1. She has modesty, her guardian at every moment.

    And how could it be otherwise, when it shields her from the lion of the lair?

  2. Generosity is her custom, even if it brings her harm;

    yet she withheld what would not harm her.

  3. Her habit is that her ailing lover remains uncured,

    and that her captive never sees release.

  4. Her practice is never to visit a lovesick man,

    and no brother of longing visits her.

  5. A maiden of beauty, with no flaw in her beauty,

    except that she lends some of it to the sun.

  6. I incline toward the full moon of the sky, because

    in its charming, wondrous beauty, it is her equal.

  7. I loved the stars of night because she

    builds her palaces of glory upon their heads.

  8. And because, out of love, she wished that

    their full moons should appear as necklaces upon her neck.

  9. I do not know whether she is the full moon or has become

    a sun in beauty, whose light has shone forth.

  10. Her brilliance is my proof that she is a sun;

    her beguilement is my proof that she is a full moon.

  11. Her rising has cast me into uncertainty about her,

    by day and by night, while I hope—and so has her appearance.

  12. If I compare her to the full moon, the full moon is her slave;

    and if I compare her to the sun, she illuminates it.

  13. A gazelle of the herd, accustomed to estrangement and harshness,

    whose shyness exceeds the gazelle's.

  14. Of all the harsh afflictions, if she decrees

    them upon me, separation is the hardest to me.

  15. Yet, to me, being slain by her with a sharp sword,

    with her near me as a favor, is the easiest of them.

  16. Slender-waisted, though her slenderness is not from weakness,

    nor is hers the shortest among waists.

  17. A ring is a girdle for her waist, though on

    her little fingers it is tight; around her waist she turns it.

  18. She has let sidelocks fall over her cheeks;

    would that my reward were Paradise and its silk!

  19. If she questions me on love, about its sciences,

    I establish for her the proof that I am their expert.

  20. And that I am a sea whose depth has no bottom,

    long and broad, from which their seas have spread.

  21. And that I am love's prophet, calling people to love,

    with miracles whose veils have been removed.

  22. Among them is the full moon's splitting by a sidelock that appeared

    upon her crimson cheek; this is the greatest of them.

  23. Whoever follows me takes my words as his guide,

    and the light of love's sun rises over him.

  24. Lovers have learned, in every procession

    of love and sorrows, that I am their prince.

  25. But I am a slave to the delights of an exalted man,

    whose emergence is seen at the dawn of eminence.

  26. Even as a child, he surpassed the people of excellence through his excellence;

    how often has their youngest led the nobles in merit!

  27. He surpassed groups who had preceded him,

    although in this age he is the latest of them.

  28. He adorned himself with refinement, forbearance, and generosity;

    so through him the worlds continued to display their joy.

  29. Every praiseworthy attribute of beauty belongs to him,

    and throughout my life—by my life!—I am grateful for them.

  30. He holds the highest rank among the kings of excellence;

    its throne appears atop the sun of glory.

  31. Were the people of distinction and eminence named

    in order of merit, he would be their illustrious one.

  32. Gatherings among the noble are adorned with him;

    their seats of honor refuse to seat anyone else.

  33. If the stars of virtuous men revolved around him,

    he would be like the sun with their full moons circling beside it.

  34. He is steeped in beauty's perfume and its musk;

    within him the fragrance of rich perfumes grows stronger.

  35. He is the sea in every branch of knowledge and generosity;

    how often their seas have drawn replenishment from him!

  36. A leader whom all leaders emulate,

    for among humankind he is their renowned one.

  37. An orator who displays eloquence through lucid explanation,

    which its Quss and its Jarir cannot equal.

  38. He fashions the forms of eloquence into jewels,

    whose smallest, to me, is worth the world.

  39. A magnanimous man, truly gallant and refined;

    through him the garden of precise exposition has lovely blossoms.

  40. And a garden of excellence: noble deeds and generosity,

    kindness, refinement, and perfection are its flowers.

  41. The secrets of the sciences are not hidden from him;

    their inner meaning is revealed to him like their outward meaning.

  42. And the adornment of the illustrious in every procession,

    whose presence soars toward the highest honor.

  43. And a spreading tree of glory, bearing dignity as its fruit;

    beside it, the roar of lions is hushed.

  44. So, O noble-hearted man whose renown is sweet,

    among the noble I indeed take pride in it.

  45. You defended Ahmad's faith with the sword of truth;

    and you, brother of knights—you are its champion.

  46. The causes of truth have fortified themselves in you,

    and among humankind you are their rampart.

  47. My thought has forgotten the praise of anyone but you;

    in you, its poetry and its feeling are praiseworthy.

  48. And this thought—were your praise in the sky,

    its falcon and its sparrow would fly toward it.

  49. The pages of praise for you are adorned with jewels,

    and their lines are written upon them in coral.

  50. To you it has offered a graceful maiden of verse,

    a bride whose secluded chambers exceed nine.

  51. She leans over minds, stealing reason,

    and the houris of the Garden of Eternity adore her.

  52. Her necks are adorned with the necklace of praise for you;

    how lovely the necklace her necks have held!

  53. So take her, without a command, in a spirit of acceptance;

    for in you, without doubt, her joy endures.

  54. May you remain in a serene life, with good fortune and happiness;

    the years rejoice in you, and then their months.

  55. May Ibn Fath Allah keep offering you a nubile maiden:

    She has modesty, her guardian at every moment.

Sol 6.1