أَلا هَلْ أتى غَسّانَ عنّا ودونَهُمْ

مِنَ الأَرضِ خَرْقٌ سَيْرُهُ مُتَنعْنِعُ

Has word of us reached Ghassan, though between them and us

lies a trackless waste, its passage wavering and slow—

صَحَارٍ وأَعلامٌ كأنَّ قَتَامَهَا

مِنَ البُعدِ نَقْعٌ هَامِدٌ مُتَقطّعُ

deserts and landmarks whose haze of dust seems

from afar a settled cloud, broken apart?

تَظَلُّ بهِ البُزْلُ العَرَامِيسُ رُزَّحاً

ويَخْلُو بهِ غَيْثُ السّنينَ فَيُمْرِعُ

There the full-grown, massive camels remain worn thin,

though the rain of fertile years may pass over it and make it lush.

بِهِ جِيَفُ الحَسْري يَلُوحُ صَلِيبُهَا

كما لاَحَ كتّانُ التِّجَارِ الموَضَّعُ

There lie carcasses of the travel-worn, their bleached bones gleaming

like merchants’ linen spread out on display.

بهِ العِينُ والآرَامُ يَمْشِينَ خِلْفةً

وَبَيْضُ نَعَامٍ قَيْضُه يَتَقَلَّعُ

There wild cows and white gazelles walk one behind another,

and ostrich eggs lie with their shells peeling away.

مُجالدَنَا عَنْ دِينِنَا كُلُّ فَخْمَةٍ

مُذَرَّبةٍ فيها القَوَانِسُ تَلْمَعُ

Defending our faith with us is every mighty host,

seasoned in war, with helmets flashing within it,

وكلُّ صَمُوتٍ في الصّوانِ كأَنَّها

إذا لُبِسَتْ نَهيٌّ من الماءِ مُتْرَعُ

and every silent coat of mail in its casing, as though,

once donned, it were a brimming pool of water.

ولكنْ بِبَدْرٍ سَائِلوا مَنْ لَقِيتُمُ

مِنَ النّاسِ والأنبَاءُ بالغَيْبِ تَنْفَعُ

But ask at Badr whomever you meet

among the people—for reports of what was unseen can profit.

وإنّا بِأَرْضِ الخَوفِ لَو كَانَ أهْلُهَا

سِوَانَا لقد أَجْلُوا بِلَيْلٍ فأقشَعُوا

We dwell in a land of fear; had its people

been anyone but us, they would have left by night and cleared away.

إذا جَاءَ منّا رَاكبٌ كانَ قولُهُ

أَعِدّوا لِما يُزْجي ابنُ حرْبٍ ويجمعُ

Whenever a rider came to us, his word was:

“Prepare for what Ibn Harb is driving forward and mustering.”

فَمَهْمَا يُهِمُّ النّاسَ ممّا يكيدُنَا

فَنَحْنُ لَهُ من سَائِرِ النّاس أوسعُ

Whatever troubles the people among the plots against us,

we have more breadth to meet it than all other men.

فلو غيرُنَا كَانَتْ جيمعاً تَكِيدُهُ

البريّةُ قد أَعْطَوْا يداً وَتَوَرَّعُوا

Had it been another people, with all creation plotting against them,

they would have yielded their hand and drawn back.

نُجَالِدُ لا تبقى عَلَيْنَا قَبِيلَةٌ

من النّاسِ إلاّ أَنْ يَهابوا ويفظعوا

We keep fighting until no tribe of men remains

without standing in awe of us and recoiling.

ولمّا ابتَنَوا بالعِرْضِ قَالَ سَرَاتُنَا

عَلاَمَ إذا لَمْ نمنَعِ العِرْضَ نزرَعُ

When they built upon the land, our chiefs said:

“Why should we sow if we cannot defend our domain?”

وَفِينَا رسولُ اللهِ نَتْبَعُ أمْرَهُ

إذا قالَ فِينَا القولَ لا نَتَطَلَّعُ

Among us is God’s Messenger; we follow his command—

when he speaks among us, we do not look beyond it.

تَدَلَّى عليهِ الرّوحُ مِنْ عند ربّهِ

يُنزَّلُ من جوِّ السماءِ ويُرفَعُ

The Spirit descends upon him from his Lord,

sent down from the heart of heaven, then raised again.

وقالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ لَمّا بَدَوا لنا

إذا مَا اشْتَهَى أَنّا نُطِيعُ ونسْمعُ

And God’s Messenger said, when they came into view:

“Whenever he wills it, we obey and hear.

وكُونُوا كَمَنْ يَشْرِي الحياةَ تَقرّباً

إلى ملِكٍ يُحيَا لَدَيْهِ ويُرجَعُ

Be like one who sells his life to draw near

to a King with whom one lives, and to whom one returns.

ولكنْ خُذوا أَسْيَافَكُمْ وَتَوَكَّلُوا

على اللهِ إنَّ الأمْرَ للهِ أجمعُ

But take up your swords and put your trust

in God: the whole affair belongs to God.”

فَسِرْنَا إليهِمْ جَهْرَةً في رِحالِهِمْ

ضُحيّاً عَلَيْنَا البيضُ لا نتخشَّعُ

So we marched on them openly, into their camp,

at high morning, white helmets upon us—we would not bow—

بمَلْمُومَةٍ فيها السَّنَوَّرُ والقَنَا

إذا ضَرَبُوا أَقْدَامَها لا تورّعُ

in a close-packed host, with coats of mail and spears,

which, when they struck at its forelegs, never flinched.

فجئنَا إلى هَوجٍ من البحرِ وَسْطَهُ

أحابيشُ منهمْ حَاسِرٌ ومقنّعُ

We came upon a surging sea, in whose midst

were their confederates, some bareheaded and some helmeted:

ثلاثةُ آلافٍ وَنَحْنُ نَصِيَّةٌ

ثَلاَثُ مِئينٍ إنْ كَثُرْنَا وأَرْبعُ

three thousand, while we were only a vanguard—

three hundred, or four if we counted ourselves many.

نُغَوِرُهُم تجري المنيّةُ بَيْنَنَا

نُشارِعُهُمْ حوضَ المَنَايا ونَشْرَعُ

We raided them as death ran between us;

we vied with them at death’s pool and plunged in.

تَهَادَى قِسِيُّ النبعِ فينا وفيهِمُ

وَمَا هو إلاَّ اليَثْرِبيُّ المُقَطَّعُ

Bows of nabʿ wood swayed among us and among them;

there was nothing but Yathribi shafts, cut and notched.

ومَنْجُوفةٌ جِرْمِيَّةٌ صَاعِديَّةٌ

يُذَرُّ عليها السّمُّ سَاعةَ تَصْنَعُ

And hollowed Jarmī, Ṣāʿidī arrows,

dusted with poison at the hour they are made,

تَصُوبُ بأَبْدَانِ الرّجَالِ وَتَارَةً

تمرُّ بأَعراضِ البَصَارِ تَقَعْقَعُ

striking true into men’s bodies, and at times

passing by the edges of eyes with a rattle.

وَخَيْلٌ تَرَاها بالفَضَاءِ كأَنَّها

جَراُ صَباً في قَرَّةٍ يتريَّعُ

And horses—you would see them on the open plain as though

a blast of east wind were coursing through the biting cold.

فلمّا تَلاَقَيْنَا وَدَارَتْ بنَا الرَّحى

وليسَ لأمرٍ حَمَّهُ اللهُ مَدفَعُ

When we met and the millstone turned upon us,

there was no repelling a matter God had decreed.

ضَرَبْنَاهُمُ حتّى تَرَكْنَا سَراتَهُمْ

كأَنَّهُمُ بالقَاعِ خُشْبٌ مُصرّعُ

We struck them until we left their chiefs

like timbers felled upon the level ground,

لَدُنْ غُدوةً حتّى استَفَقْنَا عشيّةً

كأنّ ذَكَانَا حَرُّ نَارٍ تلفَّعُ

from early morning until we came to ourselves at evening,

as though the heat of our battle were a mantling fire.

وَرَاحُوا سِرَاعاً مُوجِفِينَ كأَنَّهُمْ

جَهامٌ هَرَاقتْ ماءَه الرّيحْ مُقْلعُ

They departed swiftly, spurring hard, as though

a rainless cloud whose water the wind had spilled were lifting away.

وَرُحْنَا وأُخْرَانَا بِطَاءٌ كأنَّنَا

أُسُودٌ على لَحْمٍ بِبِيشةَ ظُلَّعُ

We returned, our rear ranks slow, as though we were

lions over flesh at Bīsha, limping from the feast.

