ألا يا دار لولا تنطقينا

فإنا سائلون ومخبرونا

O dwelling, will you not speak?

For we are questioning and telling

بما قد غالنا من بعد هند

وماذا من هواها قد لقينا

what has overwhelmed us since Hind departed,

and what we have suffered from loving her.

فضفناك الغداة لتنبئينا

بها أين انتوت نبأً يقينا

We visited you this morning, that you might tell us

where she has gone, with certain news.

وعنك فقد تَراك بليتِ حتى

لكدت من التغير تُنكَرينا

And about yourself: you have so decayed

that change has almost made you unrecognizable.

أمن فقد القطين لبست هذا

فلا فقدت مرابعك القطينا

Have you donned this through losing your inhabitants?

May your camping grounds never lose their people!

أم الأرواح جرَّت فضلَ ذيلٍ

على الآيات منك فقد بلينا

Or have the winds dragged their trailing skirts

across your traces, so that they have worn away,

بكل غمامة سجمت عليها

تُرَجِّعُ بعد إرزامٍ حنينا

with every cloud that poured upon them,

repeating a plaintive cry after rumbling?

فأبقت منك آيَكِ مثلَ سطرٍ

على مدفون رق لن يبينا

They left your traces like a line

on buried parchment, never to become clear.

فخلت دواديَ الولدان هاء

إلى أخرى وخلت النَّوْيَ نونا

I imagined the children's scribbles a letter ha

beside another, and the camp trench a nun,

إلى شعث الذوائب ذي غلال

يبث الناظرين له شجونا

beside a ragged-tressed thing wrapped in coverings,

stirring sorrows in those who behold it,

وسفع عاريات حول هابٍ

شكونَ القُرَّ إن لم يصطلينا

and dark, naked stones surrounding ashes,

complaining of cold unless they warm themselves.

ترى أقفاءها بيضاً وحُمراً

وأوجهها لما صُلِّينَ جونا

You see their backs white and red,

and their faces black from being heated.

وبدلك الزمان بمثل هند

لطول العهد أطلاء وعينا

Time has replaced the likes of Hind for you,

after long absence, with gazelle fawns and wide-eyed cattle.

وإلا ترجعن لنا جواباً

فإنا بالجواب لعارفونا

Even if you return no answer to us,

we surely know the answer.

كأني بالحمول وقد ترامت

بأمثال النعاج وقد حُدِينا

I seem to see the laden camels advancing,

bearing women like wild ewes, driven by song.

وقد جعلوا مطارَ لها شمالاً

كما جعلوا لها حضناً يمينا

They have placed Matar on their left,

as they have placed Hadn on their right.

فخلت وقد زهاها الآلُ نخلاً

بمسلكها دوالجَ أو سفينا

Raised by the mirage, I imagined them palm trees

moving along their course, or ships.

فأضحت من زُبالةَ بين قومٍ

إلى عُلْيا خزيمةَ يعتزونا

She came from Zubala among a people

claiming descent from the lofty line of Khuzayma.

وظنَّ قبيلُها أسيافَ قومي

يهبن الخِندَفينَ إذا انتضينا

Her tribe supposed my people's swords

feared Khindif's men when drawn.

لقد جهلوا جهالة عَيْرِ سوءٍ

بسفرٍ عاشَ يحملُه سنينا

They showed the ignorance of a worthless ass

toward travelers it had carried for years.

لقد جعلوا طعام سيوف قومي

فما بسوى أولئك يَغتذينا

They have been made food for my people's swords,

which feed on none but those men.

كما الجرذان للسنَّور طعمٌ

وليس بهائبٍ منها يَبينا

As rats are food for the cat,

which does not fear their approaching,

كما جعلت دماؤهم شراباً

لهن بكل أرض ما ظَمِينا

so their blood has been made drink

for the swords wherever they thirst.

فلو ينطقن قلن لقد شبعنا

بلحم الخندفينَ كما روينا

If they could speak, they would say, 'We are sated

with Khindif's flesh, as we are quenched.'

وأضحكنا السباع بِمُقعصيها

وأبكينا بها منها العيونا

We made the beasts rejoice in their slain,

and made eyes among them weep over them.

فصار اليأس بينهمُ رديداً

لعُدْمِهمُ مِنَ الخلق القرينا

Despair passed repeatedly among them,

because they lacked any equal among creation.

كأكل النار منها النفس إن لم

تجد حطباً وبعضَ الموقدينا

Like fire consuming itself when it cannot

find wood, and consuming some who kindle it.

إذا لم تسكن الغبراء خلق

من الثقلين علمي ما بقينا

No creatures would inhabit the dusty earth,

of either humans or jinn, I believe, while we remained,

سوانا يالَ قحطان بن هودٍ

لأنا للخلائق قاهرونا

except us—O Qahtan son of Hud!—

for we overpower all creatures.

ونحن طِلاعُ عامرها وإنا

عليه للثراء المضعفونا

We fill its inhabited expanses, and we

multiply the wealth upon it.

وصرنا إذ تضايق في سواه

من العافي الخراب لها سكونا

When elsewhere became too narrow, we became

inhabitants of its desolate, ruined places.

فأصبح مَن بها من غير قومي

بها حيث انتهوا متخفِّرينا

Those dwelling there who are not my people

seek our protection wherever they arrive.

كأنهم إذا نظروا إلينا

لذلتهم قرود خاسئونا

When they look toward us, they seem

in their humiliation like outcast monkeys.

نذم لهم بِسَوطٍ حيث كانوا

فهم ما دام فيهم آمنونا

We grant them protection with a whip wherever they are;

while it remains among them, they are secure.

فإن عدموه أو عدموا مقاماً

لواحدنا فهم متخطِّفونا

If they lose it, or lose the presence

of one of us, they are snatched away.

ولولا نبتغي لهمُ بقاءً

لقد لاقوا ببطشتنا المنونا

Had we not desired their survival,

our assault would have brought them death.

أو استحيوا على ذل فكانوا

كأمثال النعال لواطئينا

Or they would have been spared in humiliation,

like sandals beneath those who tread.

ولكن الفتى أبداً تراه

بما هو مالك حدباً ضنينا

Yet you always see a man

solicitous and sparing of what he owns.

فروَّى عظم يعرب في ثراه

من الفَرْغَينِ واكفةً هتونا

May a pouring, abundant rain soak Ya'rub's bones

in his earth, from the two Fargh stars—

أبِ الفرعين كهلانٍ أبينا

وحميرَ عمِّنا وأخي أبينا

father of the two branches, Kahlan our father

and Himyar our uncle, our father's brother.

كما نَجَلَ الملوكَ وكلَّ ليثٍ

شديد البأس ما سكن العرينا

He begot kings and every lion

of fierce might that inhabits the den.

ولكن قد ترى منه إذا ما

تعصَّى السيفَ ذا الأشبال دونا

Yet among his offspring you may see, when

he wields the sword, the lion with cubs surpassed.

وذاك إذا نسبنا يوم فخرٍ

ينال ببعضه العُلْيا أبونا

When we recount descent on a day of boasting,

our father attains eminence through only part of it.

به صرنا لأدنى ما حبانا

من المجد الأثيل مُحَسَّدينا

Through him, even for the least he bestowed

of deep-rooted glory, we became greatly envied.

تمنَّى معشرٌ أن يبلغوه

فأضحوا للسها متعاطيينا

Some people wished to attain it,

and became men reaching for al-Suha.

وأهل الأرض لو طالوا وطالوا

فليسوا للكواكب لامسينا

Though earth's people stretch higher and higher,

they cannot touch the stars.

فلما لم ينالوا ما تمنوا

وصاروا للتغيُّظ كاظمينا

When they failed to gain what they desired

and swallowed their mounting fury,

أبانو الحِسْدَ والأضغان منهم

فصاروا للجهالة ساقطينا

they revealed their envy and rancor

and fell into ignorance.

وغرهم نباحُ الكلب منهم

وظنونا لكلب هائبينا

A dog's barking among them deceived them,

and they imagined we feared a dog.

وإن تنبح كلاب بني نزار

فإنا للنوابح مُجحرونا

If the dogs of Nizar's sons bark,

we drive the barking ones into their holes.

ونلقمها إذا أشَحَتْ شجاها

ليَعدِمْنَ الهريرَ إذا شجينا

When they open their mouths, we force in choking bones,

so their growling ceases when we choke them.

ونحن لناطحيهم رعنُ طود

به فُلَّت قرونُ الناطحينا

To those who butt against us, we are a mountain's jutting face,

against which the butters' horns are shattered.

ولو علموا بأن الجور هُلكٌ

لكانوا في القضية عادلينا

Had they known that injustice brings destruction,

they would have judged the case fairly.

وليس بشاهد الدعوى عليها

ولا فيما يفوز الخاصمونا

No witness supports the claim against it,

nor is this how disputants prevail.

ولو علموا الذي لهمُ وماذا

عليهم منه كانوا منصفينا

Had they known what was theirs and what

they owed in it, they would have been equitable.

ولو عرفوا الصواب بما أتوه

لما كانوا بجهل ناطقينا

Had they recognized the right in what they did,

they would not have spoken ignorantly.

وكانوا للجواب بما أذاعوا

على أخوالهم متوقعينا

They would have expected an answer to what they spread

against their maternal uncles.

فكم قوم شروا خرساً بنطق

لمرغمه الجوابَ محاذرينا

How many people exchanged speech for silence,

fearing the humiliating answer!

فما وجدوا رعاعاً يوم حفل

ولا عند الهجاء مفحَّمينا

They found no rabble on the day of assembly,

nor men silenced when satire was exchanged.

ولا وجدوا غداة الحرب عُزلاً

لحد سيوفهم متهيِّبينا

Nor did they find us unarmed on battle's morning,

afraid of their swords' edges.

ولكن كل أروعَ يعربيٍّ

يهز بكفه عَضْباً سنينا

Rather, every splendid Ya'rubi warrior

brandishes a sharp, keen sword in his hand.

يعادل شخصه في الحرب جيشاً

وأدنى كيده فيها كمينا

His person equals an army in war;

his slightest stratagem is an ambush.

ودامغة كمثل الفهر تَهوي

على بَيضٍ فتتركه طحينا

A skull-crushing blow falls like a pounding stone

upon helmets, leaving them ground to powder.

ترد الطولَ للأسديِّ عَرْضاً

وتقلب منه أظهره بطونا

It turns the Asadi's height into breadth

and turns his backs into bellies.

فيا أبناءَ قيذرَ عُوا مقالي

أيحسن عندكم أن تشتمونا

O sons of Qaydhar, understand my words:

is it proper, in your view, to insult us?

ونحن وُكورُكُم في الشرك قدماً

وفي الإسلام نحن الناصرونا

We were your shelter long ago in paganism,

and in Islam we are the helpers.

ونحن لعِلْيَة الآباء منكم

ببعض الأمهات مشاركونا

With your noblest forefathers, we

share some mothers,

كما شاركتمُ في حل قومي

بحور العين غير مسافحينا

just as you shared, through lawful unions with my people,

wide-eyed beauties, not through fornication.

فلا قربى رعيتم من قريب

ولا للعرف أنتم شاكرونا

You honored no kinship with a relative,

nor are you grateful for kindness.

وكلفتم كُمَيْتَكُمُ هجاءً

ليعربَ بالقصائد معتدينا

You charged your Kumayt with satire,

attacking Ya'rub through his poems.

فباح بما تمنَّى إذ توارى

طرمَّاح بملحده دفينا

He disclosed what he had wished when

Tirimmah disappeared, buried in his grave.

وكان يعز وهو أخو حياةٍ

عليه الذم للمُتَقَحْطنينا

While he was alive, it was difficult

for him to disparage Qahtan's men.

ولستم عادمين بكل عصرٍ

لنا إن هجتمُ متخمِّطينا

In every age you will find

among us angry men, if you provoke us.

وسوف نجيبه بسوى جواب

أجاب به ابن زرٍّ موجزينا

We shall answer him with something other than the answer

Ibn Zirr gave, keeping our words brief,

وغير جواب أعور كلب إنا

من المجد المؤثل موسعونا

and other than Kalb's one-eyed man's answer: we

possess ample, firmly founded glory.

