1. I read the letters brought by these messengers,
The gifts, courtesies and generosity,

2. Yet no coat of mail protects the king from you,
No refuge but pleading and selflessness.

3. No lion has an edge over another lion
Unless one tames the other with its wisdom.

4. Say to Ibn Qutb al-Din: it was you
Who wronged yourself out of ignorance.

5. You started a war beyond your men's mettle
With no horses or footmen to assist you.

6. The wise warned what they knew, but you
Were deaf, so advice was futile.

7. When things became clear, you sought
Peace that should have come sooner.

8. Ahmad arbitrated, made peace too hard
For you to bear, an unbearable burden.

9. Reluctantly you agreed to accept his judgment
Only to live in poverty, shunning even death.

10. Did not Ibn ‘Ajlān's case serve as a lesson
To those lured by his courtesy and patience?

11. He attacked one who sought refuge in Mecca
Though no land on earth is sacred to God.

12. He left him be till he controlled everything,
No sanctum was safe from him anymore.

13. Seeing no other way, he took his place
As a spear thrown for his sense of justice.

14. This was seemly in Mecca, which follows
No creed but God's in managing affairs.

15. Musa ibn ‘Isa's lands were restored to him
Laid waste before, his clan left scattered.

16. Now he holds court receiving taxes
From all the burdened backs within his realm.

17. Shu‘bah stays in that farthest region
Fearing harm to the allies under his care.

18. They refer disputes to his gate
For him to judge the aggressor without fail.

19. As for Dar Dub, he disobeyed Salam
But a slave girl has no mother before her mistress.

20. Ask Khurash about those he robbed on her terraces,
Those the commoners complained of to him.

21. He killed and imprisoned them without sparing
One man of Mudar who could wield a sword or spear.

22. Ask ‘Abs and Jinth how they fared
Like a female mount made to bear her stallion.

23. He turned the land of preachers and Wasit
Into rostrums warning those who stray.

24. The chieftains, as you know, ruled our land
By word and deed, as if they were its kings.

25. They sheltered those who feared kings in their ignorance
And gave advice, excusing and forgiving.

26. They thought Ibn Isma‘il would flee
If dusty winds blew, seeking water and shade.

27. They softened him with patient endurance
And guided the wild cat in the desert lest it go astray.

28. So remind them of times gone by, drag them
And empty lands not quite devoid of them.

29. Bring low the Arabia's powers from Sarid
And Sihām whose lands lie exposed and barren.

30. Turn Qahr then Ghanam and ‘Afīq
To dust and clay no legs would tread.

31. When the centuries pass, heads will bow
And those bitten by snakes will fear even ropes.

32. San‘a belongs to the Imam, what concern is that to you?
You have no army there, nor a single footman.

33. If you make peace, you will gain a foothold
And get what the registers contain.

34. In his ignorance he will see it as a slight
So he will make peace again - the credit is yours.

35. You take a fortress, then when he complains
Say it was taken before the truce was made.

36. No safety in peace or in war like this,
Even San‘a cannot mend the rift.

37. Your deeds bring smiles in this age
With a fair face and kohl-lined eyes.