1. يا سميري قم بالعشيرة نادِ

    معلناً بالمصاب في كل نادِ

    O my evening companion, rise and call out to the clan,

    proclaiming the calamity in every gathering.

  2. وامضي نحو العراق وانشد وحرّض

    بالقوافي من كان في بغداد

    And go toward Iraq; recite and rouse

    with rhymes those who are in Baghdad.

  3. أوضح الحال منشداً عن لساني

    غير مخفيه خشيةَ الأنكاد

    Make the plight clear, reciting in my voice,

    without concealing it for fear of afflictions.

  4. مَن لِهَمٍّ مُجَمَّعٍ في الفؤاد

    لي منه مفرِّق ألف وادي

    Who will help with the grief amassed within my heart,

    of which my share could sunder a thousand valleys?

  5. فجأتنا كتائب الفرس صبحاً

    وأتتنا ما بين عاوٍ وعادي

    Persian battalions surprised us at dawn,

    and came upon us, some howling, others attacking.

  6. قصَدَتنا من السويب عبوراً

    فملا سيلها بطون البوادي

    They made for us, crossing from al-Suwayb,

    and their torrent filled the hollows of the wilderness.

  7. قصَدوا البصرة التي عصم ال

    ه حماها من عهد هودٍ وعاد

    They made for Basra, where God had guarded

    its sanctuary since the days of Hud and ‘Ad.

  8. فأحطوا بها وقد منعتهم

    دونها عُصبةُ الهدى والرشاد

    So they encircled it, though they had been held back

    from it by a band of guidance and right conduct.

  9. عصبةٌ أخلصوا الضمائر في الل

    ه فقاموا بنصره في جهاد

    A band who devoted their hearts sincerely to God,

    then rose to champion Him in sacred struggle.

  10. غير ما إنهم كأصحاب بدرٍ

    عدداً والعدوّ مثل الجراد

    Yet they were like the companions of Badr

    in number, while the enemy were like locusts.

  11. فلذا حوصر ولم تكن الفُر

    صةُ أن يلتقوهم في طِراد

    Thus they were besieged, with no opportunity

    to meet them in a running battle.

  12. ثبتوا في الحصار حولاً كميلاً

    يُترجَّون بعثةَ الإمداد

    They stood firm under siege for a full year,

    hoping for reinforcements to be sent,

  13. وهم كل ساعةٍ في قتالٍ

    مع أعداء دينهم وجلاد

    and every hour they were in battle

    with the enemies of their faith, clashing swords.

  14. فبدا الجوع وهو قد صار فيهم

    خير عونٍ لما بدا للأعادي

    Then hunger appeared, and among them it became

    the best ally to what the enemies had in mind.

  15. ففدوا منه مخبتين حيارى

    كالسكارى في الحال بل كالجماد

    So they ransomed themselves from it, humbled and bewildered,

    like drunkards in that state—rather, like lifeless things.

  16. فاستشاروا مجرّبي الحرب منهم

    فأشاروا بطاعة وانقياد

    Then they consulted the veterans of war among them,

    and they advised obedience and submission

  17. لرئيس الاعداء إن عف عن أعرا

    ضهم دون طارفٍ وتلاد

    to the enemy’s chief, if he would spare

    their honor, though not their acquired or inherited wealth.

  18. فأطاعوا وسلّموا فغدَوا مث

    ل أسودٍ قد قُيّدت بقياد

    So they obeyed and surrendered, becoming like

    lions that had been bound with reins.

  19. ليتني كنت فيهم كان عندي

    غير ذي الرأي رأي أهل السداد

    Would that I had been among them! I would have held

    a different view: that of people of sound judgment,

  20. قبل أن تهدم المجاعة حزماً

    شاده العزم محكماً بشياد

    before famine demolished a resolve

    that determination had built, solidly mortared.

  21. وكثير الأعداء مثل قليلٍ

    إنما النصر في حراب الصعاد

    And many enemies are no different from few;

    victory lies only in the points of long lances.

  22. إنما النصر في شبا المشرفيّا

    تِ وزُرقٍ من النصال حِداد

    Victory lies only in the edges of Mashrafi

    swords, and in sharp, blue-hued spearheads,

  23. ورجال تلقاهم لجّة الهيجاء

    فوق النسور كالأطواد

    and in men you find in battle’s surging depths,

    above the vultures, like towering mountains.

  24. لكن اللَه حيث قدّر أمسوا

    لم يكن غير ما قضى بمراد

    Yet they ended as God had decreed;

    nothing but what He ordained was willed.