وقد قَصَرا ولما يبلغا ما

أرادا من جواب الفاضلينا

Those two fell short and did not attain what

they sought in answering the eminent.

وكُثِّرَ حَشْوُ ما ذَكَرَا ولمَّا

يُصيبا مقتلاً للآفكينا

Much padding filled what they both said, and they did not

strike a mortal spot in the liars.

وخير القول أصدقه كما إن

نَ شر القول كذب الكاذبينا

The best speech is the truest, just as

the worst speech is the liars' falsehood.

وما عطب الفتى بالصدق يوماً

ولا فات الفتى بالكذب هونا

Truth has never ruined a man,

nor has lying spared a man humiliation.

فلا يعجبكم قول ابن زيد

فما هو قائد للشاعرينا

Let Ibn Zayd's speech not impress you:

he is no leader of poets.

ولا وسطاً يعد ولا إليه

ولكن كان بعض الأزدلينا

He is not counted among the middling, nor among them;

rather, he was one of the lowliest.

لقد سرق ابن عابس بعض شعر

قفوا بالدار وقفة حابسينا

Ibn 'Abis stole some poetry:

'Stand at the dwelling, standing as those detained.'

وما قِدَمُ الفتى إن كان فدماً

يكون به من المتقدمينا

A man's antiquity, if he is dull,

does not place him among the foremost.

وما تأخيره إن كان طِبّاً

يكون به من المتأخرينا

Nor does his lateness, if he is skilled,

place him among the laggards.

ونحن محكَّمون معاً وأنتم

بما قلنا وقلتم آخرينا

We and you alike submit to judgment

by others, on what we said and you said.

فإن حكموا لنا طلنا وإن هم

لكم حكموا فنحن الأقصرونا

If they judge for us, we stand taller; if they

judge for you, we are the shorter.

ألا إنا خلقنا من تراب

ونحن معاً إليه عائدونا

Indeed, we were created from dust,

and together we shall return to it.

وأن لستم بأنقص من رأيتم

ولا أهل العلو بكاملينا

You are not less than those you have seen,

nor are the exalted perfect.

وما افتخر الأنام بغير ملك

قديم أو بدينٍ مسلمينا

Humanity boasts only of sovereignty

of old, or of religion as Muslims.

وما بسواهما فخر وإنا

لذلك دون كلٍّ جامعونا

There is no glory apart from these two, and we

alone unite them both.

ألسنا السابقين بكل فخرٍ

ونحن الأولون الأقدمونا

Are we not foremost in every glory,

the first and most ancient?

ونحن العاربون فلا تعاموا

وأنتم بعدنا المستعربونا

We are the original Arabs: do not feign blindness.

You became Arabized after us.

تكلمتم بألسننا فصرتم

بفضل القوم منا مفصحينا

You spoke with our tongues and became

eloquent through the favor of our people.

ملكنا قبل خلقكم البرايا

وكنا قبلهم متأمرينا

We ruled creation before you were created,

and held command before them.

فلما أن خلقتم لم تكونوا

لنا في أمرنا بمخالفينا

When you were created, you did not

oppose us in our authority.

وكنتم في الذي دخل البرايا

بطوع أو بكره داخلينا

You entered what all creatures entered,

willingly or unwillingly.

وما زلتم لنا في كل عصر

ملكنا أو ملكتم تابعينا

In every age you have continued

as our followers, whether we ruled or you ruled,

لِفاقتكم إلينا إذ حسرتم

وإنا عن معونتكم غنينا

because you needed us when exhausted,

while we needed none of your assistance.

أعناكم بدولتكم ولما

نُرِدْ منكم بدولتنا معينا

We helped you during your dominion, but never

sought a helper from you during ours.

وإنا للذين عرفتموهم

لكم في كل هيج قاهرونا

We are those whom you have known

to overpower you in every battle.

وإنا للذين علمتموهم

لكم في كل فخر فائتنا

We are those whom you have known

to surpass you in every glory.

يراكم بين قومي من يراكم

كملح الزاد لا بل تنزرونا

Whoever sees you among my people sees you

like salt in food—indeed, you are scarcer still.

ونحن أتم أجساماً ولبّاً

وأعظم بطشةً في الباطشينا

We are more complete in body and intellect,

and mightier in assault among the mighty.

سننّا كلَّ مكرمة فأضحت

لتابعِنا من الأديان دينا

We established every noble practice, which became

a creed among creeds for our followers.

ولولا نحن لم يَعرِفْ جميلاً

ولا قبحاً جميعُ الفاعلينا

Without us, none of those who act would know

either beauty or ugliness.

وعرَّفنا الملوك بكل عصرٍ

بأساس الملوك منعمينا

In every age we taught kings

the foundations of kingship, bestowing favor.

وعودنا التحية تابعيهم

وما كانوا لها بمُعَوَّدينا

We accustomed their followers to salutations

which they had not been accustomed to.

وإلا فانظروا الأملاك تلقوا

جميعهم بقومي مقتدينا

Otherwise, look at the kings: you will find

all of them following my people's example.

وسنَّانا النشيطة والصفايا

ومرباع الغنائم غانمينا

Our custom established stray booty and choice spoils,

and the fourth share of plunder when taking spoils.

وبحَّرنا وسيَّبنا قديماً

فما كنتم لذاك مغيِّرينا

Long ago we slit camels' ears and released sacred camels,

and you did not change that.

فكنتم للَّحِيِّ كطوعِ كفٍ

وكنتم للنبي مساندينا

You obeyed Luhayy like a pliant hand,

and supported the Prophet.

وأحدثنا الأسنة حين كانت

أسنة آل عدنان قرونا

We introduced spearheads when

the spearheads of Adnan's house were horns.

وآلات الحروب معاً بدعنا

وفينا سنة المتبارزينا

We invented all the implements of war,

and among us originated the practice of single combat.

وأنتم تعلمون بأن ملكنا

بساط الأرض غير مشاركينا

You know that we ruled

the earth's spread, without partners.

ونصف السقف منها غير شك

إلينا للتيمُّن تنسبونا

Half its roof, without doubt,

you assign to us as the southern half:

من الغفرين حتى الحوت طولاً

وعرضاً في الجنوب بما ولينا

lengthwise, from the two Ghafr stars to the Fish,

and breadthwise, in the south that we possess.

وملقحة السحاب لنا ومنا

مخارجها ومنا تمطرونا

The wind that fertilizes clouds is ours, and from us

it issues, and from us you receive rain.

وما بحذاء ضرع الجو قومٌ

سوانا منجدين ومتهمينا

No people lie beneath the sky's udder

except us, in highlands and lowlands.

لنا مطر المقيظ بشهر آبٍ

وتموزٍ وأنتم مجدبونا

We have summer rain in August

and July, while you suffer drought.

يظل بصحوة ويصوب فينا

زوال الشمس غير مقتّرينا

The day remains clear, then rain falls upon us

at the sun's decline, without stinting us.

ونزرع بعد ذاك على ثراه

ونحصد والثرى قد حال طينا

Afterward we sow in its soil

and harvest when the soil has become clay.

على إن لم يصبه سوى طلال

شهوراً ثم نصبح ممطرينا

Even if nothing touches it but dew

for months, we then receive rain.

وأنفس جوهر في الأرض فينا

معادنه غنائم غانمينا

The earth's most precious substance is among us;

its mines are prizes for our takers of spoils.

وأطيب بلدةٍ لا حر فيها

ولا قر الشتاء محاذرينا

And the fairest land: no heat within it,

nor winter cold for us to fear.

بها إرم التي لم يخلق اللَ

هُ مشبهها بدار مفاخرينا

Within it is Iram, for which God never created

a likeness: a home for those who boast of us.

وإن عدت أقاليم النواحي

فأولها بزعم الحاسبينا

If the regions' climes are counted,

their first, according to the reckoners,

لنا ولنا جنان الأرض جمعاً

ونار الحكم غير مكذبينا

is ours; ours are all earth's gardens

and the fire of judgment, without denying it.

فأي المجد إلا قد ورثنا

وأي العز إلا قد ولينا

What glory have we not inherited?

What honor have we not possessed?

وأوضحنا سبيل الجود حتى

أبانت في الدجى للسالكينا

We made generosity's path clear until

it shone in darkness for travelers.

ولولا نحن ما عرفت لأنا

إلى سبل المكارم سابقونا

Without us it would not be known, for we

are first upon the paths of noble deeds.

وما أموالنا فينا كنوزاً

إذا كنز الوفور الكانزونا

Our wealth does not lie among us as hoards

when hoarders store up abundance.

ولكن للوفود وكل جار

أرقَّ وللضيوف النازلينا

Rather, it is for delegations and every neighbor

brought low, and for arriving guests.

نعد لهم من الشيزى جفاناً

كأمثال القلات إذا مُلينا

We prepare for them bowls of shiza wood

like rock pools when filled.

فمن شق ينال الركب منها

ومن شق ينال القاعدونا

From one side, mounted travelers partake;

from another, those seated partake.

تلهَّم نصفَ كرٍّ من طعام

وكوماءَ العريكة أو شُنونا

They swallow half a kurr of food

and a hump-backed camel, or lean ones.

عبيطةُ معشرٍ لما يكونوا

بأزلامٍ عليها ياسرينا

Freshly slaughtered by people who have not

gambled over it with divining arrows.

وما نزلت لنا في الدهر قِدرٌ

عن الأثفاه أجل الطارقينا

Never has one of our cooking pots descended

from its hearthstones, for the sake of night visitors.

فما ليل الطهاة سوى نهار

لدينا ذابحين وطابخينا

Our cooks' night is nothing but day,

slaughtering and cooking among us.

وأكلبنا يبتن بكل ريعٍ

لِمَن وخَّا المازلَ يتلقينا

Our dogs spend the night on every height,

welcoming whoever seeks lodging.

فبعض بالبصابص متحفوه

وبعض نحونا كمبشرينا

Some greet him with wagging tails,

and some approach us like heralds of good news,

لما قد عودت وجرت عليه

لوقد عندنا لا يفقدونا

because of what they have learned and practiced:

our kindled fires are never absent.

تراهم عند طلعتهم سواءً

وأملاكاً علينا منزلينا

You see them at their arrival as equals,

and as kings given lodging with us.

وما كنا كمثل بني نزارٍ

لأطفال المهود بوائدينا

We have not been like Nizar's sons,

burying cradle infants alive.

وما أموالنا من بعد هذا

سوى بيض الصفائح ما عشينا

Beyond this, our possessions are nothing

but gleaming sword blades, as long as we live,

وأرماح مثقفة رواءٍ

بتامور القلوب مع الكلينا

and straightened spears, quenched

with hearts' blood and kidneys,

ومشطرة من الشريان زور

كسوناهن مربوعاً متينا

and curved bows split from shiryan wood:

we clothed them in stout, four-stranded strings.

به عند الفراق لكل سهم

يكون بزورها يعلى الرنينا

With these, whenever an arrow departs,

a ringing rises from their curves.

وجرد كان فينا لا سوانا

معارقها معاً ولنا افتلينا

And sleek horses: among us, not others,

were all their roots, and for us they were reared.

ومنا صرن في سلفي نزارٍ

لما كنا عليه حاملينا

From us they passed to Nizar's two ancestral branches,

because we provided them with mounts.

ربطناها لنحملهم عليها

إذا وفدوا ونحمي ما يلينا

We tethered them to carry those men upon them

when they visited, and to defend our surroundings.

ولولا نحن ما عرفوا سروجاً

ولا كانوا لهن ملجِّمينا

Without us they would not have known saddles,

nor would they have bridled horses.

علوناهن قبل الخلق طراً

وصيرنا مرادفها حصونا

We mounted them before all creation

and made their backs strongholds.

تراث شيوخ صدق لم يزالوا

لها ممن تقدَّم وارثينا

An inheritance of worthy elders, who always

inherited them from their predecessors.

يظل الناس من فرق إذا ما

علوناهن في شكك ثِبينا

People remain fearful whenever

we mount them, in armor, in companies.

