1. May God reward Mālik, the owner of excellence, as befits his name,
For had it not been for his name, I would not have been known among people.

2. Had it not been for his noble qualities,
Kings of the earth would not have inclined to me and shown me favor.

3. I tell them of his righteousness but not his secrets,
And I enumerate the gifts he showers on me,

4. And I recite to them my eulogies of him, weighty ones
That adorn their hearing and give them delight.

5. My poems have purposes more solid than rock,
Nay, gentler than water.

6. When the poets of the age try to compose the like,
And come up with words inferior to them and struggle,

7. I fancy the ropes of magic are what they come up with,
While this is Moses’ rod, quick to swallow them up.