1. No more reminiscing about spilt wine,
Take it all in with the glad tidings of the new arrival,

2. And two goblets, but from two different books that reveal
What was once so near, al-Husayn and his guiding light,

3. And you who gallop the sandy wastes between Munjid
And Khud, who braves through the wilderness unafraid,

4. A hand that gives freely, neither compelled by greed
Nor pride, but one that rules o’er the soul and more,

5. Pour me a draft and let me sing the melody
Of the musky blossoms in soft gentle tones,

6. Next to my true brother, my one kin and light
That shines on my dark day even when life glooms,

7. And if not for fear of upsetting him, I’d say
Loudly, with all my tongue will yield, my master great,

8. For your arrival has brought me untold pleasure,
Like rain on desert sand that soaks to the deepest depths,

9. Sweeter than safety for one filled with fright,
Better than attaining wealth when deprived and destitute,

10. Not honey mixed with water from a rain cloud
Tastes better than the sweet mention of you by my lips,

11. And if we’re kept apart and cannot visit each other,
The pangs exhaust every shoe sole and strap,

12. So my heart is your eternal sanctuary,
My desire like one on pilgrimage, my tears as Zamzam,

13. May God reward our lasting bond with the best
Of rewards, for He truly rewards the generous,

14. And if an opponent crosses the west, hurling sorrows,
My eyelids have been taught by you to weep,

15. They have seen in you such beauty that captivates
And binds the eyes of the admiring onlooker,

16. In any garden the caravan once lodged,
Then journeyed on after gathering strength,

17. A sea of manners whose waves hurl forth
Precious pearls between the singular and the pair,

18. And yet I saw what I lost of you and felt as if
My happiness could hardly make up for my regret,

19. You have mastered and perfected all virtues, O Aba
Ali, so excel and bring to perfection!

20. How many fallen pillars have you raised anew,
And reunited disputing tribes of Yarbu’ and Lahtham,

21. Should I congratulate you or myself on this,
When there can be no greater tidings for you?

22. For by what you initiated and then repeated,
There is no gift like one given open-handedly,

23. You have unleashed a sea that rides the waves
Of glory and might, surging and heaving,

24. Guided by the stars when darkness falls,
And by lightning when it roams the day,

25. It bellows when the soothsayer lends an ear,
And neighs when the astrologer steals a glance,

26. So I made it dwell in the depths of my being,
A dear secret in my concealed heart,

27. How wondrous that I am so excessively devoted,
Smitten with passion though he’s Ibn Muljam’s son,

28. Yet my gift to you has an obvious reason,
The fruit of a love that dwells inside, ever-present,

29. A will that whenever the striking of tents is recalled,
Extends the hand of one wronged seeking aid,

30. Can one linger where enemies lie in wait,
With room for the steeds of poetry to race,

31. And patience for composing poetry and verse?
You remain grand in renown however quickly the steeds gallop,

32. Nor when the dawn horses charge the darkness
Can you be seen behind the last and the first,

33. You remain supreme in might and name so long
As the horses keep time over the glorious sands,