Response to Muawiyah I
by Marwan I, translated by Muhammad Diyab al-Atlidi
550610Response to Muawiyah IMuhammad Diyab al-AtlidiMarwan I

Be not hasty, Commander of the Faithful, for verily thy vow shall be redeemed in private and in public.

Though overcome by admiration, I acted not unlawfully, for how could I bear the titles oppressor, adulterer?

Hold me excused, for surely, hadst thou seen her, my passion had been thine, by nature's inevitable law. This sun will soon approach thee; there is not her peer within the realms of men or of genii.