إلامَ يَرومُ الحَاسِدونَ نِضالي

وأَيمانُهُم في الرَّمْيِ دونَ شِمالي

Why do the envious plot against my struggle?

Their oaths in archery are all aimed at my left side.

أنا الصَّارمُ المَشهورُ كادَني العِدا

بإفكٍ هَوَتْ أركانُه ومُحالِ

I am the renowned, fierce warrior nearly toppled

By slander whose pillars collapsed into untruth.

فما ثَلَمَ الأَعدْاءُ حَدَّ مَضاربي

ولا شَربَ الحُسَّادُ ماءَ صِقالي

Yet the foes never marred the edge of my blade,

Nor did the envious drink the water of my whetstone.

إذا هَبَطَتْ أنسابُ قَوْمٍ فموطِني

ذُرى نَسَبٍ بينَ التَّبابعِ عالي

When the lineage of a people declines, my home

Is the summit of glorious ancestry.

ونَاهيكَ مِنْ أَيْدٍ تَصولُ وأَلسُنٍ

تَقولُ وأرماحٍ تُهَزُّ طِوالِ

And cease telling of hands that attack and tongues that speak,

And spears brandished high with sharp tips.

شَقْقتُ قَذَالَ الخَالديِّ بِمَنْطِقٍ

يَشُقُّ من الأَعْداءِ كلَّ قَذالِ

I split the armor of Al-Khalidi with eloquence

That rips all enemies with shattering force.

وناضَلَني المِلحيُّ عنه فَأَصْبَحَتْ

جَوارِحُهُ مَجروحَةً بِنبالي

And Al-Milhi fought me over her, so his claws

Were wounded by my arrows at dawn.

وما لِعَليِّ بائعِ المِلحِ بالنَّوى

إذا نِلْتُ أمَّ الخالديِّ وما لي

As for Ali the salt seller in An-Nawa,

When I gained the mother of Al-Khalidi, what was that to me?

وهلاَّ أتاني إذ هَفَا مُتَنَصِّلاً

وقد عايَنَتْ عَيناهُ حَدَّ نِصالي

Why did he not approach me when he slipped away

After his eyes saw the edge of my blade?

وقد كان يُخلي بَيتَهُ لمآربٍ

إذا زارَ إلفٌ أو حَبا بوِصالِ

He would vacate his house for secret plans

Whenever a friend or loved one came to visit.

على أنه يُكريه يَوماً بخمسَةٍ

مُوَجَّهَةٍ بيضِ الوُجوهِ ثِقالِ

Yet he would lend it out for five dirhams

To pale-faced ones, a heavy sum.

بَخِلْتُ بذكْرِ اللهِ من كلِّ جانبٍ

فهنّ بذكرِ اللهِ غيرُ خوالي

I pride myself in remembering God on all sides.

Pride in remembering God, nothing else makes me proud.

رَوافعُ أبصارٍ خُفِضْنَ مَذَلَّةً

وطولُ يمينٍ قَصَّرَت وشِمالِ

Averting their gazes, humbled into lowness,

And the length of their right hands shortened.

تَحِبُّ ولَكِنْ نَفْعُها لمُحبِّها

غَداةَ نَوىً منها وَوَشْكِ زِيالِ

They love, but it benefits only their lover,

The morning after, as their tryst approaches its end.

يبيح بها الملحي طورا قذاله

وطورا حريمي منزل وعيال

With it Al-Milhi makes lawful his armor at times,

And at times my sacrosanct household and family.

فَإنْ شِئْتَ أن تَحْظى بِوَصْلِ غَزالَةٍ

مُهَفَهْفَةِ الكَشْحَيْنِ أو بِغَزالِ

So if you wish to gain the companionship of a delicate gazelle,

With tender cheeks or a gentle doe,

فَقدِّمْ له الجَدْيَ الرَّضيعَ وَثِّنه

بِعَذْراءَ مِنْ ماءِ الكُرومِ زُلالِ

Present to him the newborn calf, and sway it

With a maiden of pure, limpid water.

ولا تَلْقَهُ إلا بِخَيْرِ وَسيلَةٍ

يَلوحُ على وَجْهَيْهِ خَيْرُ مَقالِ

Only meet him with the best means,

Where goodness appears on his face.

ببازٍ إذا أرسلَتهُ صادَ كلَّ ما

تَرومُ بهِ أو نالَ كلَّ مَنالِ

With a falcon, if you release it, it will hunt whatever

You intend, or obtain whatever is attained.

سيَحْمِلُهُ جَرْيٌ على ظَهْرِ جامحٍ

يَؤولُ بما في الظَّهْرِ شرَّ مآلِ

It will carry him on the back of a galloping steed

That concludes what it bears with the worst outcome.

ويَعْلَمُ أنَّ السِّلْمَ كانَ سَلامَةً

لَدَيْهِ وظِلاً آذِناً بِزَوالِ

And it will know that peace was safety

For it, and shade that tells of departure.