ما في وقوفك ساعة من باس

There is no harm in pausing for a little while to fulfill our duty to the worn-out traces of the campsite.

Perhaps your eyes will manage to help with their moisture, while tears themselves prove both treacherous and consoling.

Love's drowsy guards bring no comfort to the yearning lover; his eyes are dry of tears and his sighs are cold.

Sudden separation has violated these dwellings, leaving every animal shelter at al-Ram empty.

They are women with radiant collarbones, slender as the flexible, swaying branch of theban tree.

She is a full moon that yielded to the sudden impulse of parting out of passion, yet like the sun, she delights in holding back with shy resistance.

She is a virgin whose smiling flash reveals teeth as bright as chamomile blossoms in soft, yielding earth.

When she walks, she leaves an imprint on your heart twice as heavy as the jangling ornaments she wears.

She said, as the doom of parting fell, while the cupbearer and drinker alike were led astray by its wine:

Do not ever forget those ancient covenants; after all, you were named a human being only because you are prone to forgetting.

The One who created all creatures has apportioned their daily sustenance to sustain the changing watches of time.

Thus the earth finds its welcome hospitality provided by the sky, just as those who hope find theirs in the family of Abbas.

This clan is God's shadow, housing His true religion within them; they stand like the immovable mountain anchors of kings.

Just as every precious jewel bears a brilliant polish, they are the very polish and refinement for all other people.

My restless ambition has found complete rest upon turning to Ahmad, and my loyal allegiances and measures have gathered around him.

He is the chosen one, the elect, the ultimate resource for public praise, who both wears it and bestows it.

Praise is a cloak of beauty worn proudly by glorious deeds, rather than a mere garment of cloth.

He is a noble branch sprung from Hashim, planted in soil uniquely suited to such seedlings.

Rain clouds never forsake his growing-place, nor is the stubborn heart of the earth harsh toward him.

It is as if the two share the milk of the same nursing mother from intense affection, or drink together from the very same cup.

His light is the very brilliance of the wild-flower, and his gentle breath is the fragrance of lavender amid green pastures.

You have carried this glory to its furthest possible limit, displaying the noblest temperament and the finest substance.

You combine the battlefield daring of Amr with the unbounded generosity of Hatim, the deep sagacity of Ahnaf, and the brilliant wit of Iyas.

Do not object when I strike out to compare him to bold, striking exemplars of generosity and martial might.

For God Himself has set forth a lesser simile for His divine light, drawing from the glass niche and the burning lamp.

If you have gathered all the strands of glory right at the dawn of youth, O son of the Caliph, O Abu al-Abbas—

How often has a blazing fire of yours been kindled in the dark night from a single borrowed spark!

And how often have you left a crushing, difficult misfortune subdued and tamed, like a saddle-cloth permanently fitted to a restive mount!

You came to its aid in total destitution—when poverty itself is a burning wound—bringing generosity as a healing physician.

Time treated him so gently through your grace that he began to mistake his hardship for a joyful wedding feast.

Joy has completely overcome my grief because of the abundant kindness and recognition you have shown me.

Gray hair has overtaken youth not through ordinary old age, but out of absolute surrender to fate.

The true mark of our deepest desires is carved upon the heart, while the mere stamp of passing years rests only on the head.

Thus it was when I planted those cherished hopes in such generous soil and built my aspirations upon a firm foundation.