تفرعت من جرثومة المجد والعلى

فجئت معماً في العشيرة مخولا

You branched forth from the rootstock of glory and loftiness.

So you came among the clan with noble paternal and maternal uncles.

ابو طالب شيخ الأباطح كلها

ابوك ومن يطري الهمام المبجلا

Abu Talib, chief of all the gravelly valleys,

is your father—and who can fully extol that revered hero?

ثوى مؤمنا بالله صدقاً وانما

على دين إبراهيم قد كان أولا

He lay at rest, truly believing in God; he had only

followed Abraham's faith from the outset.

فأرشد به للدين عوناً وناصراً

وامنع به حصناً لطه ومعقلا

How rightly guided a helper and champion of the faith he was,

and how impregnable a fortress and refuge for Taha!

به عز دين الله إذ قام دونه

يجرد مسنونين عزماً ومنصلا

Through him God's faith grew strong, when he stood in its defense,

unsheathing two keen weapons: resolve and a blade.

وأنت سليل الليث حاميت بعده

عرين العلا والسؤدد المتأثلا

And you, the lion's scion, defended after him

the lair of high glory and deeply rooted nobility.

فنعم المحامي والمواسي بنفسه

اخاه إذا اشتد البلاء واعضلا

What a fine defender and helper, giving of himself to

his brother when affliction grew fierce and grievous!

سبقت إلى الإسلام تتبع هديه

وصليت قبل المسلمين تنقلا

You were first to Islam, following his guidance,

and prayed before the Muslims, moving about.

تهلل وجه الدين بالبشر والهنا

خليق به لما رأك تهللا

The face of faith beamed with joy and gladness;

well might it beam when it saw you.

وفاض الهدى فيضاً واصبح ربعه

خصيب الثرى مذ فاض سيفك جدولا

Guidance overflowed, and its dwelling became

fertile of soil, since your sword flowed like a stream.

من المشتري في طاعة الله نفسه

ليدفع كيد المشركين ويبطلا

Who purchased his own soul in obedience to God,

to repel and nullify the idolaters' plotting?

فباهى به غر الملائك شاكراً

مساعي أولاها الثناء المفضلا

So He boasted of him before the radiant angels, grateful for

efforts on which He bestowed distinguished praise.

فنفسك نفس المصطفى في صفاتها

بوحي به الروح الأمين تنزلا

Your soul is the Chosen One's soul in its qualities,

through revelation with which the Trustworthy Spirit descended.

وقد كنت منه والفضائل جمة

كهرون من موسى محلا ومنزلا

And your standing with him, with virtues in abundance,

was as Aaron's with Moses, in rank and station.

وفي يوم بدر وهي اعظم وقعة

بها اندك ركن الشرك حتى تهيلا

And on the day of Badr, the greatest battle,

in which idolatry's pillar was crushed until it crumbled,

سقيت قريشا اكؤس الحرب مرة

وقد حسبوا ان يشربوا الراح سلسلا

you gave Quraysh bitter cups of war to drink,

though they had expected to drink smooth-flowing wine.

وغادرت في احد عميد لوائهم

طليحة معفور الجبين مجدلا

And at Uhud you left the chief bearer of their banner,

Tulayha, forehead smeared with dust, laid low.

تنافحهم قدماً تفل جموعهم

بابيض من قرع الحديد تفللا

You confronted them boldly, breaking their ranks

with a bright sword, notched from clashing steel.

ومذ عطفت خيل الضلال طوالعاً

من الثغر تردي بالأسنة ذبلا

And when the cavalry of error wheeled back, emerging

from the breach, galloping with slender lances,

صبرت على الأهوال نفس ابن غابة

اشاح بسربال الردى متسربلا

you endured the terrors with the spirit of a son of the forest,

who stood resolute, clad in the tunic of death.

تذب عن الهادي فتور دجحفلا

حياض الردى عنه وتصدر جحفلا

You shield the Guide, driving a vast army

away from him into death's pools, and sending another back.

