1. The greatest hope I harbor for the future
Is that I will see you and be sustained by hope.

2. So I care not though time has been ungenerous,
If I lived a thousand years or just a day before my death.

3. Is it he whose goodness ran dry and whose power prevails
Or is it the noble one sold for a trifle?

4. The pleasure of union made my waking seem a dream,
So my eyes weep from the agony of separation.

5. This is not Ibn Al-Mulawwah Qais in his youth
At Al-Amiriyyah, with its allure and laziness.

6. He waters the earth with the tears of his eyes though
The beauties of Al-Muzn forbade him to be plaintive.

7. He has no provisions but the excess of his passion,
No places to stay but the will to depart.

8. Wary of death, forlorn, with his visitation drawing near,
He is berated and chided for his passion.

9. Without Layla the dawns of daybreak are overpowered,
Protecting their lady even from amorous overtures.

10. The tyranny of love persisted until it made him
Majnun for Layla - and the word rings true for men.

11. One day the passion in me for a noble king
From the house of Auf, most patient in adversity, was kindled.

12. The deadly warrior who forgoes the comforts
And unleashes death amid the whites and blacks.

13. The mobilizer of armies that eclipse the sun,
As if they were the approaching high clouds.

14. The horseman who, had he pursued,
Would have made the hills of sand pour forth because of his slipperiness.

15. No captive is permitted in his retinue,
Nor is the blood of one who seeks refuge unlawfully shed.

16. The thoroughbred horses complain of his repeated raids
Against the roan mares on the days of panic and covered bridles.

17. Yearning for water, he takes it by force and defends it,
Preoccupied with the warfare of the tribe against deprivation.

18. Until the sun sets and the water of parting returns
From elevation and descent mixed with rainwater from the clouds,

19. He restores it between bloodstained hooves
And wearing the heads of prey about his neck.

20. The thorns of the spears, when he rides forth enraged,
Are dearer to him than gifts and presents.

21. You have left a legacy in the land - were the sun of daybreak to inherit it,
It would be safe from the darkness of eclipses.

22. There is no contested territory in the lands of God
In which your name is not the epitome of example.

23. Al-Walid nurtures the memory of you, believing
You to be the she-camel amid the mountain crags.

24. None who clashes with the guards dares match the sharpness
Of his sword on the day of fury, like Saif al-Dawla the hero.

25. When he invades, the excess of his awe
Makes swords and armored soldiers redundant.

26. So he meets no foe but their corpses
Fall prostrate from fear and dread.

27. His steadfastness in calamities is boundless,
He withstands therein the catastrophes without concern.

28. He smiles through every mishap
As if good tidings had come and momentous events taken place.

29. My greatest pride is to illuminate every darkness
Of shame or stinginess or disgrace.

30. He both helps and protects the living in their plight,
Unasked, the most generous of men without being asked.

31. When offenses provoke him, he responds
With pardon. He is forbearing, not hotheaded.

32. His grudges die when he is able to retaliate.
The freeman forgets the ugliness of mistakes.

33. He hits the mark with insight where eyes fail
Whether near or far, sooner or later.

34. The arrows of his thoughts fly straight;
Only the hand of fate protects him from going astray.

35. If Tuhlan had suffered what you have endured
Of tribulations, O son of noble lords.

36. The sandgrouse would not have nested on him,
And the torrents of calamity poured forth in haste.

37. Had the foam of the sea smote his left side,
The sea would have been reckoned as flotsam.

38. If a spark from it had blown upon him,
It would have overwhelmed the fires he bore.

39. Yet you endure every disaster
Without cowardice or relying on others.

40. I cannot add with my words to your stature
In the deep sea, which makes common rocks seem solid.

41. Eulogy, however excellent I render it,
Cannot match the glory inherent in you.

42. I have envied to the point of sunset in the valleys
And felt shame until the setting of the clouds.

43. See how Al-Jur and the heroes flee
When the Emir faces the narrowness of war.

44. Has any sword but his been unsheathed
And has any pillar fallen while still standing?

45. On the day of the fortress of Bashir when he left them
Strewn prone upon the ground, captive and incapacitated.

46. And the assault upon flourishing Basra that caused them
A blow from which the Battle of the Camel could not distract.

47. You have never hesitated to plunge into the fray
Except for one ignorant of your affair and unable to attain it.

48. There are causes in obeying God that protect
So wild beasts lurk fearfully in the arid land.

49. How many miserly men, submissive to your power,
Have reddened their cheeks for the Merciful in dread!

50. When religion comes, steps falter,
Since we have no means to combat God.

51. The pride of kings is a bliss they delight in,
While you delight in bliss from an ardent zeal.

52. I weary men in arbitrating the claims
Of who is most rightful to the lands and leadership.

53. Yours are the valuables taken from the worms of their affair,
A blow to the kings and flames set upon the hills.

54. They are deluded, the pleasure-loving spendthrifts,
Who waste wealth on amusements and honey sweets.

55. They withhold nothing when hardship befalls,
Nor forbid generosity on false pretexts.

56. Aggressors of restraint, wickedly inclined,
So dawn belongs to the army and darkness to the camels.

57. The awesomeness of his character fills the world
Wherever the living turn, festively exalted.

58. A cloud from his fingers waters the lands -
If it spreads out, then richly colored meadows abound.

59. They are the kings, and my words are no innovation
In describing a glory that needs no improvisation.

60. When Abu Hasan died, his tomb deserved more tears
Than the rainclouds pouring down their loads.

61. A generosity, when the south wind gusts against it,
Melts boulders because of the constant drizzle.

62. Truly, when the winds grew hot and lack was burdensome,
And evil burned from its flaming mouths.

63. It satisfied the poor and gave refuge to those who sought it
In the garb of one who apologizes, embarrassed by his act.

64. The guest was met by his beaming face
That made one forget worn garments and pleasant food.

65. No arrogance ever seeped into his manners
Nor did the number of supporters make him haughty.

66. He would tremble with delight at poetry
As wine cups do, or one drunk and confused.

67. As if each verse he heard
Was a cup of wine or a rhythm to enrapture.

68. His innocence cannot be doubted, his chastity never exchanged
For licentiousness or the loss of propriety through immorality.

69. He passed away but his passing did not diminish
Abu Al-Agharr, ever bountiful and gracious.

70. I am he who sold his soul out of passion
And did not fear the worst of my days or lose hope.

71. I confessed love while the days concealed it
And your praise was the thread of my ode.

72. I said what glory and nobility were in you
At a stance that, had Suhban witnessed, he would not have matched.

73. Praising others falsely was distasteful,
Like one forbidden drink yet praising the fresh water.

74. A man has circumstances that refine his manners
Though not all aloofness stems from boredom.

75. The bonds to the House of God remain unbroken
From one who dwells reclusively in the lands of China.

76. I am your cousin, and lineage attests
I have come only with proof and spoke no lies.

77. Do not Tamim and Auf include Mudar?
Inquire of the people about our summer and winter abodes.

78. Moreover, Tamim is descended from Asad
In the abode of the maternal uncle, as chronicles confirm for me.