1. Your reproach and censure of me are enough,
My youth is spent in glory, not in idle play.

2. I have persevered till glory seemed diminished,
No, even if the mighty fall to their doom.

3. When you saw passionate love, high above blame,
You thought it was a young girl’s foolish infatuation.

4. No, and as for the dancing girls rhythmically swaying,
It is the singers’ chorus that inspires their movements.

5. When they moan from the shackles and writhe
Confused by ecstasy, they mix together.

6. Their flirtations and the juices they exude
Are like washing filth or dyeing clothes.

7. They carry dishevelled hair over their breasts, so you would think them
A troop of ram soldiers charging in attack.

8. My heart is not inclined towards a beautiful woman through lust,
But I am steadfast in pursuing noble goals.

9. My youth, though without restraint, is adorned by a neck
Raised like a banner before the marching army.

10. I wander perplexed among all the settlements,
Knowing that none can equal me.

11. How can I excel in verse and rhyme
When my mind is wearied by the world’s vicissitudes?

12. How often have I seen resolve humbled,
And glory overturned in the battlefields.

13. They observe it slyly with the corners of their eyes,
Blinking between the slain and the outcast.

14. They attack a pitch-black night with clamour
Against the horses of Allah in full stampede.

15. They plunge in recklessly, crushing the enemy host,
Destroying in the melee every trained warrior,

16. As continuous onslaught of spears amongst them
And the horses’ neighing were worthy deeds.

17. He who grants both death in battle and a good life
So death comes through might and life through bounty.

18. The one of noble origin, his foundations are laid
Through Muhammad, striving, not mere vain indulgence.

19. If he withholds rain he does not withhold his bounty,
Despite long waiting and delayed promises.

20. Wealth that humbles, and honor that
Is diminished by plunging into the depths of vice.

21. He is more gentle than the temperament of a young doe,
But if aroused he is like a cup of solid rock.

22. Both his wrath and pleasure, when you experience them,
Are refreshing water, and fire with burning depths.

23. The chief complaint of weapons against his daring
Is the sharpness of Indian steel and studded armor.

24. Every intricate issue, when placed in his judgment,
Is like David’s iron armor and solid grasp.

25. His decisive jurisprudence in judicial rulings
Establishes the foundations of Sacred Law, from core to crown.

26. As if the eloquent proof of his clear expression
Were the melodious warbling of a singing bird.

27. I have exceeded the limits of praise, so I turn
To congratulate you on the feast-day I wished you well on the feast.