1. You were the first of the Arab leaders,
A Turk, yet foremost in rank,

2. Radiant, except for a moon
That outshines the orbiting stars.

3. From the house of Ayyub, whose progeny
Excel in discourse and noble lineage,

4. And perfect obedience to the faultless king
Who illuminated the best of Arabs and non-Arabs alike.

5. A king over all kings, his superiority
Distinguished him like a towering minaret.

6. If the brightest star were to shake his hand,
It would not boast against his brilliance.

7. When it saw him obeying God,
More magnificent than ruby and gold,

8. And saw his reverence that had undone
Corruption, aiming arrows at every offender,

9. It granted him what no king before
Had given an eloquent Arab lord -

10. So the jealous gloated over him
Until we thought them to be flames of hate.

11. O best of those the covenant favored,
In the battleground of proof and literature!

12. What harm has befallen you from one rendered helpless,
Or from one who lived in Saif al-Dawlah's reign, though innocent?

13. As long as you remain the most strained of men
And most wakeful in the field of joy,

14. While the name of your bosom friend is fixed upon you,
And your father associated with the best of prophets!