ونمنع جارنا مما منعنا

ذوات الدل منه والبنينا

We defend our neighbor against what we defend

our graceful women and sons against.

وما هم عندنا بأعز منهم

نقيهم بالنفوس ولو ردينا

Those are no dearer to us than our neighbors;

we shield them with our lives, even if we perish.

وتكظم غيظنا ألا يرانا

عدوٌّ أو محبٌّ طائشينا

We restrain our anger, lest we be seen

by enemy or friend acting rashly.

وعلَّ بكلِّ قلب من جواه

لذاك الغيظ ناراً تجتوينا

Yet within every heart, from its anguish,

that anger kindles a fire burning within us.

نصون بذاك حلماً ذا أواخي

رسا فيها حراء وطورُ سينا

Thus we preserve a forbearance with firm anchors,

in which Hira and Mount Sinai stand rooted.

نظل به إذا ما إن حضرنا

جماعة محفل متتوِّجينا

By it, whenever we attend

an assembled gathering, we remain crowned.

ولسنا منعمين بلا اقتدار

ونعم العفو عفو القادرينا

We do not grant favors without power:

excellent is the pardon of those able to punish.

وإن نغضب بجبار عنيد

يصر بعد التجبر مستكينا

If we become angry with an obstinate tyrant,

he becomes submissive after his arrogance.

كعصفتنا بمن علموا قديماً

من الخلفاء لما ساورونا

As when we stormed against those they knew of old,

among the caliphs, when they assailed us.

ولسنا حاطمين إذا عصفنا

سوى الأملاك والمتعظِّمينا

When we rage, we crush none

but kings and the arrogant.

كعصف الريح يعقر دوح أرض

وليس بعاضدٍ منها الغصونا

Like a gale uprooting a land's great trees

without cutting off its branches.

ونغدو باللهام المَجْر يغشى

بلمع البيض منه الناظرينا

We advance with a vast, surging army that dazzles

onlookers with its gleaming swords.

فنترك دار من سرنا إليه

تأنُّ لدى القفول بنا أنينا

We leave the dwelling of those we march against

groaning because of us as we return.

وقد عركت فساوى الحزن منها

سباسبها بكلكل فاحسينا

It has been ground down, its rugged ground leveled

with its plains by a crushing breast.

كما دارت رحا من فوق حَبٍّ

تداولها أكف المسغبينا

As a millstone turns above grain,

passed between hungry hands.

فأصبح ما بها للريح نهباً

كما انتهبت لخفته الدرينا

Everything there becomes plunder for the wind,

as it carries off dry herbage for its lightness,

سوى من كان فيها من عروب

تفتر عند نظرتها الجفونا

except the loving women within it,

whose glance makes eyelids droop.

فإنا منكحو العُزَّاب منا

بهن لأن يبيتوا معرسينا

We marry our bachelors

to them, so they spend their nights as bridegrooms,

بلا مهرٍ كتبناه علينا

وما كنا له بمحضرينا

without a dowry we undertook to pay,

nor did we bring one,

سوى ضرب كأشداق البخاتي

من الهامات أو يرد المتونا

except blows like Bactrian camels' gaping mouths,

striking heads or reaching backs.

ترى أرجاءها مما تنأَّتْ

وأرغب كَلْمها لا يلتقينا

You see their edges far apart,

and their widest wounds do not close.

وطعنٍ مثل أَبْهاءِ الصياصي

وأفواه المزاد إذا كفينا

And thrusts like the gateways of fortresses

and waterskins' mouths when poured out.

ترى منها إذا انفهقت بفيها

من الخضراء باعاً مستبينا

When they gape, through their mouths you see

a clear armspan of the dark interior.

ولسنا للغرائب منذ كنا

بغير شبا الرماح بناكحينا

Since we existed, we have not married foreign women

except through the points of spears.

وما برزت لنا يوماً كعابٌ

فتلمحها عيون الناظرينا

No young woman of ours has ever appeared

for onlookers' eyes to glimpse.

ولا أيدي مخلخلها ارتياعٌ

لأنا للكواعب مانعونا

Nor has alarm distressed the wearer of anklets,

for we protect young women.

ولا ذهب العدو لنا بوتر

فأمسينا عليه مغمِّضينا

No enemy has inflicted a wrong upon us

that we have then overlooked.

نضاعفه إذا ما تقتضيه

كإضعاف المُعَيّنةِ الديونا

We double it when exacting payment,

as moneylenders multiply debts.

وقد تأبى فتاة بني يمانٍ

على غمز العداة بأن تليا

A daughter of Yemen's sons refuses

to yield beneath the enemies' pressure,

كما تأبى الصدوع لهم صفاة

يحيط بها فؤوس القارعينا

as a stone refuses their attempts to split it,

surrounded by the strikers' axes.

وكبش كتيبة قد عادلته

بألف في الحديد مدججينا

A battalion's champion, whom you would match

with a thousand clad in iron,

أتيح له فتى منا كميٌّ

فأرداه وأركبه الجبينا

was met by an armored young man of ours,

who slew him and cast him onto his forehead.

وغادره كأنَّ الصدر منه

وكفَّيه بقنديد طُلينا

He left him as though his chest

and both hands were painted with red wine.

تظل الطير عاكفة عليه

ينقرن البضيع وينتقينا

Birds remain gathered around him,

pecking his flesh and selecting morsels.

وأبقينا مآتم حاسرات

عليه يَنْتَرينَ ويستفينا

We left mourning assemblies of unveiled women,

lamenting him and throwing dust upon themselves.

فكيف يكون في زعم ابن زيد

على هذا كشحمةِ مشتوينا

How, then, according to Ibn Zayd, can he

after this be like fat for those roasting it?

ونحن للطمة وجبت علينا

دخلنا النار عنها هازئينا

For a slap that became our obligation,

we entered the fire, scorning it.

ونحن المرجفون لأرض نجد

بأنف قضاعة والمذحجينا

We are those who shook the land of Najd

with Quda'a's foremost men and Madhhij's men.

فمادت تحتنا لما وطئنا

عليها وطأة المتثاقلينا

It swayed beneath us when we trod

upon it with ponderous steps.

أبلنا الخيل فيها غير يوم

وظلت في أطلتها صفونا

We let our horses graze there for many days,

and they stood upon their pasterns, resting a hoof.

ورُحْنَ تظنُّ ما وطأتْهُ ماءً

تموج من الوجا في الخطو طينا

They departed, thinking what they trod was water,

their steps churning clay through sore hooves.

ورحنا مردفين مَها رُماحٍ

يُقعقع عيسُنا منها البَرينا

We returned with Rumah's oryx-like women riding behind us,

their nose-rings rattling upon our pale camels.

تَنَظَّرُ وفدَ معشرِها علينا

لِمَنٍّ أو نكاحٍ تمَّ فينا

They await their people's delegation to us,

for release or a marriage concluded among us.

فإنا منكحو العزَّاب منا

بهن لأن يبيتوا معرسينا

We marry our bachelors

to them, so they spend their nights as bridegrooms.

ونحن المُقْعِصون فتى سُليمٍ

عمارة بالغُميرِ مُصَبِّحينا

We struck down Sulaym's young warrior,

'Umara, at al-Ghumayr, attacking at dawn.

وحَمَّلنا بني العلَّاق جمعاً

بعتق أخيهمُ حِملاً رزينا

We laid upon all Banu al-'Allaq,

through their brother's ransom, a heavy burden.

وطوَّقنا الجعافرَ فى لَبيدٍ

بطوق كان عندهم ثمينا

Through Labid we encircled the Ja'afir

with a necklace they deemed precious.

ولم نقصُد لِوَجٍّ إن فيها

فلا قربت محلُّ الراضعينا

We did not aim for Wajj, for there

dwells the sucklers' abode—may it never draw near!

وغادرنا بني أسدٍ بحُجْرٍ

وقد ثرنا حصيداً خامدينا

We left Banu Asad, avenging Hujr,

mown down and lifeless when we took revenge.

كمثل النخل ما انقعرت ولكن

بأرجلهم تراهم شاغرينا

Like palm trees, not uprooted, yet

you see them with legs raised apart.

تقوِّتهم سباع الأرض حولاً

طريّاً ثم مُخْتَزناً قَيينا

They feed earth's beasts for a year,

fresh, then stored and dried.

وزلزلنا ديارهم فمرت

تبادرنا بأسفل سافلينا

We shook their dwellings, and they hurried

to outstrip us toward the lowest depths,

بمضمرة تَفِلُّ ليوثَ هَيجٍ

على صهواتها مُستلمميتا

before lean horses that shatter battle's lions,

bearing armored men upon their backs.

تظل على كواثبها وشيجٌ

كأشطانٍ بأيدي ماتحينا

Spears remain upon their withers

like well-ropes in water-drawers' hands.

وما قتلوا أخانا يوم هَيجٍ

فنُعذِرَهم ولكن غادرينا

They did not kill our brother in battle,

that we might excuse them, but treacherously.

وما كانت بنو أسد فغرّوا

بجمرة ذي يمانٍ مصطلينا

Banu Asad had not been warming themselves—let them beware—

at the ember of Yemen's men.

أليسوا جيرة الطائين منا

بهم كانوا قديماً يعرفونا

Are they not neighbors of our Tayy men,

through whom they were known of old?

وهم كانوا قديماً قبل هذا

لأرثهم لهالكهم قيونا

Long ago, before this, they were

smiths, tending their dead man's funeral fire.

وحَسْبُك حلفهم عاراً عليهم

وهم كانوا لذلك طالبينا

Their alliance is disgrace enough upon them,

and they themselves sought it.

ولو قامت على قوم بِلُؤمٍ

جوارحُهم مقام الشاهدينا

If a people's limbs could stand

as witnesses to their baseness,

إذا قامت على أسدٍ وحتى

ثيابهم اللواتي يلبسونا

they would testify against Asad, and even

the clothes they wear,

بِلؤْمٍ لا تحل به صلاةٌ

به أضحوا لهن مُدَنِّسينا

to baseness that makes prayer impermissible:

with it they have polluted their garments.

وليس بزائل عنهم إلى أن

تراهم كالأفاعي خالسينا

It will not depart from them until

you see them slipping away like snakes,

ولا سيما بني دودان منها

وكاهلها إذا ما يخبرونا

especially Banu Dudan among them

and their Kahil, when they report.

وهم منوا بإسلام رقيقٍ

على ربِّي وليسوا مخلصينا

They counted their feeble Islam a favor

to my Lord, though they were not sincere.

وثرنا بابن أصهب وابن جون

فكنا حين ثرنا مجحفينا

We avenged Ibn Ashab and Ibn Jawn,

and our vengeance was devastating.

فخرت جعدةٌ بسيوف قومي

وضبةُ حين ثرنا ساجدينا

Ja'da fell beneath my people's swords,

and Dabba lay prostrate when we took revenge.

وآل مُزَيْقِيا فلقد عرفتم

قراعهمُ فكروا عايدينا

And Muzaqiya's house—you know

their blows: return and attack again!

ويوم أوارةَ الشنعاءِ ظِلنا

نحرِّق بابن سيدنا مئينا

On the terrible day of Uwara, we remained

burning hundreds for our lord's son.

ودان الأسود اللخميُّ منكم

بني دُوّان والمتربِّبينا

Al-Aswad al-Lakhmi subdued among you

Banu Duwan and those claiming lordship,

بيوم يترك الأطفال شيباً

وأَبكار الكواعِب منة عونا

on a day that leaves children gray-haired

and maiden girls mature women.

وصار إلى النسار يدير فيكم

مُطحطحةً لما لَهِبَت طحونا

He went to al-Nisar, setting turning among you

a crushing mill, blazing and grinding.

فقام بثأر بعضكمُ ببعضٍ

أحلَّ به مشرشرةً حُجونا

He avenged some of you upon others,

bringing down a jagged, hooked calamity.

وأشرك طيِّئاً فيها فجارت

رماحهمُ على المتمعددينا

He joined Tayy to it, and their

spears oppressed those claiming Ma'add's descent.

أداروا كأسَ فاقرةٍ عليكم

فرحتم مسكَرين ومثمَلينا

They passed a cup of crushing calamity among you,

and you returned drunken and stupefied.

