1. مَن جبَّ غاربَ هاشم وسَنامَها

    ولوى لؤيّاً فاستزَلَّ مقامَها

    Who lopped off Hashim's withers and hump,

    and bent Lu'ayy, dislodging its standing?

  2. وغزا قريشا بالبطاح فلفَّها

    بيدٍ وقوَّضَ عزَّها وخيامَها

    And raided Quraysh at al-Bitah, sweeping them up

    in one hand, and razed their glory and tents?

  3. وأناخ في مُضَرٍ بكلكلِ خَسْفِهِ

    يستامُ واحتملتْ له ما سامَها

    And knelt upon Mudar with the crushing breast of his oppression,

    imposing demands, while they bore whatever he imposed?

  4. من حلَّ مكّة فاستباح حريمها

    والبيتُ يشهد واستحلَّ حرامَها

    Who entered Mecca and violated its sanctuary,

    the House looking on, and made its sacred things profane?

  5. ومضَى بيثربَ مزعجا ما شاء من

    تلك القبور الطاهراتِ عظامَها

    And passed through Yathrib, disturbing at will

    the bones of those pure graves?

  6. يبكي النبيُّ ويستنيحُ لفاطم

    بالطَّفِّ في أبنائها أيامَها

    The Prophet weeps and summons mourning for Fatim,

    for her days of grief through her sons at al-Taff.

  7. الدين ممنوعُ الحمى من راعَه

    والدار عاليةُ البنا من رامَها

    Religion's precinct is inviolable—who has terrified it?

    The house's structure is lofty—who has assailed it?

  8. أتناكرتْ أيدي الرجال سيوفَها

    فاستسلمتْ أمْ أنكرتْ إسلامَها

    Have men's hands become strangers to their swords,

    and surrendered—or disowned their Islam?

  9. أم غال ذا الحسبين حاميَ ذَودِها

    قدرٌ أراح على الغدوِّ سَوامَها

    Or has fate struck down the man of two noble lineages, his herd's defender,

    and brought its grazing beasts home at morning?

  10. فتقاصمتْ ملسوعةً بشتاتها

    تسِمُ المذلَّةُ بُزْلَها ووِسامَها

    So they broke apart, stung by their dispersal,

    humiliation branding their full-grown and handsome beasts.

  11. أَخلِقْ بها مطرودةً من بعده

    تشكو على قُرب الحياضِ أُوامَها

    Well may they be driven off after him,

    complaining of burning thirst beside the nearby pools.

  12. لمن الجيادُ مع الصباحِ مُغارةً

    تنضِي الظلامَ وما نضَى أجسامَها

    Whose horses are these, sent forth at dawn,

    outwearing the darkness, though it has not worn their bodies?

  13. صبغَ السوادُ ولم تكن مسبوقةً

    أعرافَها ظلما وعمَّ لِمامَها

    Blackness dyed, though they had never been outstripped,

    their manes unjustly, and covered their forelocks.

  14. من كلّ ما شيةِ الهوينا أنكرتْ

    شُقّاتِها واستغربت إحجامَها

    Each, walking at a gentle pace, disowns

    her long strides and finds her holding back strange:

  15. جرداءَ تسأل ظهرَها عن سَرجِها

    وتجرُّ حبلا لا يكون لجامَها

    a sleek mare asking her back about her saddle,

    dragging a rope that cannot be her bridle.

  16. بكر النعي من الرضيِّ بمالك

    غاياتها متعوّد إقدامها

    At dawn came news of al-Radi's death, master

    of their farthest goals, accustomed to their bold advance.

  17. كلح الصباحُ بموته من ليلةٍ

    نفضت على وجه الصباح ظلامَها

    Morning scowled at his death, emerging from a night

    that shook its darkness onto morning's face.

  18. صدعَ الحِمام صَفاة آلِ محمّدٍ

    صدْعَ الرداءِ به وحلَّ نظامَها

    Death split the rock of Muhammad's house,

    rending it like cloth through him, and unstrung its order:

  19. بالفارس العَلَوي شقَّ غبارَها

    والناطق العربيِّ شقَّ كلامَها

    the Alid horseman who broke through their dust,

    the Arab orator who cleft their speech.

