset
As the Pleiades scattered from their setting.

5. And we were in a meadow bedewed, displaying
For us the traces of clouds in thankfulness.

6. And its doves had dictated to us
From the leaves verses of love.

7. We stayed among the courts of songs
And we chose no mode without a mode.

8. We enjoyed listening to them
When they were joined to the interrupted utterance.

9. The boughs of the wild plum swayed only
Because they heard the melody of the ringdove.

10. From one rapture to another rapture ensued
And from one cup another was sought.

11. We suckled from the goblets of rapture
And we said, “Do not wean us from it.”

12. We opened its seal, fragrant aloes-wood,
The base was of musk and its seal.

13. In it happiness came wherever it halted
And crept in the joints and bones.

14. We disobeyed the one who forbade it defiantly
And won by disobedience and sins.

15. And we prohibited the lawful to the penitents
For the lawful avails not against the forbidden.

16. And how many days we neglected the truth in it,
Wounded by the hand of the remorseful tyrant!

17. And we were drunk with cups unto disagreement
And we were not drunk for the ruins of past abodes.

18. And a night that gathered intimates together
In her who we passionately loved and embraced.

19. And she lavished the pleasures therein
On the generous offspring of the generous.

20. So from a cheek my eyes were refreshed
And from a draught I sipped my thirst.

21. It sent joy to my heart
And bestowed healing on my malady.

22. And time had become sweet without a censor
To embitter the joy of my life with blame.

23. Were it not that the suns of comfort were seen
Having assumed perfection from the full moon!

24. And a singing girl who lavishes
When she dedicates herself after estrangement.

25. She betrayed no ardent lover after a covenant
Nor ignored any enamored one with rejection.

26. I left the blamers behind me
And I placed happiness with her ahead of me.

27. With her face she shames the orbs
When she draws near with her veil withdrawn.

28. It was as if against the nights
I had taken oaths of safety from the doubts of the ringdoves.

29. And the one who now goes to propitiate Sulayman
And serves him – may peace be upon him!

30. I gained through his attainment a distant hope
And my arrows did not swerve from their goal.

31. It was as though I gained more of his cloudlike hand
Out of thankfulness for his mighty hands.

32. And how many blessings of his I have
With which I shut up the sneering mouths of slanderers!

33. I reconciled misfortunes according to my desire
After I was accustomed to dispute and conflict.

34. The ties of firm hope were not severed in it
Wherein lies my adherence and my dependence.

35. The place of my adherence to the pact with him
Is like the palm’s place with the sword hilt.

36. The pouring of the hands with generosity
Pours forth generosity to every thirsty one.

37. If kissing her eludes me,
Her face’s brightness does not elude me.

38. The perfection of his beauty is wholesome creation,
And it suffices you to liken him to the perfect full moon.

39. And those are pure natures that,
When created, turned out to be fresh, unsullied by filth.

40. A youth, even though I see in him
The dignity of an old man in the prime of youth.

41. I rode to him on my hope, a steed
Far-stepping, responding to the spur.

42. So it flashed, neighed, and I went about watering
The torrent bed from torrent bed.

43. As rain descends on land
Pouring on hilltops and dunes.

44. Thus after every lapse my poetry
Warbles from it the warbling of the ringdove.

45. I see my praise of the House of the Prophet as a duty
Like the duty of prescribed prayer or fasting.

46. The imams of the religion of Islam
Each is called: son of the imam.

47. The nobility of mankind is through no other people
Who, since created, are mankind’s nobility.

48. They poured forth in charity to those in need
And to their enemies, certain death.

49. Each of them a fierce lion
And a sea of the overflowing sea of generosity.

50. With myself a lord in every situation
Wherein he beholds my dignity and veneration.

51. With him I gained a sword that does not
Brandish the brandishing of a pointless sword.

52. The generous may be summoned for booty
As the brave are summoned for the fray.

53. In his feats of arms there are swift horses
With which the chests of misers are straitened.

54. My poetry concerning the attributes of the House of ‘Aliyy
I have been raised by it to the highest station.

55. In praise of you I will captivate every heart and mind
And not the excitement of one remembering a ruin.

56. I thank you for your bounty, then I pray
For your existence and for your duration.