1. When the blossoms of the garden spread their clouds,
Ripping open to reveal the light of flowers like banners,

2. And if eloquent speech for a moment grants success,
It builds in utterance an edifice out of bricks and mortar,

3. Were it not for the glad tidings of the gardens and their scent,
My passions would not have sung so wildly like doves,

4. When the perfection of men is denied its fortune,
On the day of reckoning, theiraso ties turn to rancor,

5. And he who has been betrayed by his own men,
Will find no sympathizer among those who oppose him,

6. Without the lion's fangs and roar in the thicket,
Without the falcon's claws and swooping attacks,

7. When the feathers are plucked from the falcon's wing,
All the buzzard's of the sky are his match.

8. Of no use is a lofty palace,
If you leave it to ruin, its pillars crumbling,

9. They said: "Are you not the critic?" I said: "Yes,
I am the critic, but I lost the will to oppose."

10. Shall I be content with the salt from a heart that flows
With bitter rivers, turbid and poisoning?

11. When the pasture produces no fat from the greens it grows,
It yields no fat from the scrub that shoots up.

12. When this land denies me, I'll find no heart that knows
In any other land, what befits it.

13. But what if the land, how can I if bereft
Of a lord like my lord's, his mercy and care?

14. Son of Ishmael, has any man ever heard
Of another like him in noble deeds to compare?

15. Scion of kings, the kingdom in them is propped
By lineage, not by a brother to share,

16. Succeeding in ordered line, son after father,
As verses are strung on a strand by the poem's arranger.

17. The royal crown is set with gems for the child among them,
Though no amulets have yet been placed over him.

18. And all around him glory gambols like fillies
While this one nuzzles him and that one kisses him.

19. He is taught how to ascend to the highest place,
With steps set up ready for him to climb.

20. How many instances of his perfect nature appeared
In his cradle, with omens of fortune sublime!

21. Clad as a child in the finest garb,
Praise that embellishes him and caresses him.

22. He grew to manhood while still in his prime,
His strength returned and his powers reached their limit.

23. Now after the burning of his temples white
He is like the bright moon, his hair shining black.

24. So let them wonder—the best endures for his people—
If he comes or goes, while fate is his servant.

25. With sword and favor he brings the world to obey,
But with the sword remain pride and disdain.

26. To conquer himself is to conquer body and soul,
So desire and fear what you wish to possess.

27. Ahmed's gifts race with his sword,
And if left behind in the race, they will heal him.

28. He has a power improved by no trickery,
So reader, be cautious in addressing him!

29. And O you misled by inclination towards him,
Beware! He is not what you know him to be!

30. Will you call one to anger, although he restrains it,
Imagining while dreaming what you will never see?

31. By God, there is not an atom of evil in him,
Far is he from what you conjure up in your dreams!

32. Ahmed is an ocean no turbid streams can stir,
With no limits where swimmers can reach the shore.

33. Leave matters concerning you to him
And he will decide in your favor properly.

34. Reach out your hand and ask God to protect him
For the faith, so no unlawful thing can seduce him.