1. The roots of the letter dhaad are fragrant and lush,
Each branch blossoming into fragrance.

2. In its garden you find whatever you desire-
Comfort in its towering trees and stars.

3. And from the gentle rustling branches
You hear the melodies of flowers and herbs.

4. So ignore the claims of each disputant,
Whether a sly schemer or hot-tempered fool.

5. Ask what bounty it brought each generation,
Generation after generation of learned scholars.

6. For in our time there are outstanding men
Who restored the glory of that great age,

7. Bringing it new glories to adorn
The precious inherited treasure.

8. A sanctum arose among them in truth
Weighed down by the heaviest cares,

9. So no adornment can improve its beauty,
Its needs lie only in the essence.

10. If you do not originate some beautiful idea,
Depicting it in a fine style,

11. Of what use is speech, however often repeated,
If it is but empty repetition?

12. What good are drawings or carvings
With endlessly recurring shapes and figures?

13. Do not dilapidated buildings suggest
Ruin, like remnants and vestiges?

14. Is lightning devoid of meaning beyond a flash,
Leaving no trace in the clouds?

15. Does fire or light contain aught
But fuel or ember in the ashes?

16. This age has brought a thousand brilliant hues
Novel in the arts and sciences,

17. Treasures for the writer to enrich him,
So lack of means is no excuse for the destitute.

18. If they complain that Arabic has shortcomings,
The blame may fall on the critic.

19. Does the incapacity come from it or us? What is
The servant's fault in the master's failure?

20. It encompasses the entire world,
Yet we limit it to the Valley of Serene Joy.

21. Study the architecture of an edifice,
Built on the soundest grammatical principles,

22. And invent, strive, create, and arrange
With sound judgment and refined taste.

23. For composition is no composition unless
The prose harmonizes with the verse.

24. The stream of immaculate water
Flows smoothly in well-crafted phrases.

25. More delightful to you than a goblet of wine
When filled with longing and a boon companion,

26. You find in it brilliant genius
And refined discernment in purest thought.

27. And in its eloquence you hear a tone
Like the melody of a gentle, subtle voice.

28. It can express whatever meaning you wish
To bring joy to a friend or sorrow to a foe.

29. With it you visit lands you've never seen
Knowing the locale and its folk intimately,

30. As if you are native to that place
At home with its innermost secrets.

31. You draw near to radiant gardens
Redolent with the scents of bliss,

32. Made more fragrant and refined
Than any perfume in the breeze.

33. You heal the sorrows of every heart
Wherever the wound is deep.

34. You feel its pain yet remain detached,
Your torment is not that torment.

35. You look into hearts and motives
Discerning the good from the bad.

36. Nothing escapes you, not the subtlest thing
Troubling the mind of one in anguish.

37. You overhear the whispers of souls
More softly than the murmur of the breeze.

38. You find depicted what never occurred
To the minds of even the closest confidant.

39. It is wondrous description, nothing like it
Except itself in excellence.

40. A skillful artisan produced it, displaying
Utmost refinement in the finest composition.

41. Length adds mystery and charm,
Banishing the boredom of tedium.

42. Concision brings pleasing echoes
Of flavors relished and savored.

43. Discourse hones the intellect,
Lifting heavy burdens.

44. It covers the ground of ancient masters,
Arab and Roman, omitting nothing.

45. Striving to reform some specific abuse
Or broadly establish justice.

46. It is a track where two Hussains raced,
Pacesetters on the steep ascent.

47. They vied with former champions, proving themselves
And outstripping established masters.

48. Muhammad's book holds such fascination
Spanning old and new with inspiration.

49. It strings precious pearls, the orphan's story,
An epic of that singular life.

50. When revelation renews it
With neither gibberish nor drivel

51. It is because luminous rays have shone
From the Wise God's place of descent

52. Containing signs and portents for hearts
To captivate the sage's inner mind

53. It is eloquent poetry free of meter,
Surpassing composers in musical rhyme.