1. The singing girls blame me for what reason, I know not,
And why do the brides heap censure upon me?

2. They put on necklaces and dress up in finery,
Does not every ornament have its costume?

3. Did I perhaps commit some grave misdeed
Or cast some evil spell or weave some dark enchantment?

4. Or did I terrify them with some horrible thing
While above me is safety and below me are horseshoes?

5. The singing girls do not know that this is not my nature
Nor am I one whom churches contain.

6. I dwell in tents, sleeping and waking
With maidens fair, chaste guards attend me.

7. I was created in the mould of men, so I see
Naught but perseverance in what men persevere in.

8. Quraysh, Zuhair ibn Abi Sulma, Hutay'ah, Shanfara,
Al-Tirimmah - they are our imams and stalwart cavaliers.

9. They are my drinking companions, they are my inspiration,
They are my teachers, they are my models.

10. They are the elders I follow and masters I obey,
They are the moonlight of the night and its lamps.

11. They have passed away while the sly girls laughed
At their faith, and the coquettish ones scowled.

12. I walk the path they tread and profess what they professed.
My life continues thus until the destroyer takes me.

13. When I am weakened by age and infirmity
I am aided by their zeal and rest upon their staffs.

14. Thus is my resolve, until death visits me,
Where the Pleiades rise, continuing to orbit.

15. So let not him who thinks me neglectful or fettered
By the gardens of passion, himself continue sleeping.

16. The Shaykh who sired me did indeed know
That I am clad in the raiment of determination.

17. That my spears do not bend for one who winks at me,
And that my teeth grind up adversaries.

18. And that I am capable of more than what they think of me
And may even exceed what I am credited with.

19. But I found people who were not people - lo,
The people have gone, since nothing remains but the mirage.

20. There remained only those who, like predatory beasts
Seek out the inheritance of orphans while they themselves sleep.

21. There remained only those who open their eyes wide
For greed, but are bent over in disregard for glory.

22. There remained those who sell glory for a turban of one thousand,
If they found someone to pay a dirham for it and the night has darkened.

23. There remained an ummah whose misguidance is manifest,
While the truth amongst them is trampled underfoot.

24. Weak, how weak their resolve for religion!
Despicable, how despicable their lack of good!

25. I treated them as a torrent treats light sediment,
With a request they found difficult, so affection dried up and the staff hardened.

26. For had it not been for Suyayd, whenever the truth
Had nearly vanished, he would revive it, and the snakes slithered away.

27. Everyone complained of hardship, until I abandoned them,
Just as the sweet water is abandoned by the bankrupt.

28. Suyayd! In glory among them are maidens,
And in it priceless spoils.

29. Suyayd! He is no arrogant aggressor,
Nor incapable of what the young warriors desire.

30. Suyayd! He is not fooled by the hypocrite,
Nor do doubts enter his hearing.

31. Suyayd! I found him true to his word,
Deceit could not make him slip.

32. Suyayd! Since he pledged to God, he remains
Clothed in sincere honesty.

33. Suyayd! The days when I was far away,
The sword was his drink until glory gathered in assemblies for him.

34. How could his victory disappear from me today,
When here I sit now in his house!

35. O son of the right hand! May God increase your prominence!
Will slumber cover your eye while the truth is obscured?

36. If one part of your dominion were afflicted for but a night
By the dogs of enmity, they would pounce to devour it.

37. Would it please you to be content while the Lord of the Throne is wrathful?
Evil is that contentment - may God be your protector!

38. What answer will you have tomorrow, should your absence continue,
When the Operator calls man to account?

39. Your realm is protected and the sanctity of the Sublime
Is violated - its protector, the vultures!

40. Aid the call of truth! Give it life, for who but you
Can save it, O valiant assailant!

41. Aid, be generous, for this age is in need,
When you arise, the generous arise to give abundantly.

42. Aid us! For the appointed time has been long against us.
We did not attain it, nor were the necks outstretched with hope.

43. Aid us before death! Our souls
Will face death or afterward the grave tomorrow.

44. The days have passed and the days are gone - so how long
Shall we see ranks with the horses' necks outstretched?

45. When shall we meet the tribes, or they meet us,
One morn, with the spears erect?

46. When will hearts burst forth in the fight, and in battle
Will the neck-napes of the steeds be dyed red?

47. When will we fling the stubborn, thick-necked pearls
Upon the corpses, to drink their fill of blood?

48. How my soul yearns! How they have bowed their heads,
The generous! They have bent over with neck-chains!

49. I see amidst the rebels in war horses
While they, when we rise, are our prey!

50. O son of the right hand! This is but an hour,
And He who ordains is dominant - enmity has died down.

51. Sell your soul! Be serious with yourself, for there is
No way to the heights for one who does not exert himself.

52. Have confidence in the King of Kings, rise up in His Name,
And be certain that truth will vanquish blasphemy.

53. Do not forget, throughout your life, to invoke blessings upon
The Guide who guided us from dark tribulations.