1. She is the sun, her sunset in the darkness,
Her rise from the horizons of beauty.

2. A branch sipping the water of youth,
Whose foliage hope has sprinkled and dreams have made green.

3. Swaying gently, wrapped in her veil’s folds,
Bending weakly, clasping her garment’s hem,

4. She steps out from behind the veil of chastity,
And is unveiled beneath the cloak of shyness.

5. She appeared in gentle beauty like a blossoming star,
Adorned with the beauty of one dressed up and ready for relaxation.

6. Strolling slowly through the garden of happiness
In the flourishing garden of blossoming youth.

7. There branches swaying gracefully.
There flowers scenting delicately with basil.

8. Guardians keep watch over their tribe
And the square of its encampment remains pitched.

9. The goal of love is protecting one’s neighbor,
For him the approach of union has withered.

10. Nights in which a lover ceased not to send joy,
A companion conversing secretly and a guardian unaware.

11. An era as if the noble Muslim youth—
Its justice encompassed him and so he grew moderate.

12. It began to restore through its rule,
The glory of religion from the days of loss.

13. And to illuminate the waymarks of piety when forgotten
And to reveal the star of guidance when it had set.

14. We praise the Victorious when he saw
For our Mansur a course of action and so took example.

15. A sovereign before whom a vision appeared—
He contemplated it carefully and so was admonished.

16. The noblest of people in position,
The most renowned of them in high example.

17. The most deserving of people of command and prohibition,
The most knowledgeable of kings of binding pacts and loosing them.

18. Yemen’s is the crown amongst them
Through what its earliest Tubba’s inherited.

19. Aloft, a banner of glory,
Beneath which enemies remain humbled.

20. As a babe he lay in the cradle beneath the shade of the banner,
And as a youth he rose up bearing it independently.

21. His capable supporters took the place
Of his talismans, so he endured.

22. That blood only grew cold when in the cold was
A formidable lion who battled fiercely.

23. From him we knew noble deeds—
Reports giving us good tidings of bountiful gifts.

24. After glad tidings you will see clouds
Whose lightning has flashed brightly and lit up.

25. Confirming what hope told us of him,
Or what fancy informed us, perhaps.

26. What anticipation promised has been fulfilled,
And what the soul stated has been done.

27. He met his adversary with what would ward him off
And gave his aspirant what he sought.

28. How oft were his gifts thanked,
So he continued to bestow favors, one after another.

29. A raincloud shading, a sun illuminating,
An overflowing sea, and a sword unleashed.

30. Dividing booty with smiles, easy with generosity,
Gentle in discourse, cultivated in debate.

31. His pens adorn rhetoric
Whenever the heart turns its attention to it.

32. An eloquence making clear to listeners
That for sorcery some license is allowable.

33. But is there scope for faulting him?
For how many an eye has attained perfection because of him!

34. If the dominion of kings he donned, wearing it spaciously,
Verily he has trailed behind it a splendid train.

35. His preparation for lofty deeds
And his zeal for grand accomplishments—

36. O best regulator of these affairs
And advisor to the holders of this authority!

37. Would that I had fortified the frontiers, then they would not
Have been breached, and restored what had fallen into disrepair.

38. Other than you, when entrusted with command he transgressed,
And other than you, if the windfall of booty was possessed by him, he was prodigal.

39. A sanctuary, never ceasing, belonging to its settler,
Refuge from nonexistence or dread.

40. So the stars of their days are auspicious,
And the sun of their time continues rising.

41. O Abu Bakr, hear accounts which if
They were related to the ears of one infirm, he would recover!

42. I will thank you for elevating me
To the most coveted place and nearest position.

43. That when I visit, you do not veil yourself
And when I sit with you long, you do not weary.

44. You smiled and then bent the cushion,
So for me that subtle gesture suffices from familiarity.

45. If dust touched my cheek, it would melt,
And if a shower equaled my gratitude, it would be paltry.

46. With its like, the noble one is flattered
When an aspirant seeks him with other than it.

47. Do not neglect the efforts through which
To the mother of cubs fighting fiercely you have inclined.

48. For you are the bold one when the lion cubs have fled,
You are the guide when the stars have strayed.

49. Your son is none but the radiance of eyes
When looking to other than him, one would apply kohl.

50. A suckling of sovereignty at her breast—
She offers him her teat when it has filled.

51. He kept to your footsteps in righteous deeds,
Never did he vary from them and never flag.