أَلَمَّ خَيالُ لَيلى أُمِّ عَمروِ

وَلَم يُلمِم بِنا إِلّا لِأَمرِ

The fantasy of Layla, mother of Amr, took us

And gathered us for some purpose

تَقولُ ظَعينَتي لَمّا اِستَقَلَّت

أَتَترُكُ ما جَمَعتَ صَريمَ سَحرِ

My she-camel said, when she was restless:

“Shall I leave what you gathered at dawn?”

فَقُلتُ لَها ذَريني إِنَّ مالي

يَروحُ إِذا غَلَبتُهُمُ وَيَسري

I said to her: “Let me be. What I have

Goes away when I overcome them, and flows when I'm down”

فَلَستُ لِحاصِنٍ إِن لَم تَرونا

نُجادِلُكُم كَأَنّا شَربُ خَمرِ

For a garrison, if they do not see us

Arguing with them as if drunk on wine

وَتَحمِلُ حَربَهُم عَنّا قُرَيشٌ

كَأَنَّ بَنانَهُم تَفريكُ بُسرِ

And Quraysh undertake their war against us

As if we smash their idols to pieces

وَتُدرِكُ في الخَزارِجِ كُلَّ وِترٍ

بِذَمِّ الكاهِنَينِ وَذَمِّ عَمروِ

And in Al-Khawārij, every musical note is reached

With insulting the priests and insulting Amr

زَجَرنا النَخلَ وَالآطامَ حَتّى

إِذا هِيَ لَم تُشَيِّعنا لِزَجرِ

We scolded the date palms and hillsides until

When they did not bid us farewell due to our scolding

هَمَمنا بِالإِقامَةِ ثُمَّ سِرنا

كَسَيرِ حُذَيفَةِ الخَيرِ بنِ بَدرِ

We intended to stay, then traveled on

Like the good travel of Hudhaifa son of Badr

وَرِثنا المَجدَ قَد عَلِمَت مَعَدٌّ

فَلَم نُغلَب وَلَم نُسبَق بِوِترِ

We inherited glory. Mu'add has known

That we were not defeated or overtaken by any musical note

مَتى تَلقَوا رِجالَ الأَوسِ تَلقَوا

لِباسَ أَساوِدٍ وَجُلودَ نُمرِ

Whenever they meet the men of AWS, they meet

Wearers of black clothes and leopard skins

وَنَصدُقُ في الصَباحِ إِذا اِلتَقَينا

وَلَو كانَ الصَباحُ جَحيمَ جَمرِ

And we keep our word in the morning, when we meet

Even if the morning were a hellish fire

أَلا أَبلِغ بَني ظَفَرٍ رَسولاً

فَلَم نَذلِل بِيَثرِبَ غَيرَ شَهرِ

Shall I send a messenger to the people of Triumph?

For we did not humiliate anyone but a month in Yathrib

خُذِلناهُ وَأَسلَمنا المَوالي

وَفارَقنا الصَريحُ لِغَيرِ فَقرِ

We left it disappointed and handed over the allies

And the drinkers parted for other than poverty

أَبَحنا المُسبِغينَ كَما أَباحَت

يَمانونا بَني سَعدِ بنِ بَكرِ

We allowed the anointed ones just as

The people of Saʿd ibn Bakr allowed our Yemen

فَإِن نَلحَق بِأَبرَهَةَ اليَماني

وَنُعمانٍ يُوَجِّهُنا وَعَمروِ

So if we join Abrahah Al-Yamani

And Nu'man who guides us and Amr

وَإِن نَنزِل بِذي النَجَداتِ كُرزٍ

نُلاقِ لَدَيهِ شُرباً غَيرَ نَزرِ

And if we descend to Thul Najdah Kurz

We will find with him a drink other than mean

لَهُ سَجلانِ سَجلٌ مِن صَريحٍ

وَسَجلُ تَريكَةٍ بِعَتيقِ خَمرِ

He has two registers: a register of drink

And Tariqah's register of aged wine

وَنَمنَعُ ما أَرادوا لا يُعانى

مُقيمٌ في المَحَلَّةِ وَسطَ قَسرِ

And we prevent what they wanted. No resident will be wronged

In Al-Maḥallah in the middle of the palace

وَإِن تَغدو بِنا غَطَفانُ نُردِف

نِساءَهُمُ وَنَقتُل كُلَّ صَقرِ

And if Ghaṭafān come to us at daybreak, we will

Make their women ride behind us and kill every falcon

فَنَحنُ النازِلونَ عَلى المَنايا

وَنَحنُ الآخِذونَ بِكُلِّ ثَغرِ

For we are the ones imposing death

And we are the ones taking every frontier