غَيري بِأَكثَرِ هَذا الناسِ يَنخَدِعُ

إِن قاتَلوا جَبُنوا أَو حَدَّثوا شَجُعوا

Others are more easily deceived than most people

Others than I by this crowd are beguiled,

If they fight, they are cowardly, or if they speak, they feign courage

Who cower in battle, though their speech be wild.

أَهلُ الحَفيظَةِ إِلّا أَن تُجَرِّبُهُم

وَفي التَجارِبِ بَعدَ الغَيِّ ما يَزَعُ

You cannot know people of self-restraint

They feign to be guardians of honor until put to the test,

Until you test them, and after confusion, what is revealed

And in trials, after error, lies the truth manifest.

وَما الحَياةُ وَنَفسي بَعدَ ما عَلِمَت

أَنَّ الحَياةَ كَما لا تَشتَهي طَبَعُ

What is life, and my soul after I learned

And what is life, when my soul has come to know,

That life is not as my nature desires

That life lived against one's will is but a stain and a woe?

لَيسَ الجَمالُ لِوَجهٍ صَحَّ مارِنُهُ

أَنفُ العَزيزِ بِقَطعِ العِزِّ يُجتَدَعُ

Beauty is not in an unblemished face

Beauty dwells not in a face though its nose be whole,

The nose of the honorable is cut off when honor is cut off

For the pride of the mighty is severed when honor leaves the soul.

أَأَطرَحُ المَجدَ عَن كِتفي وَأَطلُبُهُ

وَأَترُكُ الغَيثَ في غِمدي وَأَنتَجِعُ

Shall I cast glory from my shoulder, though I seek it

Shall I cast glory from my shoulder, yet seek it afar?

And leave the rain in its sheath while I complain?

And leave the rain within my scabbard to graze on a barren scar?

وَالمَشرَفِيَّةُ لا زالَت مُشَرَّفَةً

دَواءُ كُلِّ كَريمٍ أَوهِيَ الوَجَعُ

Al-Musharrafiyya remains always noble

The Mashrafi swords remain ever honored and high,

It is the cure for every generous person, or it is the pain

The cure for every noble soul, or the pain by which they die.

وَفارِسُ الخَيلِ مَن خَفَّت فَوَقَّرَها

في الدَربِ وَالدَمُ في أَعطافِها دَفعُ

The horseman is one who calms his horse

The true knight is he who steadies the steeds when they start,

In the road, while blood is on its sides, it flows

In the narrow pass, while blood gushes from every part.

وَأَوحَدَتهُ وَما في قَلبِهِ قَلَقٌ

وَأَغضَبَتهُ وَما في لَفظِهِ قَذَعُ

It alone enraged him, though there is no anxiety in his heart

Battle left him solitary, yet his heart felt no fear,

It provoked him, though there is no coarseness in his speech

And though enraged, no foulness upon his tongue appeared.

بِالجَيشِ تَمتَنِعُ الساداتُ كُلُّهُمُ

وَالجَيشُ بِاِبنِ أَبي الهَيجاءِ يَمتَنِعُ

With the army, all the chiefs are defended

Through armies do all other chieftains find their might,

And the army is defended by Ibn Abi al-Hayja

But the army itself finds safety in Ibn Abi al-Hayja’s sight.

قادَ المَقانِبَ أَقصى شُربِها نَهَلٌ

عَلى الشَكيمِ وَأَدنى سَيرِها سِرَعُ

He led his thin horses to the furthest reaches of their drinking

He led the squadrons, their longest drink but a hasty sip,

On the breast, and the softest part of their course is haste

Champing at the bit, while their slowest pace does strip.

لا يَعتَقي بَلَدٌ مَسراهُ عَن بَلَدٍ

كَالمَوتِ لَيسَ لَهُ رِيٌّ وَلا شِبَعُ

The swords in their sheaths scatter dust in their nostrils

No land hinders his march towards another domain,

And their throats contain death from striking

Like Death itself, knowing neither thirst nor hunger's wane.

