1. Whether too brief or too long, thanking is obligatory
For one whose favors prevail in all I desire

2. And I present my inadequate, incomplete self to the one
Beyond all deficiencies, wherever he may observe

3. If I had no father in the past
Nor a companion for me in future days

4. The virtues of Hussein's milk call out: Arise!
And fulfill your duty to honor me; where are those who respond?

5. As if the poets turned deaf to wisdom
Rather, their innate nature made them neglect what was apt

6. So wondrous, me and them and him
And in every saying, roads to understanding

7. She is truly a beautiful eye that glanced coquettishly
With no eyelid to veil her from her beholder

8. As if I alone saw her eyes wink at me
And the winking draws ardour from the passionate lover

9. Days of generosity grew old and stale
While time itself grew old, and such are the wonders

10. The days reclaimed their youthful vigor
And a critic of time’s abode arose to find fault

11. No good but it is just, free from twisting
No evil but it is injustice, keeping apart

12. This is the path of praise; through it what is right was clarified
For one who desires to thank for a gift

13. Though tongues of words faltered, yet
Burdens remain on tongues of deeds

14. So the flood of his generosity made every whetstone redundant
And in every region, aspects of his hands encircle

15. And the veneration of the learned intensifies
His eminence, even if it stirs envy in relatives

16. And meticulous discernment of knotty issues desired
The sister of astuteness, or assailed by aggressors

17. And recognizing the true merits of their people
And honoring those who draw near or distance themselves

18. And his justice toward himself, not indignant
Nor denying if one seeking truth arrives

19. And his fervent support and kindness of companionship
And suppressing fury when the wrathful turn away

20. And relieving the grief of the sorrowful heart though
Its worries overwhelm him from sleep, and he overwhelms them

21. And upholding the mention of God, safe from any hint of neglect
And the truest mention being that which persists

22. And guarding God's sanctity in every state
Which the devout observer attends to

23. O Master to whom our vigils
Through your rule are wisdom - God forbid you lie

24. To you belongs praise from the celestial pole around which
Easts of the world's praises and its wests revolve

25. For you deserved them through laudable traits
Which both satisfier and complainer acknowledge

26. They surpassed, in the hearts of every ruler
Who sees himself above the Pleiades or approximating them

27. So that praise of you passed their hearing
And necks and nobles tensed in response

28. The earth could not contain him until an envoy
Relieved him of pondering your condition

29. So he set out, leaving his family behind
Yearning to return, and he is escaping

30. Before him marched security, a guide
Behind him tugged the rope of fear, pulling him

31. He saw the intermediate realm between two wildernesses
In which his legs crept as his head bowed

32. His eyes envied his legs when they roamed
Eagerly wishing to roam therein unconstrained

33. The abode did not distract him from thoughts
Of contriving speech pretending to suit you

34. And when I opened my discourse, its magic took flight
And roads to deliverance narrowed around him

35. He witnessed what had never entered his reckoning
And heard what the Arab elite had not selected

36. He retreated in reverse, his soul diminishing
As were his deputy and destination and companion

37. He warned his master that beyond him remains
Perfection refined by trials

38. The kings of earth after him are of two sorts:
One frivolous, hated; one serious, remarkable

39. This, my account of him, I have recounted some
While you live to see the rest, dispatched by vicissitudes

40. I am not content with praising you with what
Will let me boast when I am absent, a reproacher

41. What excuse have I for falsely adopting
And praising with the most deficient, critical praise?

42. Yet one who gifted another with praise
Is obliged excuses matching what he gave

43. The excuse of fate when it vaunted to the one
Whose fate embraced him while he rode

44. It said: had I not met you, O sea, none would say
Though your world teemed with merits

45. They were at a loss, so they praised what you deserve
Even had they been silent, the mounts would have extolled you