يا بَكْرُ قَدْ عَجَّلْتَ لَوْماً باكِرَا

يَتْرُكُ فِي القَلْبِ سُعَاراً ساعِرَا

O Bakr, you have rebuked early, leaving lasting embers in the heart,

While time takes its revenge on the cunning trickster,

وَالعَقْبُ يَعْتَزُّ الدّهِيَّ الماكِرا

يُجْرِي دَهارِيسَ وَدَهْراً داهِرَا

Letting the vicissitudes of fate and time run their course,

For time in its ups and downs is bound by causation,

وَالدَهْرُ مِنْ تَرْدادِه الأَطَاوِرَا

رَهْنٌ بِأَسْبابٍ تَصُورُ الصائِرا

The repetition of nights is enough of a deterrent,

And every moment seeks to uncover treasures,

كَفَى بِتَكْرارِ اللَيالِي زاجِرا

وَكُلُّ ساعٍ يَجْتَبِي الذَخائِرا

You saw me not as one traveling afar,

Battling the biting winds and scorching heat,

لَقَدْ رَأَتْنِي لا أَنِي مُسَافِرا

أَلْقَى رِياحَ البَرْدِ وَالأَحارِرا

Disheveled, a Najdi wandering and bewildered,

Turned away from pleasures and diversions, disinterested,

أَشْعَثَ نَجْدِيّاً وَمَرّاً غائِرا

عَنِ التَصابِي وَالغَوانِي فاتِرا

With the hair on my forehead unkempt,

Besides some tufts like the remnants of ruins,

وَالشَعْرَ عَنْ جَبْهَةِ راسِي حاسِرا

أَجْلَحَ إِلَّا قَزَعاً زَعائِرا

Repelled, as old age reveals its ugliness,

The gates of Umm al-Baww have become barred,

صَدَّتْ وَيُبْدِي الكِبَرُ المَقَاذِرا

صُدُود أَمِّ البَوِّ أَمْسَتْ ذائِرا

Since she saw the first signs of a beard on my face,

The ravens atop my head took fright and fled away,

مِن أَنْ رَأَتْ في لِحْيَتِي القَتَائِرا

لاَقَى غُرابُ الراسِ ذُعْراً ذاعِرا

When gray hair descended, becoming prevalent,

God does not keep the flying raven far away,

إِذْ نَزَلَ الشَيْبُ فَأَمْسَى نَافِرا

لا يُبْعِدُ اللَّهُ الغُرابَ الطائِرا

So if you see, wherever it once nested,

Some newly sprung shoots of old age sprouting,

فَإِنْ تَرَى فِي حَيْثُ كانَ واكِرا

مِنِّي بَغَاثَ الكِبَرِ الهَنابِرا

It has shown me gluttony and harm,

And lack of generosity, while being fruitful,

فَقَدْ أُرِي الأَدْمانَ وَالجَآذِرا

وَحَفْاً مِنَ الكَرْمِ عَلَيَّ ناشِرا

With a soft complexion and raining body,

When my bow's strength brooked no resistance,

وَلِينَ سَحْناءَ وَجِسْماً ماطِرا

إِذْ مَتْنُ قَوْسِي لَمْ يُنَازِعْ آطِرا

And it envisioned for me in youth armed forces,

My demon self that would strike the mighty lions down,

وَقَدْ أَرَى لِي في الصِبا عَساكِرا

جِنِّيَ جِنٍّ أَضْرِبُ الأَسادِرا

I was almost ignorant enough to love the migrant,

In an era in which we lived most tumultuously,

أَكَادُ مِنْ جَهْلٍ أُحِبُّ الهاجِرا

فِي عُصُرٍ عِشْنا بِه أَعاصِرا

And we recalled the mighty favors,

And a boyhood that did not let us forget the first steps.

