1. It is as if you had not led noble youths of ‘Awwam
Bearing pure swords that pierce all armour

2. And you had not borne against the foe among them
Sharp blades and pledges that destroy protection

3. Whenever the scout warned them of danger
They saw the ardour and liveliness of youth

4. Rushing to take their stand with Al-Samhari
Having donned fine garb and shining mail

5. You had not loosed mailed steeds
Whose flanks the caves and meadows would bruise

6. Sending them racing wildly to the waters
Plunging in todrink deeply of its freshness

7. With them you would strike the throat of every pass
As if you loosed your arrows in torrents

8. When the confederates parted and dawn broke
While the full moon still shone brightly

9. You folded up your cloak after camping
As if you spread out carpets on the sand

10. You led raids into lands without a guide
As if their vastness was but a little ground

11. You returned driving their livestock before you
Like ants crawling upon the smooth floor

12. With a black steed whose flanks
Were clad in the darkness of night

13. The stars hung from its sides
As if the night had adorned it with jewels

14. You pierced its darkness with your band
Until you saw the folds of its sides

15. And every brave warrior who donned his coat of mail
Made the sheath for his blade his inner cloak

16. With an attacking band you crowded the foe
Exchanging thrusts ofyour deadly blades

17. Their blades sought to tear your skin
Whenever their tongues uttered vile insults

18. On a day of terrible carnage
When the cauldron of war boiled over

19. You scattered their ranks as buzzards scatter
While the spearpoint mixed the fray

20. You offered the cup but the coward refused it
While the valiant gladly drank his share

21. You made the pools of blood in it an omen
To the white ships demanding payment

22. In their skulls the peaks scrape
As your swords scraped the whetstones

23. After your day, every proud boaster
Claims, as if you were but a fantasy

24. But where is the swift flight from death
If the cloak trips or loosens?

25. When he entered upon the path
You saw him taking long strides

26. And I, when I grasped his shoulders
In the distress of the strait, he relieved my burdens

27. How often did the routed call to him
And he hastened, not breaking his pace

28. Say to the deserter who slithers away
Plunge into the fray immersed and choking

29. The tides of war drew away his blade
And the long days of peace drew you to comfort

30. Though they carried goodness to you unasked
You guarded it closely and selfishly

31. Their protection encompassed you while the tongues
In the valleys cried like seeking birds

32. When at dawn the foe entered your homes
They left not a basin in your homes

33. The peaks rend your skins
As if the spears clothe them in patches

34. Each grim-faced one among you
Passes the night sighing and groaning

35. He gathered you when your power waned
From the blows of spears and the hail of swords

36. He led the charge with your heroes until you were
Like stars, the nearest of you to the high stars

37. And a death omen hovered above you
For every bird that takes flight must land

38. No men of Quraysh remain
And I was named among them but now decline

39. They enjoyed the fruits of this glory for a time
With the fangs of heroes and in delight

40. The mortal stroke culled them from us
Choosing the best, the ripe fruit

41. They passed away, from each dire strait
When honour demands it, unveiled

42. They avoided me, and their avoidance shook me
For when they went, they cut the ties