وأبروا بابن مالكٍ القُشيري

فسرَّح منكم الداء الكنينا

They dealt decisively with Ibn Malik al-Qushayri,

releasing the hidden disease among you.

وهم منعوا الجراد أكف قوم

دعوها جارهم متحفظينا

They protected the locusts from a people's hands,

calling them their neighbor and guarding them.

وعنترة الفواس قد علمتم

بكف رهيصنا لاقى المنونا

You know that 'Antara the horseman

met death at our Ruhays's hand.

ويسَّرنا شباة الرمح تهوي

إلى ابن مُكدّم فهوى طعينا

We let the spear's point fall

upon Ibn Mukaddam, and he fell pierced.

وأوردنا ابن ظالمٍ المنايا

ولسنا للختور مناظرينا

We brought Ibn Zalim to death,

and do not grant respite to the treacherous.

فذاق بنا أبو ليلى رداه

وكنّا لابن مُرَّةَ خافرينا

Through us Abu Layla tasted his destruction,

while we were protectors of Ibn Murra.

أجرناه مراراً ثم لما

تَكَرَّهَ ذمةَ الطائين حينا

We sheltered him repeatedly; then, when

he grew averse to Tayy's protection for a time—

وعباسٌ بن عامرٍ السُّلَيمي

يِ من رُعْلٍ قتيلُ الخثعمينا

'Abbas son of 'Amir al-Sulaymi,

of Ri'l, was slain by Khath'am's men.

فليس بمنكر فيكم وهذا

سُليكٌ قتله لا تنكرونا

This is not denied among you; and this

is Sulayk, whose killing you do not deny.

وغادرنا الضباب على صُمِيل

يجرُّون النواصيَ والقرونا

We left al-Dibab at Sumayl

dragging forelocks and locks.

وفاتِكَكم تأبَّطَ قد أسرنا

فأُلبِسَ بعدها ذلاً وهونا

We captured your deadly Ta'abbata,

and afterward he was clothed in abasement.

وطاح ابنُ الفجاء مطاحَ سوء

تُقَسِّمُه رماح بني أبينا

Ibn al-Fuja' fell an evil fall,

divided by the spears of our father's sons.

وكانوا للقماقم من تميم

على زرق الأسنة شايطينا

They thrust Tamim's great chieftains

upon blue spearheads, destroying them.

هوى والخيل تعثر في قناها

لحُرِّ جبينه في التاعسينا

He fell, while horses stumbled among their spears,

upon his bare forehead, among the wretched.

وما زلنا بكل صباح حَيفٍ

نُكِبُّ على السروج الدارعينا

On every unjust morning we have continued

to pitch armored men over their saddles.

ولمَّا حاسَ جوَّابٌ كلاباً

تمنَّع فَلُّهم بالحارثينا

When Jawwab swept through Kilab,

their remnants sought refuge with the Harith men.

وهم عركوهمُ من قبل هذا

كما عرك الأهابَ الخالقونا

Those had ground them down before this,

as leatherworkers work a hide.

وأَسقوا يومَ معركهم دُريداً

بعبد اللَه في كأسٍ يَرُوْنَا

On their battle day they gave Durayd to drink,

for 'Abd Allah, from a brimming cup.

وهم وردوا الجفار على تميم

لأبحُرِ كلِّ آلٍ خايضينا

They came upon Tamim at al-Jifar,

wading through seas of every mirage.

فأسجر بينهم فيها وطيسٌ

فَصُلُّوها وظلوا يصطلونا

A furnace was stoked among them there;

they burned in it and remained roasting.

وفي يوم الكلاب فلم يذمّوا

على أن لم يكونوا الظافرينا

On the day of al-Kulab they were not disgraced,

though they were not victorious.

وقلَّدَ تَيْمَ أسرُهُمُ يغوثاً

مخازيَ ما دَرَسْنَ ولا مُحينا

Their capture of Yaghuth hung upon Taym

disgraces never worn away or erased,

لشدِّهِمُ اللسانَ بثنيِ نسعٍ

فكانوا بالشريف ممثِّلِينا

for tying his tongue with a doubled strap:

they mutilated a nobleman.

وهم منعوا القبائل من نزار

حمى نجران إلا زائرينا

They kept Nizar's tribes out of

Najran's protected land, except as visitors.

ونحن المرحلون جموعَ بكرٍ

وتغلبَ من تهامة ناقلينا

We made Bakr's hosts depart,

moving Taghlib out of Tihama.

وما فتكت معدُّ كما فتكنا

فتقمص بالرماح التبَّعينا

Ma'add did not strike as we struck,

clothing the Tubba' kings in spears,

أو الأقوال إذ بذخوا عليها

بما كانوا لها مستمهنينا

or the qayls, when they exalted themselves over them

through those whom they treated as servants.

وكيف وهم إذا سمعوا بجيش

يسيرٍ أصبحوا متخيّسينا

How could they, when hearing of an army

on the march made them crouch in fear?

يَرودون البلادَ مرادَ طيرٍ

ترود لما تفرِّخُه وُكونا

They search the lands as a bird searches,

seeking nests for the young it hatches.

فإن زعموا بأنهم لقاحٌ

وليسوا بالأتاوة مسمحينا

If they claim to be independent

and unwilling to yield tribute,

فقد كذبوا لأعطوها وكانوا

بها الأبناء دأباً يرهنونا

they lie: they paid it, and continually

pledged their sons as security for it.

ولِمْ صبروا على أيام بؤس

لأهل الحيرة المتجبرينا

Why did they endure days of misery

under al-Hira's tyrannical people?

يسومهم بها النعمان خسفاً

وهم في كل ذلك مذعنونا

Al-Nu'man imposed humiliation upon them there,

and through all of it they submitted.

ويبعث كبشه فيهم منوطاً

به سكينه للذابحينا

He sent his ram among them, with

his knife attached to it for the slaughterers.

فما ألقاهم بالكبش يوماً

فكيف بذي الجموع بفاتكينا

They never struck down the ram:

how, then, could they strike its lord of armies?

فلما مات لم يندبه خلق

سواهم بالقصيد موتبنينا

When he died, no creatures lamented him

except them, mourning him in verse.

وقد كانوا له إذ كان حياً

وخادمه عصام مادحينا

While he lived, they had praised

both him and his servant 'Isam.

ويوم قراقر لما غدرتم

بعروة لم تكونوا مفلتينا

On Quraqir's day, when you betrayed

'Urwa, you did not escape.

علوناكم بهنَّ مجردات

كأمثال الكواكب يرتمينا

We struck above you with unsheathed swords,

like stars hurled down.

فما كنتم لماء قُراقريٍّ

مخافة تلك يوماً واردينا

Never did you come to Quraqir's water

for fear of those swords.

وقد همت نزارٌ كل عصر

بأن تضحي بعقوتنا قطينا

In every age Nizar considered

becoming inhabitants of our courtyard.

لمَا نظروا بها حتى تولوا

وهم منه حيارى باهتونا

They scarcely looked upon it before turning away,

bewildered and astonished by it.

وقد نظروا جناناً من نخيل

ومن كرم وبينهما معينا

They saw gardens of palms

and vines, with flowing water between them.

وأسفلها مزارع كل نبت

وأعلاها المصانع والحصونا

Below them were fields of every plant;

above them, reservoirs and strongholds.

وحلوا دار سوء ليس تلقى

بها للطير من شظفٍ وكونا

They settled in an evil land where you find

no birds' nests because of hardship.

فثرنا في وجوههمُ ببيضٍ

يُطرنَ الهامَ أمثال الكِرينا

We rose in their faces with gleaming swords,

sending heads flying like balls.

وإن خسفت مفارقُ طار منها

فراش الهام شاردة عِزينا

When skulls were crushed, their

thin bones flew away in scattered groups.

وقالت تحتهنَّ قُبٍ وَقُقٍّ

وقد وردت مضاربها الشؤونا

Beneath them sounded 'qubb' and 'waqq,'

as their striking edges reached the skull's sutures.

وأظهرْنا على الأجلاد منا

لموعَ البيض والحلق الوضينا

Upon our bodies we displayed

gleaming swords and closely woven rings:

سرابيلاً تخال الآل لما

ترقرق في الفلا منها الغصونا

coats you would imagine branches of mirage

when it shimmers in the wilderness.

بِكَدْيُونٍ وكُرٍّ أشعرته

سحيقاً في مصاونها حُلِينا

With oil and polishing material we treated them,

finely powdered, adorning them in their cases.

ووقاها الندى والطل حتى

أضأن فما طَبِعْنَ ولا صدينا

It shielded them from dampness and dew until

they shone, neither tarnished nor rusted.

وطرنا فوق أكتاد المذاكي

كأنا جنةٌ متعبقرونا

We flew above the shoulders of seasoned horses,

like jinn from 'Abqar.

فولوا حين أقبلنا عليهم

نهز البيض منا يركضونا

They fled when we advanced upon them,

brandishing our swords, and galloped away.

يود جميعهم أن لو أُمِدّوا

بأجنحة فكانوا طائرينا

Every one of them wished to be supplied

with wings, so they could fly.

بذا عرفوا إذا ما إن لقونا

لأثواب المنية مظهرينا

Thus they knew, whenever they met us,

that we displayed the garments of death.

فلما أن أراد اللَه خيراً

بكم بعث ابنَ آمنةَ الأمينا

When God desired good

for you, He sent Amina's trustworthy son,

يعلِّمكم كتاباً لم تكونوا

له من قبل ذلك قارئينا

teaching you a Book that you had not

previously read,

ويخبركم عن الرحمن ما لم

تكونوا للجهالة تعقلونا

and telling you of the Merciful what

ignorance had kept you from understanding.

فأظهرتم له الأضغان منكم

وكنتم من حجاه ساخرينا

You revealed your rancor toward him

and mocked his wisdom.

ولولا خفتمُ أسياف غُنْمٍ

لكان ببعض كيدكمُ مُحِينا

Had you not feared Ghunm's swords,

some of your plotting would have erased him.

فأما الحَصر والهجران منكم

له وجسيم ما قد تمهنونا

As for your confinement and shunning

of him, and the grave indignities you inflicted,

فقد أوسعتموه من أذاةٍ

فأمحلتم بدعوته سنينا

you lavished harm upon him,

and his prayer brought years of drought upon you.

وقابله بنو ياليل منكمُ

بوجٍّ والقبائل حاضرونا

Your Banu Yalil confronted him

at Wajj, with the tribes present,

بأن قالوا تَرى ما كان خلقٌ

سوى هذا لرب العالمينا

saying, 'Was there no creature, do you think,

other than this one for the Lord of the worlds

رسولاً بالبلاغ وإن يكنه

فنحن به جميعاً كافرونا

to send as His messenger? Even if he is one,

we all disbelieve in him.'

وقلتم إن يكن هذا رسولاً

لك اللهم فينا أن ندينا

You said, 'If this is a messenger

of Yours, O God, among us whom we must obey,

فصب من السماء سِلامَ صخرٍ

علينا اليوم غير مناضلينا

pour stones of rock from heaven

upon us today, without our warding them off,

وعذبنا عذاباً ذا فنونٍ

فكنتم للردى مستفتحينا

and punish us with varied punishment.'

Thus you called down destruction.

وخبرنا الإله بما عمرتم

به وبدينه تستهزئونا

God told us what you occupied yourselves with:

mocking him and his religion.

أهذا ذاكر الأصنام منا

بما يضحي له مُتَكَرِّهينا

'Is this the one who mentions our idols

in a way that makes us dislike him?'

فلما أن حكيتُم قومَ نوحٍ

دعانا فاستجبنا أجمعينا

When you imitated Noah's people,

he called us, and all of us answered.

وسار خيارنا من كل أوب

إليه مؤمنين موحدينا

Our best men traveled from every quarter

to him, believing and affirming God's oneness.

فآسوه بأنفسهم وأصفوا

له ما ملَّكوه طايعينا

They supported him with their lives and devoted

what they owned to him, willingly.

وكنتم مثل ما قد قال ربي

متى تُحْفَوا تكونوا باخلينا

You were as my Lord had said:

when pressed for gifts, you become miserly.

