1. A place for them between softness and camel mounts,
Its valleys distracted me, so my tears flowed,

2. Had I tried to hold them back fearing a revealer,
Sighs would burst forth that my ribs could not contain,

3. In my neighbors that exhausted my patience a group,
Had they surrounded me I would not have yielded,

4. After they left I felt incapable of facing the enemies,
Like claws that were not equipped with nails,

5. Who can bring back days gone by, neither my resolve
In them is loosened nor is blame deterring me,

6. Nights where wakefulness cannot subdue fervor
At what made my enemies happy and old age cannot restrain me,

7. So I changed from the prime of youth and companionship of
Friends to homes in ruins asking,

8. And saying: Hatim, hopes will disappoint you
And their latitude will make you fall into delusion,

9. So despair for the dune is not accustomed to a returning
Traveler nor are its days expected to turn back,

10. The affection shown you by a pretender is not sincere
Rather it is guile from those who scheme,

11. Leave people be, do not pursue them alone
And follow the view of the people of monasteries,

12. For people are nothing but laughing outwardly while grieved inwardly
Either there is dissension in his intimacy or a reconciler who has cut ties,

13. Some are a mirage that misled a thirsty man with its glow
And some are an undrinkable beverage for the one who gulps it down,

14. Their words and deeds conflict
Like the conflict of pitch darkness and piercing light,

15. The turns of fate have weakened me, shortening
My arm, and futile attempts have reduced my means,

16. What befalls a young man is not in his calculations
And he is wary of what will not come to pass,

17. I never thought fate would drive me to
A time when inability would share my bed,

18. I kept company with people whose aims
Were not my aims nor their desires among my desires,

19. Had not opposite met opposite, the abode of snakes would be
Near the abode of gazelles and the roar of lions near the croaking of frogs,

20. Until a firm resolve squeezed me
With which I overpowered whatever contended with me,

21. So the light of dawn turned away the darkness of night
And the Euphrates forgot the dried up waterbeds,

22. And I was compensated for herding lightning and preventing it
With clouds that poured forth overflowing torrents,

23. My protector is Judd son of Nasr son of Saleh
The loyal guardian of the son of Shibl son of Jama'i,

24. They bestow before being asked and give generously
So excel by being followed and are noble when obeyed,

25. This proves false those who thought life is narrow
And who said livelihood is not abundant,

26. Through them a nation seeking help is spared
Being at their doors like messengers with a wet nurse,

27. Whether attaining bounty or the height of calamity
The favored moans or the stricken wails,

28. They blame generosity, wait,
It is advice that leads to one not listening,

29. Did his actions transgress from beneficence
Or his words from interceding?

30. Among the people none seek help but the hyenas
When the warriors seek help through the veils,

31. They did not monopolize to the exclusion of every visitor or stranger
What they earned with sharp spears,

32. You like their radiant splendor
And those are the burnished Indian swords,

33. You meet them in ships and ardor
Bestowing boons or fierce in the fray,

34. Their weapons are stain removing unveiling
The livelihood of eagles, vultures and minarets,

35. And Indian that on every vile day
Distracts from joy and cheating,

36. Brought near through honor not purchase, all
Scraps that were picked or daughters of scraps,

37. And a gift horse they protect through times
And sacrifice at settlements without a miser,

38. Spending nights under the wings of its white
Becoming a barrier beyond the meadows,

39. How many straits did their armies block
Repulsing the vanguard with the rearguard,

40. For shame if it overcomes them, delirium
Lifts the veil on what is behind the screens,

41. Were Auf the son of Abd to lose them
His palms would be useless without fingers,

42. The sons of Za'ida established for it
Foundations more firmly rooted than ascending dunes,

43. They succeeded al-Nu'man in protecting his house
Which without them had not triumphed over attack,

44. So Kisra turned away in his kingdom’s glory
Without anything repulsive other than obedience,

45. Indeed Shibl and Mubarak walked among them
Unlike Nahshal and those resigned to humiliation,

46. Had Hammam seen what I saw
He would have agreed with what I say,

47. They were created only to destroy the unjust
Feared and hoped for or enrich the content,

48. Abu Tarjam your hands have been generous
So the work of generous hands, accomplished and perfected,

49. If you entrusted gifts to people in the past
I am their trustee for safekeeping deposits,

50. You refused and did not break your word or deviate
From the path to leadership, not so spacious,

51. A colony of ostriches feared and revered
When you sought elevation and ascent,

52. Establishing justice caused those led astray to avoid extent
So they are between erring in the past and returning,

53. You have attained the farthest extent without a companion
And protected people from it without contention,

54. I will give thanks, as long as speech obeys me,
For the continuous kinds that came from your generosity,

55. Bestowed on one who does not indicate service to you
Or send an intercessor to you,

56. So it saved you from the effort and heat of verse
Merchandise in which custom recognizes no merchandise,

57. From it strange wonders will spread through every land
The excellent separating of consonants and vowels,

58. Were it recited, its eloquence would nearly
Make hearts comprehend before the hearings,