1. مَن لِقَلبٍ مُتَيَّمٍ مُستَهَامِ

    غَيرِ ما صَبوةٍ ولا أحلاَمِ

    Who will tend a heart enthralled and love-stricken,

    not from youthful passion, nor from dreams

  2. طَارِقَات ولا ادِّكار غوان

    واضحاتِ الخدودِ كالآرامِ

    that visit by night, nor memories of beauties

    with radiant cheeks like white gazelles?

  3. بل هَوَايَ الذي أُجِنُّ وأُبدي

    لِبَنِي هَاشِمٍ فُرُوعِ الأنَامِ

    Rather, the love I conceal and reveal

    is for the sons of Hashim, mankind's loftiest branches;

  4. لِلقَرِيبِينَ من نَدَىً والبَعِيدِي

    نَ من الجَورِ في عُرى الأَحكَامِ

    for those close to generosity and far

    from injustice in the bonds of judgment;

  5. والمُصِيبِينَ بابَ ما أَاخطَأَ النَّا

    سُ ومُرسِي قَوَاعِدِ الإِسلاَمِ

    who find the right course where people go wrong,

    and anchor the foundations of Islam;

  6. والحُمَاةُ الكُفَاةُ في الحَربِ ان

    لَفَّ ضِرَاماً وَقُودُها بِضِرَام

    the protectors, sufficient in war, when

    its fuel entwines blaze with blaze;

  7. والغُيُوثِ الذينَ إِن أَمحَلَ النَّا

    سُ فَمَأوَى حَوَاضِنِ الأيتَامِ

    the life-giving rains who, when people suffer drought,

    are a refuge for the women tending orphans;

  8. والوُلاَةِ الكُفَاةِ للأَمر ان طَرَّ

    ق يَتناً بِمُجهَضٍ أو تَمَامِ

    the capable governors of affairs, should a matter arrive

    feet first, miscarried or brought to term;

  9. والأُسَاةِ الشُّفَاةِ للداءِ ذِي الرِّيبَ

    ةِ والمُدرِكيِنَ بالأَوغَامِ

    the physicians who cure a disease fraught with doubt,

    and exact vengeance for blood feuds;

  10. والرَّوَايَا التي بِهَا يَحمِلُ النَّا

    سُ وُسُوقَ المُطَبَّعَاتِ العِظَامِ

    the water-bearing camels by whom people carry

    the loads of great, heavily laden beasts;

  11. والبُحُورِ التي بها تُكشَفُ الحِرَّ

    ةُ والداءُ من غَلِيلِ الأَوَامِ

    the seas that dispel burning

    thirst and the illness of its parching heat;

  12. لكثيرينَ طَيّبينَ من النَّا

    سِ وبَرِّينَ صادقينَ كشرامِ

    for many good men among the people,

    dutiful, truthful and generous [reading uncertain];

  13. وَاضِحِي أَوجُهٍُ كَرِيمِي جُدُودٍ

    وَاسِطِي نِسبَةٍ لِهَام فَهَامِ

    radiant of face, noble of ancestry,

    central in lineage, chief after chief;

  14. للذُّرَى فالذُّرَى من الحَسَبِ الثَّا

    قِبِ بَينَ القَمقَامِ فالقَمقَامِ

    at summit after summit of illustrious nobility,

    among mighty lord after mighty lord;

  15. رَاجِحِي الوَزنِ كَامِلِي العَدلِ في

    السِيرةِ طَبِيِّن بالأُمورِ الجِشَامِ

    weighty in worth, perfect in justice in

    their conduct, versed in formidable affairs.

  16. فَضّلُوا النَّاسَ في الحَدِيثِ حَدِيثاً

    وَقَدِيماً في أوّلِ القُدَّامِ

    They surpassed others in recent times,

    and long ago, among the earliest forebears;

  17. مُستَفِيدِينَ مُتلِفِينَ مَوَاهِي

    بَ مَطَاعِيمَ غَيرِ ما أبرَامِ

    acquiring wealth and lavishing it, lavish

    givers and feeders, never churlish men;

  18. مُستَعِفِّينَ مُفضِلينَ مَسَامِي

    حَ مراجِيحَ في الخَمِيسِ اللُّهَامِ

    self-restrained, beneficent, openhanded,

    men of weight in the all-devouring host;

  19. ومَدَارِيكَ لِلذُّحُولِ مَتَارِي

    كَ وإِن أُحفِظُوا لعُورِ الكَلاَمِ

    exactors of blood vengeance, yet disregarding

    offensive words, even when provoked.

