طِوالُ قَناً تُطاعِنُها قِصارُ

وَقَطرُكَ في نَدىً وَوَغىً بِحارُ

Long lances assail her, yet the short ones defame her,

Long spears that strike, driven by shorter points,

While your blow in dew or in sea is a shower.

Your rain in bounty and in war is like the seas.

وَفيكَ إِذا جَنى الجاني أَناةٌ

تُظَنُّ كَرامَةً وَهِيَ اِحتِقارُ

When the offender seeks respite from you,

In you, when offenders sin, lies a patience

You deem it generosity but it is disdain.

Mistaken for respect, yet it is but disdain.

وَأَخذٌ لِلحَواصِرِ وَالبَوادي

بِضَبطٍ لَم تُعَوَّدهُ نِزارُ

You captured fortresses and deserts

A seizing of the cities and the wild wastes

With perfect control unfamiliar to the soft.

With a grasp that Nizar was never wont to know.

تَشَمَّمُهُ شَميمَ الوَحشِ إِنساً

وَتُنكِرُهُ فَيَعروها نِفارُ

The perfume of the wild beast repels them,

Men scent this power as wild beasts scent the wind,

So they deny and flee from it in disgust.

And deny it, till panic seizes hold of them.

وَما اِنقادَت لِغَيرِكَ في زَمانٍ

فَتَدري ما المَقادَةَ وَالصِغارُ

My tribe never submitted to another in times gone by,

In times past they bowed to no other master,

So you know not submission or disgrace.

Now they learn what led-reins and littleness mean.

فَقَرَّحتِ المَقاوِدُ ذِفرَيَيها

وَصَعَّرَ خَدَّها هَذا العِذارُ

Saddle-pads fret over their double pommels

The halters have rubbed their neck-veins into sores,

While the censure mars their cheeks.

And this bridle has twisted their faces awry.

وَأَطمَعَ عامِرَ البُقيا عَلَيها

وَنَزَّقَها اِحتِمالُكَ وَالوَقارُ

‘Amir made presumptions upon her

Mercy shown to them made 'Amir bold with greed,

While your forbearance and dignity4567 insults her.

Your bearing and your patience made them rash.

وَغَيَّرَها التَراسُلُ وَالتَشاكي

وَأَعجَبَها التَلَبُّبُ وَالمُغارُ

Correspondence and complaining changed her;

Constant parley and complaint have altered them,

She was impressed by play and frivolity.

Pleased by the girding on of arms and raids.

جِيادٌ تَعجِزُ الأَرسانُ عَنها

وَفُرسانٌ تَضيقُ بِها الدِيارُ

Steeds that test the horsemen,

Steeds that the strongest reins cannot restrain,

And horsemen who make the home seem confined.

And knights for whom the lands have grown too straight.

وَكانَت بِالتَوَقُّفِ عَن رَداها

نُفوساً في رَداها تُستَشارُ

By stopping chasing them

By pausing before their doom, they became

You made souls seek advice in chasing them.

Souls consulted on the manner of their death.

وَكُنتَ السَيفَ قائِمُهُ إِلَيهِم

وَفي الأَعداءِ حَدُّكَ وَالغِرارُ

You were the upright sword against them

You were the sword whose hilt was offered them,

While your sharp blade and heat were in the foes.

While for the foe remained the edge and point.

فَأَمسَت بِالبَدِيَّةِ شَفرَتاهُ

وَأَمسى خَلفَ قائِمِهِ الحِيارُ

Thus its edges spent the day in concealment

But now its twin blades strike in the wilderness,

As if death between you was a shortcut.

And the bewildered herds fall behind the hilt.

وَكانَ بَنو كِلابٍ حَيثُ كَعبٌ

فَخافوا أَن يَصيروا حَيثُ صاروا

The pursuit forced them into battle

The Banu Kilab saw where the Ka'b had stood,

While fleeing was the keenest of their weapons.

And feared to end where their brethren had ended.

