أَرانِيَ مِنهاجَ الهُدى فَسَلَكتُهُ
وَلَم تَتَشَعَّب في الضَلالِ مَذاهِبي
He showed me the path of guidance, and I followed it;
my paths did not branch away into error.
وَخَبَّرَ أَنَّ الجَهلَ لَيسَ بِآيِبٍ
إِلَيَّ وَأَنَّ الحُلمَ لَيسَ بِعازِبِ
And he informed me that ignorance would not return
to me, and that forbearance would not be absent.
فَأَفصَحَ مِن بَعدِ العُجومَةِ مادِحي
وَأَعجَمَ مِن بَعدِ الفَصاحَةِ عائِبي
Thus my panegyrist spoke eloquently after inarticulateness,
and after eloquence my faultfinder became inarticulate.
وَرَدَّ إِلى خَيرِ الأَنامِ مَدائِحي
فَحَلَّت مَحَلَّ العِقدِ مِن جيدِ كاعِبِ
And he returned my panegyrics to the best of humankind,
so they settled like a necklace upon a nubile maiden’s neck.
Sol 5.6