1. Blame me less, O reproacher, and cease your blaming,
And say, though I was right, he too was right.

2. Do you forget the people of Najd, and how long
They waited alive for my return?

3. Indeed, let your tears flow copiously,
As you have set loose the rain from the clouds.

4. And lightning flashed on the night of Azre'at,
Seeking something it could never obtain.

5. I spoke of one need but concealed another,
And sadness came over me because of both.

6. Love I've hidden almost makes my heart
Burn with concealed passion.

7. We asked her for healing but she did not heal us,
And she deceived us with promises and trysts.

8. Far different is he who dwells at the monastery of Arwa
And he who lived at Sulailah and Jeneb.

9. Aseelah of the knotted headband, and Reya, where
The tents are pitched.

10. No scoundrels walk secretly to her
Nor does her neighbor cast aspersions at her.

11. Umm Hazrah unlocked to me from her heart
Valleys of love, for it has valleys.

12. Whenever I remember the Khor of Bani 'Iqal
Sadness appears clearly in their faces.

13. Whenever Bani Waqban face sorrow
I tighten the headbands on their noses.

14. What transpired for me in Tameem prevents me
And in the two branches of Khuzaymah from complaining.

15. You will know who becomes an ape of his father
And whose poems are collected as examples.

16. Are the horsemen of Tha'labah or winds
That you compare with them Tuhayyah and Al-Khashab?

17. It is as if the people of Tuhayyah are pebbles
That dogs pelt with stones.

18. By your father! Never in life have I met
A people like Ya'rub when they raise the antelope horns.

19. Nor have kings found us less honorable
Or horsemen swifter in pursuit than ours.

20. We are the rulers over Qulakh;
We sufficed for Dhi Jareerah and Al-Musab.

21. We defended on the day of Dhi Najb, defending,
And we gained skills and plunder.

22. Beneath our howdahs are long-necked steeds
Scattering dust like the scattering of winds.

23. With a crown whose jewels are royal,
We plundered its canopy and screen.

24. May Allah disfigure Bani ‘Iqal!
And increase their treachery and doubt!

25. I am done, O hirelings of Az-Zubair, with you,
So cast down the sword and take the blame!

26. The blood they shed was noble,
And possessions were lost and plundered.

27. Their backs were bent with horses
Pulling them, tough and unyielding.

28. Why do you hold back when He has summoned you,
Demeaning you, He who sent down the Book?

29. You gorged yourselves on their meat, and slept
While their relatives did not sleep, crying in lament.

30. Do you forget Az-Zubair and the band of ‘Awf
And Ji’thun after they were gone?

31. And Khor Mujashie they left as an orphan,
And said, ‘Shed tears for him, O crow!’

32. The wolf of Dhi Ma’arik, you know
He was found next to the wondrous marvel.

33. By your father! They have no minds
And their skulls were not found to be hard.

34. The night of Rahrahran you left old men
And disheveled women in your homes as captives.

35. You suckled, then soon the spittle drooled
Down your chins; you found no drink.

36. You left she-camels moaning in Al-Waqeet
Who follow behind the travelers’ mounts.

37. Indeed, Al-Farazdaq was disgraced in Ma’add;
So his struggle resulted only in absence.

38. And the Qain faced sorrow with the select;
You can see their tears flowing.

39. I did not rouse Al-Farazdaq, as you know,
Nor is it right for the son of Barwa’ to be feared.

40. God has prepared for me against the poets
Lightning bolts to which they bow their heads.

41. I linked the slave of Bani Numair
With the two Qainites when they were defeated and failed.

42. There came to me from ‘Iradah hateful words,
But no - by ‘Iradah! He did not mean it.

43. Evil is the livelihood that Numair earns
When they ask you for help and await your return.

44. Do Bani Numair seek insult, for by their father,
They have already met with insult!

45. I am the falcon swooping down upon Numair;
I was unleashed from the sky against them.

46. When his claws take hold of a skull,
They pierce the heart or rend the veil.

47. You see the noble birds take cover from him;
It would be dangerous for the partridges to be struck.

48. So may Allah not pray upon Numair
Or water their graves with clouds.

49. The green palm groves of Numair -
The darkness of their walls disgraces the face veils.