حَتّى أَقامَ عَلى أَرباضِ خَرشَنَةٍ

تَشقى بِهِ الرومُ وَالصُلبانُ وَالبِيَعُ

It is as if they anticipate them in order to destroy them

Until he halted at the very walls of Kharshanah's gate,

So the stab opens in their insides that which expands

Where Byzantines, crosses, and churches met their wretched fate.

لِلسَبيِ ما نَكَحوا وَالقَتلِ ما وَلَدوا

وَالنَهبِ ما جَمَعوا وَالنارِ ما زَرَعوا

Their glances flashed though war is dark

They wed but for captivity, and bore sons but for the sword,

From the swords, fire, and the spears, candles

Gathered wealth for plunder, and planted crops for the fire's hoard.

مُخلىً لَهُ المَرجُ مَنصوباً بِصارِخَةٍ

لَهُ المَنابِرُ مَشهوداً بِها الجُمَعُ

Gushing over their shattered souls

The meadow is abandoned to him, save for a wailing cry,

Other than the arrows and the distance of the bows

His are the pulpits now, where the Friday prayers rise high.

يُطَمِّعُ الطَيرَ فيهِم طولُ أَكلِهِمُ

حَتّى تَكادَ عَلى أَحيائِهِم تَقَعُ

When one wounded calls another wounded, the closest rib parts from its sister

His slaughter makes the vultures greedy for their flesh,

More beautiful than the chicks of the ostrich taken by surprise

Till they almost descend upon the living in the mesh.

وَلَو رَآهُ حَوارِيّوهُمُ لَبَنوا

عَلى مَحَبَّتِهِ الشَرعَ الَّذي شَرَعوا

When they missed them and the fallen from them passed away

Had their Apostles beheld him, they would have surely framed,

And no escaping one from the edges of the white swords

Upon his love, the very faith that they proclaimed.

ذَمَّ الدُمُستُقُ عَينَيهِ وَقَد طَلَعَت

سودُ الغَمامِ فَظَنّوا أَنَّها قَزَعُ

Escaped while in their insides there was dread

The Domesticus cursed his eyes when there came into view,

He undertakes security for a time while stupefied

Black clouds of war, which he deemed but a scattered few.

فيها الكُماةُ الَّتي مَفطومُهُا رَجُلُ

عَلى الجِيادِ الَّتي حَولِيُّها جَذَعُ

And he drinks wine for a period while vomiting

Within them are warriors—even their weanlings are fully grown,

How many times has a pilgrim on the road guaranteed

Astride steeds where the yearling’s strength is already known.

تَذري اللُقانُ غُباراً في مَناخِرِها

وَفي حَناجِرِها مِن آلِسٍ جُرَعُ

For singing girls, one with no piety or restraint

The pass of Luqan scatters dust deep into their nose,

He fights sleep from himself when he wants it

While their throats hold gulps from the Alis as it flows.

كَأَنَّها تَتَلَقّاهُم لِتَسلُكَهُم

فَالطَعنُ يَفتَحُ في الأَجوافِ ما تَسَعُ

And expels sleep from himself when he lies down

As if they rush to meet the foe to thread them through,

Deaths approach and do not cease standing

For the lance opens wide a path in the chest to pursue.

تَهدي نَواظِرَها وَالحَربُ مُظلِمَةٌ

مِنَ الأَسِنَّةِ نارٌ وَالقَنا شَمَعُ

Until he tells them “return” and they rush off

They guide their sight though the battle is dark as night,

Say to Al-Dumustuq that the Muslims towards you

For the spear-points are fire, and the lances afford them light.

دونَ السِهامِ وَدونَ القُرِّ طافِحَةً

عَلى نُفوسِهِمِ المُقوَرَّةُ المُزُعُ

Have betrayed the Emir, so he punished them for what they did

Spilled forth before the arrows or the quiver could fly,

You found them asleep in your blood

Are their tattered souls, leaving the bodies wherein they lie.

إِذا دَعا العِلجُ عِلجاً حالَ بَينَهُما

أَظمى تُفارِقُ مِنهُ أُختَها الضِلَعُ

As if their killing of you made them weary

If one barbarian calls to another in the fray,

The weak hands refrain from their example

A thirsty blade intervenes, tearing rib from rib away.