  20. لا حُبَاهُم تُحَلُّ للمَنطِقِ الشَّغ

    ب ولا لِلِّطَامِ يوم اللِّطَامِ

    Their knee-binding wraps are not loosened for quarrelsome speech,

    nor for blows on the day of blows;

  21. أَبطَحِيِّيينَ أريَحِيينَ كالأَن

    جُمِ ذاتِ الرُّجُومِ والأَعلاَمِ

    men of al-Abtah, generous-spirited, like stars

    bearing missiles and guiding signs;

  22. غَالِبِيّينَ هاشِمِيّينَ في العِلـ

    ـمِ رَبَوا مِن عَطِيَّةِ العَلاَّمِ

    descendants of Ghalib and Hashim, in knowledge

    grown through the bounty of the All-Knowing;

  23. وَمُصَفَّينَ في المَنَاسِبِ مَحضِي

    نَ خِضَمِّينَ كالقُرُومِ السَّوَامِي

    purified in their pedigrees, unmixed,

    munificent, like towering camel stallions.

  24. وإذا الحَربُ أومَضَت بِسَنَا البر

    قِ وَسَارَ الهُمَامُ نَحوَ الهُمَامِ

    And when war flashes with lightning's gleam,

    and champion advances upon champion,

  25. ورأيتُ الشريجَ يَحنِنَّ والنَّب

    عَ بِمَكسُورَةِ الظُّهَارِ اللُؤَامِ

    and I see split-wood bows and nab‘ wood twanging

    in bent-backed, closely fitted bows,

  26. فَهُمُ الأُسدُ في الوَغَى لاَ اللَّواتي

    بين خِيسِ العَرِينِ والآجَامش

    they are the lions in battle, not those

    among the lair's thickets and reed beds;

  27. أُسدُ حَربٍ غُيوثُ جَدبٍ بَهَالِي

    لُ مَقَاوِيلُ غَيرُ ما أفدَامِ

    lions in war, rains in drought, noble

    chiefs, eloquent speakers, never tongue-tied;

  28. لا مَهَاذِيرَ في النَّدِيّ مَكَاثِي

    رَ ولا مُصمَتِينَ بالإِفحَامِ

    not babblers or excessive talkers in the assembly,

    nor silenced by defeat in argument;

  29. سَادةٍ ذَادةٍ عن الخُرَّدِ البِيـ

    ـضِ إذا اليَومُ كانَ كالأَيَّامِ

    lords defending fair, secluded maidens,

    when the day is like the days of battle;

  30. وَمَغَايِيرَ عِندَهُنَّ مَغَاوِي

    رَ مَسَاعِيرَ لَيلَة الإِلجَامِ

    jealous protectors of them, bold

    raiders, kindlers of battle on the night of bridling;

  31. لا مَعَازِيلَ فِي الحُرُوبِ تَنَابِيـ

    ـلَ ولا رَائِمِينَ بَوَّ اهتِضَامِ

    not weaponless in war, nor craven,

    nor nuzzling the stuffed calf of humiliation.

  32. وَهُمُ الآخِذُونَ من ثِقَةِ الأَم

    رِ بِتَقوَاهُمُ عُرَىً لا انفِصَامِ

    They grasp, from the certainty of the cause,

    through their piety, bonds that never break;

  33. وَالمُصِيبُونَ والمُجِيبُونَ للدَّعو

    وَةِ والمُحرِزُونَ خَصلَ التَّرامِيـ

    hitting the mark and answering the call,

    and winning the prize in archery;

  34. ـومُحِلُّونَ مُحرِمُونَ مُقِرُّو

    نَ لِحِلٍّ قَرَارَةً وحَرَامِ

    declaring lawful and forbidden, acknowledging

    firmly what is lawful and what is forbidden;

  35. سَاسَةٌ لا كَمَن يَرَى رَعيَةَ النَّا

    سِ سَوَاءً وَرِعيَةَ الأَنعَامِ

    rulers—not like one who sees tending people

    as equal to tending livestock;

  36. لا كَعَبدِ المَلِيكِ أو كَوَلِيدٍ

    أو سُلَيمَانَ بَعدُ أو كَهِشَامِ

    not like ‘Abd al-Malik or Walid,

    or Sulayman after him, or Hisham.