وكان المصطفى بأبي وأمي

بأفخر مفخر للآدمينا

The Chosen One—may my father and mother ransom him—

was humanity's proudest source of glory.

ولم يك في معدَّ له نظير

ولا قحطان غير مجمجمينا

He had no equal in Ma'add,

nor in Qahtan: we say it without hesitation.

فمما قد جهلتم لم تكونوا

لما أعطيتموه آخذينا

Through your ignorance, you did not

take what was given to you.

وناصره ذووا الألباب منا

فأقبلنا إليه مبادرينا

The wise among us supported him,

and we hastened toward him.

فأحرزناه دونكم وأنتم

قيام كالبهائم تنظرونا

We secured him rather than you, while you

stood watching like beasts.

ترون ضنينكم في كف ثاني

وذلك سوء عقبى الجاهلينا

You saw your treasured one in another's hand:

such is the evil outcome of ignorance.

فتمَّمنا مفاخرنا بذاكم

فزدنا إذ نرا كم تنقصونا

With that we completed our glories,

increasing while we saw you diminish.

ولو لقِّيتم فيه رشاداً

فتتبعون دون بني أبينا

Had you been guided rightly concerning him,

following him before our father's sons,

إذاً نلتم به فخراً وكانوا

على قدر الولادة تشركونا

you would have gained glory through him, and they

would have shared according to their kinship.

وكان دعاءه يا رب إني

بقرية قوم سوء فاسقينا

His prayer was, 'O Lord, I am

in a town of evil, sinful people.

فأبدلني بهم قوماً سواهم

فكنا هم وأنتم مبعدونا

Replace them for me with another people.'

We were those people, while you were put away.

وآويناه إذ أخرجتموه

وكنا فيه منكم ثائرينا

We sheltered him when you expelled him,

and avenged him upon you.

وأسلمتم بحد سيوف قومي

على جذع المعاطس صاغرينا

You accepted Islam at my people's swords' edges,

your noses cut down in humiliation.

وأذعنتم وقد حَزَّت ظباها

بأيدنا عليكم كارهينا

You submitted while their blades cut

into you in our hands, unwillingly.

وقال اللَه لما أن أبيتم

كرامته بنا لكم مهينا

God spoke when you rejected

His honor, humiliating you through us.

وصيَّرَنا لما لم تقبلوا من

كرامته الجسيمة وارثينا

When you did not accept, He made us

heirs to His immense honor.

وكنتم حين أرمس في ثراه

له في الأهل بئس الخالفونا

When he was buried in his earth,

you were wretched successors among his family.

غدرتم بابنه فقتلتموه

وفتياناً من المُتَهَشِّمينا

You betrayed his son and killed him,

and young men of Hashim's line.

وأعليتم بجثَّتِه سناناً

إلى الآفاق ما إن ترعوونا

You raised a spear bearing his body

toward the horizons, never desisting.

وكنتم لابنه كي تنظروه

أأنبتَ تقتلوه كاشفينا

You uncovered his son to inspect him,

to kill him if he had grown pubic hair.

وأشخصتم كرائمه اعتداء

على الأقتاب غير مساترينا

You carried away his noble women in aggression,

on camel saddles, without concealing them.

أكلتم كِبْدَ حمزة يوم أحد

وكنتم باجتداعه ماثلينا

You ate Hamza's liver on Uhud's day

and mutilated him by cutting off his parts.

وها أنتم إلى ذا اليوم عمَّا

يسوء المصطفى ما تُقلعونا

To this very day you have not

ceased doing what grieves the Chosen One.

فطوراً تطبخون بنيه طبخاً

بزيت ثم طوراً تسمرونا

Sometimes you cook his descendants

in oil; sometimes you nail them up.

فهم في النجل للأخيار دأباً

وأنتم غير شك تحصدونا

They continually beget worthy offspring,

while you undoubtedly reap them.

كأن اللَه صيَّرهم هدايا

لمنسككم وأنتم تنسكونا

As though God had made them sacrificial gifts

for your rites, while you perform the slaughter.

وأنتم قبل ذلك مسمعوه

قبيحَ المحفظات مواجهينا

Before that, you made him hear

ugly, enraging insults to his face.

وهاجوه ومَرْوُوا ذاك فيه

قيانَ ابن الأخيطل عامدينا

You satirized him and deliberately had it recited

by Ibn al-Ukhaytil's singing girls.

وقلتم أبتراً صنبورَ نخلٍ

وقلتم بابن كبشة هازئينا

You called him cut off, a barren palm stump,

and mockingly called him Ibn Kabsha.

وطايرتم عليه الفَرْثَ عمداً

وكنتم للثنية ثارمينا

You deliberately scattered dung upon him

and broke his incisor.

وكنا طوعه في كل أمر

مطاوعة البرود اللابسينا

We obeyed him in every matter

as robes yield to their wearers.

وما قلنا له كمقال قومٍ

لموسى خيفة المتعملقينا

We did not speak to him as a people spoke

to Moses, fearing the mighty giants:

ألا قاتل بربك إن فيها

جبابرة وإنَّا قاعدونا

'Go fight with your Lord: there are

tyrants there, and we shall sit here.'

وقلنا سر بنا إنا لجمع

أراد لك القتال مقاتلونا

We said, 'Lead us: we shall fight any host

that desires to fight you.

فلو برك الغماد قصدت كنا

له من دون شخصك سائرينا

If you aimed for Bark al-Ghimad, we would

march there ahead of your person.'

وكل مؤلف فيكم ولما

يكن في اليعربين مؤلفينا

Every man whose loyalty was purchased was among you;

none was among Ya'rub's men.

وآتينا الزكاة وكل فرض

وأنتم إذ بخلتم مانعونا

We paid alms and every obligation,

while you, being miserly, withheld them.

وما حاربتم إلا عليها

ولولا تلك كنتم مؤمنينا

You fought only on their account;

but for that, you would have been believers.

فأي المعشرين بذاك أولى

على ما قد ذكرنا واصدقونا

Which of the two peoples deserves this more,

in view of what we have said? Answer truthfully.

وفخركم بإبراهيم جهلاً

فإنا ذاك عنكم حائزونا

Your boast of Abraham is ignorant:

we claim that honor rather than you.

ونحن التابعون له وأولى

به منكم لعمري التابعونا

We follow him and have a greater claim

to him than you—by my life, we are the followers.

دعانا يوم أذَّن فاستجبنا

بأن لبيك لما أن دعينا

He called us when he proclaimed, and we answered,

'At your service,' when we were called.

وإن تفخر ببُرديه نزارٌ

فنحن به عليكم فاخرونا

If Nizar boasts of his two mantles,

through him we boast over you.

وإن كانوا بنيه فنحن أولى

لأنا التابعون العاضدونا

Though they were his sons, we have the greater claim,

for we are the followers and supporters.

وقد يزهو ببُردِ مُحَرِّقٍ مِن

تميمٍ وهو منا البهدلونا

Among Tamim, the Bahdal men glory

in Muharriq's mantle, though he is one of us.

وهم نادوا رسول اللَه يوماً

من الحجرات غير موقرينا

They called out to God's Messenger one day

from the chambers, without reverence.

ويفخر بالدخول على بنيه

أمية ريِّسُ المتدعمصينا

The chief of the grovelers boasts

of entering upon Umayya's sons.

ويعلو قسُّكم بالفخر لما

رأى منا الملوك الباذخينا

Your Quss rose in boasting when

he saw our towering kings.

وطال بكف ذي جدن عليكم

وكان من الملوك الواسطينا

Through Dhu Jadan's hand he exalted himself over you,

though that man was among middling kings.

فدل بإنكم لمَّا تكونوا

بكف للملوك مصافحينا

It showed that you had not yet

shaken kings' hands.

ونفخر بالردافة من تميم

رياحٌ دهرهم والدارمونا

Riyah and Darim's men of Tamim boast

all their lives of riding beside kings.

وقد طلب ابن صخر يوم قيظٍ

إلى عبد الكلال بأن يكونا

On a hot day Ibn Sakhr asked

'Abd al-Kulal to make him

له ردفاً فقال له ترانا

نكون لذي التجارة مُردفينا

his deputy rider; he replied, 'Do you think

we make a merchant our deputy?'

فقال فَمُنَّ بالنعلين إني

رميضٌ قال لستم تحتذونا

He said, 'Then grant me the sandals: I

am scorched.' He said, 'You do not wear

حذاء ملوك ذي يمن ولكن

تفيَّا إنَّنا لك راحمونا

the footwear of Yemen's kings; rather,

seek shade: we pity you.'

ونحن بناة بيت اللَه قدما

وأهل ولائه والسادنونا

We built God's House long ago

and were its patrons and custodians.

وخيف منىً ملكناه وجمعاً

ومشتبكَ العتايرِ والحُجونا

We possessed Mina's Khayf and Jam',

the place of intertwined sacrifices and al-Hajun,

ومعتلم المواقف من إلالٍ

بحيث ترى الحجيج مُعَرِّفينا

and the marked stations of Ilal,

where you see pilgrims standing at 'Arafat.

فصاهرنا قصيٌّ ثم كنا

إليه بالسدانة عاهدينا

Qusayy married into us; then we

pledged the custodianship to him.

وأصرخه رزاح في جموع

لعذرة في الحديد مقنَّعينا

Rizah came to his aid with hosts

of 'Udhra, covered in iron.

فكاثر في الجميع بهم خُزاعاً

فأجذم باليسار لنا اليمينا

With them he outnumbered Khuza'a in the assembly,

then with his left hand cut off our right.

ولولا ذاك ما كانت بوجه

خزاعة في الجميع مكاثرينا

Without that, they would not have faced

Khuza'a with greater numbers in the assembly.

وما فخر لعدنان علينا

بما كنا لهم به محتفينا

Adnan has no glory over us

through favors we bestowed upon them.

وما كنا لهم من غير منٍّ

طِلاب الشكر منهم واهبيا

We gave to them without reproach,

seeking their gratitude.

ونحن غداة بدر قد تركنا

قبيلاً في القليب مكبكبينا

On Badr's morning we left

a tribe tumbled into the well.

ويوم جمعتمُ الأحزاب كيما

تكونوا للمدينة فاتحينا

On the day you gathered the confederates

to conquer Medina,

فآل ابن الطفيل وُسُوق تمرٍ

يكون بها عليكم مستعينا

Ibn al-Tufayl's house sought loads of dates

with which to gain help against you.

فقلنا رام ذاك بنو نزار

فما كانوا عليه قادرينا

We said, 'Nizar's sons sought that,

but were unable to achieve it.

وان طلبوا القرى والبيع منا

فإنا واهبون ومطعمونا

If they seek hospitality and trade from us,

we give and feed.'

فلما أن أبوا إلا اعتسافاً

وأضحوا بالأتاوة طامعينا

When they insisted upon oppression

and became eager for tribute,

فلينا هامهم بالبيض إنا

كذلك للجماجم مفتلونا

we split their heads with gleaming swords:

thus we split skulls.

وذاك المُوعد الهادي بخيل

وفتيان عليها عامرينا

That threatener led horses

and young men mounted upon them.

فقال المصطفى يكفيه ربي

وأبناءٌ لقيلة حاضرونا

The Chosen One said, 'My Lord will suffice against him,

and Qayla's sons are present.'

وما إن قال يكفيه قريش

ولا أخواتها المتمضِّرونا

He did not say, 'Quraysh will suffice,'

nor its sister tribes claiming Mudar's descent.

وأفنينا قريظة إذ أخلوا

وأجلينا النضير مطردينا

We destroyed Qurayza when they broke their pledge

and expelled al-Nadir, driving them out.

وسرنا نحو مكة يوم سرنا

بصيدٍ دارعين وحاسرينا

We marched toward Mecca when we marched

with proud men, armored and unarmored.

فأقحمنا اللواء بكفِّ ليث

فقال ضرارُكم ما تعرفونا

We thrust the banner forward in a lion's hand,

and your Dirar said, 'You know what followed.'

فآثرنا النبيَّ بكلِّ فخرٍ

وسمَّانا الإلهُ المؤثرينا

We preferred the Prophet with every glory,

and God named us those who prefer others.