وَقَدْ ذَكَرْنا النِعَمَ الأحابِرَا

وصَبْوَةً لَمْ تُنْسِنا الأَخافِرا

It was a time of most intimate and enchanting company,

An upright gathering and enrapturing company,

أَزْمان أَرْقِي الأُنَّسَ المَعاصِرا

رُقْيَةَ خَتَّالٍ وَطِبّاً ساحِرا

If only the attainment of the redolent drink were obligatory,

And modesty made them avoid the forgiver,

لَوْ نِيلَ زَلّالَ المَرَاقِي فادِرا

والعُصْمُ دَلّاهُنَّ عَنْ مَغَافِرا

Would that the days of youth were revolving,

And the wares of youth were sold by the merchant,

فَلَيْت أَيَّام الصِبَا عَواكِرا

وَلَيْتَ مُبْتاعَ الشَبابِ التاجِرا

We would give him a dinar before he could haggle,

To buy back flourishing youth from the auctioneer,

نُعْطِيهِ حُكْراً قَبْل أَنْ يُحاكِرا

فِي البَيْعِ لَوْ رَدَّ الشَبَابَ النَاضِرا

That polishes and removes the tarnish,

And a land whose leader becomes confused,

يَصْقُل أَصْقالاً تُجِدُّ الداثِرا

وَبَلْدَةٍ يُمْسِي قَطَاها خادِرا

From a five-handed blow that rouses the inert,

When its flags don the veils,

مِنْ وَلْقِ خِمْسٍ يَحْفِزُ الأكادِرا

إِذَا أَكْتَسَت أَعلامُها السَدائِرا

With a single swoop its leaders lost their wits,

Sloughing off and donning shrouds,

مِنْ هَبْوَةٍ قُنُعَها السَمَادِرا

تَلَفَّعَتْ وَاجْتابَتِ البَقائِرا

While avoiding a kneeler and walker,

Head down, though he may raise up the lowly,

وَاجْتَبْنَ إِلَّا ناقِعاً وَسائِرا

مُخَفِّضاً لَوْ يَرْفَع الأَقاصِرا

They are covering the land and the surfaces,

Waves of mirages and a rolling sea,

يَكْسُونَ بَطْن الأَرْضِ وَالظَواهِرا

غُدْرانَ ضَحْضاحٍ وَمَوْجاً مائِرا

As the blazing sun intensifies its raging heat,

Charging with arrows flung fiercely,

وَالقَيْظُ يُحْمِي شَمْسهُ الظَهائِرا

هَجْماً وَأَجَّاجَ سَهامٍ سَاجِرا

You can see it from the kindling of its embers

Drawing the deepest bog into its heat,

تَرَاهُ مِنْ إِيقادِهِ الوَغائِرا

يُولِج أَرْطَى الغِينَة اليَعافِرا

And into the hollows of the burnt-out dunes,

I tasked them with gifts of gold coins

وَفِي أَلاءِ الرَمْلَةِ المَحَافِرا

كَلَّفْتُها العِيدِيَّةَ الزَنانِرا

That shake off the nation's filth and the trains' excrement,

The shaking of an ostrich scattering its plumage far and wide,

يَنْفُضْنَ لَوْثَ القَوْمِ وَالقواتِرا

نَفْضَ النَعامِ الزِفَف الأَزاعِرا

Coming humbly to them like the buzzing of flies,

As skill builds up bricks, layer by layer,

دَانَى لَهُنَّ الطَّيُّ زَبْراً زابِرَا

كَمَا يُعَالِي الصَنَعُ الجَدَائِرا

A secret he constructed brick by brick,

I spread out the saddlecloth threadbare

رَازٌ بَنَاهَا آجُراً وَآجُرَا

وَقَدْ فَرَشْتُ الرَحْلَ حَرْفاً ضامِرا

Capriciously becoming pregnant or barren,

As if, together with the howdah, arousing the fleer,

هَوْجاءَ تَمْسِي لَقَحا أَوْ عاقِرا

كَأَنَّها وَالأَيْنُ يُنْدِي الذافِرا

A widow from a fine woven garment, covering the haughty,

Soliciting the scattering of seeds and drunken,

قُرْواءُ مِنْ ساجٍ تُغَشِّي الثائِرا

مَشْتَقَّ مُسْتَنِّ الذُرَى وَساكِرا

