Original content

English translation

The likeness of the beginning of the King's reign Was like Joseph, his brothers, and the well. From the beginning, it was consuming pain and grief, But in the end, it was treasure and enjoying the fruit. That casting into the well for the sake of pain, And that selling of him for eighteen dirhams, His price being eighteen counterfeit coins, or more or less, While he was worth more than eighteen thousand worlds. Since each dirham of his adorned a world, It was exactly eighteen thousand worlds. Although humiliation reached him from his brothers, And the trouble of affliction reached his very soul, In the end, he became the ruler and king of the world; On the sphere of honor, he became the sun and the moon. Even though they were once kings and greater than him, Did they not become beggars at his door? Did they not cast him into the pit? Yet did not that ruin become a crown for him? Even if the brothers deemed it a well, Not every well is the well of Joseph. Wealth is a serpent when a beggar gives it; A well becomes high status when God gives it. Did not Zulaikha, because of his beautiful face, Buy him as a slave and become his devoted servant? For the old woman, in her eyes, He was a master bought with dirhams. Did not the Aziz, when the time of his power came, Think he was a slave, but he came as a king? What is this gift? It is the work of the Resolver of Deeds; And what is this honor? It is the grace of the Lord. If God's grace binds to the dust, Adam goes there and girds his loins. When the head of fire becomes windy, The water of Iblis becomes debased. Was it not the Prophet who turned his face toward Yathrib, Then brought an army and opened Mecca? Did he not feel in need when taking the path? He departed as a fugitive and returned as a king. Without any loss, he returned to his place; Indeed, what harm is there to the sun from its journeying? To his fellow citizens, both men and women, He did not display his splendor until God made him dear. The sky displayed majesty through travel; The moon attained perfection in its journey. Time will pour out water if it wishes, So that the reputation of angels might decrease. When it returns from the pool in its journey, Though it was bitter like colocynth, it becomes sugar. The root of a branch nurtured by God's grace, How can it ever gather dust from the passage of time? The nightingale whom the sphere made dear, Its enemy's wounded cage is full of sharp feathers. Did not Fereydun, nurtured by the cow, Make the hungry lion a captive slave? Did he not, with Kaveh and the efforts of one or two rulers, Take back the ancestral kingdom from Bivarasp? For the sake of expediency, the King gives The old relationship to the new fortune. Did not Alexander, out of enmity, Kill Darius, the son of Darius? May no one see, until the Resurrection, What Shiruyeh did to Parviz. The glory of kingship remains with one's adversary, Whoever reads "I am the glory of the goat" upon themselves. The kingdom of heirs is not lasting; The kingdom of the sword is the enduring kingdom. Among kings, he alone holds in the world Both the inherited kingdom and the kingdom of the sword. Fortune turned his face toward Kerman So that he made the enemy food for the worms. He came to the city, and from his manliness, Justice and generosity were his souvenirs. If he departed like night, he returned like day; And if he departed like winter, he returned like spring. Until he returned to his own city, The eyes of his kingdom and religion did not open. A king should be familiar with compassion; What kind of king is a rash and reckless one? The reckless one ruins the kingdom, And through recklessness, the army ruins the kingdom. No one saw salvation in recklessness, Nor did they see the face of peace and rectitude. For a country, two kings are a disease; In a single body, one heart is better than two. Time will crush a world of gnats in their place By two side-rubbing elephants. A single shooting star is enough for a world of demons; A sun-king is enough for the heavens. You will find dust from foot to knee In a house that has two housewives. This proverb is indeed spoken of a house That is swept by two housewives. If you want your head broken from the ground, Ride two colts at a single stable. Before him, consider the enemy as a mirage, Or consider them like quicksilver under the sun. Every head that sought a crown from him Became like a candle with a fiery hat. He knows the ruby of the mine from the stone of malice; He knows the base man from the man of religion. Time knows well the unpleasant and the pleasant; Consider fire as the assayer of wood and aloe-wood. He knows who the candle of the nation is; He recognizes who the source of the state is. He distinguishes the devil from the ruler; He knows the rain of mercy from the flood. Before this, although it was a nurturer of men, The name of Bahram (Mars) was the Lesser Malefic. Since the King became the namesake of Bahram, The heavens named him the Greater Benefic. Full of pearls, from that sun-like beauty, Are the hem of fortune and the sleeve of hope. The old world has become young because of him; Religion and state have become manifest through him. He brought together, by lineage and by battle, The inherited kingdom and the sword like that of Haidar. Whoever turns the sea to dust from heat, How can they hunt fish from a frying pan? He left the kingdom out of lordship, And