To Sayf al-Dawla

Resolutions are measured against those who make them; generosity in accordance with the giver.

***

Littleness is magnified by small men, while grandeur is deprecated by the great.

***

Sayf al-Dawla imposes upon the army his will, yet seasoned armies cannot achieve it.

***

He asks from men all that he has in himself, though even lions would not claim to match that.

***

Dose al-Hadath know of its red color? Or which of the two pourers was a cloud?

***

White-streaked clouds had watered al-Hadath before his arrival; when he approached, it was inundated with skulls.

***

The enemy came at you, hauling their weapons as if they traveled on legless horses.

***

When their ranks caught the light, their swords remained unseen, since their shirts and turbans were also made from steel.

***

You stayed where you were, when doing so meant certain death: as if perdition itself slept while you stood in its eyelid.

***

Wounded and fleeting, heroes passed you by, while your face remained bright and your lips, smiling.

***

You surpassed the bounds of courage and understanding, until people claimed that you knew the unseen.

***

To you belongs the praise for these pearls I pronounce; you are the giver, I the arranger.

***

Oh, Sword never sheathed, whom none can doubt and from whom there is no refuge.

***

Blessed are warfare, glory and eminence; blessed are your subjects and all of Islam, for you are safe!