Even if the tent stakes battered and bruised the thumb bones,

From the hardness of a bow or the pain of elbows,

وَإِنْ خَبَطْنَ البِيدَ وَالأَسامِرا

مِنْ صُلْبِ قُفٍّ أَوْجَع الأَماعِرا

And the hurling of pebbles from its violent shaking,

And from the deserts by its sorcerous hands,

نَكْبُ الحَصَى مِنْ رَهْصِهِ الجَماعِرا

وَمِنْ صَحَارِي بِيدِه الأَصاحِرا

A barrenness that makes faraway places seem near,

You can see in its Najdi valleys the low sand dunes,

جَدْباً يُنَزِّي بُعْدُهُ الحَزاوِرا

تَرَى بِنَجْدَيْهِ المَهَا الغَرائِرا

And the groves and thickets of trees,

And if we transcended wilderness, empty and vacant,

وَالعِينَ وَالأَلّالَةَ الأَواشِرا

وَإِن أَجَزْنا العِيسَ قَفْراً قافِرا

Once settled, it would become populated,

With flames that penetrate the deep darkness,

ذا قُحَم أَمْسَتْ بِهِ سَوامِرا

شُهْباً تَشُقُّ الظُلَم الأَخاضِرا

Serving the passage of ships and crossings,

Stirring up activity fleetingly,

كَانتْ لأَجْوازِ المَلَا مَسَابِرا

تَنَشَّطُ الخَرْقَ انْتِشاطاً عابِرا

Pursuing the people until the furthest reaches,

From Syria and the yellow fortresses,

بِالْقَوْمِ حَتَّى تُدْرِك الأَقاعِرا

مِنَ القُصَى وَالأُجَّن الأَصافِرا

Rather, I rode the risky vessel,

Looking for a protected sanctuary and pilgrimage,

بَلْ قَدْ رَكِبْتُ المَرْكَبَ المُغَامِرا

أَنْظُرُ مَوْلَى حُرْمَةٍ وَزائِرا

A caliph we can cast the undesirables at,

Or a king who does not deny the pulpits,

خَلِيفَةً نَرْمِي بِهِ العَراعِرا

أَوْ مَلِكاً لا يُنْكِرُ المَنَابِرا

So O angry one, if you wish to dispute,

Ask the towering camel necks and humps,

فَأَيُّها الغَضْبانُ أَنْ يُحاوِرا

سائِلْ أُنُوفَ النُعَّرِ النَواعِرا

About enmity, fraud, and overt antagonism,

While the weak and oppressed are cast down in humiliation,

مِنَ العِدى وَالخُنْزُوانَ الشَاخِرا

وَالعَبْدُ وَالمَكْثُورُ يُلْقَى صاغِرا

It will inform you, if you perceive a discerning glance,

That we straighten the twisted and crooked,

تُنْبِئْكَ إِنْ آنَسْتَ لَمْحاً باصِرا

أَنْ قَدْ نُقِيمُ الصَعَر الأَزاوِرا

With blows that crush even the uncrushable,

Vanquishing and felling a rare head,

بِمقْرَمَاتٍ تَخْدِرُ المَخَادِرا

يَضْغَمْن أَوْ يَخْفِقْنَ رَأْساً نادِرا

And with curses we silence the grumblers,

So bring before us one to be refuted or debate, a poet,

وَبِالدَوَاهِي نُسْكِتُ النَخَاورا

فَاجْلُب إِلَيْنا مُفْحَماً أَوْ شاعِرا

If you are truly observing us,

For we have seen the flaws and disgraces,

إِنْ كُنْتَ بِالجِدِّ إِلَيْنا ناظِرا

فَقَدْ رَأَيْنا العُورَ وَالأَخازِرا

Suffering vilification and quick reprisal,

When evil dons its finery,

يَلْقَوْنَ تَعْوِيراً وَصَكّاً بادِرا

مِنَّا إِذَا الشَرُّ اكْتَسَى الأَنامِرا

And the oath-breaker and forgiver,

The Meccan and the Maghrebi and the veil-makers,

وَالحَلَقَ الماذِيَّ وَالمَغافِرا

والمَشْرَفِيَّ وَالقَنَا العَواتِرا

And the cavalry that bites the gaping throat,

God has made them behind an impregnable wall,