  37. رَيُه فِيهِمُ كَرَأي ذَو الثُلَّةِ

    في الثَائِجَاتِ جُنحَ الظَّلاَمِ

    His view of them is like a flock-owner's view

    of bleating sheep at the onset of darkness:

  38. جَزُّ ذِي الصُّوفِ وانتِقَاءٌ

    لِذِي المُخَّةِ وانعَق وَدَعدَعاً بالبِهَامِ

    shearing the woolly, and choosing

    the marrow-rich; shout and drive the lambs along.

  39. مَن يَمُت لا يَمُت فَقِيداً ومن يَحـ

    ـيَى فلا ذُو إلٍ ولا ذُو ذِمَامِ

    Whoever dies is not missed, and whoever lives

    has neither a bond nor protection.

  40. فَهُمُ الأَقرَبُونَ مِن كُلِّ خَيرٍ

    وَهُمُ الأَبعَدُونَ من كُلِّ ذَامِ

    But they are nearest to every good,

    and farthest from every reproach;

  41. وَهُمُ الأَرأَفُونَ بالنَّاسِ في الرَّأ

    فَةِ والأَحلَمُونَ في الأَحلاَمِ

    the most compassionate toward people in compassion,

    and the most forbearing in forbearance.

  42. بَسَطُوا أَيدِيَ النَّوَالِ وكَفُّوا

    أيديَ البَغيِ عَنهُمُ والعُرَامِ

    They extended the hands of giving and restrained

    the hands of oppression and violence from them.

  43. أخَذُوا القَصدَ واستَقَامُوا عَلِيهِ

    حِينَ مَالت زَوامِلُ الآثَامِ

    They took the middle course and held upright to it,

    when the pack beasts of sins lurched aside.

  44. عِيَزَاتُ الفَعَألِ والحَسَبِ العَو

    دِ إليهم مَحطُوطَةُ الأَعكَامِ

    Refuges of noble deeds and ancient lineage [reading uncertain],

    to them the laden packs are lowered;

  45. أُسرَةُ الصَّادِق الحَديثِ أبي القَا

    سِمِ فَرعِ القُدَامِسِ القُدَّامِ

    the family of the truthful speaker, Abu al-

    Qasim, scion of a mighty, ancient lord;

  46. خَيرِ حَيّ وَمَيّتٍ من بَنِي آ

    دَمَ طُرَّاً مَأمُومِهم والإِمَامِ

    the best, living or dead, among the children of

    Adam—all of them, followers and leader.

  47. كَان مَيتاً جِنَازَةً خَيرُ مَيتٍ

    غَيَّبَتهُ حَفَائِرُ الأقوَامِ

    As a corpse upon a bier, he was the finest dead man

    ever hidden by the graves of peoples;

  48. وَجَنِينَاً وَمُرضِعاً ساكِنَ المَه

    دِ وبَعدَ الرِّضَاعِ عِندَ الفِطَامِ

    as an unborn child and a nursling dwelling in the cradle,

    and after suckling, at weaning;

  49. خَيرُ مُستَرضَعٍ وَخَيرُ فَطِيمٍ

    وَجَنِينٍ أُقِرَّ في الأَرحَامِ

    the finest suckled child and the finest weanling,

    and unborn child established in the womb;

  50. وَغُلاَماً وناشِئاً ثم كَهلاً

    خَيرُ كَهلٍ وَنَاشِىءٍ وغُلامِ

    as a boy, a youth, then a mature man,

    the finest mature man, youth and boy.

  51. انقَذَ الله شِلوَنَا من شَفا النَّ

    ار بِهِ نِعمَةً من المِنعَامِ

    God rescued our bodies from the brink of

    the Fire through him—a grace from the Bountiful Giver.

  52. لَو فَدَى الحَيُّ مَيِّتاً قُلتُ نَفسِي

    وَبَنِيَّ الفِدى لِتِلكَ العِظامِ

    If the living could ransom the dead, I would say: myself

    and my sons are ransom for those bones.