وحان بنا مسيلمةُ الحنيفي

ي إذ سرنا إليه موفضينا

Through us Musaylima al-Hanafi met his fate

when we marched swiftly against him.

وزار الأسودَ العنسيَّ قيسٌ

بجمع من غطيف مردفينا

Qays visited al-Aswad al-'Ansi

with a host of Ghutayf following behind.

فعمم رأسَه بذباب سيف

فطار القحف يسمعه حنينا

He wrapped his head with a sword's edge,

and the skull flew, sounding a plaintive ring.

وهل غير ابن مكشوح همامٌ

يكون به من المتمرسينا

What champion other than Ibn Makshuh

could count among those seasoned against him?

وطار طليحة الأسدي لما

رآنا للصوارم مصلتينا

Tulayha al-Asadi fled when

he saw us drawing our cutting swords.

ونحن الفاتحون لأرض كسرى

وأرض الشام غير مدافعينا

We conquered Kisra's land

and Syria's land, without being repelled,

وأرض القيروان إلى فرنجا

إلى السوس القصيِّ مغربينا

and al-Qayrawan's land toward the Franks,

as far as distant Sus, going west.

وجربيُّ البلاد فقد فتحنا

وسرنا في البلاد مشرقينا

We conquered the northern lands

and traveled eastward through the countries,

كأنا نبتغي مما وغلنا

وراء الصين في الشرقيِّ صينا

as though, from how deeply we penetrated, we sought

another China beyond China in the east.

وغادرنا جبابرها جميعاً

هُموداً في الثرى ومصفَّدينا

We left all their tyrants

lifeless in the earth or fettered.

وتابعهم يؤدي كل عام

إليكم ما فرضنا مذعنينا

Their followers pay each year

to you what we imposed, submissively.

ووازرنا أبا حسن علياً

على المُرَّاق بعد الناكثينا

We supported Abu Hasan, 'Ali,

against the renegades after the oath-breakers.

وسار إلى العراق بنا فسرنا

كمثل السيل نحطم ما لقينا

He marched with us to Iraq, and we went

like a torrent, smashing what we met.

علينا اللام ليس يبين منا

بها غير العيون لناظرينا

We wore armor; nothing of us could be seen

through it by onlookers except our eyes.

فأرخصنا الجماجم يوم ذاكم

وما كنا لهن بمثمنينا

We made skulls cheap that day,

and did not set a high price upon them.

وأجحفنا بضبة يوم صلنا

فصاروا من أقل الخندفينا

We devastated Dabba when we attacked,

leaving them among Khindif's smallest tribes.

وطايرنا الأكف على خطام

فاشبهتها إلا القُلِينا

We sent hands flying around a camel's halter:

they resembled nothing but tossed game-sticks.

وعنَّانا الخيول إلى ابن هند

نطالب نفسه أو أن يدينا

We turned our horses toward Ibn Hind,

demanding his life or his submission.

وطلنا نفتل الزندين حتى

أطارا ضرمة للمضرمينا

Long we twisted the two fire-sticks until

they cast a spark for those kindling fire.

وروَّحنا عليها بالعوالي

وبيض الهند فاستعرت زبونا

We fanned it with lofty spears

and Indian swords, and it blazed fiercely.

ونادينا معاويةَ اقتربنا

بجمعك أننا لك موقدونا

We called to Mu'awiya, 'Come near us

with your host: we are kindling fire for you.'

فصدَّ بوجهه عنا كأنا

سألناه شهادةَ مُزْوِرِينا

He turned his face away from us, as though

we had asked testimony from men who shrink away.

وحامت دونه جمرات قومي

ومن دون الوصي محافظينا

The fiery masses of my people guarded him,

and guarded the Legatee as well.

فأبهتنا نزاراً بالذي لم

يكونوا في الوقائع يعرفونا

We astonished Nizar with what they had not

known in battles.

فطار فؤادُ أحنفكم فولَّى

ببعض تميمَ عنّا مرعبينا

Your Ahnaf's heart flew away, and he fled

with some of Tamim, terrified of us.

ويوم النهروان فأي يوم

فَلَلْنا فيه ناب المارقينا

And al-Nahrawan's day—what a day!

There we broke the renegades' fang.

ولاقى مصعبٌ بالدير منا

شباة مُذَلَّق بتك الوتينا

At al-Dayr, Mus'ab met from us

a sharpened blade that severed the aorta.

وإنا للأولى بالمرج مِلنا

على الضحاك والمُتقيِّسينا

We are those who at al-Marj turned

against al-Dahhak and those claiming Qays's descent.

وولى خوفنا زُفَرٌ طريداً

براهطَ والأحبة مقعصونا

Zufar fled in fear of us, hunted

at Rahit, while loved ones lay slain.

وقوَّمنا أمية فاستقامت

وكانوا قبلها متأوِّدينا

We straightened Umayya, and they stood upright;

before that they had been crooked.

فلمَّا رفَّعوا مضراً علينا

جعلنا كلهم في الأسفلينا

When they raised Mudar above us,

we put them all among the lowest.

وقلنا الهاشمون أحق منكم

ونحن لهم عليكم مايلونا

We said, 'Hashim's men have more right than you,

and we favor them against you.'

فقام بنصرهم منا جُدَيعٌ

وكان لحربهم حصناً حصينا

Juday' of our people rose to support them

and was a mighty fortress for their war.

وقحطبة الهمام همام طي

وما المُسْلِيُّ عامرُ منه دونا

And Qahtaba the champion, Tayy's champion;

'Amir al-Musli was no less than he.

شفا بالزاب من مروان غيظاً

وغادره ببوصيرٍ رهينا

At the Zab he quenched anger against Marwan

and left him captive to death at Busir.

وأثكلْنا زبيدةَ من فتاها

وغِلْناها محمدَها الأمينا

We bereaved Zubayda of her young man

and took her Muhammad al-Amin from her.

وأردينا الوليد بِقَرم قَسرٍ

ولم نك فيه ذاكم مرتضينا

We slew al-Walid through Qasr's champion,

though we did not approve that deed.

ورب فتى أزرناه شَعوباً

إذا يُدعَى أمير المؤمنينا

Many a young man we made visit Death,

though he was called Commander of the Faithful.

وجدَّعنا بني مطرٍ بمعنٍ

ونحن بمثل ذلك جادعونا

Through Ma'n we cut down Banu Matar,

and we are capable of such cutting.

سما من حضرموت له ابن عمرو

يطالب من بني مطرٍ ديونا

Ibn 'Amr rose against him from Hadramawt,

demanding debts from Banu Matar.

فحيَّره ببُستَ لهم وولَّى

وكان بها ابن زائدةٍ قمينا

He drove him bewildered at Bust, and he fled;

Ibn Za'ida there deserved it.

وفي يوم البصيرة يوم ثارت

وفتنة مصر كنا القائدينا

On al-Basira's day, when it rose,

and in Egypt's turmoil, we were the leaders.

وأيام الدبا لِمْ نحنُ كنا

وقزوينٍ لكل قامعينا

In the days of al-Daba—why were we

and at Qazwin, the suppressors of all?

ونحن لكل حي منذ كنا

إذا خاف المهالكَ عاصمونا

Since we existed, we have protected every tribe

when it feared destruction.

كعصمتنا ربيعة يوم طالت

على إخوانها بالحلف فينا

As we protected Rabi'a when it exalted itself

over its brothers through alliance with us.

وصاروا في تعاظمه لديهم

به في الشعر دأباً يفخرونا

They came to esteem it greatly among themselves

and continually boasted of it in verse.

وقد جعلت معد الصهرَ منا

لهم فخراً به يتطاولونا

Ma'add made marriage with us

a glory through which they exalt themselves.

بذا نطق القريضُ لِمُعظميهم

وكنا فيه منكم زاهدينا

Their great men's poetry spoke of this,

while we desired none of it from you.

وقد طلبت تميمٌ صهرَ جارٍ

لهم منا فأضحوا مبعدينا

Tamim sought marriage with a neighbor

of theirs from us, but were turned away.

وما كانوا لغسان بكفء

لربّات الحجال مقدمينا

They were no match for Ghassan,

fit to approach the ladies of bridal chambers.

ونحن الناكحون إلى عديٍّ

كرائمَه ونعم المنكحونا

We marry into 'Adi,

taking his noble women—excellent are those giving brides!

فأمهرنا الذي جعلوه فيهم

رضىً لجميعهم مَسْكاً دهينا

We gave as dowry what they deemed

acceptable to all: an oiled leather bag.

ولما يجنِ جانيكم علينا

فنقصد غيرنا في المُعربينا

When your offender wrongs us,

we do not seek others among the Arabs.

فمن لخم إلى غسان تجري

ومن غسان في لخمٍ لعينا

You run from Lakhm to Ghassan,

and from Ghassan into Lakhm, accursed.

يُنَقِّلُ وُلْدَهُ كجراء كلبٍ

يُنقِّلها حذارَ الراجمينا

He moves his children like a dog's puppies,

moving them for fear of stone-throwers.

ونحن الواهبون الدرع قيساً

وما كنا لشيء خازنينا

We gave the armor to Qays

and hoarded nothing.

فلم تعظم لدينا واستَثرتم

بها ما بينكم شراً مهينا

It was no great thing to us, but you stirred

a contemptible evil among yourselves through it.

وعُدَّ بها الربيعُ ربيعُ عبسٍ

إذا افتخروا بها في السارقينا

Through it al-Rabi', Rabi' of 'Abs, was counted,

when they boasted of it, among thieves.

ونحن الواهبو الصمصامِ يوماً

لبعض سمادعِ المتعبشمينا

We once gave the Samsam sword

to one of the chiefs of 'Abd Shams's men.

فآلت حالُهُ في النسك فيهم

وكان بنا من المتمردينا

His condition among them turned to devotion,

though against us he had been rebellious.

ورب خزاية فيكم كَنينا

يشق بها رؤوس السامعينا

Many a disgrace among you we concealed,

one that would split the hearers' heads.

ينبِّه سعدُ حسانٌ عليها

إذا أنشدتموه القاطنينا

Hassan's good fortune draws attention to it

when you recite his verse to the residents.

وقد قال النبي له أجبهم

تجد روح الهدى فيه معينا

The Prophet told him, 'Answer them:

you will find the spirit of guidance helping you.

فقولك كالعذاب يُصبُّ صباً

عليهم مصبحين ومعتمينا

Your speech is like punishment poured abundantly

upon them, morning and evening.

ودونك من أبي بكر هنات

ترد بها نزاراً خاملينا

Take from Abu Bakr matters

with which to reduce Nizar to obscurity.'

فعيَّركم برايات البغايا

وما كنتم قديماً تَمهنونا

He reproached you for prostitutes' banners

and the degrading work you did of old.

وخبَّرَ أن قوماً نسلُ قبطٍ

وأقواماً سلالةُ أسودينا

He reported that some were Copts' offspring

and others the descendants of black men.

وألحق ساقطاً ونفا سواه

فألحقه بقوم أبعدينا

He assigned parentage to an outcast and denied another's,

attaching him to a distant people.

وأخبر باللقيط بما علمتم

ولم يك غير حق قابلينا

He told of the foundling what you know,

and accepted nothing but truth.

ومنكم ذو الخويصرة المنادي

رسول الله عدلَ القاسمينا

Among you was Dhu al-Khuwaysira, who called

to God's Messenger for fairness in apportioning.

وسيدكم عيينة قد علمتم

يعد بحمقه في المرضعينا

Your chief 'Uyayna, as you know,

is counted through his folly among sucklings.

وسيد منقرٍ لمَّا يَزَعْهُ

حجاه عن خلال الطامعينا

Minqar's chief was not restrained

by his wisdom from the ways of the greedy.

وقد نهب الزكاة وقال يهجو

أبا بكر فما أضحى مشينا

He plundered the alms and spoke in satire

of Abu Bakr, yet did not become disgraced.

وأحبلَ بنتَه والبدعُ يُدعَى

وغادر منقراً في المرتدينا

He made his daughter pregnant, and is called al-Bid',

and left Minqar among apostates.

