1. الأَصلُ في كُلِّ بِنايَةٍ حَجَر

    وَإِن زَهَت بِالشُرُفات وَالحُجَر

    The foundation of every building is a stone,

    Though it glories in balconies and chambers.

  2. مُعتَمدُ الأَركان وَالقَواعِدِ

    وَسَنَدُ العالي بِهن الصاعِدِ

    The mainstay of the pillars and foundations,

    And the support of the lofty structure rising upon them.

  3. فَإِن وَقَفتَ مُطرِيَ البِناءِ

    فَاعطِف عَلى الأَساسِ في الثَناءِ

    So if you stand extolling the building,

    Then turn to its foundation in your praise.

  4. وَهَذِهِ الدَولَةُ قَد دَعا لَها

    وَقادَ في ظُهورِها رِعالَها

    And this dynasty's cause had been proclaimed,

    And its squadrons led as it emerged,

  5. أَغَرُّ مِن سِوابق الإِسلامِ

    فَوارسِ اللِقاءِ وَالكَلامِ

    By a bright-browed champion among Islam's front-runners,

    Its knights of battle and of speech.

  6. اِختَلَفوا في أَصلِهِ وَفَصلِهِ

    وَالسَيفُ يَومَ النَسَب اِبنُ نَصلِهِ

    They differed over his origin and lineage,

    Yet when ancestry is reckoned, the sword is the son of its blade.

  7. فَقيل حُرٌّ عَرَبيُّ الوَادي

    وَقيل عَبدٌ مِن بَني السَوادِ

    So it was said: a freeborn man, an Arab of the valley;

    And it was said: a slave of the people of al-Sawad;

  8. وَقيل كانَ يَدّعي العباسا

    وَيَرتَدي لِهاشِمٍ لِباسا

    And it was said he claimed descent from al-Abbas,

    And donned the garb of Hashim.

  9. خاضَ الخَراسانّي في العشرينا

    عَلى بَني أُميّةَ العَرينا

    The Khurasani, in his twenties, plunged

    Into the lion's den against the sons of Umayya.

  10. فَلقيت دَعوَتُه رَواجا

    وَدَخلت فيها القرى أَفواجا

    His call then found acceptance,

    And villages joined it in throngs.

  11. وَقوبِلَت في الفرس بِالمُحبّذِ

    مِن كُلِّ دهقانٍ وَكُلِّ موبِذِ

    And among the Persians it was met with acclaim,

    From every Persian landowner and every Zoroastrian priest,

  12. لِبخل مَروانَ عَلَيهُم بِالنِعَم

    وَتَركهم سُدىً كَإِهمال النَعم

    For Marwan had begrudged them favors,

    And left them untended like neglected livestock.

  13. وَقَرَعَ الساقَ لَها مِن العرب

    من لاله في الأَمويين أَرب

    And among the Arabs, those spurred it onward

    Who had no stake in the Umayyads.

  14. رَبيعة اِنحازَت إِلَيها وَيَمَن

    أَظهرتا مِن ضَغَنٍ ما قَد كَمَن

    Rabi'a sided with it, and Yemen too;

    Both revealed rancor that had lain hidden.

  15. فَكَم جَفاهُما بَنو مَروانا

    وَاِصطَنَعوا مِن مُضَرَ الأَعوانا

    How often the sons of Marwan had spurned them both,

    And recruited their helpers from Mudar,

  16. وَبالَغوا في البِرِّ وَالقِيامِ

    وَشاطَروها نِعَم الأَيام

    And lavished kindness and attentive care,

    And shared with it the blessings of the days.

  17. وَهِيَ لَما يَقتَرِحون أَجرى

    وَهِيَ عَلى بَني النَبيّ أَجرا

    And it was swifter to do what they proposed,

    And it was bolder against the Prophet's descendants.

  18. جاءَ أَبو مسلم الخِراسِنِي

    أَبدلها مِن رائِقٍ بآسنِ

    Abu Muslim al-Khurasani came;

    He exchanged its clear water for stagnant water.

  19. رُمُوا بِماضي الحَدِّ لا يَمينُ

    داهِيَةٍ في رَأيِهِ كَمين

    They were struck by a keen-edged blade that never failed:

    A cunning strategist whose counsel held an ambush.

  20. تَقتَبِسُ الشبّان مِن مَضائِهِ

    وَتَنزِلُ الشِيبُ عَلى قَضائِهِ

    Young men draw fire from his resolve,

    And the gray-haired submit to his judgment.

  21. يَصيدُ بِالصَلاة وَالصِلاتِ

    وَيَقنصُ الولاةَ بِالولاةِ

    He hunts with prayer and gifts,

    And snares governors with governors.

  22. يُعينُهُ قحطبةٌ ذو الباس

    أَولُ قُوادِ بَني العَباس

    Qahtaba, a man of might, aids him,

    The first of the commanders of the sons of al-Abbas.

  23. بِخَيلِهم جابَ البِلادَ وَفَرى

    قامَ بَعدَهُ اِبنُهُ مُظفّرا

    With their cavalry he crossed the lands and cut through them;

    His son rose after him, victorious.