أخفي هوى لك في الضلوع وأظهر — Albohtry

I hide my love for you within my ribs, and reveal it;

and I am blamed for my anguish over you, and excused.

And I see you betrayed, in separation, one who never betrayed

love's covenant, and abandoned one who does not abandon.

And I sought from you affection that I was not granted;

indeed, the tormented lover is a seeker who does not succeed.

Is ʿAlwa's debt within reach, to be collected,

or will ʿAlwa's injustice come to its senses and desist?

She is fair-skinned; a slender branch shows you her stature,

and the dark-eyed gazelle shows you her eyes.

She walks, ruling hearts with her coquetry,

and sways in youth's shade, stepping proudly.

And she bends from youth's softness, then is straightened by

a figure now called feminine, now masculine.

Indeed, though I have shunned some of my idle pleasures,

and the slanderers imagine that I have desisted,

the unveiled enchantment of eyes still stirs my longing,

and the red roses of cheeks delight me.

God has established for the caliph Jaʿfar

a kingdom which the caliph Jaʿfar adorns:

a blessing from God, who singled him out for its bounty;

and God provides for whom He wills, and restricts provision.

So remain safe, Commander of the Faithful, and may you ever

be granted longer life and be thanked.

Your bounties have embraced all creation, bringing together

through them the poor and the rich in wealth.

With righteousness you fasted, the best of those who fast,

and by God's well-pleasing ordinance you break your fast.

So let your eye rejoice in the day of breaking the fast, for it is

a radiant, renowned day among the days of time.

You displayed the glory of kingship on it with a great host,

clamorous, in which the faith is guarded and defended.

We fancied mountains marching within it, having become

armaments with which the most numerous host marches.

So the horses neigh, and the horsemen proclaim their names,

and the swords gleam, and the spearheads shine.

And the earth, humbled, sways beneath their weight,

and the air is murky on all sides, gray with dust.

And the sun, risen high, blazes in the forenoon

at times, while the murky dust-cloud quenches it,

until you appeared with your face's radiance; then vanished

that darkness, and that dust-cloud dispersed.

And the onlookers responded to you in varied ways: a finger

with which they point toward you, and an eye that gazes.

They count the sight of you, which they have attained,

among God's blessings that are not denied.

Your appearance recalled the Prophet to them, and they cried, 'There is no god but God,'

when you emerged from the ranks, and cried, 'God is greatest.'

Until you reached the prayer-ground, wearing

the light of guidance, appearing upon you and shining forth.

And you walked with the gait of one reverent and humble

before God, neither conceited nor arrogant.

So if one who yearns could undertake more than

lies within his power, the pulpit would have walked to you.

You were strengthened by a sermon of decisive eloquence,

declaring the manifest truth and making it known.

And you stood in the Prophet's mantle, reminding them

of God, now warning and now bringing glad tidings,

and with admonitions that healed the hearts of what

habitually afflicts them, though their cure is beyond reach,

until the ignorant truly learned, and sincere became

the reflective man's soul, and the bewildered found guidance.

They prayed behind you, holding fast to protection

from their Lord, and to a covenant never breached.

So rejoice in God's forgiveness, for He has never ceased

to remit sins for whomever He wills, and to forgive.

God has given you love among mankind,

and graced you with excellence that cannot be denied.

And surely you fill their eyes more fully,

and are more exalted in rank within their hearts, and greater.