Sol 5.6

  1. The mother of Jesus has but one bond of kinship;

    in three does Fatima glory.

  2. She is the delight of the eye of the best of former generations:

    the Seal of the Messengers and the best of later generations—

  3. he who breathed spirit into a world of frailty,

    shaper of the age, renewer of its ways.

  4. And she is the wife of al-Murtada—that hero,

    the Lion of God, the wise and decisive arbiter:

  5. a king who chose to dwell in a hut, renouncing the world;

    all that he owned was a shield and a sword.

  6. And she is mother of the two most noble lords:

    Hasan, best of the forbearing, and Husayn.

  7. The former was a lamp amid the Sanctuary’s darkness,

    preserving the unity of the best of nations.

  8. He renounced kingship in pursuit of concord

    and quenched the fires among the brothers.

  9. The latter, among the righteous, was a lord of resolve,

    an exemplar to free men amid all-encompassing calamity.

  10. Children’s character is the handiwork of mothers,

    and virtuous traits bear mothers’ imprint.

  11. A flower in the garden of truth—the Chaste One,

    the Chaste One, exemplar of women in righteousness.

  12. The beggar’s need made her tears fall;

    to a Jew she sold her shield.

  13. Everyone on earth had yielded to her,

    yet her delight lay in pleasing her husband.

  14. She grew up amid patience and contentment,

    the Qur’an upon her lips, the hand-mill in her palm.

  15. Her tears flowed from reverent fear of God;

    in her place of prayer, they outshone jewels.

  16. The Trusty Spirit gathered up those pearls

    and scattered them upon the Exalted Throne.

  17. Were it not that sacred law forbade me this—

    and the Messenger’s law is the final authority—

  18. I would circle the grave in reverence for her,

    scattering some of my prostrations around her.

Sol 5.6