1. تَزَوَّد فَما نَفسٌ بِعامِلَةٍ لَها

    إِذا ما أَتاها بِالمَنايا حَديدُها

    Take provisions, for no soul can labor for itself

    when death's steel comes upon it, bringing doom.

  2. فَيوشِكَ نَفسٌ أَن تَكونَ حَياتُها

    وَإِن مَسَّها مَوتٌ طَويلاً خُلودُها

    For a soul's life may soon be

    long-lasting, even if death touches it.

  3. وَسَوفَ تَرى النَفسَ الَّتي اِكتَدَحَت لَها

    إِذا النَفسُ لَم تَنطِق وَماتَ وَريدُها

    And you shall see the soul for which you toiled,

    when the soul no longer speaks and its jugular vein has died.

  4. وَكَم لِأَبي الأَشبالِ مِن فَضلِ نِعمَةٍ

    بِكَفَّيهِ عِندي أَطلَقَتني سُعودُها

    And how many a bountiful favor Abu al-Ashbal has

    bestowed on me with both hands, whose good fortune set me free!

  5. فَأَصبَحتُ أَمشي فَوقَ رِجلَيَّ قائِماً

    عَلَيها وَقَد كانَت طَويلاً قُعودُها

    So I came to walk on my two legs, standing

    upon them, though they had long been idle.

  6. وَكَم يا اِبنَ عَبدِ اللَهِ مِن فَضلِ نِعمَةٍ

    بِكَفَّيكَ عِندي لَم تُغَيَّب شُهودُها

    And how many a bountiful favor, O son of Abd Allah,

    have I received from both your hands, its witnesses never absent!

  7. وَكَم لَكُمُ مِن قُبَّةٍ قَد بَنَيتُمُ

    يَطولُ عِمادَ المُبتَنينَ عِمودُها

    And how many a pavilion you have built for yourselves,

    whose pole overtops the builders' pillars!

  8. بَنَتها بِأَيديها بَجيلَةُ خالِدٍ

    وَنالَ بِها أَعلى السَماءِ يَزيدُها

    Khalid's Bajilah built it with its own hands,

    and through it its Yazid reached the highest reaches of the sky.

  9. وَجَدتُكُمُ تَعلونَ كُلَّ قُبَيلَةٍ

    إِذا اِعتَزَّ أَقرانَ الأُمورِ شَديدُها

    I found you rising above every tribe,

    when the fiercest trials overpowered their contenders.

  10. وَكانَت إِذا لاقَت بَجيلَةُ غارَةً

    فَمِنكُم مُحاميها وَمِنكُم عَميدُها

    And whenever Bajilah faced a raid,

    its defender was from among you, and its chief from among you.

  11. وَكُنتُم إِذا عالى النِساءُ ذُيولَها

    لِيَسعَينَ مِن خَوفٍ فَمِنكُم أُسودُها

    And when the women raised their hems

    to run in fear, its lions were from among you.

  12. وَما أَصبَحَت يَوماً بَجيلَةُ خالِدٍ

    وَإِلّا لَكُم أَو مِنكُمُ مَن يَقودُها

    And Khalid's Bajilah never greeted a day

    without a leader belonging to you or drawn from among you.

  13. إِذا هِيَ ماسَت في الدُروعِ وَأَقبَلَت

    إِلى الباسِ مَشياً لَم تَجِد مَن يَذودُها

    When it strode proudly in armor and advanced

    toward battle on foot, it found no one to repel it.

  14. لَعَمري لَئِن كانَت بَجيلَةُ أَصبَحَت

    قَدِ اِهتَضَمَت أَهلَ الجُدودِ جُدودُها

    By my life, if Bajilah has indeed come to be

    a tribe whose fortunes have humbled the fortunate—