وأقرع وابن ضمرة رَيِّساكم

فذا فدْمٌ وذا في المرتشينا

Aqra' and Ibn Damra are your two chiefs:

one is dull, the other among bribe-takers.

وبعض بني أبي ذبّان منكم

فكان يعد رأس الأحمقينا

One of Banu Abi Dhubban was among you,

counted as chief of fools.

وأظهرت القصائد من وليدٍ

عظيم الكفر للمتوسمينا

The poems revealed al-Walid's

immense unbelief to discerning observers.

ووافد ضبة نحو ابن هند

فمن أعجوبة المتعجبينا

Dabba's envoy to Ibn Hind

is a marvel to those who marvel.

ونوكاً لست أحصيهم إليكم

وقد كذبوا بِطَيءٍ ينتمونا

And fools I cannot enumerate to you,

who falsely claimed descent from Tayy.

وفينا الحكمة الغراء تطمو

على أفواهنا متكلمينا

Among us radiant wisdom wells up

upon our lips when we speak,

وإيمانُ القلوب وكلُّ صدق

وركن البيت للمتيمِّنينا

and hearts' faith, and every truth,

and the House's corner for Yemen's people.

وقد قال النبي أما رضيتم

بأن تضحي نزارٌ غانمينا

The Prophet said, 'Are you not content

that Nizar should gain spoils

بشاء أو بعير أو عبيد

وأنتم بي الغُدَيَّةَ تذهبونا

of sheep, camels, or slaves,

while you depart with me tomorrow morning?

وأنتم في الدناة أقل قوم

وفي الهيجاء علمي تكثرونا

In quiet times you are the fewest people,

and in battle, I know, you become many.'

وقال اللَه لما أن كفرتم

وكنتم عن كتابه تنفرونا

God said when you disbelieved

and turned away from His Book,

لقد وكلت بالإيمان قوماً

فكنا هم وليس بكافرينا

'I have entrusted faith to a people.'

We were those people, not unbelievers.

فخلوا الفخر يا عدنان لستم

وقد رحنا بأحمد تحسنونا

Leave boasting, O Adnan: you cannot

match us now that we have departed with Ahmad.

وكيف يعد مثلكم وأنتم

بقول إلَهنا المستضعفونا

How can your like be counted, when you

are insignificant by our God's word?

سواء كنتمُ أو لم تكنوا

على الدنيا فكيف تفخَّمونا

Whether you existed or did not makes no difference

to the world: how can you claim greatness?

ولستم للمسائل أهل نفعٍ

ولستم للمُبائن ضائرينا

You bring no benefit to those who ask,

nor harm to those who part from you.

ونحن الناحتون الصخر قدماً

مساكن فسحةً والشائدونا

Long ago we carved rock

into spacious dwellings and built lofty structures:

كغمدان المنيف وقصر هكرٍ

وبينونِ المنيفةِ محكمينا

towering Ghumdan and the palace of Hakar,

and lofty Baynun, built securely.

وصرواح وماربَ نحن شدنا

عليها بالرخام معمِّدينا

We built Sirwah and Ma'rib,

raising marble pillars upon them.

فأهلكها الإله ببثقِ سيلٍ

ونجّانا فلم نكُ مهلكينا

God destroyed them through a bursting flood

and saved us, so we were not destroyed.

وأهلك من عصاه من سوانا

بأنواع البلاء مباكرينا

He destroyed others who disobeyed Him,

visiting them early with varied afflictions.

وقال لنا اشكروني واحمدوني

فإني غافرٌ ما تجرحونا

He said to us, 'Thank Me and praise Me,

for I forgive what you commit.'

وقال لغيرنا كونوا على ما

زويتُ إلى سواكم صابرينا

He said to others, 'Be patient over what

I have diverted to people other than you.'

وقصر ظفار قد شدنا قديماً

وبعد براقش شدنا مَعينا

We built Zafar's palace long ago,

and after Baraqish we built Ma'in.

وأنكحنا ببلقيسٍ أخانا

وما كنا سواه مُنكحينا

We married our brother to Bilqis

and would give her to no other.

ولم تطلب بذي بقع بديلاً

ولو أنا بتنزيلٍ أتينا

She sought no substitute for Dhu Buqa',

even if we were given revelation.

وكان لها بقول اللَه عرش

عظيم والبرية مقتوينا

By God's word she possessed a throne

of greatness, while creation served us.

وشدنا ناعطاً في رأس نيقٍ

وكنا للخورنق شائدينا

We built Na'it on a mountain summit

and were builders of al-Khawarnaq.

ونصَّبنا على ياجوج ردماً

فما كانوا عليه ظاهرينا

We raised a barrier against Ya'juj,

and they could not surmount it,

بلبن من حديد بين قَطرٍ

ونحن الآن فيه حارسونا

with iron bricks amid molten copper;

we still guard it now.

وخولنا النجائب نمتطيها

فذلت بعدنا للممتطينا

We were granted noble camels to ride,

which afterward yielded to other riders.

ومنا سرها في آل كلب

ومهرة قصره والداعرينا

From us their finest stock passed to Kalb's house,

and to Mahra their lesser stock, and the Da'irun.

وفينا العيش راح وهو فيكم

أعز من الشفاء لمسقمينا

Among us life is ease, while among you

it is rarer than healing for the sick.

تظلون النهار على لَبينٍ

وطول الليل عنه مخمصينا

You spend the day on a little milk

and the whole night hungry without it.

وقد قال ابن ظالم كم ترانا

لآثار السحائب ناجعينا

Ibn Zalim said, 'How often you see us

seeking pasture in the clouds' tracks!'

وقال لكم أبو حفص ألا قد

عرفنا طيب عيش العائشينا

Abu Hafs said to you, 'Indeed, we have

known the good living of those who live well:

لباب البر يكسوه ثريداً

صغار المعز واللبن الحقينا

the finest wheat covered with tharid,

young goats, and milk stored in skins.'

وقال متمم يحكي أخاه

وينعته لبعض السائلينا

Mutammim spoke, describing his brother

and portraying him to some questioners:

بشملته الفلوت على ثِفالٍ

فويقَ مَزادةٍ للمستقينا

with his worn cloak upon a millstone's mat,

just above a waterskin for water-drawers.

وقال مُنَخِّلٌ يحكي غناه

ويحسب أنه في المالكينا

Munakhkhil spoke, describing his wealth,

supposing himself among the possessors:

أنا ربُّ الشُوَيهةِ في بِجادِي

ورب النضوتين الظاعنينا

'I own the little sheep within my cloak

and the two worn-out traveling mounts.'

وأعظم سيد فيكم يُفادَى

بعُشرِ فداءِ أشعثَ تعلمونا

The greatest chief among you is ransomed

for a tenth of Ash'ath's ransom, as you know.

وأشعثُ ليس أرفع ذي يمانٍ

وما هو إن عددت من الذوينا

Ash'ath is not the highest of Yemen's men,

nor, if you count, among the men styled Dhu.

وما فادت يمين أبي تراب

بغيرة مخطم المتيمِّنينا

Abu Turab's right hand gained nothing

through the ardor of Yemen's bridled leader.

وهرول يوم صفين عجولاً

فسار العسكران مهرولينا

He hurried at Siffin one day,

and both armies hurried along,

لإعظام الجميع له فلما

توقف وقَّفوا لا يحركونا

because all esteemed him; when

he stopped, they stopped, motionless.

وكنتم بين عابدِ ما هويتم

وبين زنادق وممجَّسينا

You ranged between worshiping what you fancied

and being heretics or Magians.

كآل زُرارة نكحوا بجهل

بناتَهم بكسرى مُقتدينا

Like Zurara's house, who ignorantly married

their daughters, following Kisra's example.

ونَبَّوا منهمُ أنثى وقالوا

نكون بها الذكورة مشبهينا

They raised a woman among them as a prophet, saying,

'Through her we shall resemble the men.'

وضارطهم فلم يخجل ولمّا

يكن ليشيده مل ألقاطنينا

He competed with them in farting, unashamed, and no

resident was there to praise him [text unclear].

ولا تنسوا طلاب هذيل منكم

لتحليل الزنا مستجهدينا

Do not forget your Hudhayl's demands,

striving to make fornication lawful,

وبكراً يوم بالوا في كتاب

أتى من عند خير المنذرينا

or Bakr, when they urinated upon a letter

from the best of warners.

وكانت عامر بكتاب حق

أتى منه لدلوٍ راقعينا

'Amir used a truthful letter

from him to patch a bucket.

وعكلٌ يوم أشبعهم تِراراً

برسل لقاحه متغبقينا

And 'Ukl, when he fed them generously

with his milch camels' milk as evening drink,

فكافوه بأن قتلوا رعاه

وشلوهن شلّاً مسرعينا

repaid him by killing his herdsmen

and driving the camels swiftly away.

ونحن بصالح والجد هود

وذي القرنين والمتكهفينا

We boast of Salih and our forefather Hud,

and Dhu al-Qarnayn and the cave-dwellers,

وفَيصَلُ مُرْسَلِي ربِّي شعيبٌ

وذي الرس بنِ حنظل فاخرونا

and Shu'ayb, arbiter among my Lord's messengers,

and Dhu al-Rass son of Hanzal.

وبالسعدَينِ سعدٍ ثم سعدٍ

وعمار بن ياسر طائلونا

Through the two Sa'ds, Sa'd and then Sa'd,

and 'Ammar son of Yasir, we stand taller.

ولقمان الحكيم فكان منا

ومولى القوم في عدل البنينا

Luqman the wise was one of us;

a people's client is equal to their sons.

ومنا شبه جبريل ومنكم

سراقة شبه إبليس يقينا

Among us was Gabriel's likeness; among you

Suraqa, certainly Satan's likeness,

ببدر يوم ولَّى ليس يلوي

على العقبين أولى الناكصينا

at Badr, when he turned, paying no heed,

upon his heels, foremost among retreaters.

ومنا زيد المشهور باسم

من التنزيل بين العالمينا

Among us is Zayd, renowned by name

in revelation among all peoples.

وردف المصطفى منا ومنا

فأنصار له ومهاجروينا

The Chosen One's companion rider was one of us; among us

are his Helpers and our Emigrants.

ومنا ذو اليمينين الخزاعي

وذو السيفين خير المصلتينا

Among us is Dhu al-Yaminayn al-Khuza'i

and Dhu al-Sayfayn, finest of sword-drawers.

ومنا ذو الشمالين المحامي

وذو العينين عجب الناظرينا

Among us is Dhu al-Shimalayn the defender

and Dhu al-'Aynayn, a marvel to beholders.

وذو التمرات منا ثم حُجرٌ

وخبَّابٌ إمام الموقنينا

Dhu al-Tamarat is one of us, and Hujr,

and Khabbab, leader of the certain in faith.

وذو الرأي الأصيل وكان منا

خزاعة عدل شفع الشافعينا

The possessor of sound judgment was one of us:

Khuza'a, equal to a pair of intercessors.

ومنا أقرأ القُرَّا أبيٌّ

ومنا بعد رأسُ الفارضينا

Among us is Ubayy, finest reader of the reciters;

among us, too, the chief of inheritance reckoners.

ومنا من تكلم بعد موت

فأخبر عن مصير الميتينا

Among us was one who spoke after death,

telling of the dead's destination,

وأول من بثلث المال أوصى

ليفرق بعده في المقترينا

and the first who bequeathed a third of his wealth

to be distributed afterward among the poor,

ومن أُرِيَ الأذان وكان منا

معاذ رأسُ رسل المرسلينا

and the one shown the call to prayer; among us was

Mu'adh, chief of dispatched envoys.

ومنا من رأى جبريل شفعاً

ومنا في النبي الغائلونا

Among us was one who saw Gabriel twice,

and among us were plotters against the Prophet.

ومنا من أبرَّ اللَه ربي

له قسماً وقل المقسمونا

Among us was one whose oath God, my Lord,

fulfilled—and few are such oath-makers—

ومن بسط النبي له رداء

وأوصاكم به للسيدينا

and one for whom the Prophet spread a cloak

and whom he commended to you leaders.

