With a ready mind⦗1⦘ whose brilliance shines forth—no one denies the light of even a single shooting star⦗2⦘.
The shaykh of all the shaykhs of Islam, the mufti of both camps, the authoritative proof of the Arabs.
He adorned my ears with words like pearls: when retold they, in turn, refresh⦗3⦘ with pearl-laden showers.
A solution as delicate as kohl; my rapture sprang from coining a similitude sweeter than any blow could be.
My riddle had been of silver in both worth and verse⦗4⦘, yet now it has been turned to gold.
So pride belongs to Majd through Shihab, and to Shihab through Majd—the very pinnacle of lineage.
A summit that even the sky⦗5⦘ itself deems the offspring of the sunrise in noble descent⦗6⦘.
Though the traces of his hometown have vanished—once the choicest of lands and soils—
The broad horizon has become his dwelling in its stead, endowing him with a grace that soars above all ranks⦗7⦘.
My heart has become for him a homeland, a place of solace for every exile⦗8⦘.
This is my praise from within obscurity; yet were my fortune awakened⦗9⦘, it would outstrip every hope.
So live long, perfected in courtesy—an ample spread of virtue, both far-reaching and near.