1. Do not think my grey hair is due to old age,
Rather it turned white when troubles whitened.

2. And do not assume my slim body is out of pain,
Worry can do what pain cannot do.

3. I concealed my love for you for a time then confessed it,
The secret of every lover cannot be concealed.

4. I tortured my heart with passion yet no wonder,
That brackish water turned sweetish when boiled.

5. What was in my conscience of love for you came out
When illness made me reveal what was hidden.

6. Favor me with your union or grant me the favor,
To me, ecstasy and non-existence are the same.

7. How ugly is honor soiled with indecency,
Scribbled on a tablet or traced with a pen.

8. Beauty is no beauty on a face you look at,
If morals and manners are not similar.

9. Youth has a structure perfected at thirty,
Then it crumbles thereafter and fades away.

10. Whoever holds firm to the rope of God,
Is holding firmly to a rope that never breaks.

11. Blessed is he whose essence God moulded,
From a clay of generosity and munificence.

12. It shows you an intrepid knight in his sovereign’s tent,
From the House of Mirdas sniffing his perfumes.

13. He enriched the peninsula when he stayed in it,
So it had no need for dews and rainwater.

14. And God gave security to the people of the two soft lands through him,
Against injustice or any tyranny befalling them.

15. His side is a meadow and his companionship,
A sanctuary protecting them from dreaded mischief.

16. The enemies reckoned with him, but he disproved their reckoning,
When they met, amidst swirling clouds of injustice.

17. He pelted them with lions, had he pelted them,
With mountain pillars, those pillars would not stand firm.

18. And stalwarts like predatory lions having nothing,
But smooth Indian swords and no scabbards.

19. The temples of war turned white from them, so they are valiant,
And their spears when reddened do not get broken.

20. The awe he inspires makes them forget swords,
Whose scabbards are mountain peaks.

21. Until the issue became confused between them,
The people saw who of those present they were.

22. In a tight spot, death was decked out alluringly by it,
And the excuse was masked by that which blots out traces.

23. Had he fought other than the son of the pride of kings,
Kinship would have not prevented him from them, nor womb relations.

24. Rather, they fought a generous tribe taking refuge,
Of noble tents, good meat and blood.

25. The House of Mirdas is the best of people whether settling or travelling,
Whether staying or perishing, being rich or destitute.

26. They do not refrain from doing good if asked,
Nor conceal clemency if they are angry.

27. They learned every merit from their souls,
So no knowledge can be added above what they know.

28. Had the son of Abi Sulma seen their virtues,
None would be generous in his eyes but they.

29. And had Hatem Al-Ta’iyy seen their superiority,
He would say generosity began with the House of Mirdas.

30. They belittle the mighty due to their status,
So the more they make light of their own worth, the greater they become.

31. Commoners publicized my reputation through mention of them,
So I became better known by the brand they imprinted.

32. O He who loads me with gratitude for His blessing,
With a load the like of which nations similar to me carry.

33. I have weighed with You all kingdoms in their entirety,
Yet neither Arabs nor non-Arabs match You.

34. The doctrine of the proponents of abrogation is not sound to them,
Except that You alone are all of mankind combined.

35. You brought together whatever generosity exists among all people,
So superiority with You is an aggregate and apportioned.

36. I ransom with my soul the precious soul whose trait is,
That no deed or blame can be attributed to him.

37. I visit him in passionate love, if my sight,
Moves away from me but neither foot nor leg walks.

38. If I could, no eyelid would blink shut,
Except my cheek rubbing against his smooth cheek.

39. Out of reverence for the generous owner of the tent, I exalt
Him alone in my eyes, with favors and bounties.

40. So I will thank him while alive and thank him,
When I am buried in the ground and my limbs decay.