ولولاك فازت بالمعلى قداحهم

ودارت على الإسلام دائرة البلى

But for you, their gaming arrows would have won the highest stake,

and the wheel of ruin would have turned against Islam.

فنوه جبريل بمجدك لا فتى

ولا سيف تنويهاً به ملأ الملا

So Gabriel hailed your glory: 'No hero [like you],'

'and no sword [like yours]'—praise that filled the assembly.

هنالك لو تبغي رجالا وجدتهم

بأخزى مقام هاربين واسفلا

Had you sought men there, you would have found them

fleeing in the most shameful, lowest plight.

وكنت المحامي في حنين من الهدى

وقد فرّ عنه القوم أخول أخولا

And at Hunayn you were the defender of guidance,

when the people fled from it, scattered every which way.

وصبت على الأحزاب منك بوائق

اعدن بهم ليل النوائب اليلا

And from you calamities poured upon the Confederates,

making their night of disasters darker still.

غداة التقى الايمان بالشرك كله

فشد قوى الإسلام مشيك مرقلا

On the morning faith met the whole of idolatry,

your swift advance strengthened Islam's might.

تسوق لعمرو وهو فارس يليل

صروف المنايا والحمام المعجلا

You brought to Amr, the horseman of Yalyal,

the turns of death and a hastened doom.

فخر لوجه الأرض بركب ردعه

صريعاً به قد هد سيفك مجدلا

So he fell face-first upon the earth, into his own bloodstain,

slain upon it, felled by your sword and laid low.

واسلمه الفرسان تحضر خيلهم

نجاء كامثيال النعائم جفلا

And the horsemen abandoned him, their horses galloping

to escape, like ostriches scattering in fright.

وليس بعار ان يولي مدبراً

أخو نجدات ابصر الليث مقبلا

Nor is it shameful to turn and flee

for a man of brave deeds who sees the lion approaching.

بسيفك مجد للتقيل بحده

وفخر به يرقى إلى شرف العلى

Your sword confers glory on the man killed by its edge,

and honor by which he rises to the heights of glory.

فسيان ان تعلو به رأس فارس

كمي وان تكسوه تاجاً مكللا

So it is the same whether you strike with it the head of a warrior,

a mail-clad hero, or clothe him in a gem-adorned crown.

وفي خيبر رفت بكفك راية

عليك بها النصر الألهي انزلا

And at Khaybar a banner fluttered in your hand;

through it divine victory was sent down upon you.

تقاصر عنها المستطيلان غدوة

لأرحب باعاً في الخطوب واطولا

The two vaunting men fell short of it one morning,

leaving it to one broader and longer of reach in adversity.

وقد وسماها أمس ذلا فمذ سمت

بكفك حازت رفعة وتجملا

They had branded it with disgrace yesterday; but once it rose

in your hand, it gained eminence and splendor.

ولما قلعت الباب لم يبق باذخ

لتلك الحصون الشم الاتزلزلا

And when you tore out the gate, no lofty structure remained

among those towering fortresses that did not tremble.

وتلك لعمري من بواهرك التي

تحير في تأويلها من تأولا

And those, by my life, are among your dazzling feats,

whose interpretation bewildered whoever sought to explain them.

مواقف خضت الموت فيهن صارعاً

دجى الخطب حتى اسفر الحق وانجلى

Stands in which you waded through death, wrestling

with calamity's darkness until truth dawned and stood revealed.

و لما تولى الناكثان وقلبا

لك الأمر بغياً منهما وتبدلا

And when the two oath-breakers turned away and disrupted

your rule, rebelling against you and reversing their allegiance,

جزيتهما صاعا بصاع وفي غد

جزاؤهما الأوفى جهنم تصطلى

you repaid them measure for measure; and on the morrow

their fullest recompense is Hell, where they shall burn.

ووليت أم المؤمنين بما جنت

جميلا وعفوا شاملا وتفضلا

And to the Mother of the Believers, for what she had done, you granted

kindness, all-embracing pardon, and generosity.

