1. Youth is spent perfecting virtues
Life is best lived selecting the noblest

2. A person's life passes complaining and sighing
Between the blinking of eyelids, awake or asleep

3. Goodness and kindness, in every situation
Are but a fleeting chance in a dreamer's palm

4. A young man's life in the market of time is a trade
So shame to the loser and blessings to the winner

5. Beware of the world's deceitful residents
For often their joy is replaced by disasters

6. When cups of success intoxicate
Their foam mingled with bitterness

7. Be not fooled by the pleasant exterior
For beneath the sweet coating lie poisons

8. Some people inspire hope, some fear
While others are counted among the beasts

9. Tall in stature but weak in resolution
Short in advice but long in turbans

10. A young man who cannot be trusted in adversity
Leave him be, and be not saddened by his loss

11. O you whose status is now high, direct
Your face toward God, the most merciful of faces

12. To aid the destitute is charity of wealth
To curb the oppressor is charity of station

13. To protect the helpless is charity of prestige
Against the tyranny of a vicious opponent

14. To speak for the speechless is charity of voice
On behalf of one unable to make his case

15. So give to God what He asks as charity
And gain righteousness, the most precious gain

16. I observed a time whose nobility was gone
Except descendants of Abdallah, a noble line

17. My father Yusuf Al-Qaram who surpassed
People of the past, present and future in virtue

18. Through his counsel, rulers' views were made proper
Until he became their touchstone, like Solomon

19. When he saw a faulty deed, he prohibited it
With a decisive order dispelling any doubt

20. God granted him glory - he attained piety
And piety for a man is the best protector

21. Know that fearing God is an impregnable refuge
Safer than talismans and magical charms

22. In the horizon of the East rose a star
By it darkness dispersed and gloom took flight

23. He humbled himself without losing dignity
And gave generously without subsequent regret

24. He inclined with patience to people's needs
And frowned at the stubborn transgressor

25. He wiped the tears of the destitute
And nurtured them with the teat of a merciful breast

26. His great ambition meets every adversity
He remains resolute of purpose and strong of will

27. Keen intellect is a man's impregnable fortress
Richly providing independence from all arms

28. A lion's bravery matters not without courage
So among creatures he is uniquely sincere

29. Like a lion but without clawing hands
Like rain but without the clouds' downpour

30. Like the moon but without eclipse or waning
Like the sea but without clashing waves

31. No great matter ever swelled in his eyes
Though it be the greatest of all matters

32. How many ungrateful people he has forgiven
Yet he admonishes without blaming

33. He rebuilt affections that were near collapse
And how many joined hearts were torn asunder?

34. Noble character and refined manners graced him
So no fault could be found by faultfinders

35. A nature like pure rainwater, and breezes
That inspire daydreams in every resolute soul

36. Bearing fruits of virtue without the doves' cooing
And the murmur of goodness without the doves' song

37. A gentle temper no blemish could stain
A tent whose ropes the breezes cinch

38. A face that straightens with anger when delegates crowd
Inciting fury in them like commanding arrows

39. Tongues of humankind extolled his praise
It came from their elite and their commoners

40. And rightly they offered their praise
To one who ordered their affairs best

41. Trustworthy steward for the people’s affairs
By whom secrets are guarded like precious gems

42. When entrusted with a secret it remains so
Thus for their rulers he was the best secret keeper

43. Affectionate, he restrained no pledge by his vows
Yet to break a vow is worst of infamous deeds

44. O you who became shelter and refuge for neighbors
Unless they commit what is sacrosanct to forbid

45. By your shrewdness you rendered the age safe
Though this era is not predisposed for peace

46. You were seasoned by events with utmost wisdom
Becoming for this age the wisest ruler

47. When reckless mouths gaped to attack
You stopped them like stalwart trees amid the warring

48. Your mention, in praise, delighted me
Though not so for backbiters nursing grudges

49. For alongside you the morning breeze seems gentle
When the day is graced with soft western winds

50. When the eyes of enemies regarded your accord
They saw with eyes of envy, not camaraderie

51. If they ignored your voice and refused to hear
The ears of even the deaf inclined toward you

52. Sincere verse brought for love, not for dirhams
While others beside me sought only coins

53. With you our longing departed on scrolls
Else we would have despaired from devastating woes

54. You captivated our hearts and so we understood you
Nothing distracts us but thoughts of you

55. I trust my praise of you is honest
For true signs elicit credible conviction

56. By God’s grace, you remain worthy
As you fulfilled all debts and claims

57. You persisted, always a delight to your people
Ever trailing honor in an unending train

58. Exalted ruler enjoying all bounty
And harvesting in it the finest harvests

59. Among your kinsmen no failing was known of you
Nor was it said you fell short of perfect virtue

60. You remained lofty in enduring glory
Impregnable summit, sturdy pillar

61. By the one whom God ennobled, whose worth
Perplexed all minds seeking its profound mystery

62. She is our greatest intermediary
Our intercessor on the day of reckoning

63. She is the perfect temple for our God
Jesus, the Son of the Father, the second of divinities

64. She is the radiant orb whose light guides
Those lost in the darkness of sins, evil endings

65. When faced with harm, seek her presence
And you will find joy on her smiling visage

66. She severed the ties of our sins
Thus for curing disease, she is the finest healer

67. To you, Mother of God, I come seeking
The treasures of your bounties heaped

68. None can save a person plagued
By the adversity of looming misfortune but you

69. Through you I hope for intercession forgiving my sins
Before my Judge, that He not be my punisher