وَالجُرْدَ يَعْلكْنَ الشَكِيمَ الثَاغِرا

قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ بِحَجْرٍ حاجِرا

To oppress the sinners, an overwhelming sovereign,

With excellent safekeeping that protects the sanctuaries,

عَلَى المُسِيئِينَ وَمُلْكاً قاهِرا

مِنْ ذِي حِفاظٍ يَحْفَظُ الذَمائِرا

A pillar of strength from us and a crashing torrent,

Warning, making clear his great affairs,

دِعامَةً مِنَّا وَقَرْماً هادِرا

أَنْذَرَ يُبْدِي أَمْرَه النَذائِرا

A shining lantern whose light never wanes,

And if we desire a people's glory erased,

فَرَّاجَ غُمَّى لا يَنِي مُصاحِرا

وَإِن بَغَيْنا عِزَّ قَوْمٍ كاسِرا

We have geared for the foes dread and rancor,

We named them angrily, with lasting, festering hatred,

وَقَدْ شَدَدْنَا لِلْعُدَا المَآزِرا

سُمْنَاهُمُ غَيْظاً وَبُجْراً باجِرا

And the ferocity of proud glory, perilous to rival,

With which we subdue the potent heroes,

وَقَهْبَ عِزٍّ مُصْعَباً مُخاطِرا

بِهِ نَدُولُ الجِلَّةَ القَياسِرا

Even if the lions attacked with fury,

They would meet the grip of violent youth in conflict,

وَالأُسْدَ إِنْ قَاسَرْنَنَا القَساوِرا

لاقَيْنَ قِرْضابَ الشَبَا قُناصِرا

When the bowstrings were taut and throats pinched,

We flung them into chilling graves,

إِذا شَحَا الأَشْداقَ وَالحَناجِرا

لَهُن أَلْقاهُنَّ في جَرَاجِرا

As if they were loathsome female corpses,

Or the severed horns of a wretched beast,

كَأَنَّ مِنْ عادِيَّةٍ مَقَابِرا

أَوْ قَرْنَ حَيْدَى راسِهِ قبائِرا

When crouching to sharpen his elbows,

The joints of necks and humps,

إِذا تَقَبَّى يَشْحَذُ المَآشِرا

مَجامِع الأَعْناقِ وَالقَنابِرا

A blow in response to what befell him, fruitlessly,

With slaps that resemble butcher knives,

ضَغْماً لِمَا نالَ وَخَلْباً عاقِرا

بِسَرْطَمَاتٍ تُحْسَبُ الخَناجِرا

They tasted from it a bloody and sullied battle,

As if it were injuries, rocks, and blazing embers,

مارَسْنَ مِنْهُ عَرِكاً عُذَافِرا

كَأَنَّ أَوْجاماً وَصَخْراً صاخِرا

And the violent swaying of one mounted on a stretcher,

And jolts that break the broken ones,

وَحَيْد أَرْضامٍ عَلَى ضَمازِرا

لَثَّدْنَ مِن أَجْرازِهِ زَوافِرا

While the lions dread its impact, muted,

Fearing its onslaughts and sudden calamities,

وَمِخْبَطاتٍ تَكْسِرُ المَكاسِرا

وَالأُسْدُ تَخْشَى وَقْعَهُ جَواحِرا

They have tasted from it combat without respite,

A roaring agitated by outrage and humps,

خُرْساً فَما تَسْمَعُ مِنْها زائِرا

يَرْهَبْنَ مِنْ صَوْلاتِهِ البَوادِرا

When intending to gore or trample,

It flung the fierce lions into slaughterhouses,

قَدْ ذُقْنَ مِنْهُ عَرِكاً مُهاصِرا

هَوّاسَةً ذا لِبْدَةٍ هُزابِرا

There occurred slaughter along with maiming of the barren,

From the length of what it dragged around,

إِذا أَرَاد النَطْح أَوْ مُداسِرا

أَلْقَى اللُيُوثَ الحُمْسَ فِي مَجازِرا

But I have sworn an oath and warning,

While my knowledge informs the well-informed,

جَرى مَعَ الصَرعِ وَعَقراً عاقرا

مِن طُولِ ما جرَّرها المَجَاورا

I have stayed up nightly thinking of you,