تَلَقَّوا عِزَّ مَولاهُم بِذُلٍّ

وَسارَ إِلى بَني كَعبٍ وَساروا

They raced with disjointed limbs therein,

They met the might of their Lord with humility,

Stumbling over their feet in their haste.

As he marched to Banu Ka'b, and they marched too.

فَأَقبَلَها المُروجَ مُسَوَّماتٍ

ضَوامِرَ لا هِزالَ وَلا شِيارُ

Every steep ravine hampered them

He cast his marked steeds upon the meadowlands,

For their noble rider and excellent steed.

Lean hunters, neither wasted nor plump with rest.

تُثيرُ عَلى سَلَميَةَ مُسبَطِرّاً

تَناكَرُ نَحتَهُ لَولا الشِعارُ

Every deafening crash wounds its sides

Stirring up over Salamiyah a spreading cloud,

With blood flowing from both ankles.

Whose shape is strange, were it not a sign of war.

عَجاجاً تَعثُرُ العِقبانُ فيهِ

كَأَنَّ الجَوَّ وَعثٌ أَو خَبارُ

It neglected every one who turned to it

A dust wherein the eagles stumble in flight,

While its zeal for its rider was a duty.

As if the sky were sandy ground or rock.

وَظَلَّ الطَعنُ في الخَيلَينِ خَلساً

كَأَنَّ المَوتَ بَينَهُما اِختِصارُ

When daylight withdrew its illumination from them,

The thrusting between the hosts was swift and stolen,

Two dark nights – one night and the dust – covered them.

As if death were a shortcut between the two.

فَلَزَّهُمُ الطِرادُ إِلى قِتالٍ

أَحَدُّ سِلاحِهِم فيهِ الفِرارُ

If the wing of darkness protected them,

The chase compelled them to a bitter fight,

Al-Musharrafiyyah8 and daylight exposed them.

Where their sharpest weapon was but to flee away.

مَضَوا مُتَسابِقي الأَعضاءِ فيهِ

لِأرؤسِهِم بِأَرجُلِهِم عِثارُ

Behind them a shrouded one cried the weeping

They fled, their own limbs racing one another,

Of a camel-driver or merchant or bedouin.

Their heads stumbling upon their very feet.

يَشُلُّهُمُ بِكُلِّ أَقَبَّ نَهدٍ

لِفارِسِهِ عَلى الخَيلِ الخِيارُ

The clouds of dust covered the bayda’

He drives them with lean steeds, high in the shoulder,

Until the landmarks and roads were obscured.

Whose riders are the choicest of the brave.

وَكُلِّ أَصَمَّ يَعسِلُ جانِباهُ

عَلى الكَعبَينِ مِنهُ دَمٌ مُمارُ

They passed the tax-collectors as

And with solid spears that quiver at the sides,

The two armies gathered like the tying of a loincloth.

While spilled blood runs down upon their knots.

يُغادِرُ كُلَّ مُلتَفِتٍ إِلَيهِ

وَلَبَّتُهُ لِثَعلَبِهِ وَجارُ

They reached Saḥṣaḥ9 without saddles

Leaving dead whoever turns to gaze at it,

As the turban and veil slipped away.

His chest becoming a burrow for the fox.

إِذا صَرَفَ النَهارُ الضَوءَ عَنهُم

دَجا لَيلانِ لَيلٌ وَالغُبارُ

The virgins drooped, doubled up behind

When the day turns its light away from them,

And the young lambs stumbled.

Two nights descend: the darkness and the dust.

وَإِن جُنحُ الظَلامِ اِنجابَ عَنهُم

أَضاءَ المَشرَفِيَّةُ وَالنَهارُ

Nu‘ayr was emptied so there was no Nu‘ayr,

And when the wing of darkness lifts from them,

Neither Nihayy nor Buyayḍah nor Jifār.

The Mashrafiyah swords and the daylight gleam.

يُبَكّي خَلفَهُم دَثرٌ بُكاهُ

رُغاءٌ أَو ثُؤاجٌ أَو يُعارُ

No one sought help but Tadmur

Behind them, vast herds weep their master's loss,

And Tadmur destroyed them as its name suggests.