أَجَلُّ مِن وَلَدِ الفُقّاسِ مُنكَتِفٌ

إِذ فاتَهُنَّ وَأَمضى مِنهُ مُنصَرِعُ

From the enemies, though they intended them evil

One greater than Phokas's son is bound in chains,

Do not think whoever you captured had any strength left

Though he escaped, a sharper warrior dead remains.

وَما نَجا مِن شِفارِ البيضِ مُنفَلِتٌ

نَجا وَمِنهُنَّ في أَحشائِهِ فَزَعُ

For none eat of them but the hyena of the corpses

No fugitive truly escaped the white sword's edge,

Why not on the back of the valley when

He fled, but carries in his gut a terror like a wedge.

يُباشِرُ الأَمنَ دَهراً وَهوَ مُختَبَلٌ

وَيَشرَبُ الخَمرَ حَولاً وَهوَ مُمتَقَعُ

A lion climbed up, they pass one by one, not gathered

He may know safety for years, yet remains distinctive and crazed,

Every hissing serpent tears you with its young

Drinking wine for a year, yet his pale face stays dazed.

كَم مِن حُشاشَةِ بِطريقٍ تَضَمَّنَها

لِلباتِراتِ أَمينٌ مالَهُ وَرَعُ

And the blow takes from you more than it leaves

How many a patrician’s last breath did the blade enclose,

Rather, God presented the armies to you

In a sharp trustee that no mercy or piety knows.

يُقاتِلُ الخَطوَ عَنهُ حينَ يَطلُبُهُ

وَيَطرُدُ النَومَ عَنهُ حينَ يَضطَجِعُ

So they would be without corruption when they return

He fights his own steps when the sword seeks his side,

So every raid against you after this, for it

And it chases sleep from him when he seeks to hide.

تَغدو المَنايا فَلا تَنفَكُّ واقِفَةً

حَتّى يَقولَ لَها عودي فَتَندَفِعُ

And every raider to the Sword of the State follows

Destinies march forth and stand waiting for the word,

The generous walk in the footsteps of others

Until he commands them 'Return!', and they rush like a herd.

قُل لِلدُمُستُقِ إِنَّ المُسلَمينَ لَكُم

خانوا الأَميرَ فَجازاهُم بِما صَنَعوا

While you create what you do and innovate

Tell the Domesticus: The Muslims you thought to smite,

And does time shame you when you were its knight?

Betrayed the Prince, and he repaid them for their slight.

وَجَدتُموهُم نِياماً في دِمائِكُمُ

كَأَنَّ قَتلاكُمُ إِيّاهُمُ فَجَعوا

While others in it were helpless and weak

You found them sleeping amidst the blood you shed,

Whoever's position is above the sun's position

As if they were kin to your own fallen dead.

ضَعفى تَعِفُّ الأَيادي عَن مِثالِهِمِ

مِنَ الأَعادي وَإِن هَمّوا بِهِم نَزَعوا

Nothing can raise him nor bring him down

Weaklings—noble hands refrain from touching such as these,

Regret did not submit its purpose in consequences

Even enemies withdraw when such a target they seize.

لا تَحسَبوا مَن أَسَرتُم كانَ ذا رَمَقٍ

فَلَيسَ يَأكُلُ إِلّا المَيِّتَ الضَبُعُ

If the companions and followers submitted it

Think not that those you captured possessed a living breath,

If only kings were providers over fates

For the hyena feeds only on carrion and death.

هَلّا عَلى عَقَبِ الوادي وَقَد صَعِدَت

أُسدٌ تَمُرُّ فُرادى لَيسَ تَجتَمِعُ

Then no lowly one would have hope in them

Why did you not stand at the valley's steep rise,

I was pleased with them when you visited tumult, and they saw

When lions climbed singly, beneath your very eyes?

تَشُقُّكُم بِفَتاها كُلُّ سَلهَبَةٍ

وَالضَربُ يَأخُذُ مِنكُم فَوقَ ما يَدَعُ

And when you struck your white swords, and they listened

Every tall steed splits your ranks with its knight,

Deceit in dealings permitted you

And the sword takes more of you than it leaves in the fight.

