1. My tears were true to me when patience betrayed me,
And poetry supported me when victory was lost.

2. The elite and the common now say,
"Let this be so! Let matters unfold and the affair explode!"

3. Hopes were fulfilled after Muhammad,
And travel now busies itself from travel.

4. The rocks of patience have left their resting place,
And their hearts became like Al-Khansa’s - solid stone.

5. His sadness has made all hearts equal.
It's as if all chests in their sadness are one chest.

6. If the land of Syria darkens in sadness,
Neither that plain nor Egypt remains unaffected.

7. The victorious Sultan fulfilled, after fulfilling,
The duties of the High in a pure and wholesome manner.

8. Neither the army, the troops, the revelry,
Nor the excess of prohibitions, ruling, forbidding, and commanding helped him.

9. Nor did the horses race between the ears
To the war of enemies while their blood is red.

10. In a battle in which the horses plunged into the fray
Amist blood while the white and red mud mixed.

11. As if he did not lead them ferociously in excitement,
Each resolute one whose heart contained his chest.

12. Nor did the white swords return from the enemy
Blood-stained, while the innocent blood was a sea.

13. Nor did he leave the heroes slain with their blood washing them,
While the innards of eagles were their graves.

14. Nor did the hyenas make feasts of them,
So that the wolves and eagles became their guests.

15. Nor did the kings take the reins of satisfaction from him
To calm them for what sets their nerves on edge.

16. Nor did his palms heal in every city
Great generosity that their breaking cannot mend.

17. Verily, in the path of glory lies the struggle of the glorious one,
Glory and pride share our sadness with him.

18. A generous one from whom time gained morals,
So his days were adorned and distinguished from him.

19. He awes the armies of tribulations; remembering him terrifies them.
And eliminates the enemies before his swords do.

20. The kings hasten to his door, but if they transgress,
Slaughter, plunder, and captivity befall them.

21. The people of the kingdoms have witnessed
That he is a king with a decree higher than theirs.

22. Powerful when they weaken, swift when they crawl,
Resolute when they attack, steadfast when they flee.

23. It is as if the vast earth was tailored to his name,
For in every direction the mention of him is sprinkled.

24. His wrap circles the countries as if
It were a belt and the regions were his waist.

25. None who sought his generosity knew
Which was the sea, his generosity or the sea itself?

26. The keys to the sustenance of the servants are in his palm,
So he gestures good fortune with it and ill fortune.

27. A young man whose might and munificence were like time’s -
From him benefit and harm were hoped for and feared.

28. A young man whose generosity covered the vast earth,
So in every drop of his clouds lies a droplet.

29. A young man whose words and opinion and grant
Came extemporaneously without troubling the mind.

30. A young man whose compassion loftiness did not stiffen,
And from some of what he attained comes loftiness.

31. A young man who disliked falling short such that you'd think
Shortcoming was prohibited to him, and so was aggregation.

32. A young man who left no regret in the struggle of glory,
Throughout time except that his life be prolonged.

33. A young man who hoarded good deeds so his actions resulted
In good consequences, for hoarding benefits.

34. Poetry falls short of describing his calamity.
He is so majestic that describing him exhausts poetry.

35. The earth covered him after he ennobled
The earth with his steps, and the carpets, the court, and the palaces.

36. We have not seen a full moon set in the earth before him,
Nor a towering mountain the grave embraced before him.

37. The belly of the earth used to envy its surface that it was over him,
So the belly came to envy the back.

38. The physicians crowded around him seeking his cure,
And minds were confused and secrets preoccupied.

39. They tried all sorts of medicines to cure him,
But can the perfumer mend what time has corrupted?

40. And how can medicine repeal a predetermined decree
When that decree is from He who decrees?

41. Of that which brings consolation to the soul is the propriety of his passage -
In a modest shroud no burdens can be tied to.

42. And we have after him, from his progeny,
A king with whom patience over his loss is seemly.

43. So if that full moon disappeared from the horizon of his realm,
Radiant stars have risen from his heir.

44. And the Most High was pleased with what the people heard of them,
And the creation said the reports have proven true.

45. So if time brandished its blade after Muhammad,
It has unsheathed a sword through which the outstanding one can be reached.

46. And if it brought about a slip with the victorious king,
The excusing king rose to defend it.

47. O palm tree of glory that when it flourished and grew,
Its branches flourished and turned green in glory!

48. May God reward you for how you adorned us with necklaces of favor -
They are like drops of rain, endless.

49. Affluence became dear to us after finding you,
Just as poverty was abased to us before losing you.

50. Sorrows became layered within you in degrees,
While the number of my patience lies between them, zero.

51. And when I strung poetry for you into necklaces,
The stars of night wished they were that poetry!

52. I will lament you in poetry until when withering,
The threading of verse pearls aids me with prose.

53. Upon you is God’s peace for as long as your name is mentioned,
And that is between people until the final resurrection.