Sol 5.6

  1. I shall praise, after God, at every gathering,

    Abū Ḥasan—I mean ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad.

  2. And I give him twofold thanks: one for a need

    he met, and one because it brought no bitterness.

  3. He met my need, generous in granting it, with ready ease—

    the deed of a man long accustomed to good works.

  4. That is nothing novel among the deeds of a noble man

    whose ancient house is one of glory and lordship:

  5. the champion of al-Ṣulḥ—no, Baghdad—no, Surr Man Raʾā—

    nor is he far removed from anything higher still.

  6. By my life, if my mill turns by his leave

    morning after morning, despite foes and envious men,

  7. the millstones of my thought have now begun revolving

    for him in manifold strains of everlasting praise.

  8. Every man of fair renown endures;

    even though he passes away, he is like one immortal.

  9. A noble youth who has lived as bounty’s truest neighbor,

    in chastity and kindness, by tongue and hand.

  10. And so its robe lies on him, ample and flowing;

    may he never cease to wear from it a garment ever renewed.

  11. How lovely bounty is as the robe of a benefactor—

    ever reaching out, noble, his name repeated among nobles!

  12. Free praise of him has draped itself over it; nor could it

    be complete unless he himself were robed in praise.

Sol 5.6