1. I have wisdom and eloquence,
And rhetoric unmatched by Luqman.

2. How strange are the lexicons of his time,
While your lover made eras recognize him.

3. I have experienced the events of time, and time
Has tested me with a touchstone unmatched by epochs.

4. How often did I know the matter before its occurrence!
Thus it happened, and so did minds comprehend.

5. I still restrain the glance of every disappearing one,
Until hope appears on his horizon.

6. And I see on the pages of my addressee's face
What concealment had included for me.

7. And the shining one let his heart's pen
Flow with what future times had not received from his sermons.

8. And if the attire of my sermons lowers its garb,
It brings forth a dawn that cannot be seen.

9. I have experienced from the wickedness of time and its vicissitudes
What no sultan has undergone the like of.

10. I have overturned the structures of sorrows and delved into
The sea of tribulations and perils—peril upon peril.

11. And I have filled the crevasse of every hidden evil
Until the dawn of elucidation shone from its horizon.

12. Attributes I have been exclusively endowed with since my prime
By an Able One from whom no place is devoid.

13. Thus, when I compose poetry, I am no Zuhayr or Tarafa,
And when I speak, I am no youthful Suhban.

14. And flowing prose has coursed upon my tongue
Like the running of a beloved prey chased by hunting companions.

15. And the mind is the pinnacle of virtue without participation,
And through it, by your life, the Merciful is known.

16. Do not envy, my oblivious brother, an ignorant man his loftiness,
For the mind suffices you—not the body.

17. And the mind is the husband of life, and from the two of them
Beauty is brought forth, and faith is born.

18. And oftentimes, one's bashfulness prevents him
From that which man intends to do.

19. So guard your bashfulness—do not waste its waters—
For one who sheds its waters is lost.

20. A man abased when fortune favors his brothers
Is abject, disgraced, and lowly.

21. Do not envy save a courageous hero
Whose might fierce warriors have surrendered to.

22. Or a benefactor who has sown the winds his gifts
While having the blame of the fickle and deviant.

23. There is no praise except for a man of great integrity
Who gives possessions while honor is protected from him.

24. And when days oppress a noble man,
His brothers reject him like an alien rejects his brothers.

25. And people are assistants to the strong one by himself,
And are his supporters if he falls.

26. And one who wears the garment of blame—
If he owned the world's scale, it would not weigh in his favor for praise.

27. Do not gloat at the misery of a people overcome
By the vicissitudes of misery—for as you judge, you will be judged.

28. Do not be fooled by the humility of the crafty one,
For his humility is a clever trick.

29. If the hand of fate empowered him over you a moment,
He would reject the stirrup of kindness if it returned to you.

30. And accept the apology if a friend apologizes for a slip—
For to accept the excuse of a brother is faith.

31. And fold your wing humbly for the commoners,
So the Compeller aids you by His gentleness.

32. And pelt the tyrants with a barrage of deafness
From which their eyes will find no relief from it.

33. One who is not helped by his wings
Cannot recoil—one who is not faced by cowards is no coward.

34. And attack the enemy—a people have not been attacked in their homes
And pillars of might stood up for their honor.

35. And when a warrior does not attack his foe one day,
He will be attacked, his courtyard destroyed, and disgraced.

36. You do not gain your right with jest—rather
The serious gain their right from the critic.

37. And when the two armies draw near, do not be
Dazed so the blaze of Hellfire stuns you.

38. And when you strike, bite with the bite of a biter
So the sword will be loyal to you while it is a coward.

39. And when you stab, throw yourself in the moment
Until its stabbing excites the horses.

40. And when the two forces approach, do not step
A foot, or else the steeds will step like you.

41. For the one who meets you as a horseman
Or a rider with the spear—and spear to spear!

42. Shake your sword before drawing it
From the scabbard, so the swordsman is alert.

43. And glance with your eyes after you shoot
The furthest battalions—for the shooter is aiming.

44. And strike the neck if you are able
For the neck cannot sustain bodies.

45. And stab with penetrating flechettes if you wish
For flechettes are more successful when a stabber stabs.

46. Then curb your armies if they dispute
A matter, so their affair will fail and they will be disgraced.

47. And if they mute their voices in the fray,
They will not fail—thus did the Qur’an come.

48. And know that victory is brought by Him
To whom the whales prostrated in their swelling seas.

49. O you who wades into the deep waters, act upon what
I have said, so the horsemen will submit to you.

50. I am the son of Nabhan the son of Kaykarib the son of the one
Who ruled the people and who has favor.

51. I have suppressed al-Wa'iqa while she was a sullen virgin,
And I have built the highest rank’s staircase—and war is wanton.

52. And I left the stalwart lions, thrown about,
Prey for the vultures’ necks to pick at.

53. And I have defeated cavaliers of resolute hearts,
So it was as if their flight were the darkness of night.

54. And gifts that remove worries—I have granted them—
For none can say "So-and-so was generous" but me.

55. From a people who lowered the shoulders they are attained by
The plots of disgrace which their father Qahtan knew.

56. The steeds have taken freely to praising our knowledge
That praise belongs only to our horses and their price.

57. Other than us, whom has abundant honor that wields power altered?
Or who possesses crowns and tiaras?

58. For us are the kingdoms, positions, and ascendancy,
And preeminence—Adnan knew our merit.

59. Honor we inherited—victorious for glory—
And Nabhan built for us the staircase to ascendancy.

60. And the crowned one singled us out, O people of Hamir,
Apart from kings, and his son Kahlân.