1. I reproach the man when he grows grey with age,
And the height of folly when an old man acts ignorant.

2. I blame my days wasted in play and youth,
Vain play that reaped no gain.

3. I ate the fruits of life while life devoured them.
I angered Him who is never heedless.

4. Time is like a farewell, you see it
With all that is in it passing away.

5. As if the boughs of youth had never bent
To flirt like a gazelle with the flirter.

6. As if I had never breathed the magic of verse
To one whose glances would be held spellbound.

7. As if I had never flattered the one whose beauty
Would let those who wear it know they should flatter.

8. With her the loveliest women fell short, when
Her charms appeared and struck the charmers dumb.

9. She had only to be revealed and her body
Was clothed in veils of light as veils fell away.

10. Through her I lived, for at her touch
Every limb of mine turned warrior.

11. In her eyes a divine, essential mystery -
Through them my life expired, my soul found death.

12. Her awe checks my tears, stops my complaining,
Till I forget to speak, bewildered, lost.

13. He who brings life to one destined for death
Can make the truth be false.

14. The pendant betrayed my heart because
It gazed on hips meant for childbirth.

15. Patience thereupon lost its thread -
As the beloved's anklets broke their links.

16. Thus my leanness bears witness that I own
A heart worn lean by playful bliss.

17. For the winds of passion blew likenesses
And the boughs of life were left without fruit.

18. When lovers shared my love-pain, they despaired
Of ever finding in me a counterpart.

19. Just so, he who dons the sciences like gowns
Is seen by Judge Tanukhi to be unemployed.

20. I have seen men whose perfection could not be touched,
And none like Judge Tanukhi complete.

21. When scholars split hairs disputing sciences,
He clarified the proof and evidence.

22. His speech revealed decisive judgments
Pinpointing the meaning and striking the mark.

23. With his words he bound and defeated the verbose,
Rightly distinguishing the inferior from the superior.

24. He healed the hearts of questioners in his replies
As if, when questioning, he sealed up mouths.

25. He plumbed the depths of knowledge fearlessly,
As if those depths were but shallow fords.

26. If all mankind disputed with him together
For understanding, comprehension and wisdom,

27. He would grasp all their words at once in rebuttal
And open by posing unsolved problems.

28. When one claiming knowledge was asked for guidance,
He showed the right way, not wrangling or quarreling.

29. Thus thanks to him are seen in the days of his rule
Dawns that whiten what had been black as night.

30. The darkness of injustice faded in the light of his justice,
Which brought even-handed rule to the people.

31. Whenever his judgments pierced a gloom
They blazed within it like kindled lights.

32. When God wills some good for a people
He appoints as their ruler one of piercing intellect.

33. The elite rejoiced at the renewal of his appointment
As the auspicious stars rejoiced at the new moon.

34. Through him the Sultan clearly displayed his wisdom,
Though heedless of aught else.

35. He relieved them of tyranny they had borne
Until they could bear no more oppression.

36. He began with them lightly, his bounty at their disposal,
Then followed heaviness with bountiful plenty.

37. Through him the Merciful extended mercy among men
With special care for widows and orphans.

38. Seek reason, not knowledge, and conform to reason,
For the best of men is the most reasonable.

39. Reasonable men seek safety for their souls
And succeed through right discrimination.

40. O you whom Tanukhi has endowed with glory
Since you are his pillar and champion!

41. If you are resolved to attain the heights,
Tanukhi too resolved the unresolved.

42. If you surpass rulers in knowledge and justice,
You have surpassed a foot set down by Tanukhi.

43. You were named Al-Qasim since you distribute bounty,
Having gotten a name for what you keep doing.

44. By my life, if they named your father Muhammad
And you Ali, their discernment was excellent!

45. Two names derived from "aloft" and "praise,"
In you both they saw ancient virtues.

46. The foresighted perceived subtleties in your lineage
Which when proven became mighty virtues.

47. Gems of your origin that lay latent in you
Were refined until they showed ideal traits,

48. Just as a quintessence containing all ores
Is refined until all merits are complete,

49. Just as the effect of grafts on soil
Purifies and nurtures matching shoots,

50. Just as a sword forged from steel in the flames
Emerges burnished until mirrors are dulled -

51. So your present surpasses your past, unless
You find your former glories unsurpassable.

52. You have brought people's hearts together pleased with you
And loaded them with your fair memory.

53. Yet you do not cease thanking for each new favor,
Nor does your quarter appear miserly.