Hassan the poet, surnamed al-ʿArqala, recited in the Madrasa of Nūr al-Dīn on the day the king was buried there—may Allah Most High have mercy on him (1):

[Metre: al-Wāfir]
“Within a school where all things must one day fade (2),
yet it shall ever abide, safeguarded by knowledge and devotion.
Its fragrance of fame has wafted eastward and westward (3)
by the grace of Nūr al-Dīn Maḥmūd ibn Zankī.
He speaks—and his word is pure truth and certainty—
without allusion and without a trace of doubt.
Damascus among the cities is the house of my dominion,
and this, among the colleges, is the very house (4) of my kingdom.”

[His grave is well-known in Damascus; it is visited, and its lattice is anointed with perfume so that every passer-by is refreshed by its scent. People call him “Nūr al-Dīn the Martyr” because of the quinsy that afflicted his throat; the same epithet was given to his father, who was also styled “the Martyr” and bore the honorific al-Qasīm. The Franks used to call him “the son of al-Qasīm.”] (5)

Description of Nūr al-Dīn—may Allah (6) the Exalted (7) have mercy on him:
He was tall of stature, dusky of complexion, soft-eyed, broad-foreheaded, handsome of face, and Turkish in feature. He wore no beard save upon his chin. Possessed of awe yet marked by humility, the dignity and light of Islam shone upon him. He held (8) the foundations of the Sacred Law in the utmost veneration—may Allah have mercy on him (9).

Section
When (10) King Nūr al-Dīn died in Shawwāl of this year—i.e., the year 569 AH (11)—