1. O God, O Protector of the Law
I plead while it is thus so dire

2. In You she cries for help
To You her heart complains of its wounds

3. She prays while the horses listen
To her prayer, attentive

4. And the tongues of swords
Almost answer her prayer, swift

5. In their breasts is crammed the secret
Of death, so allow it be divulged

6. The attire of war appears
Dyed by it, crimson red

7. Do not quench, nor cease
Its setting for any faction

8. Where is the excuse, where is rest
For the transgressors, where is the excuse?

9. She prays while the horses are inclined
To her prayer, listening

10. And the tongues of swords
Almost answer her swift

11. Their chests are stifled by the secret
Of death, so permit it be pronounced

12. The raiment of war appears
Reddened by it, with crimson streaks

13. Do not extinguish it, nor withdraw
Its setting from any sect

14. Where is the pretext, where is repose
Against the oppressors, where is the pretext?

15. Procrastination will not avail
With the transgressors, so rise and arouse the sleeper

16. Longsuffering has left no place
For work, so leave the doing

17. Stab them, as the snakes of life
Poured out, a lethal drink, swift

18. O son of great men and heroes
Of the white Yemenite steel

19. And chieftain of every bold adventurer
Awakening the sleeper in adversity

20. Hashim reared you for the lofty peaks
The people of its towering heights

21. And those of illustrious deeds and glory
And piercing intellect

22. Of every thick and muscular forearm
Be it huge or sinewy

23. Seeking a purpose, the blade's edge
Makes it an intercessor

24. And a blow beneath the stars
Meets destruction through it, a shattering blow

25. He did not walk into a distress
Except he was its vanguard

26. And a milieu of splendor
Diverted him from embracing his beloved

27. He forgot deprivation, and he whose will
Was roused, forgets his hunger

28. Patience in waiting for you died
O reviver of the Law!

29. So rise, for endurance no longer
Leaves anything but maimed insides

30. You have torn the garb of sorrow
And complained to its mender of separation

31. So the sword contains a cure
For the anguished hearts of your followers

32. Nothing but it will revive
This prostrated soul

33. If he calls them, they incline lightly
And if it grows heavy, swift

34. And seek with it the slain’s blood
At Karbala, among the best followers

35. What rouses you, if you show patience
For the awful event of Karbala?

36. Do you think a distress will come
More bitter than that distress?

37. Where al-Husayn on the ground
The horses of the enemies trampled his chest

38. The Umayyads killed him
Wrongfully, next to the Divine Law!

39. And his infant in blood of veins
Dyed, so seek his infant!

40. O zeal of God, cry out
With the religious zeal, impregnable

41. And bare your punishment blades
To strike those of rebellious immorality

42. And summon Allah's soldiers to fill
This vast earth

43. And uproot even the infants
Of the tribe of war and infants

44. What was the infants' guilt
That even from them, their abodes were emptied?

45. They left them scattered dead
And it all an awful calamity

46. While the moon is veiled, the land waits
Longingly for its rise

47. And the poisoned one, administered
His death drink, endures

48. And the blood stained with swords, preferred
His dignity and refused submission

49. He found the gates of evil closed
Proudly, despite his burning thirst

50. So he died as zeal desired
Gratefully doing its work

51. And the shackled one surrendered
Completely, though he suffered all

52. Without Allah, no palm had the strength
To confront what he endured

53. And the captives spent the night with
The snake of anxiety, biting their bowels

54. They were robbed, but were not robbed, of
The precious virtue's radiance

55. So the convents of the devout became
Toppled, their lofty pillars

56. And the radiant face appears
Like the disgraced, exposed

57. I thus see the noble lady who veils
Her tent, safe, protected

58. And the Noble Quran's bride
Among the Umayyads, fearful

59. She prays, and who does she pray to, while
Her prayers fall dead, lifeless

60. Oh, the highborn stags
Your snouts have returned despised

61. The people's insolence did not shake
Your sides with the smooth swords

62. Your charge was carried to one
Who knows not trusts, nor trusteeship

63. Oh misguided nation
That did not thank the Guide for His work!

64. You lost the Keeper of its faith
Yet protected an ignorant corruptor

65. The People of the Message, my liver will
Remain wounded by your abandonment

66. For me is the sweetness of thinking of you
A pearl's string, tender and delicate

67. In you I tame the steeds
At every extinguished torch

68. Their imaginations narrate in the rain’s
Lightning, varied, diverse

69. With me are their reins and away
From it, I diverted them, refractory

70. So accept it, I will tomorrow
Present it as my excuse

71. I hope through it in the Gathering
The rest of this anxious soul

72. And upon you prayers, for as long
As a Heavily burdened coffin lowers