1. For everything, when complete, has loss
So let no man be deceived by a life of ease

2. Thus affairs revolve as I have seen
He whose time was joyous, times became miserable for him

3. This abode spares no one
No state within it endures

4. Time tears apart every delivered one
When the lofty and the insignificant are sprouted

5. And every sword passes away, even if
It were Ibn Dhi Yazan’s, though sheathed twice over

6. Where are the crowned kings of Yemen
And where are their crowns and tiaras?

7. And where is what Shaddad built in Iram
And where is what was ruled in Persia by the Sassanids?

8. And where is what Qarun amassed of gold?
And where are ‘Aad and Shaddad and Qahtan?

9. An irresistible command came upon them all
Until they passed away as though they never were

10. And what was once a kingdom and a kingdom became
Like tales of ghosts and idols

11. The ages turned against realms and their conquerors
And against Chosroes, though protected by his palace

12. As though the formidable one had no means made smooth
Nor ruled the world one day like Solomon

13. So the vicissitudes of fate are variegated
And time has its joys and sorrows

14. And events have consolation that makes them easier
But there is no consoling what has befallen Islam

15. The Caliphate’s affair admits no comfort
Uhud slipped away from it and Thahlan collapsed

16. The evil eye struck it in Islam, so its regions
And cities became empty of it, though flourishing in unbelief

17. Ask Valencia, what is the state of Murcia
And where is Jaén or where is Jayyan?

18. And where is Cordoba, seat of knowledge? For how many
A scholar gained repute therein!

19. And where is Homs and the pleasures it contains
With its fresh flowing river, abundant and full?

20. Foundations they were, pillars of the land - what
Endurance when even the pillars do not endure?

21. Al-Hanafiyyah the White laments in sorrow
As Hayman wept at parting from his familiars

22. Over countries of Islam now empty
Where churches thrive and of faith there is no sign

23. Where the mosques have become churches - in them
Only bells and crosses remain

24. Even the prayer niches weep though inanimate
Even the pulpits weep though they are but wood

25. O heedless one, though the ages warn
You sleep while time remains awake

26. Living gaily, distracted by your lands
Can lands distract when Homs is gone?

27. That disaster made us forget what preceded it
And its long tale cannot be forgotten

28. O king whose banner is white, grasp
The unbelievers with your sword, wherever they are

29. O riders of swift steeds as though
In racecourse competition, they were she-hyenas

30. Bearing the sharp swords of India as though
In the dark of war, they were fires

31. Encamping behind the sea at ease
Mighty in their lands, possessing power

32. Do you have news of the people of Andalusia?
For the people's affairs have spread

33. How the helpless cry out to us, while they
Are slain and captive, yet no man stirs

34. What is this disunity among you, O servants of God,
Though you are, O people, brothers?

35. Do you not have defiant souls and resolve
To support and aid good?

36. O you who rendered a people despised after their glory,
Defiling their state, unbelief and tyranny,

37. Yesterday they were kings in their abodes
While today in the land of unbelief they are slaves

38. You would see them perplexed, no guide for them,
Upon them the garments of humiliation of every color

39. If you saw them weeping when sold
You would be confounded and sorrows would shake you

40. O Lord, a mother and child parted
As souls and bodies are separated!

41. A girl like the rising sun in her beauty
As though she were ruby and coral

42. Led away against her will by the bastard
Her eyes weeping, her heart confused

43. For this, the heart melts from anguish
If Islam and faith exist in the heart