1. Your gray hair does not trouble me,
Nor does this whiteness upon me displease.

2. If you dislike the gray hair on my head,
Then I dislike your youthfulness.

3. My hair turns white with sadness,
And the onset of gray is the first sign of aging.

4. I was once intoxicated but then awakened,
And he who refused yielded to wine.

5. Passion inclines me to confusion and I recoil,
While youthfulness pulls me insistently and I refuse.

6. Chastity prevents me as though
Between me and fulfilling my desires lie ridges.

7. I parted from youth and my peers,
And time replaced them with new companions.

8. When separation grew firm between us,
I surrendered the love songs and tents.

9. I did not frighten the gardens with sadness,
Nor water them with a torrent of tears.

10. Leave me to seek this world, for I see
Good fortune in one who earns a livelihood,

11. And leaves behind a legacy for his sake,
And suffers for the sake of his provision.

12. The only loser is one whom life deceived,
Who attained neither glory nor merit.

13. No, by God, I will not leave it empty-handed,
Without unleashing the lions of rage upon it.

14. I will mount it tightly girded,
As none but its rider occupies the stirrups.

15. When I spur it on, it shows its wings,
Pulling me eagerly toward my hopes.

16. Either I will fill the world with glory,
Or I will fill it with misfortune.

17. The nature of one who tends the days until
He and they turn gray with age.

18. Can truths of the brilliant remain hidden
If he supposes or attains a purpose?

19. I have not seen the blows of fate
Throwing us far and bringing us near like that.

20. Roaring seas plunge us into danger,
And treacherous straits lead us astray.

21. Greater than the perils of the sea is a greed
For wealth that drives us into excess.

22. There are conquests like ships of Quraysh
They see ships and fleet camels.

23. The foreigners did not beget
Anyone like them, nor did the elevated bring forth the likes of them.

24. The glory knows the tribe of Ma‘add,
The abode of might, lineage, and kinship.

25. The tallest when they mount spears,
The highest when they pitch tents.

26. The most generous when asked to give,
The fiercest when they are enraged in battle.

27. The Prophet's paternal uncles, his nearest kin,
And those most closely tied to him in bloodline.

28. ‘Ali in the hands of al-Husayn brandished
Its hilt, and its blade brought abundant good.

29. It did not allow the enemies to share in its grace,
So its west side supported that scabbard.

30. He fortified it, so none who intend evil or sin
Can attain it with misdeed or corruption.

31. They are heroic and in every land
Their steeds’ hooves stir the dust.

32. Like well-aimed arrows and polished blades,
Light yet not crooked or bent.

33. Imprisoned by calamities, they meet
The misfortunes with raised tails.

34. He honors them thinking them lions
And unleashes them thinking them wolves.

35. They gave him the heads - bloodstained witnessed -
With which he pounds the skulls and breastbones.

36. If he disputes with them a matter, he resolves it
By taking it to the farthest extent.

37. They threaten him and he remains steadfast,
Severing the necks of their warriors with conquest.

38. Like the hilt of a sword kept sharp,
He creates new glories every day.

39. When the valley is tumultuous he separates the discord,
And when the conflict calms he concludes the arguments.

40. Yes, his hands have indeed
Spilled the blood of many obstinate enemies.

41. So he rectified the wrongs among them with harm
And subdued the ruggedness in them with kindness.

42. He spared every hand dyed red in battle
To cover the enemies with dust.

43. Beware of the rancor of Banū l-Ḍughaynah
When doubts expose their hidden spite.

44. They strike with the fangs of deadly snakes -
If the injury is reported the leap comes easily.

45. Behind that forbearance is ferocity,
And for those smiles lies a punishment.

46. Had calamities assailed him,
He would have slipped away behind them for some time.

47. You threw them with shots from a bow bent double,
Cleaving the mountain paths and ravines.

48. And you hastened their shriek though it was false
To release spittle at the enemies.

49. So it guarded their skulls, raining down
A cloud from their blood.

50. Yours are the resolves the enemies have known
To flame in every darkness like meteors.

51. When the winds of determination flare up in them,
A dazzling lightning bolt strikes from them.

52. With bared blades and clashing noise,
Their standard is carried by soaring eagles.

53. They penetrate the night; its sides shine
As though dawn has let down its veil.

54. At first light they blend in,
Repelling dawn with the darkness of their departure.

55. They rise like shining stars
Shredding the veil of dark with their brilliance.

56. The rays of sunlight greet them
As though the mountain gazelles were bathed in melted gold.

57. You attacked the foe while supplicating
Battle - so which call was more graciously answered?

58. You demolished the tents, though lions protected them,
And you yellowed the pastures.

59. We saw good fortune leading you smoothly at first
Through difficulties and returning to the attack.

60. When it tested the whites in the meadows
It found you firmer than any housefly.

61. It joined you to the foe until they collapsed
And you sensed neither blood nor dust.

62. There were happy feast days coming to you
To restore might wherever it was lost.

63. And days passing over you bringing glad tidings,
After knocking at the door of favors.

64. How many days were there like your day
When you led the risky raids and mounted warriors?

65. To the secure city, columns heading
For delay though they hastened and returned

66. Where the caravan empties its bundles
And hopes to gain the reward.

67. If he strains his eyes upon its landmarks,
The people's guide turns back or returns.

68. You won it with eight pillars
Through which you supported prophethood and scripture.

69. I sent you congratulations for your feat
Whenever you answered its call boldly.

70. The yearnings of ‘Īsá have been cut off,
So I neither retreat nor withdraw.

71. What days have concealed from me
Of misfortunes and returning - before today!