كم أَلحَمَ السَّيفُ في أبناءِ مَلْحَمَةٍ

كم أَلحَمَ السَّيفُ في أبناءِ مَلْحَمَةٍ

ما مِنْهُمُ فَوقَ ظهْرِ الأَرْض دَيَّارُ

ما مِنْهُمُ فَوقَ ظهْرِ الأَرْض دَيَّارُ

How many sons of battle the sword has slaughtered!

How the sword has feasted among the sons of feast!

Not one of them remains upon the face of the earth.

None of them remain above the earth's face as dwellers

وأوْرَدَ النَّارَ مِنْ أَرواحِ مارِقَةٍ

وأوْرَدَ النَّارَ مِنْ أَرواحِ مارِقَةٍ

كادَتْ تَمَيّزُ مِنْ غَيْظٍ لَها النّارُ

كادَتْ تَمَيّزُ مِنْ غَيْظٍ لَها النّارُ

And how many renegade souls it delivered to the Fire!

And it has brought down fire from departing souls

The Fire nearly burst apart in fury at them.

The fire almost burst out of rage

كأَنَّما صَالَ في ثِنْيَي مُفاضَتِهِ

كأَنَّما صَالَ في ثِنْيَي مُفاضَتِهِ

مُسْتَأْسِدٌ حَنِقُ الأَحْشاءِ هَرَّارُ

مُسْتَأْسِدٌ حَنِقُ الأَحْشاءِ هَرَّارُ

As though, between the folds of his ample mail, there charged

As if a raging lion with burning entrails

A lion-like warrior, raging at heart and growling.

Was raging amid its folds

لمَّا رأَى الفِتْنَةَ العَمْياءَ قَدْ رَحُبَتْ

لمَّا رأَى الفِتْنَةَ العَمْياءَ قَدْ رَحُبَتْ

مِنْها على النَّاسِ آفاقٌ وأَقْطارُ

مِنْها على النَّاسِ آفاقٌ وأَقْطارُ

When he saw blind strife grown vast,

When he saw the blind strife had grown vast

Its horizons and regions spreading over the people,

With horizons and lands over people from it

وَأطبَقَتْ ظُلمٌ مِنْ فَوْقِها ظُلمٌ

وَأطبَقَتْ ظُلمٌ مِنْ فَوْقِها ظُلمٌ

مَا يُسْتَضاءُ بِها نُورٌ ولا نارُ

مَا يُسْتَضاءُ بِها نُورٌ ولا نارُ

And layers of darkness closed in, with more darkness above them,

And darkness from over it was layered with darkness

No light or fire could give illumination within them.

With which no light or fire can be illuminated

قادَ الجِيادَ إِلى الأعْداءِ سارِيَةً

قادَ الجِيادَ إِلى الأعْداءِ سارِيَةً

قُبَّاً طَواها كطَيِّ العَصْبِ إِضْمَارُ

قُبَّاً طَواها كطَيِّ العَصْبِ إِضْمَارُ

He led the steeds against the foes, traveling by night,

He drove the steeds against the enemies loftily

Lean-bellied, drawn tight by training like folded Yemeni cloth,

Covered with coats of mail like plaited hair twists

مَلْمُومَةً تَتَبارى في مُلَمْلَمَةٍ

مَلْمُومَةً تَتَبارى في مُلَمْلَمَةٍ

كأَنَّها لاعْتِدالِ الخَلْقِ أَفْهارُ

كأَنَّها لاعْتِدالِ الخَلْقِ أَفْهارُ

Compactly built, vying with one another in a massed host,

Blamed, vying in a confused vying

As though, in their balanced build, they were pounding-stones.

As if for the uprightness of creation they were displays

تَزْوَرُّ عِنْدَ احْتماسِ الطَّعْنِ أَعْيُنُها

تَزْوَرُّ عِنْدَ احْتماسِ الطَّعْنِ أَعْيُنُها

وَهُنَّ مِنْ فُرُجاتِ النَّقْعِ نُظَّارُ

وَهُنَّ مِنْ فُرُجاتِ النَّقْعِ نُظَّارُ

Their eyes turn aside as the spear-thrusting grows fierce,

Their eyes dance during the clashing of spears

While they peer through gaps in the battle-dust.

And they are spyglasses for the interstices of wounds

تَفُوتُ بِالثأرِ أَقْواماً وَتُدْرِكُهُ

تَفُوتُ بِالثأرِ أَقْواماً وَتُدْرِكُهُ

مِنْ آخَرينَ إذَا لم يُدْرَكِ الثّارُ

مِنْ آخَرينَ إذَا لم يُدْرَكِ الثّارُ

They elude some men's vengeance, and exact it

They take vengeance on some tribes and attain it

From others when vengeance would otherwise be beyond reach.

