1. تَقَدَّمَ يَحْيَى المُرْتَضَى كُلَّ مَنْ مَضَى

    كَمَالاً فَصارَ النَّقْصُ لِلْمُتَقَدِّمِ

    All who came before were surpassed, Yahya al-Murtada,

    by your twin perfections; precedence became a flaw in the predecessor.

  2. وأحْرَزَ مِنْ إِرْثِ الهِدَايَةِ حَقَّهُ

    فَمَا مِنْ مُلوكِ الأَرْضِ غَيْرُ مُسَلِّمِ

    And he secured his rightful share of the legacy of right guidance,

    so there is no king on earth who does not yield to him.

  3. وَرَدْتُ نَدَاهُ الغَمْرَ غَيْرَ مُصَرَّدٍ

    ونِلْتُ رِضَاهُ الجَمَّ غَيْرَ مُصَرّمِ

    I came upon his overwhelming bounty, unstinted,

    and gained his ample favor, never cut off.

  4. فَهَا أَنَا مِنْهُ في حِبَاءٍ مُنَثَّرٍ

    وها هُوَ مِنِّي في ثَنَاءٍ مُنَظَّمِ

    Here I am, through him, amid largesse showered loose,

    and here he is, through me, in praise strung into verse.

  5. لَهَا مُلْكُ نُعْمَانٍ وعِزَّةُ تُبَّعٍ

    وَصَوْلَةُ بِسْطَامٍ وحِكْمَةُ أكْثَمِ

    The poem bears al-Nuʿman’s kingship and Tubbaʿ’s might,

    Bistam’s prowess, and Aktham’s wisdom.

  6. ولِي وَجْدُ خَنْسَاء وَرِقَّةُ عُرْوَةٍ

    وتَهْيَامُ غِيلانٍ وحُزْنُ مُتَمِّمِ

    And mine are al-Khansa’s anguish and Urwa’s tenderness,

    Ghaylan’s infatuation, and a love-enslaved man’s sorrow.