اعائش حاربت الوصي وحربه

كحرب رسول الله نصا مفصلا

O Aisha, you fought the appointed successor, and war against him

is like war against God's Messenger, by an explicit, detailed pronouncement.

ابعد حجاب الله أوجفت ضلة

على جمل يطوى المهامه والفا

After God's veil, did you rush forth in error

on a camel ceaselessly traversing the trackless deserts?

فهرت كلاب الحوئبين نوابحاً

عليك وما زادتك الا توغلا

Then the dogs of al-Haw'abayn growled, barking

at you, yet they only made you press still farther.

ركبت عظيما والحديث لأهله

شجون وتبريح فمن شاء قللا

You undertook a grave deed; its story, for those it concerns,

brings grief and anguish—let whoever wishes say less.

وشام ابن هند من حسامك بارقا

بصفين سالت منه أودية الطلى

And the son of Hind glimpsed a flash from your sword

at Siffin, making valleys stream with blood from throats.

فلاذ باعطاف الجياد تحوطه

ملاذ بغاث الطير ابصرن اجدلا

He sought refuge among the flanks of steeds surrounding him,

as weak birds take refuge when they see a falcon.

وخاطر عمرو في لقائك فاتقى

بسوأته شخص الردى إذ تمثلا

And Amr risked facing you, then shielded himself

with his exposed privates from death's embodied form as it appeared.

صددت ولو لا عادة العفو والحيا

نظمت بر فغيه السنان المؤللا

You turned aside; but for your habit of pardon and modesty,

you would have threaded the sharpened spearhead through his groins.

دعاك إلى التحكيم كيدا ولودعا

حسامك الفى حاكم السيف فيصلا

He called you to arbitration as a ruse; had he called upon

your sword, he would have found the sword's judgment final.

فحادا بو موسى عن القصد جائرا

وداف له عمرو مع الشهد حنظلا

Then Abu Musa strayed unjustly from the straight course,

and Amr mixed bitter colocynth with honey for him.

وحاشاك من تحكيم اهوج مضمر

لك البغض لكن لم تجد عنه مزحلا

Far be it from you to appoint a rash fool as arbiter, one harboring

hatred for you—but you found no way to avoid him.

والزمته حكم الكتاب فصده

هواه عن الحق المبين فأبسلا

You bound him to the Book's judgment, but he was turned aside

by his desire from manifest truth, and was given over to ruin.

ايخلع عن عطفيك برد خلافة

خصصت بها يوماً به الدين اكملا

Would he strip from your shoulders the mantle of a caliphate

reserved for you on the day religion was perfected?

ومن كان منصوبا من الله حجة

تمنع عزا ان ويزول يعزلا

And one appointed by God as a proof

is too exalted to be displaced or deposed.

خليلي في الأحشاء لاعج لوعة

ابت لي طوال الدهر ان اتعللا

My two friends, a searing anguish burns in my vitals,

and has denied me any solace throughout all time.

فلا تذكرا يوم الغدير فبشره

بطول الأسى يوم الفعيلة بدلا

So do not recall the day of al-Ghadir, for its joy

was exchanged for lasting grief on the day of the grievous deed.

تقمصها ظلما عتيق وعهدها

جديد بنص يوم خم تسلسلا

Atiq wrongfully donned it like a shirt, while its covenant

was fresh, through the declaration on Khumm's day, handed down in succession.

وانحلها الفظ الغليظ تعاقداً

على الأمر ان يبتزها ثم ينحلا

And he bestowed it on the coarse, harsh man under a pact

over authority: to wrest it away, then bestow it.

فصيرها شوى عمى وضلالة

ونور الهدى من منزل الوحي يجتلى

Then he made it a council of blindness and error,

while guidance's light was plain to see from revelation's abode.

فلله شوى قد اثارت عجاجة

وجرت على الإسلام والدين معضلا

By God, what a council, raising a cloud of dust,

and bringing a grievous calamity upon Islam and the faith!