Sol 6.1

  1. And he is the one whose fingertips never cease to rain

    Gifts, overflowing like the Nile and like the clouds.

  2. And he is the one whose gifts in our age open the

    Mouths in his honor to wondrous praise and orations.

  3. Were it not for the bounty of al-Ashraf, whose omen is blessed,

    Life in our age would be neither pleasant nor sweet.

  4. With bounty and sword, in days of giving and death,

    He protected mankind from hunger, and wild beasts from starvation.

  5. Take what you see from him of routing battalions and

    Abundant generosity, and leave what is written in books.

  6. The shining sun has never met his radiant brow in the

    Daytime except with a face unashamed.

  7. For the sea and sun have never had their equals

    In any age governed by the hand of the eras.

  8. His goodwill exhausts what he owns before anyone asks, just as

    His might destroys enemies in the hour of anger.

  9. And I do not liken him to a lion, for it is his

    Prey; how can a falcon be compared with a male bustard?

  10. So good fortune serves him, and victory goes before him;

    So if he wished, he would shatter hard bow-wood with willow.

  11. So the army is like the joints of a spear, ranged in unbroken order,

    And he is the spearhead before the clamorous host.

  12. A spear, if you do not crown it with its keen point

    On the day of thrusting with it, is nothing but reed.

  13. O Time, if you show me no kindness, I have

    Musa, so I have no fear of calamities' fangs.

  14. And after God's kindness, I have nothing but the bounty of

    His right hand, which comes to me without cause.

  15. But hope of God's reward impels him

    To acts of mercy—not my merit or my literary skill.

  16. God formed him from the light of His mercy,

    So creation calls him: "O reliever of distress!"

  17. Muzaffar al-Din, may congratulations never leave you

    For all that fulfills the soul's wishes and desires.

  18. Congratulations on the lofty palace: powerless

    To describe it are the eloquent of non-Arabs and Arabs.

  19. Like a palace in spacious Paradise, it is envied by

    Kisra's vaulted hall, despite all its choice splendors.

  20. A river cuts through it—what a river!

    As though it were al-Kawthar, [granted to] the best of prophets.

  21. The engineer laid out two level lines within it,

    So the water races at a canter and a trot.

  22. His palace is like a king upon his throne,

    All palaces before it kissing its thresholds.

  23. Like al-Ashraf, the king and sovereign, before whom bow

    The haughty kings, bending upon their knees.

  24. Its bitter oranges, like graceful maidens' breasts, are envied by

    The eyes of its green-stemmed narcissi.

  25. In its shade are melodies of strings; you delight in the

    Fulfillment of desires, through clamor arising in company.

  26. In a garden where houris and youths roam at ease,

    And none is absent from Ridwan's favor.

  27. And all that souls desire within it

    You find: diverting delight and whatever you seek.

  28. And no lion, wide of maw and thick of mane,

    Ruddy-whiskered, mighty in dealing destruction,

  29. With a hide like the armor of a warrior's

    Horse, coveting the victim, not the spoils,

  30. Grim-faced, a fierce, bone-crushing lion,

    A mighty lion who has never feared death or felt dread,

  31. With hooked claws jutting out like

    Half-crescents from a dyed cloak,

  32. Before whom thick-necked lions remain submissive,

    In fear, striking the ground with their chins in terror—

  33. Is ever greater than Musa the Victorious, if

    The mill of war turns with its clamorous host.

  34. O our Lord, break the customary order for him, for our sake,

    So that he may be seen never cut off from eternal life.

  35. May he remain in sovereignty as long as the breeze blows and

    The gray doves sing for joy among the leaves.

Sol 6.1