Sol 5.6

  1. The fragrant breath of victory swept forth,

    Through every corner of our radiant homelands—

  2. Through Salman, who, by the express word of the Tradition,

    Belongs to the House and the pure Progeny.

  3. Victory dawned upon us in a countenance

    That shattered the might of our enemies.

  4. And Hussein’s sword, with its flashing,

    Sends the enemy’s eyes back abashed.

  5. A valiant commander charges with it,

    Possessed of courage and overwhelming power.

  6. Above his head a banner flutters—

    Ah, blessed be that victorious banner!

  7. When we sought refuge in the Prophet’s family,

    The dazzling sign appeared to us.

  8. Through them God—the Gentle—looked upon us

    With a sustaining glance of His grace.

  9. They extinguished the British ember,

    So neither fire nor conflagration need be feared.

  10. Their host scattered like the hands of Saba,

    As a woman unstringing her necklace scatters its beads.

  11. She stumbled—a fall from which none says,

    “Rise again!” to you, O stumbling one.

  12. O day of Salman, it was you

    Who made the faces of guidance radiant.

  13. Through you the Muslims exacted their blood-debt

    From the murderous band.

  14. O commander whose light dispelled

    The crisis’s darkness with a radiant, unveiled face!

  15. Yours is a noble deed that shall forever

    Be recounted by grateful tongues.

  16. Having withdrawn from Kut, you returned

    To strike them a crushing blow.

  17. Your withdrawal was intended as an attack

    And as the gathering of death’s rain clouds.

  18. You outwitted England in battle,

    And she—the enchantress—was deceived.

  19. She came against you, aspiring and certain,

    Never doubting that she was capable.

  20. But you made her taste the fire with which

    The unbelieving nation is repaid.

  21. Neither the range of her motorized weapons availed her,

    Nor the artilleryman, nor the aircraft.

  22. Her treasures and her lives came back,

    All as our abundant spoils.

  23. Ask the English, when you meet them,

    Though they are a tyrannical band:

  24. Who were the victors, and whose

    Army suffered the rout?

  25. You warned them not to enter the lions’ den,

    And said, “Beware its crouching lions!

  26. Beware the flood; do not venture down

    The channels of its surging waves.”

  27. Nothing struck them with terror but the cavalry’s charge,

    Rushing to the rescue and plunging through their ranks;

  28. Nothing struck them with terror but the lances’ thrusts

    And the blows of keen-edged Indian swords.

  29. Between the Tigris and the Nahrawan lie

    The death-sites of their ruined bodies.

  30. Their bodies lie fallen in the dust,

    While their heads fly through the air.

  31. Some flee, unable to find a path,

    Their seeing perception gone astray.

  32. Others are captives, herded like cattle,

    Though once they were the wilderness’s savage beasts.

  33. Their eyes wheel about in terror,

    While the battlefield heaves beneath them.

  34. O London, have you certain knowledge

    From us of your marching sons?

  35. You sent us those tender-cheeked youths,

    And soon their cheeks were smeared with dust.

  36. Britain, O merchant of delusion,

    Rejoice in your losing bargain!

  37. You came to Iraq to gain your desires,

    But returned disappointed and abased.

  38. With the sword we shall wash away Iraq’s shame

    In the torrent pouring from your jugular veins.

  39. You reaped the fruits of war while they were sweet,

    Until the fruit-bearing bough made them bitter for you.

  40. Warriors, with their swords,

    Kindle the raging fire of battle.

  41. Their ships are the horses—the very steeds

    That sail upon the sea of your blood.

  42. You looked with the eyes of arrogance, yet

    You never looked to the consequences of war.

  43. You forgot the bygone days between us,

    So your judgment failed you in the present.

  44. Thus you received a lesson that shall

    Remain with you through all your days to come.

  45. And what can restrain a person from error

    Unless one’s own soul is the reprover?

Sol 5.6