With grumbling, bleating, and with mournful cries.

غَطا بِالعِثيَرِ البَيداءَ حَتّى

تَحَيَّرَتِ المَتالي وَالعِشارُ

They intended to reconsider regarding it,

He cloaked the desert in a shroud of dust,

But it greeted them in the morning with a resolute decision.

Till mothers and pregnant camels strayed amazed.

وَمَرّوا بِالجَباةِ يَضُمُّ فيها

كِلا الجَيشَينِ مِن نَقعٍ إِزارُ

An army with which, whenever they disputed a land,

They passed Al-Jabat, where the dust-cloud wrapped

They came and went confused within it.

Both armies in a single winding-sheet.

وَجاؤوا الصَحصَحانَ بِلا سُروجٍ

وَقَد سَقَطَ العِمامَةُ وَالخِمارُ

It was surrounded by a desolate waterless wasteland,

They reached Al-Sahsahan without their saddles,

With no blood-money to be driven, or apologies to be made.

Turbans and veils all fallen in the flight.

وَأُرهِقَتِ العَذارى مُردَفاتٍ

وَأَوطِئَتِ الأُصَيبِيَةُ الصِغارُ

Its swords poured the blood of enemies

The virgins were burdened, riding two by two,

And its valor spilled every drop that was shed.

And the small children trampled underfoot.

وَقَد نُزِحَ الغُوَيرُ فَلا غُوَيرٌ

وَنِهيا وَالبُيَيضَةُ وَالجِفارُ

They were lions with no knives for birds

Al-Ghuwayr is drained, and is Ghuwayr no more,

Nor feathers enabling them to fly.

Nihya, Al-Buwaydah, and Al-Jifar are dry.

وَلَيسَ بِغَيرِ تَدمُرَ مُستَغاثٌ

وَتَدمُرُ كَاِسمِها لَهُمُ دَمارُ

When they missed with their spears it reached for them

No refuge is left but Tadmur for their plea,

With spears of thirst from the barren waste.

Yet Tadmur, like its name, is their ruin too.

أَرادوا أَن يُديروا الرَأيَ فيها

فَصَبَّحَهُم بِرَأيٍ لا يُدارُ

They saw death before and behind them

They sought to turn their counsels in that place,

So they chose it out of necessity.

But at dawn he brought a plan that does not turn.

وَجَيشٍ كُلَّما حاروا بِأَرضٍ

وَأَقبَلَ أَقبَلَت فيهِ تَحارُ

If the unguided ventured onto the highway

With an army that, when they halted confused,

Its two eyes were for them a beacon.

Arrived, and the land itself was struck confused.

يَحُفُّ أَغَرَّ لا قَوَدٌ عَلَيهِ

وَلا دِيَةٌ تُساقُ وَلا اِعتِذارُ

Were it not for the survivors, no life would remain

Surrounding a glorious King who owes no debt,

And without the past, lessons could not be learned.

No blood-money paid, no apologies offered.

تُريقُ سُيوفُهُ مُهَجَ الأَعادي

وَكُلُّ دَمٍ أَراقَتهُ جُبارُ

When their master does not watch over them

His swords spill out the life-blood of the foe,

Then who can watch over them and be jealous?

And every drop shed is blood shed in vain.

فَكانوا الأُسدَ لَيسَ لَها مَصالٌ

عَلى طَيرٍ وَلَيسَ لَها مَطارُ

Wretchedness separates them while fortune unites them,

They were as lions that have no power to pounce

As does the carpenter with his adze.

Upon the birds, and possess no wings to fly.

إِذا فاتوا الرِماحَ تَناوَلَتهُم

بِأَرماحٍ مِنَ العَطَشِ القِفارُ

He turned toward a hill and plain,

If they escaped the lances of the war,

And the genteel people seek his tomb.

The barren lands struck them with lances of thirst.

يَرَونَ المَوتَ قُدّاماً وَخَلفاً

فَيَختارونَ وَالمَوتُ اِضطِرارُ

The Banū Numayr bellowed by the Euphrates,

They see death standing before them and behind,

But their bellowing was the bellowing of shame.

