1. A man wished to attain it, while it was unreachable
And where is the palm compared to the distant star?

2. Indeed glory is beyond some men’s grasp
While for others it remains confined

3. Never have I seen the exalted pleased with harm
Or attracted to her equals, while she is aloof

4. So say to the envious today: overlook the motes
Not every lit fire have you kindled as torchbearer

5. Why bother with daring horsemanship and spears
When your lot is to miss attaining the heights, complacent

6. Of what use one day is your fervor as a footman
When the heat of battle comes, and you’re called horseman?

7. Despair of an ignoble soul attaining glory
Only the pure souls reach such lofty heights

8. Without her vigilance, the faith’s pillars
Would have overseers sleeping, while the stars keep watch

9. She watched over it, tirelessly and dutiful
If one guardian slept, another stood guard

10. War's brother endured raids and their bitterness
And spear points reached him, as did horsemen's charge

11. In peace he may dismiss you graciously, but his thoughts
Practice war's heat while he makes casual chat

12. As though earth's kings stand around his throne
Parthians, Khazars, and the Qatamite sits

13. When they look on him, stoic despite the pain
With no illness, yet heads bowed down

14. They greet Al-Wahhāb radiant, as if his brow
Were a full moon that scimitars didn't mar

15. The necks of kings obey his command
And the members and head obey, preeminent

16. Among the people some came with their goods
Brought by efforts of old and recent

17. Their swords give them passage to enemy lands
And shepherd them on the soft meadows

18. Flaming meteors in every tribe
Striking with their fires, tending the hearths

19. They only gathered with swords at the ready
For days of calamity, while a man keeps his company

20. If they miss a path to glory, they roar
Like predators slipped loose from the huntsman's bonds

21. One plunges deep into the fray, never retreating
Another on the day of trial, never ducking the blow

22. When the energetic ones come upon him on the hill
His hand is gentle, while his belly remains empty

23. Among the enemy, every disgrace finds its way
To his threshold, like ravenous wolves guided

24. And in his chest, a sagacity imbued
Like a filled wineskin, well aged

25. The legs of his swift steed, gift of the Majestic
As if the warrior's robe were dyed crimson in blood

26. Oh how many valiant men fierce enemies
Had hopes of, which passing clouds disappointed!

27. They wanted you for the great cause, but serious will
Turned them back, feet stumbling away

28. Good fortune's blades turn away from you
No shield can stop the stab of destiny's spears

29. When they evade the spear points, the stars
Impale them with their inauspicious piercing rays

30. You stripped them of wealth’s glory, leaving
Nothing for their rival’s eyes to envy

31. They have naught but head-cloths
No robes for their bodies

32. The might of your assault overwhelmed them
Bringing together necks, beyond coughs or sneezes

33. None climbing the peak of glory escapes it
Nor one diving deep in the water's recess

34. None can speak of fear but in hushed tones
None behold humiliation but abject

35. You see the father deny his sons and avoid
Even his own dear brother, once intimate

36. Today none greets with humiliation, once exalted
No use in crying when fate darkens, anguished

37. Palm branches slip from their incapable hands
And the little girls shake them off in disgust

38. A man's food becomes a noose around his neck
From fear, until the garment is cast off

39. If they travel the land, it destroys them
If they settle the abodes, then those become prisons

40. A sneeze in their company elicits no blessing
Like a howl in the night from the tribe, a sneeze

41. And Satan, the misguider, bowed away from them
No crooked deception of sin left standing

42. When the healer of quandaries is sought, their cure is:
Once the disease of enmity goes into remission

43. A day of bounty laden with gifts is his
And a day of canopies streaming daylight

44. The smile of a cheerful man - his enemies say:
"Is this the one who meets calamity with a frown?"

45. We pine while the distant ones enjoy your waters
And we are the ones thirsty, drinking little sips

46. Your clouds give others shade, while we
Are the sheep grazing your land, mere beasts

47. I hoped for twenty that would be fulfilled
So why am I the one losing hope after thirty?

48. I had rendered a service to elevate me
Without any yield, no farmer plants a seed

49. My only ambition is glory - and for a man, I rival
In greatness, not wealth or possessions

50. But a rival reaped the harvest of your bounty
And fortunes fade after the initial shock

51. Perhaps the King of Kings may grant greater fortune
Stripped bare by nights' ravenous wolves

52. I used to envy the glory you bestowed, but then
The enemies' hatred rained on me heavily

53. An envier pushed me from your palace gates
Smiling at my face, while both our souls resented

54. He feigns affection, while hiding hatred
Both our gazes wary, exchanging accusations

55. So renew a hand that ennobles me again
Those hands once adorned me, now make me indigent

56. Your door suits me more than all the lands
A doorman bars me from knocking at your door

57. I swear - if not for you valiantly guarding
No vengeance would be sought for Baghdad's people