Al-Farazdaq replies to Umayyad Caliph Hisham

This is he whose footsteps Makkan soil knows

To God’s House he’s no stranger; in and out its boroughs [1]

This is the son of God Almighty’s choicest creation

This is the luminary radiant, of utmost purification

This is the son of Fatimah, in case to you unbeknownst

To his grandfather amidst Prophets lies the final post

And your chiding « Who is this!? » from him won’t detract

Both Arab and Persian know the one you attack [2]

His hands are the rain, their providence extensive

Everywhere sought, of no nourishment defective

His disposition gentle, his instincts not feared

In etiquette and temperament, both he’s revered

Peoples’ burden-bearer when they’re in duress

Altogether lovely, with a penchant for « Yes! »

He’s never said no, except in God’s testimony [3]

Otherwise, affirmation would be his sole affinity

Embracing creation with virtues effulgent

Erasing all darkness and dearths, repugnant

When beholds him Quraysh, their chief does proclaim

« Beyond this man’s morals no one can attain! »

Forbearing out of modesty, forborn by sagacity [4]

He’s addressed and addresses in geniality [5]

In his hand is a staff whose scent does pervade

But its owner’s yet sweeter, more fragrant in grade

The Stone of Ishmael, yearning for his breeze [6]

When he pays it homage, his hand it does seize

Eternal with God is his honor and might

In His Sacred Tablet the Pen this does write

Which in existence isn’t bound in subjection

To this one’s antecedence or to his affection?

One beholden to God beholds his supremacy

For religion’s not sought except from his pedigree

He belongs to faith’s peak, which isn’t surmounted,

Its heights leave even skilled limbs astounded

The one whose grandfather’s merits surpass

All other Prophets, and whose nation’s first-class

Cleaved from God’s Messenger is this noble stream

How pure is its produce, its morals supreme!

His countenance rents droves of darkness asunder

Like the Sun, it chases the night with its thunder

He is from a brood whose love is religion

Of whose hate is heinous, proximity: redemption

After only my Lord proceeds their salutation

At every commencement and at termination

If the pious are tallied, then they’re the trailblazers

Or if asked « Who’s the best? » then they merit all favors

Noble knights—their chivalry—cannot emulate

And no people can rival, even should they be great

They’re rainclouds of mercy in calamity

And lions ferocious in war’s tenacity

Trial tempers not their magnanimity

Selfsame they are whether in wealth or poverty

Evil and woe deflect with their affection

And by them is sought blessing and perfection [7]

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Footnotes

[1] Meaning he is known both inside the Holy Sanctuary (al-haram) and outside it (al-hill).

[2] Persian (‘ajam) be translated as non-Arab here as well, however the implication is towards the Imam’s being of mixed heritage: both Arab and Persian, by virtue of which he is known by both ethnicities.

[3] The ‘no’ referenced here is the one in the kalimah: there is no god but God.

[4] In other words, he is clement due to his chastity and engenders the mercy of others due to their awe for him.

[5] In Arabic, a single word is used which can be declined in two ways, leading to a double entendre which is hard to render in English. The meaning is thus that he speaks and is spoken to only when he’s cheery.

[6] The Stone of Ishmael, or Al-Hateem, is thought to be the remnant of the original stones laid as the foundation of the Ka’bah by Ishmael; it obviously carries special sanctity.

[7] There are other variants of Farazdaq’s eulogy with even more stanzas, however this manuscript has been chosen for the purposes of brevity.