تناضلني منها اللحاظ بأسهم — Mufti Fathallah

Her glances assail me with arrows,

and her figure stabs me with a keen spear.

A lightning flash dazzles me, its radiance sparkling,

appearing to my eyes from her smiling mouth.

Can I be sober while her eyes are wine's cupbearers,

and her smiling mouth a cup lawful to a lovesick lover?

It is as though the sun's radiance were her brow's light,

and her radiant forehead shines like stars.

As though her front teeth were the flashing of lightning,

and her dusky-lipped mouth like pearls strung in order.

She has a body whose frame is described as delicate;

it may bleed from the wind's slightest breath.

And a beauty spot like musk in color and fragrance,

and a cheek like a rose, or like crimson dye.

The swaying of her figure has put the branches to shame,

as the lightning of her smile has shamed the moons.

And if one day she lifted a veil from her face,

she would blind the seeing, and then the blind would see.

God bless her, a graceful woman endowed with charms,

whose glances have captured the wits of every lion.

And blessed be the night when she came to visit me,

swaying with her pampered, tipsy figure.

And the full moon of companionship shone after its setting,

in my dwelling and in my sorrowful, love-enslaved heart.

She kept me company by night with an unbroken chain of talk,

strange, and narrated in Muslim's Sahih.

Until dawn appeared, rising from its east,

pelting the darkness of night with arrows from itself.

And the first signs of morning became radiant,

mirroring the gleam of the venerated imam's face.

An imam through whose association loftiness itself rises,

as honor, like glory, traces its lineage to his eminence.

A generous man: we tell of the sea from his palm's overflow,

sweet in its yield, delightful to every seeker.

Eloquent: whenever he rises to preach and admonish,

you see Ya'rub seem like a mute in his presence.

He is the peerless luminary who shone for humankind,

so all creation has come to seek his protection.

He is the moon whose light outshines the sun;

he is the bold lion in every advance.

The lions of the forest flee from him in fear,

and you deem him, though alone, like a vast army.

God bless him, a noble, honored lord;

he has won a glory surpassing the glory of Jurhum.

Through him, the heads of glory were raised after being bowed,

so they circled the fringes of the encamped clouds.

And the pillar of glory was rebuilt after its collapse,

and stood firm and flourishing, undemolished.

He has an aspiration whose station is above al-Simak,

to which Asaf is truly linked and affiliated.

So, O Kaaba of excellence, around which we circle,

as the ancient, sacred House has been circumambulated;

and O most praiseworthy in qualities, whose deeds have become

lauded with praise for every act of generosity.

So take this—may God protect you from every harm—

a secluded maiden of thought, wearing a smile.

Through her the reciter is revived and a listener rejoices;

her beholder rejoices, and a non-Arab speaks Arabic.

She has come to you to win acceptance and approval,

and to kiss the noblest kissing-place upon your two palms.

So extend toward her, graciously and in welcome,

for her, a palm pouring bounty like rain.

And never make anything but acceptance her sash,

in hopes that through it she may win the greatest prize.

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

and as long as the turtledove warbles in lovely melody.