1. For God has valiant horsemen like surging floods,
Who fear not the onset of destiny,

2. And when they ride for their needs,
They don gauntlets that pierce every sharp blade,

3. And they gird themselves tightly and carry only spears
And skill in thrusting them home.

4. With famous tried blades whose strokes
Are hidden in the cuirasses of the foe,

5. And every seasoned warrior has a spear
That flashes like lightning or the tongue of flame,

6. They love the fight when the melee is joined
In its passionate advance and recoil,

7. A mare whom, when she is challenged,
Her rage makes her rush into the midst of the foe.

8. A people who, when they grow angry, do not recover themselves
Till they have sheathed their swords in men's breasts,

9. And the leader plunges with his own life into the perils of war,
The goal of the sojourn lengthy campaigns.

10. Their steeds find no rest or sleeping place
Save on the brink of dangers and alarms,

11. From their resolves and anxieties strike sparks,
Like those that fly from flint and steel.

12. A soul habituated to glory's pride
Is averse from truce or retreat.

13. That his heart should find comfort leaning
On the bosom of a sweetly scented wife,

14. He has abandoned all delights and dear ones, so his lids
No longer close - they are like the wings of ants.

15. It would not harm the eye if you healed it
By closing it or treating it with collyrium.

16. And the commoners hope at his gate
For a whiff of air from his gentle hand to the visitors,

17. Till when the curtain lifts its veils,
His awesomeness dazzles all who look.

18. And I came to him one day in his pavilion empty,
And he favored me with permission and precedence.

19. And generously bestowed honor, saying it is
The link with the exalted and greeting of freeman to freeman.

20. Those Akharids whom you imprisoned
In the fortresses of the hills and rugged places,

21. And whom you folded up in the land of Isfahan
Till dawn shone upon their gathered forces,

22. In a night whose crescent the darkness stole away
As if it were a bracelet in the horizon,

23. A pillar of fire that slumbers over the seekers
And progresses over the enemy without their knowledge,

24. And the Banu Khafaja whom you punished
A long day with evil in Anbar,

25. Who come down from the impact of battle as if they are
The flight of arrows stirred by bowstrings,

26. In time of woe, I find them steadfast
Not inclining to the fatal wells,

27. Though you left the loyalty of their alliance and faithfulness
And they came to you clad in robes of shame,

28. And I see that in adversity worship is hard
Its direction never increases save reluctance,

29. They felt secure from misfortunes as if they had not seen
Traces of city folk and those who chatter idly,

30. And your good fortune which preceded them
Was bounties Udad had given, and Rabi'ah ibn Nizam,

31. By the life of their ancestor, I warned them
If only they had listened to the warning,

32. If autumn has deceived us, and the clouds
Have created doubts, harbingers of rain,

33. And the diseased eyelid whose sight is impaired
Beware lest Spring prove true - beware!

34. Till when the meadows and pastures shine,
They look to you with eyes of fire,

35. And Wasim has entrusted his domain to you, so its impact
Comes from your outcry and every near and distant spot.

36. Then you will hear the bells of columns
In which the saddles surge with warriors,

37. Their palms have hurried to grasp the spears,
Their cuirasses with unbuttoned straps,

38. Raiment whose train sweeps the ground when it is donned
After overflowing over the fingernails.

39. They sought the death-shrouds and breasts
In which to rest their wounded, broken frames,

40. You knew the passes, and the lands obeyed
Throughout the long sojourn in the abode.

41. How can the way to Syria now be hers
After the world's regions have seized her?

42. She is content if a rider brings her news,
Even if it be a trifle of reports,

43. Till when they sought your pardon for themselves,
They sought the pardon of the mighty, forgiving Lord.

44. They sought the one whose patience's composure
Bore the heavy burdens they carried of sins.

45. You still rise to the highest degrees,
While the light of lights envies your shining,

46. And through your perfect son endowed with glory,
You have attained in the highest sphere.

47. How excellent the caliph succeeding you,
When the earth brings forth and the neighbor raids the neighbor!

48. And we will offer him poems that soar
Whose wild geese are guided to all lands.

49. You have disciplined your army and subjects, taking
Custom by hand to spread it and forbid evil.

50. And you distributed God's wealth when you collected it
Among them without delay or favoritism.

51. And you have chosen a band after testing them,
Sharing with them in benefits and injuries alike,

52. After fully examining them and trying them
And gathering them in the arena of trial,

53. Your night remains wakeful and watchful,
Taking precautions and privy to secrets,

54. Devising stratagems no cunning beast with cycles
Could scheme by his wiles or experience.

55. And praise is not fitting, but for one
Whose leadership is over the noble ones.