  20. سلَب العشيرةَ يومُه مصباحَها

    ورمى الردى عَمَّالَها عَلَّامَها

    His final day robbed the clan of its lamp,

    and death struck down its tireless worker, its great scholar:

  21. برهانُ حجّتها الذي بَهرَت به

    أعداءَها وتقدّمت أعمامَها

    the proof of its claim, with which it dazzled

    its foes and went before its uncles.

  22. دبَّرتَها كهلا وسُدتَ كهولَها

    تُرضِي النفوسَ وكنتَ بعدُ غلامَها

    You governed them as an elder and ruled their elders,

    winning hearts while you were still their young man.

  23. النصُّ مرويٌّ وكنتَ دلالةً

    مشهورةً لما نُصِبتْ إمامَها

    The text is handed down; you were a sign

    made manifest when you were appointed their imam.

  24. قدَّمتَ فضلتَها وجئتَ فبرَّزتْ

    سَبْقا خُطىً لك أحرزتْ إقدامَها

    You advanced their excellence; you came, and they excelled,

    leading through steps of yours that won them precedence.

  25. كم رضتَ بالإرفاق نخوةَ عزِّها

    والعسفِ حتى جَمَّعتْ أحلامَها

    How often you trained the pride of their might with gentleness

    and sternness, until they gathered their wits.

  26. ولقد تكون مع الفظاظةِ رحمةً

    وعلى جفائك واصلا أرحامَها

    Indeed, even amid harshness, you were a mercy,

    and despite your roughness, maintained their kinship ties.

  27. قوّدتَها للحقّ إذ هي ناشطٌ

    لا تستطيع يدُ الزمان خِطامَها

    You led them toward truth when they were a runaway beast

    whose halter the hand of time could not grasp.

  28. حتى تصالحت القلوبُ هوًى على

    إعظامِها وتصافحتْ إجرامَها

    Until hearts agreed in love upon

    revering them, and their bodies clasped hands.

  29. فلئن مضَى بعلاك دهرٌ صانها

    فلقد أتى برداك يومٌ ضامَها

    Though an age passed with your glory, preserving it,

    a day arrived with your death and wronged it.

  30. يومٌ إذا الأيامُ كنَّ سوانحا

    بالصالحات وعُدَّ فيها شامَها

    A day which, if the days were auspicious

    with good things, would be counted their ill omen.

  31. من حَطَّ هضبتَك المنيفةَ بعدما

    عَيِيَ الزمانُ فما استطاعَ زحامَها

    Who brought down your lofty mountain after

    time had wearied, unable to jostle it?

  32. ورقى إباءك فاستجاب بسحره

    صمّاءَ لم تُعطِ الرُّقَى أفهامَها

    And charmed your defiance, winning through his spell a response

    from a deaf rock that never lent understanding to charms?

  33. فضَّ الحمامُ إليك حلقْةَ هيبةٍ

    ماخلتُ حادثةً تفُضُّ خِتامَها

    Death broke open, to reach you, a ring of awe

    whose seal I thought no calamity could break.

  34. واستعجلتك يدُ المنون بحثّها

    قبلَ السنينَ وما اطلعتَ تمامَها

    The hand of fate hurried you away with its urging,

    ahead of your years, before you had seen their fullness.

  35. أفلا تطاعنُ دون مبلغك الردى

    خيلٌ أطلت لحاجة إلجامَها

    Could not cavalry fend off death with lances before it reached you—

    horses you had long kept bridled for a purpose?

  36. وتقومُ حولك سَمحةً بنفوسها

    عُصبٌ على العوجاء كنتَ قِوامَها

    And around you rise, freely offering their lives,

    bands whose support you were in adversity?

  37. وبَلَى وَقَتْك لَوَانّ قِرنَك يتَّقِي

    ما خلفها طعنا وما قُدّامَها

    Yes, they would have shielded you, had your foe guarded against

    thrusts from behind them and from before them.

