Test

It is narrated by Al-Mas’oudi in Murooj-adh-Dhahab that al-Imam ‘Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi (as) was called into the court of the Abbasid caliph Mutawakkil while the latter was indulging in alcohol and merrymaking. He was called to partake of it, but the Imam abstained stating “My flesh and blood can never mingle with alcohol.” Then Mutawakkil asked the Imam whether he fancies poetry, to which he replied, “I am not a poet.” Nonetheless, Mutawakkil insisted to hear the Imam compose, perhaps in an attempt to humiliate him. The Imam responded impromptu with a legendary sonnet so eloquent that Mutawakkil broke down in profuse tears. The poem is well-known, however has never been translated into metered rhymed English poetry, which we have endeavored to do while preserving the meaning. The poem is matchless in Arabic eloquence and our English translation can only approximate its spell-binding power.