A Serenade to His Sleeping Mistress, by Ali Ben Abd Algany, of Cordova

Arabian Poetry, by W. A. Clouston, [1881], at sacred-texts.com

p. 146

A SERENADE

TO HIS SLEEPING MISTRESS.

BY ALI BEN ABD ALGANY, OF CORDOVA.

SURE Harut's ^* potent spells were breathed
  Upon that magic sword, thine eye;
For if it wounds us thus while sheathed,
  When drawn ’tis vain its edge to fly.

How canst thou doom me, cruel fair,
  Plunged in the hell ^† of scorn, to groan?
No idol e’er this heart could share
  This heart has worshipped thee alone.

Footnotes

146:* A wicked angel, who is permitted to tempt mankind by teaching them magic: see the legend respecting him in Sale's Korān.

146:† The poet here alludes to the punishments denounced in the Koran against those who worship a plurality of gods: "their couch shall be in hell, and over them shall be coverings of fire." Sur. 2.