1. A quarter that has been eternally adorned with the beauty of the full moon's visage,
I paused as my tears fell upon its delicate ruins.

2. Verily those who left against my will,
I kept my promise to them, but they abandoned me.

3. I called out to them, but my call was flung far from them,
A heated cry from my grieving heart.

4. O you who are absent yet present in my heart's imagining,
And you who have departed though your memory converses with me!

5. What do I want with lightning whose flashes wound me,
Or the morning breeze that cannot heal me with your fragrance?

6. If only the winds that blow subdued
Would inform you of my state and inform me of yours!

7. Yearning has taken hold, and patience has been exhausted, and love
Is scattered, and the beloved does not come to me.

8. Who will fulfill the promise of union I thought would never end,
And the youth that used to overcome me?

9. Nothing remains of his beauty but the memory,
Or hopes that bring him near and banish me.

10. Those were the nights I counted as days of my life,
When the garden of childhood was the softest breeze.

11. Days I was given cups of joy
Despite the enviers, with undeserved fortune.

12. The most beautiful-eyed would hurry to me, swaying
Like the swaying of a branch in softness.

13. Smooth-cheeked, with teeth like pearls in his smile,
Plucking roses and basil from his cheek.

14. If only the one who conveyed my joyful words
That delighted my heart and eyes would come again!

15. I came down from the High Place to a sanctuary
Before alighting with good news that gave me life.

16. Men flocked to it as if they had come
For pilgrimage, on the heights of Al-`Uthayn.

17. You would see kings standing at his tomb,
And behold a wayfarer or a poor man.

18. One seeking pardon for the evil of his deeds,
And one hoping for unbounded generosity.

19. I descended from it to the crowds at the tomb
Of `Abdul`aziz, sanctuary of those seeking refuge.

20. One whose determination was for the Highest Place, if it were mentioned,
In the cluster of stars or on the theater stage.

21. He thought of nothing but dew and tumult—
They were his stock from all his stores.

22. O noble king, lofty in his ambition,
Son of magnificent kings and sultans.

23. Bestowers of glory upon the loyal one,
And challengers of the heights against the hostile ones.

24. A people, when their deeds were recounted,
Rabi`ah, from Fez to China, took pride in them.

25. And when the lights of virtue dimmed and were erased,
The people of piety were eclipsed and degraded.

26. God chose you for the command—preceded by
The masters, for the world and the faith.

27. Thus you were the pillar of them in this world,
And you were the balance of justice in religion.

28. With your good fortune, they attained a share
Beyond what any mind conceived or was expected in this world.

29. The Almighty, of whom you are the Almighty, said:
“Arise, and seek My help, for I am the supporter of My faith.”

30. You responded when He called you, resolved
Upon steeds swift as the wind over the plain.

31. When they race in the night, their stars shine
From their flashing hooves, igniting sparks in the mud.

32. Every knight meets death armored
In patience, not in any breastplate.

33. How many you undid with the blade of your sword—
Their legs failed among them with your excellent thrust.

34. Until their wishes gave birth once their bellies ripened,
You birthed them as embryos before their creation.

35. You wrote their lifespans with the sword when
Their fates were written by the writer's pen.

36. Thus they became lessons recited and examples
For those who came after and those now living.

37. So praise Salim, cheerful of eye,
Delighted with family and state, in glory and empowerment.

38. And strengthen the bonds of religion and world
With the finest stock of noble chiefs and daring warriors—

39. Branches of imams and sharp swords from Yemen,
Masters of domes, obeyed and obeying.

40. Good fortune's star, your auspicious son Sa`ud,
Joy of the pious, bane of the wretched.

41. Your lofty traits adhere to him—
After the praying leader, the armored hero on the battlefields.

42. Ask the brave warriors and the charging steeds about him when
There is nothing left but the spearheads or sharpened blades.

43. There the noble youths meet their fate, where you see
The necks of the steeds tossed, stripped of their beauty.

44. Then prayer and peace upon the One
Gifted with the praised character of Nun.

45. And upon his family and all his companions
As long as leaves rustle on laden branches.