  53. طَيِّبب الأصلِ طَيِّب العُودِ في البِن

    يَة والفَرعِ يَثرِبِيُّ تَهَامِي

    Pure in root, pure in stock, in his frame

    and branch, a man of Yathrib and Tihamah;

  54. أبطَحِيٌّ بِمَكَّةَ استَثقَبَ الِلَّ

    هُ ضِيَاءَ العَمَى به والظَّلاَمِ

    a man of al-Abtah: in Mecca God kindled

    through him a light against blindness and darkness.

  55. وإلى يَثرِبَ التَّحَوُّلَ عَنها

    لِمَقَامٍ عَن غَيرِ دار مُقامِ

    And from it he departed to Yathrib,

    for an abode, away from a land that was no abode;

  56. هِجرَةٌ حُوِّلت من الأوسِ والخَز

    رَجِ أهلِ الفَسِيلِ والآطَامِ

    a migration that brought change among the Aws and Khaz-

    raj, people of palm shoots and fortified towers;

  57. غَيرَ دُنيَا مُحَالِفاً واسمَ صِدقٍ

    بَاقِياً مَجدُهُ بَقَاءَ السَّلامِ

    allied not to worldly gain, but to a name of truth,

    his glory enduring with the endurance of stones.

  58. ذُو الجَنَاحَينِ وابنُ هالةَ مِنهُم

    أسَدُ الله والكَمِيُّ المُحَامِيـ

    The Two-Winged One and Ibn Halah are among them,

    God's lion and the armored defender.

  59. ـلا ابنُ عَمٍّ يُرَى كهذا ولا عَ

    مٌّ كهَذَاك سَيِّد الأَعمَامِ

    No cousin is seen like this one, nor an uncle

    like that one, the chief of uncles;

  60. والوَصِيُّ الذي أمَالَ التَّجُو

    بِيُّ بِهِ عَرشَ أُمَّةٍ لانهِدَامِ

    and the designated heir, through whom al-Tajubi tipped

    a nation's throne toward collapse.

  61. كانَ أهلَ العَفَافِ والمَجدِ والخَيـ

    ـرِ ونَقضِ الأُمُورِ والإِبرَامِ

    He was worthy of chastity, glory and goodness,

    and of untying affairs and binding them.

  62. والوَصِيُّ الوَلِيُّ والفارِسُ المُعـ

    ـلِمُ تَحتض العَجَاجِ غَيرُ الكَهامِ

    The designated heir, the guardian, the knight marked for battle

    beneath the dust, never blunt;

  63. كَم لَهُ ثم كَم لَهُ من قَتِيلٍ

    وَصَرِيعٍ تَحتَ السَّنَابِكِ دَامِيـ

    how many slain men were his—how many—

    and fallen men bleeding beneath the hooves;

  64. ـوَخَمِيسٍ يَلُفُّهُ بِخَمِيسٍ

    وفِئَامٍ حَوَاهُ بَعدَ فِئَامِ

    and armies he enveloped with an army,

    and hosts he encompassed, host after host;

  65. وَعَمِيدٍ مُتَوَّجٌ حُلَّ عَنهُ

    عُقَدُ التَّاجِ بالصَّنِيعِ الحُسَامِ

    and crowned chiefs from whom were loosened

    the knots of the crown by the well-wrought, cutting sword.

  66. قَتَلوا يَومض ذَاك إِذ قَتلُوهُ

    حَكَمَاً لا كَغَابِر الحُكَّامِ

    That day, when they killed him, they killed

    a judge unlike the other judges;

  67. رَاعِيَاً كانَ مُسجِحَاً فَفَقَدنَا

    هُ وَفَقدُ المُسِيمِ هُلكُ السَّوَامش

    a shepherd who was gentle; we lost

    him, and losing the herdsman is the grazing herd's destruction.

  68. نَالَنَا فَقدُهُ وَنَالَ سِوَانَا

    بِاجتِدَاعٍ مِنَ الأُنُوفِ اصطِلامِ

    His loss struck us and struck others besides us,

    like noses mutilated, utterly severed.

  69. وأًشِتَّت بِنَا مَصَادِرُ شَتَّى

    بَعدَ نَهجِ السَّبِيلِ ذِي الآرَامِ

    And divergent paths scattered us,

    after the clear road marked with cairns.

