1. Do not exaggerate the beauty of this handsome man,
Good looks and charm are but two obedient slaves.

2. We'd sacrifice one perfect in beauty and kindness,
Who can revive and kill, at times, now and then.

3. Blessed is Allah! What wonders you possess,
In body and face, secrets and overt charms.

4. As if camphor kneaded its clay,
With saffron, building from it sand dunes.

5. And crafted above, of light and darkness,
A face and locks that attract musk and ambergris.

6. The locks are of black hyacinth, the cheek of myrtle,
And the eyelash of willow that looks at you, grinning.

7. Whoever once meditated on his beauty,
Will not live happy unless in a garden.

8. And whoever inhaled his breath once,
Will not be pleased to live without smelling a basil.

9. As if God revealed, when creating him,
From the treasuries of musk, sweet and gentle.

10. To compose from its essences his pearls,
And said: “Be a human in your composition.”

11. He is like a dome of silver, divided
At the bay’s meet, with pillars and nooks.

12. He is like a delicious date, from his excessive boon,
That almost leaks out of clothes at times.

13. You see him shimmering like water, his touch
Is hot as fire, so he takes on colors.

14. You see in him motions from his heat,
And his softness turns water to jelly.

15. I have said, when my eyes were confounded by his beauty,
And did not stop, staring, perplexed.

16. No doubt, you are from the heavens, stolen
Or fled, so when did you leave heavens’ bliss?

17. He laughed at my wonder in questioning him,
And I said, when I saw the lips appear:

18. “You would not be pleased, coming to us from a heaven in escape,
Until you stole for us coral in your teeth.”

19. The lover who comes to you covered,
Is not like the lover who comes to you bare.