Sol 5.6

  1. Worthy of praise, a most exalted scholar;

    his are precedence, knowledge, and merit,

  2. and a penetrating mind in every discipline—

    faced with a difficult problem, you never find him at a loss.

  3. ʿAlī is like the best of men, the most God-fearing of them,

    and the best-guided whenever the people stray.

  4. His affiliation with Sabk became a source of pride;

    through it Sabk exulted, and ignorance departed from her.

  5. Is he not—and indeed he is—a mighty pole,

    possessed of a light by which the whole place shines?

  6. Is he not—and indeed he is—in every matter

    a leader whose word is truth and decisive judgment?

  7. Indeed, through what he bestowed upon me, I attained

    what even the most exalted cannot attain.

  8. Indeed, I passed beyond the Pleiades

    through what he granted—and that was easy for him.

  9. Indeed, even before we met, he singled me out

    with refinements through which the lowly rise.

  10. He deemed me distinguished in character and form,

    with qualities too sublime to enumerate;

  11. he likened me to moons and to a sun,

    to a keen sword without a single notch,

  12. and to a lion that meets its foes broad-chested,

    fearing nothing and never losing heart;

  13. and to a gazelle grazing in a garden of delight,

    swaying as though a shade-giving bough.

  14. Perhaps, when our leader undertook

    to praise me—though he is worthy of veneration—

  15. he imagined I was the Moses of my age,

    so he lavished praise, and the account proved true.

  16. And who besides Moses is worthy

    of praise that grows sweeter whenever repeated?

  17. Through him Menouf was ennobled, since there became

    for her a support—the bounty of his hands, a downpour.

  18. How could it be otherwise? Indeed, he is an impregnable fortress

    for his people whenever a formidable champion rages.

  19. He is the son of the noblest, father of lofty virtues,

    sound in judgment, a wellspring of all good;

  20. deep-rooted in glory, endowed with prudence and resolve,

    and with forbearance adorned by knowledge and reason.

  21. He is the master, and we are his servants;

    we fulfill our duty of thanks while our cherished bond endures,

  22. and proclaim his glory for as long as I utter panegyrics:

    worthy of praise, a most exalted scholar.

Sol 5.6