preserved his soul out of wisdom. To preserve the soul is better than a kingdom; A pearl of the sea is better than the wood of the sky. The kingdom desired a heart and justice; He placed that desire in the lap of the kingdom. He brought religion and the kingdom close together; He brought embroidery to the garment of the sacred law. When the King endured this grandeur, He turned dust into wealth and water into wine. Like the moon in its waning phase, yet with honor, The King departed, and the King of Kings returned. His kingdom shall be the kingdom of Rome and China; Since I cast an omen, so it shall be. His servants shall be Arslan and Beg, Otherwise they are but two dogs at his threshold. If his vengeance makes its way toward China, You would not distinguish the people of China from mandrake. Their spirits departed, no victories remaining; Their bodies dead, no soul left in them. His kingdom is for the sake of justice and religion; A king nurtured by God is thus. O King of Kings, by right of worthiness For the kingdom of all horizons, The heavens seat one such as you, So that you may know the heavens know well. They placed the crown of the kingdom upon his head, Because they knew who was worthy of the kingdom. His manliness gave him the umbrella of state, the kingdom, and the signet ring; I ask you, has he not done well? When he took the kingdom with his sword like the sun, Fortune said to him, "Enjoy your throne!" Because of his royal justice and virtue, The wild ass became a housemate with the lion. The wing of the falcon became like the state of the sparrow-hawk; The treasury of doubt became empty of sparrows. The kingdom, under the shadow of his royal umbrella, Has comfortably stretched out its four hands and feet in luxury. Justice is beautiful and full of splendor because of him; Tyranny, through him, has gone into a sweet slumber. When the throne saw the face of the King, it said, "Aha!"; Fortune said, "My Lord and your Lord is God." When it saw the preparation of his chivalry, Victory came to serve his manliness. The seven, the five, and the four, from his generosity, Are with the three letters from the beginning of his name. Consequently, from these three: religion, bounty, and high status, As there are three letters, he is king over both worlds. For all the children of the heavens, always, There are two letters from the edge of the name. He has the generosity of the world and the thrift of religion; He holds honor over both worlds through this. In loyalty and generosity, with soul and wealth, Neither survival makes him faint-hearted, nor does decline. His character is a partner with Paradise; Therefore, he does not fear death or need. When his palm decides to bestow, You are the world-giver, so bestow upon the world. It was said in jest, for his generosity: "May God multiply his kingdom and his justice." The sun, having seen that beautiful face like the moon, Said, "Then, there is no god but God." If the millstone runs on his character, Immediately, plants will grow from the millstone. He has given the gold of the mine to the world, As alms for soul and life. Since God chose him, Anger is bewildered and wandering like a millstone. His adversary is senseless from fear of him, Crying out and roaring like a millstone. Free from blemish, deficiency, and excess Is the kingdom of Mahmud and the family of the Prophet. This one cast the idols out of the Kaaba; That one cleared Somnath of idols. The Kaaba and Somnath, like the heavens, Became clean through Mahmud and Muhammad. Of two rulers, one is unwise; Two swords in one scabbard are bad. The sword is solitary like a lion; What are the lion and the sword? The brave king. A king's nature is fire and the sea; The earth and relationship with him are like the wind of the air. With two kings, the kingdom and religion would be sick; The mother of the kingdom would be barren because of it. Do not pull the reins of corruption any further than this, For such is the covenant of the kingdom. When the King sat upon the throne of his kingdom, His hand broke the foot of tyranny. The kingdom, with the auspiciously-minded King, Drags the hem of honor underfoot. The goblet of the King's love is in his hand; The army of victory and triumph is in his rank. For this reason, he drinks night and day The syrup of the love of the religion-illuminating King. His gratitude is the gratitude of the inhabitants of the earth; His kindness is the vessel and the beauty of the houris of paradise. He puts sedition and tyranny to sleep, Making the prosperous kingdom like a ruined drunkard. Sedition went to sleep due to his majesty; Justice woke up because of his fortune. His justice is soul-increasing and grief-reducing; His virtue, like life, is soul-demanding. The glory and name of destiny are from his appearance; The pride and shame of fate are from his robe of honor. The pupil of the eye writes down his words As a dictation for his soul and body. In speech, his word is like lawful magic; In the world, his generosity is like sweet, clear water. Before his judgment, destiny is slow-moving; Before his decree, caution runs empty. The fruit of the branch of his generosity, always Has reached everywhere like the Tuba tree. From his character, there is born like a flower from the breeze; His hand, like the eye of the narcissus, is full of gold and silver. Wherever the character of our King is, To mention the musk of Cathay is an error. When...