So they make their choice, though death is compulsion.

إِذا سَلَكَ السَماوَةَ غَيرُ هادٍ

فَقَتلاهُم لِعَينَيهِ مَنارُ

They lie dead around the Khābūr,

If one travels the Samawah without a guide,

Laid low without tasting anything but their own bitter draught.

Their scattered corpses serve as beacons for him.

وَلَو لَم تُبقِ لَم تَعِشِ البَقايا

وَفي الماضي لِمَن بَقِيَ اِعتِبارُ

No cattle were pastured for them in the morning

Had you not spared, the remnants would not live;

Nor fire kindled for them at night.

In the dead lies a lesson for those who remain.

إِذا لَم يُرعِ سَيِّدُهُم عَلَيهِم

فَمَن يُرعي عَلَيهِم أَو يَغارُ

Beware of the youth when he is not pleased with them,

If their own master shows no mercy to them,

For then wariness will not benefit them.

Who then shall guard them or be jealous for them?

تُفَرِّقُهُم وَإِيّاهُ السَجايا

وَيَجمَعُهُم وَإِيّاهُ النِجارُ

Their delegations by night travel to placate him,

Your natures sever you from what they are,

Seeking the pardon that they request.

Yet ancient lineage binds them still to you.

وَمالَ بِها عَلى أَرَكٍ وَعُرضٍ

وَأَهلُ الرَقَّتَينِ لَها مَزارُ

He repulsed them by returning the tribute,

He turned the horses towards Arak and 'Urd,

Although their protecting companion took it with him.

That the people of Raqqah might visit their dead.

وَأَجفَلَ بِالفُراتِ بَنو نُمَيرٍ

وَزَأرُهُمُ الَّذي زَأَروا خُوارُ

They are those whose noble origin and lineage

The Banu Numayr fled along the Euphrates,

Proved their excellence for him.

And the roar they had roared proved only a lowing.

فَهُم حِزَقٌ عَلى الخابورِ صَرعى

بِهِم مِن شُربِ غَيرِهِمِ خُمارُ

They have a right to your partnership in valor,

They lie in heaps upon the Khabur's banks,

And the least partnership is friendship.

Drunk with a stupor not from their own wine.

فَلَم يَسرَح لَهُم في الصُبحِ مالٌ

وَلَم توقَد لَهُم بِاللَيلِ نارُ

Perhaps their sons will be troops for your sons,

No cattle grazed for them when morning broke,

As the first to tame a noble steed is praised.

No fire was kindled for them when night fell.

حِذارَ فَتىً إِذا لَم يَرضَ عَنهُم

فَلَيسَ بِنافِعٍ لَهُمُ الحِذارُ

You are more righteous than one who, if he erred, perished,

Beware a youth who, if he be not pleased,

And more forgiving than one whose forgiveness was depravity.

Makes all their caution useless and in vain.

تَبيتُ وُفودُهُم تَسري إِلَيهِ

وَجَدواهُ الَّتي سَأَلوا اِغتِفارُ

You are more able when success arouses you to action

Their delegations travel through the night to him;

And more forbearing when power gives you forbearance.

The gift they beg is pardon for their lives.

فَخَلَّفَهُم بِرَدِّ البيضِ عَنهُم

وَهامُهُمُ لَهُ مَعَهُم مُعارُ

There is no shame in the tyranny of the great ones,

He left them, turning back the white steel blades,

Nor dishonor in the humility of servants.

Their heads remain with them as but a loan.

وَهُم مِمَّن أَذَمَّ لَهُم عَلَيهِ

كَريمُ العِرقِ وَالحَسَبُ النُضارُ

The rays of sunlight are manifest in you,

They are of those protected from his wrath,

So our eyes are dazzled by its reflection.

By noble root and lineage pure as gold.

فَأَصبَحَ بِالعَواصِمِ مُستَقِرّاً

وَلَيسَ لِبَحرِ نائِلِهِ قَرارُ

Whoever seeks battle, ‘Alī is here,

Now he rests settled in the Border Lands,

As well as the steeds of Allah and the ardent heroes.

