1. A flash of lightning illuminated with a brilliant flare,
Keeping it company, flickering and timorous.

2. Like an eyebrow's gesture on a day of leave-taking -
Bidding farewell while all others are oblivious.

3. As if its heart-sick minstrel has wearied,
And a torrent of flames is poured upon it.

4. As if the air clashed its swords together,
And their well-honed blades dripped down.

5. As if the wind races horses through it,
Their reins held by racing hands that grasp torches.

6. The separation there has torn asunder a heart,
Broken by the gazelle's glance within.

7. It recalls when its youth was a raven
Perched in the garden of its chastity.

8. When its flirtations drew near, enticingly,
And its ambition advanced resolutely.

9. When the valley of its prime was submissive
To it, a stronghold of virtue shielding it.

10. But when youth turns away,
It is hard for it to return.

11. Whoever cannot regain something
Can endure its loss with patience.

12. When the devil of greed and disobedience
Tempts me, my contentment is an obedient angel.

13. And when the steps of demise have trod upon me,
I am that elegant, noble corpse.

14. Even if time has marched on, my will
To straighten its twisting path remains sturdy.

15. Even if the lands narrow, still there is livelihood,
Still there are glories, spoils and meadows.

16. Even if clouds bear down, the rhymes
Still have clouds whose source of rain is submissive.

17. The gardens of the daughters of thought do not wither,
Nor does the spring of my father, their springtime, fade.

18. The sister stars in the sky of glory
Still rise from the horizon of its serene beauty.

19. Its chastity falls asleep content and sated
When cares of the day induce thirst and hunger.

20. It brings forth abundantly from its blessings seas
When the tears of those who plead are dried up.

21. And the groves of its blessings bear sweetest fruits
When the branches are yellowed and bare.

22. The nursing mothers forget their children,
And the weaning child forgets the breast that fed it.

23. It has tended to the affairs of the marches, so no hearts
Oppose it, no wealth is lost.

24. But the blessings of God have encompassed all,
And the throngs together proclaim their gratitude.

25. Whoever denies does not lose favor undeservedly,
But sometimes the maker of favor is disappointed.

26. When an awesome lion bares its claws,
A generous cloud may shower, but remain discontent.

27. It clothes itself in the mantle of its awe,
With which the skilled artisan is deft and diligent.

28. It has forged from its resolve a sword
With which coats of mail and armor are pierced.

29. So no matter how darkly the clouds mass,
Within them its blade finds a victim to pierce.

30. Before it they bow down in the markets,
And their skulls bow down in prostration.

31. The All-Powerful has harnessed their souls to it;
In them are tranquility and humility.

32. Had that King entrusted it with that kingdom, entrusted
A faithful minister who does not betray or neglect...

33. Tomorrow our hearts will be its ribs,
Sheltering it, whether armored or vulnerable.

34. But its righteousness has compassion on us
As ribs have compassion on the heart they enfold.

35. Our leaders, how often you have bound us
To safety in your decisive, commanding bonds.

36. In your shadows we have plucked its fruits;
No misfortune thwarts or terrifies us.

37. By your care, you have revived life in us,
Like the falling of rain, wholesome in its places of descent.

38. Your favor was our intercessor in the dark nights -
O excellent indeed is an intercessor like you!

39. May the rewarder of kindness reward you in our stead,
For repaying you is beyond our capacity.

40. And congratulations on the feast of sacrifice,
Illuminated by your joyous celebration.

41. The offerings of your munificence are sacrificed in it,
And the fragrance of your perfumes wafts in it.

42. May you remain as long as lightning flashes from a cloud,
And the gloom of night is pierced by brilliant morning.