1. My book set out to the grand assembly
And grew when it reached there, avoiding arrogance

2. It stood humbly and asked for permission and sought
Acceptance, and for me kissed the threshold ten times

3. And it conveyed before the viceregal door the need
Of one who hopes the good tidings of mankind

4. At the door of easy forgiveness hoping
For pardoning mistakes and seeking excuses

5. Generous, whose rain clouds wish to pour
Rains when the breezes unleash heavy downpours

6. And the full moon’s face glows at dawn
So the eye of the sun after dusk can see it afar

7. And the light of dawn is ashamed by the clarity of its opinion
When events confuse him, bringing alienation

8. Sturdy mountains sway under his dream
When the ignorant overflow with rage and coercion

9. Dear one whom God has honored, sign of His reign
By His aid until the matter was established

10. The Merciful of heavens watches his heart
So he has mercy on earth’s people, kind and compassionate

11. My king, honorable master, and lord
From whom I hope kindness will last my lifetime

12. If some people say of me
A thing, they have come up with lies and slander

13. And if evildoers descend upon them
The Lord of the Throne in His remembrance remembers

14. He taught us to examine their words
And take precautions in their endeavors

15. And He named them—the name of corruption, in wisdom
His judgment decreed estrangement from their talk

16. I swear by what lies between al-Hatiim and Zamzam
The Door, Maqam and the Honored Kaaba

17. And the holy threshhold the Merciful
Exalted in His kingdom with glory

18. And the visitors hoping for their King
When they were negligent of pillars and mistakes, forgiveness

19. And the five prayers, hoping for their reward
And the fasts, keeping the reverent in its month

20. Since I had no part in evil, no hand
Nor did I seek mischief all my life

21. I desired nothing but purity, pardon, and loyalty
With my effort, not a thing did I undertake

22. But the foreordained decrees have come to pass
As God in the Mother of Books ordained

23. And in my generous King’s knowledge my nature
Was long ago, and His knowledge suffices as witness

24. Do you remember, my King, when you would say to me
“I hope the reminder will benefit me”

25. I see you intend good for people by nature
Wishing no soul any harm

26. That has been my custom since I was
And still am—and the Lord of the house knows best

27. If I was affected by some speaker’s words
In your pardon hoped for, what wipes out sins

28. So pardon, Abu al-‘Abbas, you remain able
To command—pardoning by the able is best

29. You rule so I prostrate and beg you grant pardon
Seeking purity for what your Lord gave you, or thanks

30. And grant me from kissing your right hand relief
I wished for, hoping through it fortune and ease

31. Enough for me is the distress of months
I drank patience in them tasting bitter

32. Of them a month equals an epoch in length
A day from them equals a month in its span

33. How can it befit the creed of chivalry
That I endure misery and hardship in your days?

34. And I am deprived of kissing your palm after
Hopes have inclined toward me, gracious and kind

35. And in you are hopes that reassure me in attaining them
Your loyalty, I hope for none but you to hoard them

36. Over thirty pilgrimages have passed me
In serving this kingdom, not tiring of it

37. I see truth as duty and chastity as resolve
Advising the people as religion, and deceiving them as blasphemy

38. And I have transcended them to properties that avail me
Sustenance, and I do not seek in palm excess

39. If I wished I could have had crops and comforts
And hopes for wealth I could have seized forcibly

40. But it is a soul that ransomed you, disdainful
Of the world, refusing to pass through it

41. So I lost some I had befriended
And your Lord does not forget the rewarded

42. So I remain hopeful, wished for, congratulated
By the year, month and days of my life