بغير العلا والفخر لا يحسن الجد — Mufti Fathallah

Without eminence and honor, striving is not commendable.

And glory is not acquired without merit.

And a man's honor lies only in noble character;

and honor is nothing but reason, discernment, and generosity.

So claim the victor's reed in the racecourse of eminence,

and take the steeds of merit as they gallop for victory.

And behold the stars of glory above its sky;

then raise toward them heads that reach for glory.

And be a hawk that hunts every virtue,

and be a man whom lions shrink from in fear.

And be a master through firmness, whose resolve is a cutting blade;

with it he cleaves the heads of rocks, and they split apart.

And do not fear time's misfortunes and its sundering,

for a freeborn man is no coward when adversity grows fierce.

For I am a man who does not fear the oppression of his time;

for if I feared it, I would be a base fellow.

I rode toward the heights upon al-Suha's withers,

and in separation I crossed seas without limit.

I incline toward hunting perfection and winning it,

and curving forms and graceful stature never stirred my yearning.

Nor am I drawn to the beauty of a cheek,

and neither approaching it nor its roses delighted me.

And I pay no heed to Salma and Abla,

and neither Suad nor Da'd has possessed my heart.

Nor has a graceful maiden among the supple beauties stirred me to passion,

whom a necklace adorns as her breast has adorned her.

For you surpassed the men of glory before they gained their glory;

and my glory is too exalted for them to weave upon its loom.

And even if I became king over all mankind,

I would still be al-Kuzbari's slave for all time.

An imam who embodies what is praiseworthy in every quality,

so praise and acclaim extolled his character.

A champion who, whenever he appears ranging through inquiry,

no one but he races in his arena.

An intelligent man who untangles difficulties with insight,

and a mind whose flame comes from its Creator's light.

He is the full moon, and souls are where his light dawns;

he is the sun: may good fortune never cease to attend it.

He is the hidden pearl and the precious pearl that

is too lofty in rank to have an equal.

He is unmatched in benefactions and excellence, just as

glory, gentleness, and asceticism are unmatched in him.

He meets whoever is hostile to him with gentleness and generosity,

and far be it from him to repay a scoundrel with what the scoundrel did.

So from his soul, Tihama appears to people,

and from his lofty rank, Najd has indeed appeared.

And from his smiling mouth we recount jewels,

which the necks of houris wish were a necklace.

So tell whoever has sought to encompass his virtues:

You have undertaken a task in which good fortune is no help.

For his qualities—how far you are from knowing their essence!

Can you grasp an essence that no limit can contain?

So you cannot count a tenth of a tenth of a tenth of them;

and can you count what counting falls short of?

So if you seek to attain good fortune, serve his sandals,

that the heights may serve you and good fortune stay with you.

So, O master who possesses high aspiration

and resolve like a sword no sheath can hold,

here, then, take—may God protect you from every ill—

a daughter of thought, whom purpose has stirred toward you.

She hopes you will avert your gaze from glimpsing her flaw,

and your gaze is lowered, both before and after.

And she hopes for acceptance from you, as grace and favor,

and to kiss palms, by which the liver is revived.

And remain in God's protection as long as the east wind blows,

and the garden's nightingale stands on its branch, singing.

And since Ibn Fath Allah delights in praising you,

it is no wonder that honey tastes sweet to him.