وَإِنَّما عَرَّضَ اللَهُ الجُنودَ بِكُم

لِكَي يَكونوا بِلا فَسلٍ إِذا رَجَعوا

From one you benefitted not with sincerity

God but exposed those soldiers to your blow,

Time makes excuses while the sword waits

That the army might return pure, with no coward in tow.

فَكُلُّ غَزوٍ إِلَيكُم بَعدَ ذا فَلَهُ

وَكُلُّ غازٍ لِسَيفِ الدَولَةِ التَبَعُ

And their land for you is a dwelling and an abode

So every raid against you henceforth is his alone,

The mountains are no protection for a Christian

And every raider a follower of Saif al-Dawla's throne.

يَمشي الكِرامُ عَلى آثارِ غَيرِهِمِ

وَأَنتَ تَخلُقُ ما تَأتي وَتَبتَدِعُ

Even if the strongest summit became Christian

Noble men walk in the footsteps others have laid,

I did not praise you in dreadful times

But you create your own path, and the future you have made.

وَهَل يَشينُكَ وَقتٌ كُنتَ فارِسَهُ

وَكانَ غَيرَكَ فيهِ العاجِزُ الضَرَعُ

Until I tested you, while the heroes recoiled

Can a time disgrace you, when you were its glorious knight,

One in whom there is a tear may be thought brave

And another therein was the weakling in flight?

مَن كانَ فَوقَ مَحَلِّ الشَمسِ مَوضِعَهُ

فَلَيسَ يَرفَعُهُ شَيءٌ وَلا يَضَعُ

While one in whom there is weakness may be thought a coward

He whose station is set above the sun's own sphere,

Weapons, all people carry them

Is raised by nothing, nor can he be brought near.

لَم يُسلِمِ الكَرُّ في الأَعقابِ مُهجَتَهُ

إِن كانَ أَسلَمَها الأَصحابُ وَالشِيَعُ

Yet not all wildcats are lions

The charge at his heels did not yield up his soul,

Though his comrades and followers lost all control.

لَيتَ المُلوكَ عَلى الأَقدارِ مُعطِيَةٌ

فَلَم يَكُن لِدَنيءٍ عِندَها طَمَعُ

Would that kings gave gifts by measure of true worth,

That no base man might covet what is clearly not his birth.

رَضيتُ مِنهُم بِأَن زُرتَ الوَغى فَرَأوا

وَأَن قَرَعتَ حَبيكَ البيضِ فَاِستَمِعوا

I am content that you sought war while they merely gazed,

That you struck the helm of battle while they listened, amazed.

لَقَد أَباحَكَ غِشّاً في مُعامَلَةٍ

مَن كُنتَ مِنهُ بِغَيرِ الصِدقِ تَنتَفِعُ

He allowed you to see the fraud in their dealing plain,

He from whom you profited, though his truth was vain.

الدَهرُ مُعتَذِرٌ وَالسَيفُ مُنتَظِرٌ

وَأَرضُهُم لَكَ مُصطافٌ وَمُرتَبَعُ

Time offers excuses, and the sword waits for your call,

And their land is your summer ground and spring hall.

وَما الجِبالُ لِنَصرانٍ بِحامِيَةٍ

وَلَو تَنَصَّرَ فيها الأَعصَمُ الصَدَعُ

The mountains offer the Christian no shield nor keep,

Even if the mountain goat took the cross on the steep.

وَما حَمِدتُكَ في هَولٍ ثَبَتَّ لَهُ

حَتّى بَلَوتُكَ وَالأَبطالُ تَمتَصِعُ

I praised you not for standing firm in terror's face,

Until I saw you tested while heroes fell from grace.

فَقَد يُظَنُّ شُجاعاً مَن بِهِ خَرَقٌ

وَقَد يُظَنُّ جَباناً مَن بِهِ زَمَعُ

For the reckless fool may be deemed brave by the sight,

And the prudent man deemed a coward in his fright.

إِنَّ السِلاحَ جَميعُ الناسِ تَحمِلُهُ

وَلَيسَ كُلُّ ذَواتِ المِخلَبِ السَبُعُ

Weapons are borne by all men, everywhere found,

But not every clawed beast is the Lion on the ground.