1. Seldom do the abodes and memories of longing fail to haunt me,
Seeking one whose breast aches with fervent love,

2. Whose eyes plead with eloquent glance.
The passions have led me astray into the maws of destruction, though we feared it.

3. Whenever a lightning flashes or a breeze blows gently,
Or a branch sways gracefully,

4. The fragrant zephyrs of youth obligate me
To roam freely in longing with outstretched arms.

5. You have transported me from one love to another,
Seeking rest for me after rest.

6. Other than my love for Sulayma, nothing has increased it
Through succor, or decreased it through disdain.

7. Under my clothes lies a burning ember
Which cannot be extinguished by gentle coaxing.

8. I hoped to conceal a love always manifest
In its fervor until it became public.

9. That which was obscure to people so they knew not
What it was, was nothing all along.

10. I pledged myself to old age, yet it did not grant me
The goodness of a contented soul in return.

11. Of the noblest stature, his value
Is beyond any price.

12. The abode of Hassân is exalted for us,
And anything else seems fine in comparison.

13. So it is as if when we prayed toward
The Dome of the Pilgrim, we were idol worshippers.

14. I regard Kûfa as my homeland, and I see
The Najaf of Hira as my home and haven.

15. The encampments of Tayy are best for one who stays
For a time in the abode, striving and erect.

16. Where time is not feared to run out,
Nor is the caprice of fate dreaded.

17. Possessor of the land of the two Iraqs
As far as the deserts extend, and the swords of Aden.

18. You fancy him far away, yet the awe
Of the words of Yemen have no power.

19. The insolent tremble before his authority,
Whether from the mountain ravines, meadows, or Yazin.

20. The tribes ask about their envoys
At the gates of the Munificent One of bounty.

21. A tribe, if it isolates itself, incurs no wrath,
And the land overflows with good if he permits.

22. His nature reveals a quality wherein
Generosity flows openly like hoarded treasure.

23. It was not made incomplete by the attribute of generosity,
Nor the death of the coveter, even if it were wished for.

24. If you waited to find one like him,
You would be like one waiting for a time that has not come.

25. He guaranteed deliverance to mankind, and did not fail them
Like the guardian of the faith who fulfilled what he guaranteed.

26. No sooner did the enemies move
Than the steeds brought news of the fortress,

27. Whenever war intensified for them, they recoiled,
Stained with what they trampled crimson.

28. He pacified the disturbance in Baghdad, though
The regions were in tumult and now are still.

29. Against the houses of Khafân, though
Distrust had replaced what was expected.

30. With famous, wondrous swords
That do not spare the mind from madness.

31. He left the rural areas and sought
Refuge for Anbâr in its canebrakes.

32. He reckons the viper’s abode the army’s might,
And one whom the serpent bites startles him.

33. Had he resumed wisdom, he would have appealed
To gracious clemency when shown clemency.

34. With two right hands that confer prosperity,
And white hands are meet for generous hands.

35. Wherever the tribes asked him to stop
His aloofness with words, they found him genteel.

36. The palms of munificence are always ready
When the companion of bounty begins to bestow.

37. What day after (another) day has failed
To perform a kindness after a kindness?