Sol 5.6

  1. Sleepless I lie, and my heart cannot recover from you;

    you have made my enemies rejoice, though you are a friend.

  2. The dream-visitant that came from you in sleep has been turned away

    by your turning from me; and so the heart remains full of longing.

  3. I learned estrangement from you when I forsook sleep;

    and now sleep has no path into my eyes.

  4. A sorrowing soul denies me patience,

    and a heart keeps company with every kind of care.

  5. Sleeplessness and tears together undertook my cares:

    the one lies pent within them, while the other runs free.

  6. A gazelle-like youth—if the full moon saw his radiant face,

    his face would surely eclipse the moon, radiant though it was.

  7. Fine is the watered-steel pattern of his beauty; as for his sash,

    it flutters loose, while his anklet grows tight.

  8. The season of union lowered its gaze when there appeared

    gleaming white hairs upon my head, flashing.

  9. Farewell to the days of youth now gone,

    when life was fresh and time itself was fair;

  10. when the daughters of curtained chambers gazed toward me,

    like lightning flashing among the clouds;

  11. full-bodied beauties like white gazelles—as for their faces,

    they were pearls, while their cheeks were carnelian.

  12. They lifted beauty's veil from themselves and shone forth,

    lamps at heaven's gates, enchanting the eye.

  13. They resembled oryx-cows of the dunes—is any remnant left,

    even a slender cord of union with you?

  14. They severed the bond of union, firm though it was,

    with a sword of estrangement that ill befitted them.

  15. There is no attainment save that I steal a glance,

    and no union save one betrayed by a sigh.

  16. Or that hopes spread wide across the court of glory—

    a hope that heals longing even as it awakens it.

  17. I show the slanderous talebearers a smile,

    while the pupil of my eye is drowned in tears.

  18. I have one saying among the people, seeking by it

    nothing from them but to be called a faithful friend.

  19. Will you not thank God, since there has arisen among you

    an imam of guidance, deep-rooted in noble deeds?

  20. He establishes God's judgment among His servants

    with a tongue fluent in the verses of the Book.

  21. The caliphate of Abd Allah is a pilgrimage on behalf of humankind:

    in its age there is neither lewdness nor transgression.

  22. An imam of guidance, who revived for us the lifeblood of guidance,

    while souls surged toward death for him, vying to outdo one another.

  23. Worthy is he of the heights his hands have attained;

    and what through him we have attained of them is likewise deserved.

  24. He governs the realm of the two Wests,

    well fitted to govern the realm of the two Easts.

  25. The deep darkness of injustice lifted before the light of his justice,

    as sunrise breaks within the wing of night.

  26. He straightened religion's arrow with justice and piety:

    the one supplies its point, the other its nock.

  27. He fastened the cords of guidance to his conscience,

    and has no attachment except to them.

  28. The impediments of his kingship did not hinder him from them,

    though men like him are hindered from their like.

  29. When the Gardens of Eden are opened and brought near,

    you will be there, a companion to the prophets.

  30. Ah, may my father ransom one whose heart feels no concern for me—

    while I have a heart tenderly concerned for him.

  31. There is no attainment save that I steal a glance,

    and no union save one betrayed by a sigh.

  32. Or that hopes spread wide across the court of glory—

    a hope that heals longing even as it awakens it.

  33. I show the slanderous talebearers a smile,

    while the pupil of my eye is drowned in tears.

  34. I have one saying among the people, seeking by it

    nothing from them but to be called a faithful friend.

  35. Will you not thank God, since there has arisen among you

    an imam of guidance, deep-rooted in noble deeds?

  36. He establishes God's judgment among His servants

    with a tongue fluent in the verses of the Book.

  37. The caliphate of Abd Allah is a pilgrimage on behalf of humankind:

    in its age there is neither lewdness nor transgression.

  38. An imam of guidance, who revived for us the lifeblood of guidance,

    while souls surged toward death for him, vying to outdo one another.

  39. Worthy is he of the heights his hands have attained;

    and what through him we have attained of them is likewise deserved.

  40. He governs the realm of the two Wests,

    well fitted to govern the realm of the two Easts.

  41. The deep darkness of injustice lifted before the light of his justice,

    as sunrise breaks within the wing of night.

  42. He straightened religion's arrow with justice and piety:

    the one supplies its point, the other its nock.

  43. He fastened the cords of guidance to his conscience,

    and has no attachment except to them.

  44. The impediments of his kingship did not hinder him from them,

    though men like him are hindered from their like.

  45. When the Gardens of Eden are opened and brought near,

    you will be there, a companion to the prophets.

  46. Ah, may my father ransom one whose heart feels no concern for me—

    while I have a heart tenderly concerned for him.

Sol 5.6