ومنا ذو المخيصرةِ ابنُ غنمٍ

ومنا للقُرَان الحافظونا

Among us is the staff-bearer, Ibn Ghanm;

among us are preservers of the Qur'an.

ومنا المكفنون وذاك فخر

بقمص المصطفى إذ يدفنونا

Among us were men shrouded—and that is glory—

in the Chosen One's shirts when buried,

كصيفي بن ساعد وابن قيس

وعبد اللَه رأس الخزرجينا

such as Sayfi son of Sa'id and Ibn Qays,

and 'Abd Allah, chief of Khazraj's men.

وما ابن أبي سلولٍ ذا نفاق

فإن قلتم بلى فاستخبرونا

Ibn Abi Salul was no hypocrite:

if you say otherwise, question us.

أليس القول يظهر كل شر

له كل الخلائق كاتمونا

Does speech not disclose every evil

that all creatures conceal for him?

ونحن نراه عاذ بما يُصالي

بجلد الهاشمي ولن يكونا

We think he sought shelter from what he would suffer

in the Hashimi's covering; it could not be

بغير حقيقة إلا شققنا

لكم عن قلبه تستيقنونا

without truth—unless we split open

his heart for you, that you might know for certain.

كما قد قال أحمد لابن زيد

لقتل فتى من المستشهدينا

As Ahmad said to Ibn Zayd

for killing a young man among the martyrs:

فلولا إذ شككت شققت عنه

فتعلم أنه في الكافرينا

'Why, when you doubted, did you not open him up

to know whether he was among the unbelievers?'

وفينا مسجد التقوى وفينا

إذا استنجيتم المتطهرونا

Among us is the mosque of piety; among us,

when you cleanse yourselves, are those who purify themselves.

ومنا الرائشان وذو رعين

ومن طحن البلاد لأن يدينا

Among us are the two Ra'ish kings and Dhu Ru'ayn,

and he who ground down lands to make them submit,

وقاد الخيل للظلمات تدمى

دوابرها لكثرة ما وجينا

leading horses into darkness, their heels

bleeding from the many pains they suffered.

يُطرِّحنَ السخالَ بكل نشزٍ

حُداها لم تُعِقْ لما لَقينا

They cast their foals upon every rise;

their urging did not falter at what we met.

طوين الأرض طولاً بعد عرض

وهنَّ بها لعمرك قد طوينا

They traversed earth lengthwise after breadthwise,

and, by your life, became worn in doing so.

فهن لواحق الأقراب قُبٌّ

كأمثال القداح إذا حنينا

Their flanks draw tight against their bellies, lean

like arrow shafts when bent.

يطأن على نسورٍ مُفْرَجاتٍ

لِلَقطِ المروِ ما اعتلت الوجينا

They tread on splayed hoof-frogs,

gathering flints as they climb stony ground.

فَتُحسَبُ للتوقُّمِ مُنعلاتٍ

بأعينهنَّ مما قد حفينا

In their hard tread they seem shod

with their eyes, so worn have their hooves become.

تكاد إذ العضاريط اعتلتها

بلا ثمن الثرى مما ونينا

When the camp followers mounted them, they almost

were worth nothing, so exhausted had they grown.

فدان الخافقان له وأضحى

ملوكهما له متضائلينا

The two horizons submitted to him, and

their kings became small before him:

أبو حسان أسعد ذو تَبان

وذلك مفرد عدم القرينا

Abu Hassan As'ad Dhu Tubban,

that peerless man who lacked an equal.

ومنا الحَبْر كعب ثم منا

إذا ذكروا خيارُ التابعينا

Among us is the scholar Ka'b; then among us,

when named, are the finest of the Successors:

أخو خولان ثم أبو سعيدٍ

وثالثُهم إذا ما يذكرونا

the man of Khawlan, then Abu Sa'id,

and their third, when they are mentioned;

فعامر وابن سيرين وأوسٌ

وذاك نعده في الشافعينا

'Amir, Ibn Sirin, and Aws,

whom we count among the intercessors.

وبابن الثامري إذا افتخرنا

ظللنا للكواكب معقلينا

When we boast through Ibn al-Thamari,

we remain fortified among the stars.

ومنا كل ذي ذربٍ خطيب

ومن الشاعرون المفلقونا

Among us is every sharp-tongued orator,

and the astonishing poets.

ومنا بعد ذا الكهان جمعاً

وحكّام الدماء الأولونا

After these, all the soothsayers are ours,

and the earliest judges of blood disputes.

ومنا القافة المبدون مهما

به شكلت عروق الناسبينا

Among us are trackers who reveal whatever

the genealogists' tangled lineages obscure.

ومنا عابروا الرؤيا بما قد

تجيء به ومنا العائفونا

Among us are interpreters of dreams and what

they bring, and the readers of bird omens.

ومنا راويو خبر الترايا

ومنا العالمون الناسبونا

Among us are transmitters of al-Taraya's reports,

and learned genealogists.

ومنا أسقفاً نجران كانت

برأيهما النصارى يصدرونا

Among us were Najran's two bishops,

whose counsel the Christians followed.

ونفخر بالخليل الأزد منا

وحق لهم حكيم المسلمينا

We boast of al-Khalil: the Azd are ours,

and rightly theirs is the Muslims' sage.

ومنا سيبويه وذو القضايا

أخو جرم رئيس الحاسبينا

Among us are Sibawayh and the solver of questions,

the man of Jarm, chief of calculators.

ومنا كل أرورع كابن مَعدِي

وزيد الخيل مردي المُعْلِمينا

Among us is every splendid man like Ibn Ma'di

and Zayd al-Khayl, slayer of marked warriors,

وفروة وابن مكشوح وشرح

ووعلة فارس المترسِّبينا

and Farwa, Ibn Makshuh, and Sharh,

and Wa'la, horseman of the Rasib men,

ومُسهرُ وابن زحرٍ ثم عمروٌ

وعبد اللَه سيف اليثربينا

and Mushir, Ibn Zahr, then 'Amr,

and 'Abd Allah, sword of Yathrib's men,

وسفيان بن أبرد وابن بحر

ومنا الفتية المتهلِّبونا

and Sufyan son of Abrad and Ibn Bahr,

and the young men of Muhallab's line.

ومنهم مالكوا الأرباع جمعاً

وكانوا اللخوارج شاحكينا

Among them were all the commanders of divisions,

who struck the Kharijites with blades.

وما للأشتر النخعي يوماً

ولا قيس بن سعدٍ مشبهونا

No men resemble al-Ashtar al-Nakha'i

or Qays son of Sa'd,

ولا كعدي طيِّ وابن قيسٍ

سعيد الملك قرم الحاشدينا

nor 'Adi of Tayy and Ibn Qays,

Sa'id of kingship, chief of Hashid's men.

وشيبان بن عامر عدلُ ألفٍ

وما مثل ابن ورقا تنجلونا

Shayban son of 'Amir equals a thousand,

and you beget none like Ibn Warqa'.

ومنا المُتَّلُون لكل فتح

ورائبُ صدعكم والراتقونا

Among us are those following up every conquest,

and those mending and closing your breach.

وبالحسن بن قحطبة افتخاري

إذا ما تذكرون المطعمينا

My boast is through al-Hasan son of Qahtaba

when you mention those who feed others:

فتى أمرت ملوك الروم لما

رأته عدلَ نصف المُعربينا

a young man whom the Romans' kings, when

they saw him equal to half the Arabs, ordered

بصورته على بيع النصارى

وتمثالاً بطرق السابلينا

depicted upon the Christians' churches

and as a statue on travelers' roads.

وما مثل ابن عُلبةَ وابن كرز

وعبد يغوث بين القاتلينا

None among slayers is like Ibn 'Ulba, Ibn Kurz,

and 'Abd Yaghuth.

فهذا مصلح شسعاً وهذا

يقول قصيدة في الحاذلينا

This one repairs a sandal thong; this one

speaks a poem among the sorrowful;

وذاك مؤمر من بعد قتل

بأنه لم يكن في الجازعينا

that one gives instructions after mortal wounding,

saying he was not among the despairing.

ومد يداك يسرى بعد يمنى

ولم يك للمنية مستكينا

He stretched out both your hands, left after right,

and did not submit to death.

وما كجوادنا فيكم جواداً

وكلا ليس فيكم باذلونا

Among you is no generous man like ours;

no, there are no givers among you.

وأين كحاتم فيكم وكعب

وطلحة للعفاة المجتدينا

Where among you are men like Hatim and Ka'b

and Talha for needy seekers of gifts?

وحسان بن بحدل قد تولَّى

خلافتكم وأنتم حاضرونا

Hassan son of Bahdal took charge

of your caliphate while you were present,

ومن خفتم غوائله عليها

وكنتم منه فيها موجلينا

and there was one whose assaults upon it you feared,

remaining apprehensive of him concerning it.

ومنا من كسرتم يوم أودَى

عليه من لواء أربعينا

Among us was one over whom, when he died,

you broke forty banners.

ومن سجدت له مائتا ألوف

وأعتق أمة يتشهدونا

And one before whom two hundred thousand prostrated,

who freed a people professing the faith.

ومنا مدرك بن أبي صعيرة

ومُذكوا الحرب ثم المخمدونا

Among us is Mudrik son of Abi Su'ayra,

and those kindling war, then extinguishing it.

وقاتل صمَّة الهندي منا

ومنا بعد ذا المتصعلكونا

The slayer of Simma al-Hindi was one of us;

among us, too, are the outlaw wanderers,

كمثل الشنفرَى وهمامِ نهدٍ

خزيمةَ أمردِ المتمردينا

like al-Shanfara and Nahd's champion,

Khuzayma, the beardless rebel.

وندمان الفراقد كان منا

وضحاك بن عدنان أخونا

The companion of the Farqad stars was one of us,

and Dahhak son of Adnan is our brother,

ومن خدمته جنُّ الأرض طوعاً

وما كانوا لخلقٍ خادمينا

and one whom earth's jinn served willingly,

though they served no other creature.

وبادرنا فلم تحصى إذا ما

عددتم أو عددنا المفردينا

We rushed forward; they cannot be counted whenever

you or we enumerate the peerless men.

ووإن قلنا قد اتبعوا لديكم

وكانوا خلف قومي تابعينا

And if we say they followed in your ranks,

they were followers behind my people.

وفينا ضعف ما قلنا ولكن

قصرنا إذ يعاب المسهبونا

Among us are twice those we have named, but

we shortened our words, for prolix speakers are blamed.

ولكني كويتُ قلوب قوم

فظلوا بالمناخر راغمينا

Yet I have cauterized a people's hearts,

and they remain with noses ground in dust.

يعضون الأنامل من خزاء

وما ذاكم بِشافِ النادمينا

They bite their fingertips in shame,

but that does not heal the regretful.

فلا فرج الإله همومَ قوم

بفتح القول كانوا مبتدينا

May God not relieve the anxieties of a people

who began by opening their mouths.

هم ولجوا إلى قحطان نهجاً

فصادفهم به ما يحذرونا

They entered a path toward Qahtan

and met upon it what they feared.

وقد شيدت فخراً في قبيلي

يقيم مخلداً في الخالدينا

I have built a glory within my tribe

that will remain immortal among the enduring.

فمن ذا يضطلع بعدي بهدم

فيهدمه بإذن الشائدينا

Who after me will undertake its demolition,

destroying it with the builders' leave?

فهدم الشيء أيسر غيركم

من البنيان عند الهادمينا

Destroying a thing is easier—for others than you—

than building, in destroyers' eyes.

ولو أني أشاء لقلت بيتاً

تكاد له الحجارة أن تلينا

Had I wished, I would have uttered a verse

at which stones would almost soften.

ولكني لرحمتهم عليهم

بتزكية من المتصدقينا

But through mercy for them, toward them

I give a purifying gift, among the charitable.

فكم حلم أفاد المرء عزاً

ومن جهل أفاد المرء هونا

How much forbearance has brought a man honor,

and how much ignorance has brought him abasement!

وحسبك أن جهل المرء يضحي

عليه للعداء له معينا

Enough that a man's ignorance becomes

a helper against him for his enemies.