You would see his face gleam, radiant with delight for every petitioner—a sunrise of keen brilliance.
A smile instantly shone forth whenever he extended his bounty, a mark of kindness toward the poor and the weak.
He surpassed the celebrated generosity of the earliest Barmakids, and his virtues folded up the old tales of Ḥātim al-Taʾī.
Whoever came to seek from him beheld the largesse of kings alongside the humble life of the poor.
⦗150⦘ His munificence outstripped the drenching downpour of rain-laden clouds; such indeed are the gifts of the truly noble.
Generosity forever elevates its people among humankind, while miserliness hurls the miserly down.
And when battle flared (1), his courage rose to secure victory for the faith in the very heat of combat.
Ask Ghāzān about him, and ask that ruler’s commanders when they came bearing the vanguard of captives.
Though the Mongols (2) had seized both lands and peoples, how many a prisoner did he set free without the least hardship!
Likewise at Shaqhab, when the Tatars advanced in an overwhelming flood (3) beyond all dispute,
The Muslims had agreed to dismount, while to the onlooker the Mongols were still a distant sight.
Who but he (4) urged the sultan and the emirs that evening not to dismount?
He declared, “Stand firm, for the token of victory has already arrived” (5)—and victory was granted at the very moment of encounter.
He pressed on to the mountains of Kisrawān, which thereupon signaled their own destruction after a long span of survival.