1. A caliph came until he went bankrupt
Blood and money were lost in vain

2. The companion, son of the generous friend
The mighty, the sought, the hostile

3. Son of Zubair, his lineage suffices
For the noble begets the noble

4. His father the eminent, high summit
And his mother, nobly sublime

5. Welcoming days with fasting
Exhausting darkness with prayers

6. The most pure of those true to treaties
The greatest zealous in purpose

7. Firm against extremist dissenters
And the tyranny of Umayyads

8. Inclined to the Abbasids in cunning
And violent Alawites in mail

9. His pledge encompassed those in conflict
His partisans in both Basras submitted

10. Iraq entered under his reign
And Egypt rose against his enemies

11. Marwan was strapped by him
His power crumbled away

12. No match for Ibn Zubair is Ibn Hakam
Not every ruler makes fair judgment

13. Not equal is he whose life strayed
To one the Prophet banished in enmity

14. Marwan is no capable leader
Though a tail may follow obediently

15. He dragged Uthman into his plight
Wanting benefit but causing harm

16. Many a shrewd foe yet doubtful
Many a foolish friend yet woeful

17. But he is the starry night's full moon
The beacons of authority, kings of time

18. Speak, when kings boast of children
Of the Rock and the Egg of the land

19. Drawing near Al-Mansur's sons
In governing with ease and construction

20. Not like Suleiman or Abdulmalik
Nor Walid, ruler or king

21. When death came for Ibn Hakam
Authority fell to Abdulmalik

22. Oh what calamity met Ibn Zubair
Struck down by fate's twisted arrows

23. A youth of ambition and pride
If worries did not hinder his wants

24. His views ripened since a boy
Granted ambition and eloquence

25. In law, the sail of the nation
In hadith, extracting the best

26. His stinginess and betrayal denied him
The status destined for kings

27. He remained in Syria until appeased
Uniting its factions, healing its wounds

28. Leaving Ibn Zubair no army
Save the appearance of obedience

29. After endless warlike battles
Were it not for Rome's dormancy, Arabs would be lost

30. Dissension was felt brewing within
The ancient house pelted with flames

31. And martyred inside was Musab
Like a lion guarding the ancient den

32. Abdullah was strapped by Abdulmalik
Seeing clear defeat in deadly strife

33. Retreated were the infantry and archers
And the supporters and defenders waylaid

34. Betrayed by even his sons
Abandoned by both flanks

35. His mother came, as would a mother
Perhaps to shoulder some of his burden

36. The house under Hajjaj's siege
His horses ready to storm

37. He said, "What do you think?
Is death better or Abd al-Malik?"

38. She said, "My son, descendent of the faithful
Son of the devout, steadfast faster

39. See, if you strived for faith
Do not abandon what you sought

40. Or if the world was the limit of your ambition
Evil you are, with blood on your hands

41. Join the free who nobly passed
Death better than this disgraced life

42. And say not, 'I failed when others failed me'
That is not what the brilliant do

43. Die with honor or taste humiliation
As Marwan's boys toyed and japed

44. You called your friends to truth
So meet your fate as they did theirs

45. And say not, 'If I die, they will mutilate me'
As people of Syria circle the crucified'

46. Nonsense, the slaughtered sheep feels no pain
Many a bare pole raised upright for truth

47. She embraced him and felt his armor
Saying, "You are constrained by death's fist

48. One like you in flowing robes
Struggled, not in spiked collar

49. Go not shackled, spare your body
And march unarmored as lions tread

50. He removed his coat and marched forth
To meet the multitude with few

51. And died bravely under the swords
The best of mothers did not lack in dutifulness