English
In Praise of Abu Bakr ibn Sa'd ibn Zangi
My nature never wanted this kind of thing; praising kings was never my aim.
But I composed these verses under a certain name, so that people of insight might say one day:
That Sa'di, who carried off the prize of eloquence, lived in the days of Abu Bakr ibn Sa'd.
It is fitting that I take pride in his age, as a lord once took pride in the age of Nushirvan.
No world guardian, no just and faith nurturing ruler, has come like Abu Bakr since Umar.
Crown of the great, head of the proud, take pride, O world, in the age of his justice.
If anyone flees from strife to seek refuge, no land but this offers him a resting place.
Blessed is this ancient house, and blessed are those who come to it from every distant road.
I have never seen such treasure, kingdom, and throne, all dedicated to the child, the poor, and the old.
No aching grief ever came before him without his laying a healing balm upon its heart.
He seeks the good and lives in hope; O God, grant the hope he holds.
The corner of his crown touches the highest heaven, yet from humility his head still bends to earth.
If a beggar shows humility, it is simply his nature; but humility from the mighty is beautiful.
If someone lowly stumbles, what does it matter? The one who lifts the fallen is truly God's man.
His good name does not stay hidden; the fame of his generosity travels the world.
A wise man of blessed lineage like him, the world has never remembered, as long as the world has stood.
In his days you will not find a single sufferer crying out against the tyranny of any strong hand.
No one has seen such custom, order, and law; even Fereydun, for all his splendor, never saw this.
His rank stands high before God for this reason: that the hand of the weak is made strong by his dignity.
He has spread his shade over a whole world, so that an old woman need not fear even a Rustam.
People always lament the cruelty of the times and the turning of the heavens.
But in the days of your justice, O king, no one complains against the age.
In your era I see people at peace; what will become of them after you, I do not know.
It is also thanks to your happy fortune that Sa'di's chronicle falls within your days.
So that as long as moon and sun exist in the sky, your name lives on forever in this book.
If kings ever earned a good name, they learned their conduct from those who came before.
But in the way you rule, you have outstripped all the kings before you.
Alexander, with a wall of bronze and stone, narrowed the world's path against Gog.
Your barrier against the Gog of unbelief is made of gold, not of bronze like Alexander's wall.
Any eloquent tongue that fails to thank you for this peace and justice, may that tongue fall silent.
What an ocean of mercy, what a mine of bounty you are, that all beings draw their support from your being.
I see the king's virtues beyond all counting; they will not fit in the narrow field of a book.
If Sa'di were to set them all down, he would need to dictate another whole volume.
I fall short of thanking so much generosity; better that I open my hands in prayer.
May the world go as you wish and fortune be your friend; may the Creator of the world protect you.
May your high star light up the world, and the fading star of your enemy be burned away.
May the turning of time bring you no sorrow, and may no dust of worry settle on your heart.
For a single grief in the heart of kings can trouble the heart of an entire world.
May your heart and your country stay whole and flourishing; may all division be far from your realm.
May your body stay sound like faith itself, and the enemy's heart be feeble like his plotting.
May your inner self be glad through God's support; may your heart, faith, and land all prosper.
May the Creator of the world have mercy on you; anything else I could say is just wind and fable.
Let this alone be enough from the glorious God: that your success in doing good keeps growing.
Sa'd ibn Zangi did not leave the world in grief, for he left a famous heir like you.
No wonder such a branch grew from that pure root, whose soul is at the summit though his body lies in earth.
O God, upon that renowned resting place, by your grace, pour down the rain of mercy.
If any memory of Sa'd ibn Zangi remains, may fortune stand beside the good luck of Abu Bakr.