50. When they stand for anything but the witr prayer
Late at night, the dogs start barking.

51. The women of Bani Numair are so immoral
Their fingers do not know kohl.

52. When the women of Bani Numair arrive
At a dung heap, they stir up the soil.

53. If the bodies of Bani Numair were weighed
On a scale, they would not weigh a gnat.

54. Patience, O she-camels of Bani Numair,
For war's kindling are burning coals.

55. By the life of Bani Numair’s women,
My whip will be enough insult for them.

56. I will demolish the castle walls of Qaram
With blows I do not intend as blame.

57. Singing slave-girls entered the palaces of Yathrib
And left not a single door in San’aa.

58. The ropes of Bani Tameem are long for you
And their roar protects the forest and wilderness.

59. Did we not free Bani Numair’s women?
Yet they showed no gratitude or reward.

60. Did you not see me set upon Bani Numair
And heap more humiliation upon their noses?

61. I prepare for them seasons of protective warmth
So the heat of its flames may heal their sores.

62. So turn away your eye, for you are of Numair,
You have attained neither glory nor dogs.

63. Do I equate a contemptible, vile dung beetle
To two noble branches that have thrived and excelled?

64. It is the right of those protected by Numair
To be blamed; I do not care if you object.

65. Were it not for the shame of my vicious hounds
And Ka'b, I would have overcome you forcefully.

66. You are only the puppies of Bani Suleym;
You think the lightning of the gown is clothing!

67. Then I would have banished the slaves of Bani Numair
And it is up to me to increase their suspicion.

68. I am amazed - does Numair threaten me
With a shepherd who stirs up the haze?

69. Perhaps you thought, O Ubaid, my war
Only arms you with shackles and chains.

70. When the generous stand for noble deeds,
You rise with a waterskin, bleating!

71. The camel saddles yearn for him when he stirs,
And the noble mares recognize him when he appears.

72. So set the hounds, O Bani Numair,
As you have set up others for the hyena.

73. Evil is the pact you have made with Qais!
You provoke them and praise the scoundrels.

74. You call Khamish, your mother's brother, to see us
As stars whose rising cannot be desired.

75. Never will you, O Hannazlah and Su’dah, prevail,
Nor will you, by my life, attain glory or the viol.

76. Stalwarts who bear burdens for you
When affairs have gone wrong and changed.

77. They possessed kings at Dhatu Kaheef
And prevented the dogs from Yemen.

78. Those who seek to defy me see below me
Lions whose necks are fettered.

79. When Bani Tameem become angry with you,
You think all people are angry.

80. Are we not more numerous in both groups of men
At Mina, and its canopy vaster?

81. And more deserving, if you dare then call out:
“Answer me, O Khindif!” to be answered?

82. For us are the plains of Al-Batha', gushing with rivers,
While no floods poured through the valleys of my torrents.

83. What are you when my stalwarts straighten up,
Baring their teeth as their spittle flows?

84. Keep aside! My sea is that of Khindif;
You can see foam in the waves of its billows.

85. With waves like mountains - if you dare attack,
You will drown, then be cast upon the shore.

86. You will not find my encampment in Tameem
At Dhi Zalal, nor my lineage lacking glory.

87. I rose above you to the peak of Khindif;
Below it you can see difficult steps.

88. For it is the pond of the Prophet and its cupbearers,
And those who inherited prophethood and the Book.

89. Among us is one who authorizes the pilgrims of an assembled crowd,
Even were you to address their honor with a speech.

90. You will know who is most honored protecting the sanctuaries of Najd
And greatest among us in the towering cliffs.

91. I will honor you in the Hijaz, but if you condescend
To the depths of the land, you will be plundered.

92. Do you, O son of Barwa’, flee from afar?
For you have heard - so listen to the answer!

93. Do not despair, for Bani Numair
Are like a people breathed on by flies.

94. They are devils of the lands who fear my roar,
And the serpent of Ariha is obedient to me.

95. I left Mujashie’ and Bani Numair
Like an evil abode, swiftly decaying.

96. Did you not see me branding Bani Numair
And heaping more humiliation on their noses?

97. To you, to you, O slaves of Bani Numair!
And do not strike sparks against me!