فَنِلْنا وَنَالَ القَوْمُ مِنَّا وربَّما

فَعَلْنَا ولكنْ ما لَدَى اللِ أوسعُ

We prevailed, and the foe took toll of us as well—many a time

have we done the like—but what lies with God is vaster.

ودارتْ رَحَانَا واستَدَارَتْ رَحَاهُمُ

وَقَدْ جَعَلُوا كُلٌّ مِنَ الشَّرِّ يَشْبَعُ

Our millstone turned, and theirs turned too,

and each had begun to take its fill of evil.

وَنَحْنُ أُناس لا نَرَى القَتْلَ سُبّةً

عَلَى كُلِّ من يحمي الذِّمارَ ويمنَعُ

We are a people who see no disgrace in death

for anyone who guards sacred honor and defends it.

ولكنَّنَا نَقْلِي الفَرارَ ولا نرى الْ

فَرارَ لِمَنْ يرجُو العَوَاقبَ يَنْفَعُ

But we loathe flight, and do not think

that flight profits one who hopes for the outcome.

جِلادٌ على رَيْبِ الحَوَادِثِ لا تَرَى

عَلَى هَالِكٍ عَيْناً لَنَا الدّهرَ تَدْمَعُ

Staunch in the face of fortune’s uncertainties—you will never see

an eye of ours weeping forever over one who perished.

بَنُو الحربِ لا نَعيَا بِشَيء نَقُولُهُ

ولا نَحْنُ مِمّا جَرَّتِ الحَرْبُ نجزَعُ

Sons of war, we are never at a loss for what we say,

nor do we panic at what war has brought.

بَنُو الحَرْبِ إنْ نظفرْ فَلَسْنَا بفُحَّشِ

ولا نَحْنُ مِمّا جَرَّتِ الحَرْبُ نجزَعُ

Sons of war: if we triumph, we are not wanton,

nor do we panic at what war has brought.

بَنُو الحَرْبِ إنْ نظفرْ فَلَسْنَا بفُحَّشِ

ولا نَحْنُ مِنْ أَظْفَارِهَا نَتَوَجَّعُ

Sons of war: if we triumph, we are not wanton,

nor do we wince beneath its claws.

وكنّا شِهَاباً يتّقي النّاسُ حَرَّهُ

ويَفرُجُ عَنْهُ من يَليهِ يُسْفَعُ

We were a shooting star whose heat men guarded against,

and whoever stood near it drew away, scorched.

فَخَرْتَ عليَّ ابنَ الزّبَعْري قد سَرَى

لَكُمْ طَلَبٌ من آخرِ اللّيلِ مُتْبعُ

You boasted against me, Ibn al-Zibaʿrā—yet

a pursuing quest came upon you in the last watch of night.

فَسَلْ عَنْكَ في عُلْيَا مَعَدٍّ وغيرهَا

من النّاسِ مَنْ أخزى مُقَاماً وأشنعُ

Ask, then, among the nobility of Maʿadd and all others:

who among men stood in the most shameful, ugliest plight?

وَمَنْ هُو لَمْ تَتْرُكْ لَهُ الحَرْبُ مَفْخَراً

وَمَنْ خدُّهُ يومَ الكَرِيهَةِ أضرعُ

Who was it whom war left no glory,

and whose cheek was most abased on the day of battle?

شَدَدْنَا بِحَوْلِ اللهِ والنّصْرِ شَدَّةً

عَلَيْكُمْ وأطرافُ الأَسِنَّةِ شُرَّعُ

We charged, by God’s might and victory, a charge

against you, with spearheads leveled.

تَكُرُّ القَنَا فيكُمْ كأنَّ فُروغَهَا

عَزالْ مَزَادٍ ماؤُهَا يَتَهزَّعُ

The lances wheeled among you, their gushes as though

spouts of waterskins whose water bursts and spills.

عَمَدْنَا إلى أهْلِ اللّواءِ وَمَنْ يَطِرْ

بِذِكْرِ اللّواءِ فهوَ في الحَمْدِ أسْرَعُ

We made for the bearers of the banner; whoever soars

through mention of the banner is swiftest into praise.

فَخَانُوا وَقَدْ أَعْطُوا يداً وَتَخَاذَلُوا

أبى اللهُ إلاّ أمرَهُ وَهْوَ أصْنعُ

They betrayed, though they had pledged their hand, and failed one another;

God willed none but His command—and He is surest in bringing it to pass.