1. Have you not seen that everything has a cause
That ignites it like fire sparked by flint?

2. Thus we have tested matters, and indeed
What has passed indicates what is yet to come.

3. And my thoughts of Ibrahim are that his place
Will one day rise again, like his arduous days.

4. I saw Hussein when Muhammad had no protection,
No pact in his hands or covenant.

5. Had he but struck with his sword one fatal blow
That would have left him prone, cheek dragging the ground.

6. Were there no soldiers left for him to command,
Then the news I received of the troops would be confirmed.

7. They killed him after killing thirty thousand for him,
Veterans and youths.

8. They did not help him against the hands that betrayed him,
Nor did they kill him that day out of hatred.

9. But it was blatant treachery, reckless minds,
And an opinion far removed from the path of integrity.

10. Thus it was a day that would serve as a lesson for all people
Remaining like the inscriptions on tablets of stone.

11. And the day of Ibrahim—no matter how long he lives—
Will not be more hateful to me than his day.

12. I remember the Commander of the Faithful, upright
In jest and earnest.

13. By Him in whose service I have risen this morning
As a servant succeeding the Caliph,

14. None surpasses the Commander's sincere faith,
Whether lord or vassal.

15. Willingly he came to you of his own accord,
Though against his wishes, with God claiming all praise.

16. So do not leave any room for doubt among the people,
For you will recompense according to what you dispense.

17. They have certainly wrongly accused people in a case like his,
With no son of al-Mansur’s nor of al-Mahdi’s.

18. How then with one whom all the people pledged allegiance,
And riders from the deserts to Najd responded to his oath of fealty?

19. One whose appointment as Caliph was stamped with approval,
And who was proclaimed among the high nobility?

20. What man ever aspired to it and then relinquished it
Until he passed away and was buried in a grave?

21. Yet they claim for the likes of him leadership,
To guide them in what they disclose and conceal!

22. They say he is a Sunni, but what tradition
Is upheld by the likes of blue eyed Sa’al, the shifty one?

23. And they have made the food allowed in his time
A leader for them, along with the lucky constellation.

24. Whenever they see a day of high prices, you see them
Yearning for those days, filled with regret.

25. And he came on the day of Eid leading hyenas around him,
The snorting of steeds, and the clanging of coat mail.

26. With horsemen walking about in chainmail behind him
Bearing staffs and spears.

27. If you say that others have sought the Caliphate
Yet were not granted what they strove hard to obtain,

28. I do not fault him whose endeavor God foiled
For being mistaken since he did so deliberately.

29. Nor am I pleased after forgiveness unless I supply him,
For the bitten one is more deserving of shelter and care.

30. One who was cast out by the foolishness of others' opinions
Is not the same as one whose own reasoning led him astray.

31. A gang of bandits assisted him,
Just to importune, never to export him from exile.

32. Another was in the house of the Caliph, associating
With you and the glorious fathers before you.

33. Your master was his master, your troops his troops.
Can one scabbard contain two swords?

34. I was surprised by your family saying
That they were most fond of him.

35. They say, "Do not distance yourself from the son of a freedwoman,
Forbearing, though it wearied his soul, a man of great resilience."

36. So he drew near and his soul became cheap to attain our kingdom,
At that time when few would sacrifice themselves.

37. At the time when people extended to you the palms of their hands
Ali ibn Musa was given the succession to the Caliphate.

38. None but he refused that injustice,
But to accept or reject was enough for us.

39. And Ibrahim readied himself for death,
Bearing arms above a breast bursting with resolve.

40. He did his utmost, and one who reaches the limit
Of his affair is not to be blamed, even if he falls short.

41. These are matters those hesitant to face evil
May fear the consequences of. But God guides you to integrity.