  38. ولعَرَّضَت في الذبِّ دونك أوجها

    للضرب أكثرت السيوف لِطامها

    They would have offered, in shielding you, faces

    that swords had often slapped with blows.

  39. تلقَى الحديدَ بمثله من صبرِها

    فتخالُ من أدراعها أجسامَها

    They meet iron with its equal in their steadfastness,

    so you would think their bodies part of their armor.

  40. ما ضرَّها لما ضَفَتْ أعراضُها

    جُنَناً لها أن لم تُسَرْبَلْ لامَها

    It harmed them not, when their honor spread

    as shields about them, to wear no coats of mail.

  41. تحميك منها كلُّ نفسٍ مُرَّةٍ

    يحلو فداءكَ أن تذوق حمامَها

    Each fierce soul among them shields you,

    finding it sweet to taste its death as your ransom.

  42. لكن أصابك عائرٌ من مخلِسٍ

    لا تضبِط الحدقُ الحسانُ سهامَها

    But a stray shaft struck you from a stealthy assailant

    whose arrows fair eyes cannot track.

  43. وصلت بلا إذْنٍ وأنت محجَّبٌ

    وقضت عليك فلم تفُتْ أحكامَها

    It reached you unbidden while you were veiled,

    and decreed your doom; you could not escape its judgments.

  44. سفرت بك الأخيارُ حين سألتُها

    دُرّاً فليتنيَ استطلتُ لثامَها

    The worthy unveiled you when I questioned them,

    as a pearl—would that I had wished their veil prolonged.

  45. ورأيت ساعتك التي فَجِئَتْ فخل

    تُ الساعةَ اقتربت بها وقيامَها

    I saw your hour, which came suddenly, and thought

    the Hour and its rising had drawn near with it.

  46. حلَّ الملوكُ لك الحُبى وتسلَّبتْ

    قِممٌ عمائمُها استنبنَ كِمامَها

    Kings loosened their knee-bands for you; mourning was donned by

    heads whose sleeves had taken the place of their turbans.

  47. تَستافُ تُربَك تشتفي بشميمه

    من داءِ فقْدِك وهو جَرَّ سَقامَها

    They smell your earth, seeking cure in its fragrance

    for the sickness of losing you, though it brought their illness.

  48. ومشت على رَمض الهجيرِ أخامصٌ

    ربت النعيمَ فما شكت أقدامَها

    And soles walked upon the noon's burning ground,

    reared in luxury, yet their feet did not complain.

  49. أبكيك للدنيا التي طَلَّقتها

    وقد اصطفتك شبابَها وعُرامَها

    I weep for you for the world you divorced,

    though it had singled you out with its youth and ardor.

  50. ورميتَ غاربَها بفَضلةِ مُعرِضٍ

    زهدا وقد ألقت إليك زمامَها

    You tossed a loose end over its withers, turning away,

    in renunciation, though it had cast its reins to you.

  51. والأرض كنت على قفارة ظهرها

    علما إذا كتم الدجى أعلامَها

    And for the earth, on whose barren back you were

    a landmark when darkness hid its landmarks.

  52. ولدتْك ثم تحوّلتْ لك في أخ

    وعلى بنيها الكُثْرِ كنتَ عقامَها

    It bore you, then sought your like in a brother;

    despite its many sons, you were its last such birth.

  53. ولقولةٍ عوصاءَ أُرتِج بابُها

    ففتحتَه لمّا ولجتَ خصامَها

    And for a difficult saying whose door was locked,

    which you opened when you entered its dispute.

  54. وقلائدٍ قذَفت بحارُك دُرَّها

    وقضى لسانك رَصفَها ونظامَها

    And for necklaces whose pearls your seas cast forth,

    your tongue determining their arrangement and stringing.

  55. هي آية العَرَبِ التي انفردت بها

    راعيتَ فيها عهدَها وذمامَها

    It is the Arabs' marvel, which you alone possessed;

    in it you observed their covenant and protective bond.

