1. O seeker whose toil is long,

    you aspire to the reach of one whose reach outstrips yours.

  2. Before one can reach Ahmad ibn Sulayman,

    there stands a height whose ascent exhausts men.

  3. Never did we seek him for bounty but

    his earth grew verdant and his sky poured rain.

  4. Fair in deed and appearance—and how often

    has a nobleman's appearance revealed his eminence!

  5. A face's lustre—when it beams, its lustre grants

    you safety from the rebuffs of time.

  6. His radiance shines forth, and his radiance dispels

    the darkness of mist-shrouded calamity.

  7. We found him generous, so we made camp

    where a hopeful man's hope does not deceive him.

  8. And we roused him to noble deeds; unsheathing him revealed

    the true steel of a keen, cutting sword.

  9. My father be your ransom! How often my affairs have been tossed about

    by time's alternation—its morning and its evening.

  10. And with you lies success in the struggles of

    a hopeful man whose impatient waiting has grown long.

  11. You have taken the initiative in giving; and the noble one among

    the people is he whose initiative precedes the request.

  12. So press onward, for nothing is sought from a sword

    on the morning of battle but its sharpness.

Sol 6.1