كأنَّ عُقاراً خَنْدَريساً تَضوعت

مَناطِيلُها من طيبها والنَّياطِلُ

As though an aged wine had breathed its fragrance abroad—

whose great flagons and brimming cups were fragrant with its sweetness—

تُشَجُّ بأشْراطِيَّةٍ مُطْمَئنَّةٍ

مواسِمُها أسْحارُها والأصائِلُ

blended with the placid waters of Ashrāṭiyya,

whose appointed seasons are dawn and late afternoon;

حوى دَرَّها دون النَّحائز والصُّوى

وقائِعُ من صَمَّانِها وخمائلُ

its abundant flow gathered before hollows and stone markers,

in pools among its rocky tracts and leafy bowers:

سجايا الوزير الخِنْدِفِيِّ ولُطْفه

إذا الغيظُ أضحى وهو للحلم خاذل

such are the inborn traits and gentleness of the Khindifī minister

when anger shows itself, at odds with forbearance.

إذا ما أُمِرَّتْ نفسه من دَنِيَّةٍ

فمعسولةٌ نَعْماؤهُ والشَّمائلُ

Whenever some baseness makes his soul bitter,

honey-sweet remain his favors and his ways.

يَسُرُّكَ منه جودُهُ ورواؤهُ

فبَدْرٌ وغيثٌ مُسْتنيرٌ وهاطِلُ

His generosity and radiant appearance delight you:

a full moon and a rain cloud—one shining, one pouring.

هُمامٌ يضيق القول عن كُنْه وصفه

فسَحْبانُ في عَدِّ المناقِبِ باقِلُ

A high-souled man: speech falls short of his essence and of describing him;

in numbering his virtues, even Sahbān would become a Bāqil.

وسيفٌ بيوم الرَّوْع في كفِّ باسلٍ

وفي الدَّست راسٍ مشمخر حلاحل

And on the day of terror, a sword in a valiant warrior’s hand;

and upon the seat of rule, steadfast and towering, a mighty chief.

أبى أن يُطيع العذل في البأس والنَّدى

فعَمَّ نوالاً واستراحَ العَواذِلُ

He refused to obey reproach in courage or generosity;

so his gifts embraced everyone, and the reproachers found rest.

وأن يبذُلَ المعروفِ إِلا تبرُّعاً

إذا اقْتَسرتْ مالَ البخيلِ المسائل

Nor would he bestow a kindness save as a free gift,

as petitioners wrest wealth from a miser’s grasp;

وأنْ يأخُذ الآرابَ غيرَ مُجاهِرٍ

إذا ما المَباغي شَوَّهتْها المخاتِلُ

nor attain his aims without openly declaring them,

when stratagems have disfigured what is sought;

وأنْ ينقُضَ العهد الوكيد حفيظةً

لديهِ ولو أنَّ الذُّنوبَ زَلازِلُ

nor break a binding covenant out of anger,

though offenses before him were earthquakes;

وأن يقتُل الجاني بغير اغْتِفارهِ

ولو أمكَنتْهُ فُرْصةٌ ومَقاتِلُ

nor kill an offender rather than pardon him,

though opportunity and the means of combat were his.

فتىً أحْرزَ المجدَ الأثيلَ لنفسه

حَليفاهُ حَزْمٌ مُسْتمرٌّ ونائِلُ

A young noble who secured deep-rooted glory for himself;

his two allies are unwavering resolve and liberality.

فلا بُخْل والأيامُ غبرٌ جَديبَةٌ

ولا طيشَ والأحداثُ هوجٌ بواسل

No miserliness, though the days are dust-colored and barren;

no rashness, though events are wild and ruinous.

صَؤولٌ إذا التفَّتْ عليه كتيبةٌ

قؤُولٌ إذا التفَّتْ عليه المَحافِلُ

An assailant when a battalion closes around him,

an orator when assemblies gather around him.

أبو جعفرٍ غرْسُ الخِلافة والذي

يُقِرُّ له بالبأس سيفٌ وذابِلُ

Abū Ja‘far, a shoot of the caliphate—the man

whose valor both sword and lance acknowledge.

يجوزُ على أموالِهِ لِعُفاتِهِ

ولكنه عند الرَّعِيَّةِ عادِلُ

Those who seek his bounty may range freely through his wealth,

yet toward his subjects he remains just.

يقولونَ شِعْرٌ وهو سِحْرٌ تألَّفَ

القُلوبَ فأنْبا عنه حَبْرٌ وجاهِلُ

They call it poetry, though it is magic that has won over

hearts—as learned and ignorant alike attest of him.

ولكنهُ حِلٌّ وهاروتُ مُؤْمِنٌ

وتَخْييلُهُ حَقٌّ وبَغدادُ بابِلُ

Yet it is lawful, and Hārūt is a believer;

its imagining is truth, and Baghdad appears as Babylon.