1. None else in this world cares as I do,
While others fear the nights.

2. And the likes of me are not startled by darkness,
Nor do they fear fighting men.

3. I extend to thieves my hands in defense,
Though their hands be long.

4. I cry out when they wreak havoc on earth,
With a voice like a roaring lion.

5. I call one, so Taha answers me,
And Muhammad follows in speech.

6. I scream in their faces, so their joints
Tremble from my might and separate.

7. And if the mill of turmoil spins one day,
And war flares up and the nobles lock arms,

8. And death wades into the heroes of combat,
Until swords break against swords.

9. And the fainthearted take flight from dread,
And children grow up amid the horror of battle.

10. I charge at the foe and stab them
With a blade sharper than arrows.

11. I plunge into their fray and tear out
Hearts that cannot endure my blows.

12. And though I am tempted to pierce the white swords,
My sword drips for the white necks.

13. I am delighted when a cheek sways by,
But do not desire the ladies of litters.

14. I have spent my life traveling
Between encampments and wanderings.

15. One day in Abi Hamid, one day
In Sinkat, and one day in Natal.

16. One day I climb the highlands of Najd
And graze in its wide open ranges,

17. I left the lands of Sikkut and Berno
Though my family and wealth be there.

18. And I sailed to Aranga
And roamed the land of Transvaal.

19. I traversed the lands of Europe wherein
I witnessed the wondrous carnival,

20. Faces from which jinn recoil
And voices like donkeys braying.

21. I saw strange things in France
And loved the lands of Portugal,

22. I plunged into its turbulent waves, stabbing its depths,
And did not fall short of cutting mountains.

23. I find in its map strange traces
From relics I inquire of its keepers,

24. And De Lesseps bowed to me in submission
As I passed over the canal.

25. And in the East I stir trouble, yet
In the Far West I have the widest range.

26. I walk upright though stars show the way astray,
When darkness falls and light hides away,

27. And people take refuge in the North Pole,
I take refuge in the pole of God’s folk.

28. The pole of guidance, the pole of perfection,
Is my clan’s guide in any matter,

29. And my neighborhood’s example in any case,
The refuge of resolve, secret of the seal,

30. Of lofty status, my Lord Al-Marghani,
Of noble origin, perfect in grace,

31. An ocean that overflows upon the land with waves.
His mind makes hardship easy,

32. And permits tribulations to unfurl.
By him the dwellings came to stillness

33. And their embers faded after blazing.
Safety became wholesome when

34. His wishes were met by the people.
And the tribes concurred, responding

35. To his noble commands compliantly.
All submitted to him save a few

36. Transgressors who took to the hills.
But he holds no missiles to supposedly

37. Bombard the hills.
Nor does he stand by a river,

38. So let pebbles rain on them from the hills!
But the might of piety restrained him

39. From troubling the white and the tanned nobles.
The wind of executioner diminishes no victory,

40. Indeed, victory lies in the gain of majesty.
And no young man succeeds but by a hidden secret,

41. Or by the strength of strategy.
Man is not man by the sword,

42. But by intellect and insight.
Many preceded him to the Sudan,

43. Yet did nothing but deter mules.
Among them is he who fortified himself

44. In square forts and tied himself in shackles.
The enemy cried out to him, so he sank down in weakness,

45. And his gang met a woeful fate.
Among them is he who walked stooped,

46. So his return was impossible.
Among them is he who was surrounded by foes

47. With no means of escape.
Had men been thus, O Berberis,

48. Your allegiance would have the strongest bond.
I ransom you, so take vengeance for me from a time

49. That promotes instability through occupation.
I will recite my praises of you in my poetry

50. And fill my registers with your virtues,
For you are far beyond enumeration, so what can

51. A servant say upon embarking on praises?