Sol 6.1

  1. O Abu al-Fadl—father, son and brother of excellence,

    Its radiance, its adornment and its graces,

  2. And resembling his two forebears—for if he

    Appears, we take him for his grandfather and father.

  3. A mountain before which gazing eyes grow weary;

    Its foot is generosity, and glory its summit.

  4. I had never ceased hearing of your excellence, until

    Sight confirmed what had already been told about you.

  5. You are who you are—an heir to inborn excellence;

    The branch has matched its root and mirrored it.

  6. Scornful of whoever wears arrogance as a trait,

    Though you have both its grounds—wealth and rank.

  7. And a brother of reason, should he stoop to a failing,

    Is restrained by his reason from the abysses of desire.

  8. Closeness to you delighted me, though time ever

    Mingles the sweetness of its union with its parting.

  9. To it, treacherous by nature, it is all the same

    Whether its good reaches us, or something else.

  10. I am enamored of your grandfather's books for their learning:

    He is the sea, and all the rest are pools.

  11. So when you return safely, lend them

    To one whose thanks and praise will repay you.

  12. And surely spreading knowledge is the greatest virtue;

    So seize it, for you have attained its fullest measure.

  13. May you journey and return, uplifted,

    Ever hearing good and seeing it.

  14. And may danger's eye remain closed to you,

    While the eye of what you desire stays wakeful for you,

  15. As long as the garden folds its secret beneath night's wing,

    And its east breeze divulges it to the morning.

Sol 6.1