1. With the sword every bolted door is opened,
And every knotty affair is untied.

2. So if you encounter a shaking door, knock
With the sword, so its rings you enter.

3. And if a need appears before you, obtain it
With lances and polished blades.

4. Do not ask people for their excess bounty,
But ask Allah and white swords instead.

5. The sword is the most honorable resort taken,
So if you take refuge in it, it is the strongest refuge.

6. And if you send a messenger to the enemy,
Of scorching tongues, they are the truest messengers.

7. And know, you are rightly guided and not ignorant,
That the messenger makes clear the mind of the sender.

8. And stay while your land is the plain of a swimming ostrich
And your sky the disappearance of a kite.

9. Be like the son of Masoud, Hussein, in help
Or the best traits, or be just.

10. Assailing horsemen, every stirring
Army, boiling like the boil of a cooking pot.

11. And leaving heroes whose resolve bows down
With the sword, not worshipping legs.

12. And plunging into battles, not retreating
Until with its Indian blade it shines through.

13. And descending on the frontier which if
The Lord of the sanctuary descended, he would not descend.

14. And bearing the burden which if
The plateaus of Salma were loaded with part, they could not bear.

15. And giving the sand dunes and their pastures freely
And their foals, freely though they are not given.

16. And he protects frightened refugee women,
Whose protector has done the longest of glories.

17. And his neighbor spends the night and he does not raise
A screen to her, with the excuse of a misleading speaker.

18. He looks away when she goes out and lowers his voice
From her, the deeds of an ascetic devotee.

19. He never spoke improperly to a chaste woman,
Or chose vileness, or listened to misleading words.

20. And when drunken camels follow each other,
The sober increase and the heavily indebted grow.

21. And when the clamor of war flares up,
He extinguishes its blazes with the strikes of his sword.

22. How many horsemen has a raging stab
Brought near to ruin and death!

23. And the leader of a people whose head is cracked
By the sword in the night of thick darkness.

24. He meets the battalion alone, and it is as though it
Is in a pass, and as though he is in a large group.

25. And as if the charger of every kindled fire
Of war, in his eyes is a terrifying fire.

26. They are met by him whose soul is most steadfast
And the white swords snatch heads and shine.

27. Disdaining death, knowing he will die
Of diseases, whoever is not killed.

28. A delicacy upon delicacy of stewing pots bubbling,
Spacious and dressed in robes to the feet.

29. Sprinkling, towering, opposing
Between ostrich and crane and stork.

30. Like the running ostrich except
He charges and pounces like a jumping deer.

31. A glance protected by the pleats of his turban
On one side but not the other.

32. And in his passing hand is a carnelian
That shone on the wrist of a dangling sleeve.

33. A stick telling truthfully of the next two days
And the third, and the first dogs.

34. And demons, and barking, and howling,
And the protected lands of Dhariyah, and barking, and wolves.

35. Saying forever to its prospering owner,
“Rise to glory and power and put your trust in me.”

36. How many humps split by it! And pillars
Knocked down, fallen to the lowest valley.

37. And over it is the tight grip, seeming
Some brightness with the ringing of chains.

38. The fall of shields and the rattle with their composition
Is the fall of bare feet and a feather of eagle.

39. If the destined judgment were reversed,
The destined judgment would be met with reversal.

40. Going forth with sword and lance, his resolve
More decisive than any mere resolve in words.

41. Pure of loftiness and intuition, not of
Consultation, so blessed is he who is delegated authority.

42. Most decisive when he intends
A finely sharpened Indian scimitar.

43. He nursed the land as a boy, and showed as a youth,
And built high, while his goat-hair tent was not yet worn out.

44. The jealousy of Qais in the valor of Waeel,
And the generosity of Ma’n in the loyalty of Samawal.

45. From a company of bright faced nobles,
Either mix with them, neighbor, or be impartial.

46. Superior is their father and the most revered Abdal,
Who is like Fadal in merit and Abdal?

47. And when you count the father of Sinan and his son
And his son’s son, then make peace with your adversary or leave him.

48. Gharr built the highest house for them,
On the tallest plateau bare of trees.

49. If their sayer says, he is correct, and if he aims,
He hits his mark, and if asked for help, he does not refuse.

50. The knots of tyrants by them are untied,
And when they command to untie a knot, it will not be untied.

51. The progeny of ‘Uyoon who has ennobled them
With his deeds in glory to the highest rank.

52. With their spears, swords, and generosity
They inherited leadership lastly from the first.

53. Time’s turning did not tempt them, for how many days
Were most honourable for them in fate!

54. O you who compare others to the family of Fadal,
Do not imagine glory except for the moons.

55. Not every sprout whose color delights you
Is a pasture, nor is every water a spring.

56. O family of Fadal, a prayer from a sincere soul
For you, sincere affection, not pretentious.

57. The vile people have not attained our lofty place,
And we have no pasture but the heights and sacred lands.

58. Why the anemones and choice plants for others
While only the worst plants are our portion?

59. And the fresh cool water for others
While we are reserved bitter saline water?

60. Since the day your grandfather was buried
In his grave, our ties are severed, not joined.

61. It is as if we are originally from Johainah
Not the sons of Abdullah, nor Ali!

62. Why is the enemy gorged as the ape of Zubaidah
While the tender of affection is the starving dog?

63. Were it not for you I would have said and said,
But I am a man who always protects his words.

64. The house of leadership is mine and the wisdom of Daghfal,
And the eloquence of Sahbaan and the poetry of Al-Akhṭal.

65. Yet you remain for favors and the heights,
Remaining forever like two veils that fade.