  70. جَرَّدَ السَّيفَ تَارَتَينِ من الدَّه

    رِ على حِينِ دِرَّةٍ من صَرَامِ

    Twice in his time he unsheathed the sword,

    at a time of surging, cutting severity,

  71. في مُرِيدِينَ مُخطِئِينَ هُدَى الل

    هِ وَمُستَقسِمِينَ بالأَزلاَمِ

    against rebels who missed God's guidance,

    and those who sought decisions through divining arrows;

  72. وَوَصِيُّ الوَصِيَّ ذِي الخُطَّةِ الفَص

    لِ وَمُردِي الخُصُومِ يَومَ الخِصَامِ

    and the heir of the heir, whose course was decisive,

    who felled opponents on the day of contention;

  73. وَقَتِيلٌ بالطَّفِ غُودِرَ منهُ

    بَينَ غَوغاءِ أُمّةٍ وَطَغَامِ

    and a slain man at al-Taff, of his line, left

    amid a nation's rabble and base men.

  74. تَركَبُ الطَّيرَ كالمَجَاسِدِ مِنهُ

    مَعَ هَابٍ من التُّرَابِ هَيَامِ

    What came from him clothed the birds like dyed garments,

    along with windblown, powder-fine dust.

  75. وَتُطِيلُ المُرَزَّءاتُ المَقَالِي

    تُ عَلَيهِ القُعُودض بَعدَ القِيَامِ

    Bereaved mothers whose children perished prolong

    their sitting beside him after standing;

  76. يَتَعَرَّفنَ حُرَّ وَجهٍ عَلَيهِ

    عُقبَةُ السَّروِ ظَاهِراً والوَسَامِ

    they recognize a noble face bearing

    clear traces of nobility and beauty.

  77. قَتَلَ الأدعِيَاءُ إِذ قَتَلُوهُ

    أكرَمَ الشَّارِبِينَ صَوبَ الغَمَامِ

    The false claimants, when they killed him, killed

    the noblest of those who drink the clouds' downpour;

  78. وَسَمِيُّ النَّبِيِّ بالشِّعبِ ذِي الخَيـ

    ـفِ طَرِيدُ المُحِلِّب الأحرَامِ

    and the Prophet's namesake in the ravine of al-Khayf,

    driven out by the profaner of sanctities;

  79. ـوأَبُو الفَضلِ إنَّ ذِكرَهُم الحُلـ

    ـوُ بِفِيَّ الشِّفَاءُ للأَسقَامِ

    and Abu al-Fadl—indeed, their sweet remembrance

    in my mouth is a cure for sickness.

  80. فِيهُمُ كُنتُ للبَعِيدِ ابنَ عَمٍّـ

    ـوَاتَّهَمتُ القَرِيبَ أيَّ اتِّهَامِ

    For their sake I was a cousin to the distant,

    and suspected the near with the deepest suspicion.

  81. صَدَقَ النَّاسَ في حُنَينَ بِضَربٍ

    شَابَ منه مَفَارِقُ القُمقَامِ

    He met the people at Hunayn with blows in earnest,

    from which the mighty chief's hair partings turned gray.

  82. وَتَنَاوَلتُ من تَنَاوَلَ بالغِيـ

    ـبَةِ أعرَاضَهم وَقَلَّ اكتِتامي

    I assailed whoever assailed, through backbiting,

    their honor, and I hid little;

  83. وَرَأَيتُ الشَّرِيفَ فِي أعيُنِ القَو

    مِ وَضِيعاً وَقَلَّ مِنهُ احتِشَامِي

    and saw the man noble in the people's eyes

    as base, and felt little deference toward him;

  84. مُعلِناً للمُعَالِنين مُسرَّاً

    للمُسِرِّينَ غَيرَ دَحضِ المَقَامِ

    speaking openly to the open, secretly

    to the secretive, without slipping from my stand;

  85. مُبدِياً صَفحَتِي عَلَى المَرقَبِ المُع

    لَمِ باللهِ قُوَّتِي واعتِصَامِي

    exposing my side upon the marked lookout,

    my strength and refuge are in God.

  86. ما أبالي إِذَا حَفِظتُ أبا القَا

    سِمٍ فِيهِم مَلامَةَ اللُوَّامِ

    I do not care, if I honor Abu al-

    Qasim in them, about the reproachers' blame.

