Sol 5.6

  1. I asked the scion of generosity for a favor; it had not yet run its course—

    my day—when I found myself in the gardens of Damascus,

  2. there plucking its apples and quinces,

    all freshly gathered, and pears delightful to my eyes.

  3. A generous man: whenever you ask him for anything, he surely

    bestows and gives whatever you desire, choosing the choicest.

  4. Even had you not asked him, he would give unprompted, for

    his noble virtues are innate, untouched by affectation.

  5. Sons of noble fathers, men of lordly rank,

    whose praises are recounted in West and East.

  6. Among them is Jalal al-Din, chief of our judges,

    surely the finest leader, deep-rooted in every virtue.

  7. He teaches the ignorant through exacting inquiry,

    and gathers riches, with bounty scattered far and wide.

  8. Countless are the lavish favors he has bestowed upon me;

    without their sweetness, I could never have made my way through life.

  9. How many a Nasirid reign have I lived through,

    and consorted with a company of broad-hearted, high-ranking men;

  10. yet never once would they freely grant a thing, nor was I

    one to ask a gift from some witless charlatan—

  11. until the mighty sea swelled and swept over us all

    with a current of generosity from him, drowning all in bounty.

  12. Upon the days’ radiance rests a majesty from him;

    so may he remain in God’s keeping as long as he lives.

Sol 5.6