  56. كم معجزٍ منها ظهرت بفضلهِ

    سِيَرَ الرجال فلم تجدْ أفهامها

    How many a marvel of it, by whose excellence you surpassed

    men's achievements, yet found no minds to comprehend it!

  57. وغريبةٍ مسحتْ يداك مؤانسا

    منها النفورَ ومفصحا إعجامَها

    And how many a rare expression your hands stroked, taming

    its wildness and making its obscurity eloquent.

  58. حَمَّسْتَ حتّى قيل صبَّ دماءها

    وغَزِلْتَ حتّى قيل صبَّ مُدامَها

    You sang of battle until it was said, 'He poured its blood';

    you sang of love until it was said, 'He poured its wine.'

  59. ماتت بموتك غيرَ ما خلّدته

    في الصحف إذ أمددتَه أقلامَها

    It died with you, except what you made immortal

    in pages, supplying it with their pens.

  60. قد كنتَ ترضاني إذا سوَّمتَها

    تَبَعا وأرضى أن تسير أمامَها

    You used to approve me, when you sent them forth,

    as a follower; I was content that you should go before them.

  61. وإذا سمعتَ حمِدتَ صفوي وحدَه

    وذمَمتَ غِشَّ القائلين وذَامَها

    When you listened, you praised my purity alone,

    and condemned other speakers' adulteration and flaws.

  62. فتركتَني تَرْكَ اليمين شمالَها

    فردا أعالج فاتلا إبرامَها

    You left me as the right hand leaves its left,

    alone, struggling to twist its strands tight.

  63. حيرانَ أسألُ اين منك رِفادتي

    دهَشَ البنانِ تفقدَّت إبهامَها

    Bewildered, I ask: where is the support I had from you?

    Dazed as fingers searching for their thumb.

  64. لا سامعٌ يُصغي ولا ذو قولةٍ

    أُصغِي له يا وَحدتي ودوامَها

    No listener gives ear, nor is there one with words

    for me to heed—oh, my loneliness and its endlessness!

  65. فبرغم أنفى أن أبُثَّك لوعتي

    والأرضُ قد بثَّت عليك رُغَامَها

    Against my will I pour my anguish out to you,

    when earth has scattered its dust over you.

  66. وأبِي الوفاءِ إذا الرجال تحرَّجتْ

    حِنثَ اليمين فحلّلت أقسامَها

    By fidelity's father, when men shunned

    the sin of broken oaths, and so dissolved their vows:

  67. لأساهرنَّ الليلَ بعدك حسرةً

    إن ليلةٌ عابت حزينا نامَها

    I shall keep vigil through the night after you in grief,

    if a night ever reproached a mourner who slept through it.

  68. ولأشرِجَنَّ عن العذول على الأسى

    أُذُناً محرَّمةً على من لامَها

    I shall bind to sorrow, away from the reprover,

    an ear forbidden to anyone who blames it.

  69. ولأُبدلَنَّ الصبرَ عنك بقُرحةٍ

    في الصدر لا يجد الدواءُ لحامَها

    I shall exchange patience in your absence for a wound

    within my breast that medicine cannot knit.

  70. أبكى لأطفئَها وأعلمُ أنني

    بالدمع محتطِبٌ أشُبُّ ضِرامَها

    I weep to quench it, knowing that

    with tears I gather fuel and kindle its blaze.

  71. عصَرَ الغمامُ ثراك ثم سَقَى به

    أرضا تظلُّمُ مذ فُقدتَ غمامَها

    May clouds wring moisture from your soil, then with it water

    a land that has reproached its clouds since you were lost.

  72. بك أو بجَدِّك أو أبيكَ نُغاث في ال

    سُقيا إذا الشهباءُ خِفنا عامَها

    Through you, your grandfather, or your father, we are succored in the

    granting of rain, when we fear a year of gray drought.

  73. فسواك لو كان المقيمُ بحُفرةٍ

    يَبَسٍ لقلت سقى السحابُ رِمامَها

    Had anyone but you been the dweller in a grave

    of dry earth, I would have said, 'May clouds water its remains.'