لَنا هَجمَةٌ لا يُدرِكُ الذِئبُ سَخلَها

لَنا هَجمَةٌ لا يُدرِكُ الذِئبُ سَخلَها

وَلا راعَها نَزوُ الفِحالَةِ وَالخِطرُ

وَلا راعَها نَزوُ الفِحالَةِ وَالخِطرُ

We have a camel herd whose young no wolf can reach,

We possess a herd whose young no wolf can overtake,

Nor has the studs’ mounting and tail-swishing frightened it.

Nor is it frightened by the mounting of stallions or their threatening tails.

إِذا امتُحِنَت أَلوانُها مالَ سَفوُها

إِذا امتُحِنَت أَلوانُها مالَ سَفوُها

إِلى الجَوِّ إِلّا أَنَّ أَوبارَها خُضرُ

إِلى الجَوِّ إِلّا أَنَّ أَوبارَها خُضرُ

When its colors are examined, its shoots lean

When its colors are put to the test, its clarity inclines

Toward the sky, except that its wool is green.

Towards the open sky, save that its hides are green.

فَإِن قامَ فيها الحالِبونَ اتَّقَتهُمُ

فَإِن قامَ فيها الحالِبونَ اتَّقَتهُمُ

بِنَجلاءِ ثُقبِ الجَوفِ دِرَّتُها الخَمرُ

بِنَجلاءِ ثُقبِ الجَوفِ دِرَّتُها الخَمرُ

And if the milkers stand among it, it wards them off

If the milkers rise among them, they are met

With a vessel whose belly-opening is wide, whose milk is wine.

By a wide-mouthed hollow whose flowing milk is wine.

مَسارِحُها الغَربِيُّ مِن نَهرِ صَرصَرٍ

مَسارِحُها الغَربِيُّ مِن نَهرِ صَرصَرٍ

فَقُطرَبُّلٌ فَالصالِحِيَّةُ فَالعَقرُ

فَقُطرَبُّلٌ فَالصالِحِيَّةُ فَالعَقرُ

Its pastures are the western reaches of the Ṣarṣar River,

Its pastures lie on the western bank of the Sarsar Canal,

Then Quṭrabbul, then al-Ṣāliḥiyya, then al-ʿAqr.

Then Qutrabbul, then Al-Salihiyya, then Al-Aqr;

تُراثُ أَنوشِروانَ كِسرى وَلَم تَكُن

تُراثُ أَنوشِروانَ كِسرى وَلَم تَكُن

مَواريثَ ما أَبقَت تَميمٌ وَلا بَكرُ

مَواريثَ ما أَبقَت تَميمٌ وَلا بَكرُ

A legacy of Anūshirwān, Khusrau, and not

The legacy of Khosrow Anushirvan, never having been

Heirlooms of what Tamīm or Bakr left behind.

Among the inheritances left by the tribes of Tamim or Bakr.

قَصَرتُ بِها لَيلي وَلَيلُ ابنِ حَورَةٍ

قَصَرتُ بِها لَيلي وَلَيلُ ابنِ حَورَةٍ

لَهُ حَسَبٌ زاكٍ وَلَيسَ لَهُ وَفرُ

لَهُ حَسَبٌ زاكٍ وَلَيسَ لَهُ وَفرُ

With it I shortened my night and Ibn Ḥawra’s—

With it I shortened my night, and the night of Ibn Hawrah,

He has unblemished ancestral honor, but no wealth.

A man of pure lineage, though devoid of wealth.