1. If good counsel is not accepted,
Then superfluous talk is useless.

2. My friend, let us stop this dispute which pains me,
For those who love conflict have no true friend.

3. It is my way to reject advice angrily
And to ignore insults - that is easy for me.

4. Let our talk be free of blame, for verily
Weighty oaths are difficult to bear.

5. If my opinion differs from yours,
Then nothing said by the stubborn will change it.

6. O sisters of the tomb, though your roots decay
And your shade is little,

7. Has any caravan passed near you, O blessed one,
With soft-stepping camels journeying on?

8. When the lofty northern wind blows,
Their necks incline toward it,

9. And every lover moans with desire
And each separated one cries in anguish.

10. O inaccessible one, sweet and remote,
I see you but cannot reach you.

11. O night, even the shooting stars in you are sick
And even the morning breeze in you is frail.

12. O my neighbors in sorrow, after you left
My body grew thin and my eyelids dull.

13. I knew youth's branch once verdant,
But it betrayed me while loyalty is so rare.

14. I entrusted you my heart but when I sought it
You delayed while deceivers are so slow to return.

15. If someday you want my love again
I will refuse unless a sponsor vouches for you.

16. O you who are leaving, carry my message
Though it be long, for the tale is great.

17. And say to the family, let them prepare the abode,
Grief has come for their protector is slain,

18. A burning grief quenched only by revenge,
Though they know that. More has stealthily occurred,

19. How excellent it would be to ready the riding camels at dawn
And rest their forelocks on the shade.

20. To taste the shade between two arching branches
When the scale of daylight starts to dip.

21. A magic breath from aromatic Najd,
In which wild thyme and erigeron mingle.

22. A downpour whose rolling wetness
Waters the plants of the meadows, withering them.

23. And a foreign woman unaware it is
A cross that wards off calamity and brings blessings.

24. You warn me of the treachery of Time
That drinks the blood of the generous and is insatiable,

25. And command me to gather riches
Whence it is known I am no miser.

26. Why should I fear Time burning my fangs
When the judgment of Imād al-Dīn about me is good?

27. When I gain glory from its giving
It gives me a draft of clear wine from its cup,

28. A draft as the raincloud's downpour, pure,
And good news like the polished chest of a nobleman,

29. And the firmness of one who spurns sleep, it guides him
With an opinion almost unerring

30. Until he attains glory only by striving,
While others in need are disgraced.

31. He chided the doubt of fickle Time
Though it oppressed him, for all generous souls bear adversity.

32. He was jealous for a wasted and vain kingdom,
Disobeyed, which rejects wise counsel,

33. And nominated one driven from the fields, an outcast,
For him are the shade and shelter of S̲h̲amkhiriyya.

34. The horsemen are his troops, and his drinking cups
His coats of mail, feared is his attack and destructive his raid.

35. He has such awe that it precedes his soldiers
And a vision that roams the hidden realm.

36. A troop of steeds on whose shoulders javelins rest,
Stalwart heroes whose hearts and livers are seasoned warriors.

37. The horses have forelocks between their chests,
And white blazes on their heads like turbans.

38. Their hooves clatter as if
pebbles were scattered on the sun's disk.

39. They turn back the cheek of dawn with their faces,
When it is time for the darkness' dye to fade.

40. Tell those who have grown accustomed to treachery
To walk slowly, for the treacherous have come to defeat.

41. Pass the cups of comfort, for after them
Are cups of deadly hemlock that ferments.

42. Drag the trailing robes of humility until
Bareheaded warriors come to you,

43. Soldiers whose feet tread the horizons guard its banner,
When the generous have said what should be done.

44. No land but their hooves will tread it,
No atmosphere but their blades will fill it.

45. They will take the hilltops' shoulders by surprise
When companies of the convoy converge.

46. The ravines' lips will overflow upon you
With a torrent whose violence matches the violence of fate.

47. Every skull will be split with skulls
And every enraged one will have blood pouring forth.

48. If their necks grow weary of bearing heads
Then for the white blades passion and anguish.

49. So take refuge in the sanctuary of pardon, for He
Is generous, even when called neglectful.

50. And if your bad fortune prevails, know
The lands of the oath-breakers are humiliation.

51. Truly, you thought to meet them, perhaps
You saw the natures were changing.

52. The carrion-eating crows would become rapacious birds,
The cowardly quails would become fierce and bold.

53. So resolve today to rescue the state, for they
Are prey - some have fled and some been captured.

54. They have summoned steeds for war
And brought upon you the loud roar of the two flanks.

55. They have sought aid from the nomads of the desert and its Bedouin
And all the tribes and peoples.

56. Their lives and wealth are stored with them
For you to destroy their wealth and plunder it.

57. Gifts for the keen blades are brought forth,
But do the keen blades accept them?

58. Your enemy stands between shame and the sword,
Inclining to retreat wherever he inclines.

59. If he flees, he will find no remedy, and if he rebels,
What rebel seeking rebellion is successful?

60. It is as if yesterday they did not witness
A scene in which attackers and pursuers were equal.

61. Wisdom, not spears, battles for you - no, not spears!
The empty wilderness has no reinforcements or squads.

62. No red tent was pitched on the hillside
Nor any ram offered among the blood.

63. Your cunning flowed, while the stars slept,
Plains were covered toward them, and they were confused.

64. You took vengeance for the faith from one who rebelled,
Who transgressed while the least of officials.

65. You give and take away kingship wherever you wish,
One time gathering and another dispersing.

66. You incline toward one whose state you strengthen
And turn away from one whose state you erase.

67. The mighty of the lands' kingdoms are humiliated before you
And harsh events are submissive to you.

68. Why were they deluded while God supports his party,
By the overflowing cup of the transgressor when it rages?

69. If the former raid enchanted them,
Then for another you are their guarantor and champion.

70. To you, Imād al-Dīn, the daring come charging,
Eyes and minds compete regarding it.

71. When its solutions to love's confusions are recited
The refined and ignorant are moved by it.

72. I desire only your approval as its reward,
And that is an ample reward, if you but knew!

73. For you are the one who has honored me with favors,
Which have a lofty place among all people.

74. I am indebted, whenever I do you service,
And if I stumble before, you gently reprove me.

75. And the turning of people's favor showed me clearly,
That you are unique, while people are fickle.

76. The love of an imitator and one who has proof
For his love, and evidence, are not equal.

77. So return your kindness to me, for you were faithful
In keeping my wings uplifted - the generous keep their vows.

78. And live in peace, empowered in your kingdom; its expanse
Endures, and length of days in your life.