A sea of bounty having no floor nor coast.

وَأَضحى ذِكرُهُ في كُلِّ أَرضٍ

تُدارُ عَلى الغِناءِ بِهِ العُقارُ

The people saw him in the land of Ka‘b,

His fame has dawned in every distant land,

A land whose settlements offer no concealment.

Toasted with wine wherever songs are sung.

تَخِرُّ لَهُ القَبائِلُ ساجِداتٍ

وَتَحمَدُهُ الأَسِنَّةُ وَالشِفارُ

The deserts display him each day,

The tribes fall down prostrate before his face,

Seekers seeking, not awaiting the sought.

Praised by the lance-points and the fine-edged blades.

كَأَنَّ شُعاعَ عَينِ الشَمسِ فيهِ

فَفي أَبصارِنا مِنهُ اِنكِسارُ

His cavalry answers, line after line,

As if the very sun-beams dwelt in him;

War horses do not habitually conceal their voices.

Our eyes are broken when we gaze on him.

فَمَن طَلَبَ الطِعانَ فَذا عَلِيٌّ

وَخَيلُ اللَهِ وَالأَسَلُ الحِرارُ

O Banū Ka‘b, what a mark you have left in them,

Whoever seeks the thrust, here stands Ali,

A blow that only bracelets can cure.

With God's own horses and the burning spears.

يَراهُ الناسُ حَيثُ رَأَتهُ كَعبٌ

بِأَرضٍ ما لِنازِلِها اِستِتارُ

In it is anguish and loss from a piece

Men see him just as the Banu Ka'b saw,

And in it is pride in his greatness.

In lands that offer no defense nor veil.

يُوَسِّطُهُ المَفاوِزَ كُلَّ يَومٍ

طِلابُ الطالِبينَ لا الاِنتِظارُ

They have a right to your partnership in valor

The quest for glory drives him to the wilds,

And the least partnership is neighborliness.

To seek the foe, and never wait for him.

تَصاهَلُ خَيلُهُ مُتَجاوِباتٍ

وَما مِن عادَةِ الخَيلِ السِرارُ

Perhaps their sons will be troops for your sons,

His war-steeds neigh and answer one another,

As the first to tame a noble steed is praised.

Though silence is the custom of the raid.

بَنو كَعبٍ وَما أَثَّرتَ فيهِم

يَدٌ لَم يُدمِها إِلّا السِوارُ

You are more righteous than one who, if he erred, perished,

Banu Ka'b, and the marks you left on them—

And more forgiving than one whose forgiveness was depravity.

By a hand only bloodied by the bracelet's rim.

بِها مِن قِطعَةٍ أَلَمٌ وَنَقصٌ

وَفيها مِن جَلالَتِهِ اِفتِخارُ

It bears the pain and loss of severing,

Yet in your majesty lies its true pride.

لَهُم حَقٌّ بِشِركِكَ في نِزارٍ

وَأَدنى الشِركِ في أَصلٍ جِوارُ

They claim a right, sharing Nizar with you;

The closest bond of kinship is to share.

لَعَلَّ بَنيهِمِ لِبَنيكَ جُندٌ

فَأَوَّلُ قُرَّحِ الخَيلِ المِهارُ

Perchance their sons shall serve your sons as troops;

The mightiest war-horse starts as but a foal.

وَأَنتَ أَبَرُّ مَن لَو عُقَّ أَفنى

وَأَعفى مِن عُقوبَتِهِ البَوارُ

You are the kindest, though you crush rebellion,

Most prone to pardon when the doom is total.

وَأَقدَرُ مَن يُهَيِّجُهُ اِنتِصارٌ

وَأَحلَمُ مَن يُحَلِّمُهُ اِقتِدارُ

The most potent when stirred to victory,

The most patient when power bids you pause.

وَما في سَطوَةِ الأَربابِ عَيبٌ

وَلا في ذِلَّةِ العُبدانِ عارُ

There is no fault when masters strike with might,

Nor any shame when slaves bow down in fear.