1. When Al-Thurayya appears in her darkness,
The people’s heads sway like travelers.

2. And Al-Jawza follows, its pearls gleaming
Like the necklaces in their pasture of flowers.

3. When Al-Shi’ra has declined, its rays weak
On a hill from the dusty days of old,

4. And Al-Shawl has risen, she and her champion,
Scarce to be seen when the Pleiades flare,

5. Don’t you know, and knowledge benefits its people,
That the one who knows is not like one ignorant,

6. That we are patient with our misfortunes
And stoic through our afflictions and disasters,

7. That the Pleiades are like the tribe of ‘Amr ibn ‘Aamir,
Docile, obedient, when rain is scarce,

8. And among them are many honorable lords
And burden-bearers and those soaked with bounty,

9. And those who, when people gather, are most wise,
Like the full moon among the celestial bodies?

10. On the day of fright we don red Yemeni robes,
Lined twice over with delicate stitching,

11. And we lunge at them in baggy trousers
When we meet on the plain devoid of hills,

12. And we show patience in adversity when we encounter it,
Returning with booty and renown,

13. For Qays ibn ‘Aylan knew that we
Defend when the tribes fear the frontier,

14. With a tribe the people see as unlike them,
Whose domain lies between Yamamah and al-Qahr.

15. You see them receive tents and hospitality
And refugees seeking protection and shelter,

16. And none can keep us from the tavern
Until we recover from our drunkenness,

17. I am the son of him who met adversities and repelled them,
Despite him, between al-Mathamin and al-Sakhr.

18. We dwelled in the palm groves when
The regiments of Ju’fiyy gathered at al-Nafir,

19. And we struck them until we quenched our thirst
For vengeance on the tyrant lord and on fate,

20. And for Shu’ba, a day for us with no fatigue,
And the day of Bani Wahb and the day of Bani Zahr.

21. We match them blow for blow with each sharpened sword
And repay them measure for measure in full,

22. Coats of mail and thickets where no
Dawn’s horizon, open plain, hills or rocks can be seen.