  87. ما أبَالِي وَلَن أُبَالِي فِيهِم

    أبَداً رَغمض سَاخِطِينَ رَغَامِ

    I do not care, and never will care, concerning them,

    ever, despite the angry and humiliated.

  88. فَهُمُ شِيعَتِي وَقِسمِي من الأُمَّ

    ـةِ حَسبِي مِن سَائِرِ الأقسَامشـ

    For they are my party and my portion of the community,

    sufficient for me among all its other portions.

  89. إن أمُت لا أمُت وَنَفسِي نَفسَا

    ـنِ من الشَّكِّ في عَمَىً أو تَعَامِيـ

    If I die, I shall not die with my soul as two souls,

    from doubt, in blindness or willful blindness,

  90. عَادِلاً غَيرَهم مِن النَّاسِ طُ

    رَّاً بِهِمُ لا هَمَامِ بي لا هَمَامِ

    equating all other people

    with them—no thought of that in me, no thought.

  91. لَم أبِع دِينيَ المُسَاوِمَ بِالوَك

    سِ وَلاَ مُغلِيَاً مِنَ السُّوَّامِ

    I did not sell my faith to a bargainer at a loss,

    nor at a high price to the bidders.

  92. أخلَصَ الله لِي هوايَ فما أُغرِ

    قُ نزعاً ولا تَطِيشُ سِهَامِي

    God purified my love for me, so I do not overdraw

    the bow, nor do my arrows stray.

  93. وَلِهَت نَفسِيَ الطَّرُوبُ إلَيهم

    وَلَهَاً حالَ دُونَ طَعمِ الطَّعَامِ

    My rapturous soul yearned toward them,

    with a yearning that barred the taste of food.

  94. لَيتَ شِعرِي هَل ثُمَّ هَل آتِينَهُم

    أم يَحَولَنَّ دُونَ ذَاكَ حِمَامي

    Would that I knew: will I, will I reach them,

    or will my death stand in the way?

  95. إن تُشَيَّع بِي المُذَكرَةُ الوَجـ

    ـنَاءُ تَنفِي لُغَامَهان بِلُغَامِ

    If the sturdy, thick-cheeked she-camel bears me onward,

    flinging foam away with foam;

  96. عَنتَرِيسٌ شِمِلَّةٌ ذَاتُ لَوثٍ

    هَوجَلٌ مَيلَعٌ كَتُومُ البُغَامِ

    a powerful, fleet she-camel, full of strength,

    large and long-striding, suppressing her lowing;

  97. تَصِلُ السُّهبَ بالسُّهُوبِ إلَيهِم

    وَصلً خَرقَاءَ رُمَّةً في رِمَامِ

    joining plain to plain toward them,

    as a clumsy woman joins a worn rope to worn ropes;

  98. ـرَدَّهُنَّ الكَلالُ حُدباً حَدَابِيـ

    ـرَ وَحَدُّ الإِكَامِ بعدَ الإِكَامِ

    weariness has made them hunchbacked and wasted,

    and so have the sharp ridges of hill after hill;

  99. في حَراجِيحَ كالحِنِيّ مَجَاهِي

    ضَ يَخِدنَ الوَجِيفَ وَخدَ النَّعَامِ

    on lean she-camels, like bows, that have miscarried,

    striding swiftly with the stride of ostriches;

  100. يكتَنِفنَ الجَهِيضَ ذَا الرَّمَقِ المُعجَلِ

    بَعد الحَنِينِ بالإِرزَامِ

    they surround the prematurely cast calf, faintly alive,

    with deep rumblings after their plaintive cries;

  101. مُنكِرَاتٍ بأنفُسٍ عَارِفَاتٍ

    بِعُيُونٍ هَوَامِلِ التَّسجَامِ

    seeming not to know, yet knowing in their souls,

    with eyes streaming tears.

  102. ما أُبَالِي إذَا أُنِخنَ إِلَيهِم

    نَقَبَ الخُفِّ واعتِرَاقِ السَّنَامِ

    I do not care, once they kneel beside them,

    about worn-through hoof pads and wasted humps.

  103. يَقضِ زَورٌ هُنَاكَ حَقَّ مَزُورِيـ

    ـنَ وَيَحبُ السَّلاَم أهلُ السَّلامِ

    There let visitors fulfill the rights of those visited,

    and the people of peace love the greeting of peace.