From others when revenge cannot be attained

فَانسابَ ناصِرُ دينِ اللَّهِ يَقْدُمُهُمْ

فَانسابَ ناصِرُ دينِ اللَّهِ يَقْدُمُهُمْ

وحَوْلَه مِنْ جُنُودِ اللَّهِ أَنصارُ

وحَوْلَه مِنْ جُنُودِ اللَّهِ أَنصارُ

Then the champion of God's faith swept forward, leading them,

So the aider of Allah's religion set forth leading them

And around him were supporters from God's hosts:

And around him were Allah's soldier helpers

كتائِبٌ تَتَبارى حَوْلَ رايَتهِ

كتائِبٌ تَتَبارى حَوْلَ رايَتهِ

وجَحْفَلٌ كسَوادِ اللَّيْلِ جَرَّارُ

وجَحْفَلٌ كسَوادِ اللَّيْلِ جَرَّارُ

Battalions vying with one another around his banner,

Battalions vying around his banner

And a vast, teeming host, like the blackness of night.

And a horde black as the night's darkness

قَوْمٌ لَهُمْ في مَكَرِّ اللَّيْلِ غَمْغَمَةٌ

قَوْمٌ لَهُمْ في مَكَرِّ اللَّيْلِ غَمْغَمَةٌ

تَحْتَ الْعَجاجِ وَإقْبالٌ وَإدْبارُ

تَحْتَ الْعَجاجِ وَإقْبالٌ وَإدْبارُ

Men whose low murmuring sounds at night's return,

A folk having in the night's scheming a growling

Beneath the battle-dust, with advance and retreat.

Beneath armor and advance and retreat

يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ كرادِيساً مُكَرْدَسَةً

يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ كرادِيساً مُكَرْدَسَةً

كما تَدَفَّعَ بِالتَّيَّارِ تَيَّارُ

كما تَدَفَّعَ بِالتَّيَّارِ تَيَّارُ

They advance in battalions massed together,

They surge forward like torrents set in motion

As one torrent surges upon another.

As if driven by the current is a current

مِنْ كلِّ أَرْوَعَ لا يَرْعَى لِهاجِسَةٍ

مِنْ كلِّ أَرْوَعَ لا يَرْعَى لِهاجِسَةٍ

كأَنَّهُ مُخْدِرٌ في الغِيلِ هَصَّارُ

كأَنَّهُ مُخْدِرٌ في الغِيلِ هَصَّارُ

With every gallant warrior who heeds no foreboding,

Without any heed to alarm as if drugged amid yelling

As though he were a lion in its thicket lair, crushing prey,

A screaming warrior amid the battle's clamor

في قَسطَلٍ مِنْ عَجاج الحَرْبِ مُدَّ لَهُ

في قَسطَلٍ مِنْ عَجاج الحَرْبِ مُدَّ لَهُ

بَينَ السَّماءِ وبَيْنَ الأَرْضِ أَسْتارُ

بَينَ السَّماءِ وبَيْنَ الأَرْضِ أَسْتارُ

Amid a cloud of battle-dust, there were stretched for him

For him between the sky and earth banners are erected

Veils between the sky and the earth.

How many in their plain are corpses thrown down

فَكمْ بِساحَتِهمْ مِنْ شِلْوِ مُطَّرَحٍ

فَكمْ بِساحَتِهمْ مِنْ شِلْوِ مُطَّرَحٍ

كأنَّهُ فَوْقَ ظَهْرِ الأَرْضِ إجَّارُ

كأنَّهُ فَوْقَ ظَهْرِ الأَرْضِ إجَّارُ

And how many a mangled corpse lay cast upon their field,

As if above the earth's back are boulders

As though it were a flat roof upon the face of the earth!

As if his head is a cloven rock

كأنَّما رَأسُهُ أَفْلاقُ حَنْظَلَةٍ

كأنَّما رَأسُهُ أَفْلاقُ حَنْظَلَةٍ

وساعِداهُ إلَى الزَّنْدينِ جُمَّارُ

وساعِداهُ إلَى الزَّنْدينِ جُمَّارُ

As though its head were split pieces of a bitter colocynth,

And his arms to the armor are rigid

And its two forearms, down to the wrists, were hearts of palm.

And how many on the river are severed limbs

وكم على النَّهْرِ أَوْصالاً مُقَسَّمَةً

وكم على النَّهْرِ أَوْصالاً مُقَسَّمَةً

تَقَسَّمَتْها المَنايا فَهْيَ أَشْطارُ

تَقَسَّمَتْها المَنايا فَهْيَ أَشْطارُ

And how many limbs lay cut to pieces along the river,

Severed by death, so they are fragments

Death had divided them, leaving them in halves.

Their skulls were cleft by Indian scimitars

قَدْ فُلِّقَتْ بِصَفيحِ الهِندِ هَامُهُمُ

قَدْ فُلِّقَتْ بِصَفيحِ الهِندِ هَامُهُمُ

فَهُنَّ بَينَ حَوَامي الخَيْلِ أَعْشارُ

فَهُنَّ بَينَ حَوَامي الخَيْلِ أَعْشارُ

Their skulls had been split by India's broad blades,

So they are among the horses' anklets tenths

So they lay cut into tenths among the horses' hooves.