1. My Lord has decreed that my worries shall not be my companions,
Nor shall my merit be ignored while it spreads across the land,

2. Nor shall my enemies notice in me any shortcoming,
Screened as I am by my fathers and by modesty as my cloak,

3. In the palace of the Caliphate there is now a leader
Whose authority encompasses a sea of the Beni Said's bounty,

4. So the stalwart supporter of the religion is not devoid of sanctuary
Nor forsaken if his glory triumphs and he has partisans,

5. Soon both settlements and victory will envy his might,
And the extremities of Qena and the Upper Region will covet it,

6. If he wages war it will mean peace because of his valor,
And if drought befalls it remains verdant and flowering because of him,

7. And in his rule the commonalty see a just sovereign,
Though in his generosity with wealth he exceeds all bounds,

8. Happy the dew that his munificence does not restrain,
Rather it flows freely despite any excuse for its arrest,

9. Nor does abundant, copious generosity plead for his favor,
For the hand of the willful donor suffices as the only thanks,

10. When his fierce riding beast is outfitted
Tasseled and fringed are its trappings and the saddle-cloth,

11. By his incessant traveling he brought safe passage and security,
Night and day – for he keeps constant vigil –

12. Before him wild beasts stampede until, when they are
Cornered, it is his determination and resolve that drive them away,

13. The blossoms folded their petals and the meadows turned away
From the morning dew – the zephyr and daybreak spurned them –

14. So that nothing remains but the fifes of merry entertainments
And no moisture except what the priests sprinkle from their aspergills,

15. Through the day he acts with generosity, listening to all requests,
And in the evenings he retires to his private apartments,

16. So that no house remains except as a lodging for Muhammad,
And none rivals him in munificence except for the water-drawers,

17. He resides in a place which he fills with generous gifts over and over,
And rises in the morning with his mouth still sweet from the evening's drink,

18. A house of hospitality whose valleys are miserly,
Though its protector is he to whom the tribes have surrendered,

19. He who spends what his hands contain in freshets of generosity
While the remote districts and those present concede his superior merit,

20. The glittering stars of the highest firmament determined his destiny,
As did the impregnable heights and mighty warriors of peerless valor,

21. From them he garnered glory – none before him ever merited such acclaim –
That if one of them competed with him, he would retire vanquished,

22. They brought him despite the thick squadrons surrounding him
As if by his formidable might he could rout an intoxicated army,

23. Ramparts topple around him while he remains steadfast,
Citadels crash down yet he is fixed in his resolve to attack,

24. He crushes the champions of the foe, and he alone
Suffices to crush the forearms of his adversary warriors,

25. So welcome this month of fasting whose pious devotion he companions,
As long as the pasturage sprouts greenery from the rain,

26. If only the verses could disclosure in full concerning him,
And if the prose writings elaborated all his merits,

27. Then they would gain in eloquence and stylistic grace,
And, as befits the mettle of warriors, the pens would race along,

28. I loved you before I had experienced your benevolence
And before any importunate man pestered me for gifts,

29. How not, seeing that you are my unfailing recourse forever
If I dispute with Time, attacking him and gambling on the outcome!