1. The fugitive sleeps his mid-morning nap
Satisfied with her, though steeped in sin,

2. So he rose from the grave where he had sheltered
When her wailing encircled the Muslim throng.

3. Had Zubyan been her neighbor,
And the clan of Abul Asi, they'd not be divided.

4. Yet why should the son of Bahir fear her,
When his two swords cover his head though bare of turban?

5. Never have I seen two quicker to answer a call,
Or, for a shepherd, better guards than Ubayd and Aslam.

6. Urge them on, O sons of Jubayr, for she
Has turned her neck from you, the hue of darkest night.

7. I handed over to them a staff of a hundred
Like a crowded caravan laden with goods.

8. They sped off with a rumble as if her groaning
Was a torrent of blood poured from battered vessels.

9. Come tell me, O people - for he who asks after knowledge will gain it -
The question of a man whose mind learning has not neglected,

10. For the scholar, wakeful, is not like the ignorant,
Have you known a corpse, before Ghalib, who hosted a hundred guests and spoke no word?

11. My father, keeper of the grave, he who takes shelter there,
Saves him from the debt his shedding of blood imposes.

12. And the seeker of Ghalib's tomb knew
The sword he bore declared no truce.

13. When dogs snarled over the people, which most deserved
The crown of glory, sublimely honored?

14. Over a pack, the remains of Nizari's line,
And a rabble whose huts were never ruined.

15. To which of them did he grant it, not knowing who they were,
Who allowed him the rule of a thousand fully veiled?