By Him who reveals secrets,

بَلْ قَدْ حَلَفْتُ حَلَفاً وَناذِرا

وَكُنْتُ وَالإِخْبارُ تُحْفِي الخابِرا

From where terse meaning conceals the meanings,

Of the hidden and the manifest,

أَبِيتُ مِنْ هَمِّي إِلَيْكَ ساهِرا

فَوَالَّذِي يَطَّلِعُ السَرائِرا

It was not my abandonment to become a migrant,

A migrant, since I never visited as one migrating,

مِنْ حَيْثُ يَطْوِي المُضْمِرُ الضَمائِرا

مِنْ باطِنِ السِرِّ وَأَمْراً ظاهِرا

Except for recurring chills that afflict the visitor,

How can I forget a suitor and refuser

ما كانَ هَجْرِي أَن أَكُونَ هاجِرا

مُهاجِراً مُذْ لَم أَزُرْ مُهاجِرا

Of your kinship with us and a commander ordaining

The Sunna of justice and a victorious sword,

إِلَّا عَوَادٍ يَعْتَقِينَ الزائِرا

وَكَيْف أَنْسَى رَاجِياً وَناكِرا

For God, I follow His religion as a supporter,

And for the Commander of the Faithful, I prefer,

قُرْبَاكَ مِنَّا وَأَمِيراً آمِرا

بِسُنَّةٍ العَدْلِ وَسَيْفاً ناصِرا

Over the nature of natures, chaste,

Saved in conduct upon moral ways,

لِلّه أَرْعَى دِينَهُ مُوازِرا

وَلأَمِيرِ المُؤْمِنِينَ آثِرا

Truthful, pious, and modestly veiled,

And a forbearance that spared him tribulations,

عَنْ طَبَع الأَطْباعِ عَفّاً طاهِرا

يَنْجُو مِنَ الأَمْرِ عَلَى مَعَابِرا

And if you pull the knot tightly, coercively,

You will not find in his covenant one who betrays,

صِدْقاً وَتَقْوى وَعَفَافاً ساتِرا

وَشِيَماً جَنَّبْنَهُ القَناطِرا

And if he sees the bare-faced unbelief of a disbeliever,

An unjust arbiter unaware of insights,

وَإِنْ شَدَدْتَ العِقْدَ إِصْراً آصِرا

لَمْ تُلْقَ عِنْدَ العَهْدِ فِيهِ غادِرا

One whose transgression permits transgressions,

Misleading one who has strayed from the path, lost,

وَإِنْ رَأَى باخِعَ كُفْرٍ كافِرا

مُحَكِّماً لا يَعْرِفُ البَصَائِرا

Into feared misfortunes that loss incurrs,

And a concealer who observes the circles,

مِمَّنْ يَرُدُّ البَغْيُ في مَحائِرا

تَغْيِيقَ مَنْ ضَلَّ السَبِيلَ دَاجِرا

God poured upon him a striking falcon,

And defeat that hangs the defeated,

في مُخسَراتٍ يَسْتَثِرْنَ الخاسِرا

وَمُسْتَسِرّاً يَرْقُبُ الدَوائِرا

Shutting in the passages and crossings,

Or a rotating prison where he ended up fallen,

صَبَّ عَلَيْهِ اللَّهُ صَقْراً صاقرا

وَناسِراتٍ تُعْلِقُ المَنَاسِرا

His transgression humbled, in disgrace,

With shackles on his legs, his garment dragged,

تَنْتَظِم الأَجْوازَ وَالكَعابِرا

أَوْ سِجْنَ دَوَّارٍ فَأَمْسَى دَاثِرا

When he complains of pain in his ravaged throat,

They tightened the nails upon his fingertips,

مُحْتَنِيَ البَغْيِ مُهَاناً صاغِرا

تَسْحَبُ رِجْلاهُ قِمِطْراً شاغِرا

There he complains, anguished or patient,

And if he saw an opponent disputing in truth,

إِذا اشْتَكَى في الحَلَقِ المَحافِرا

شَدُّوا عَلَى أَطْرافِه المَسامِرا

Crooked, unaware of the rights of the Creator,

Delighting in wrong, leaving none untouched,

هُناكَ يَشْكُو جازِعا أَوْ صابِرا

وَإِنْ رَأَى في الحَقِّ خَصْماً شاجِرا

And if he intended to ride the lame mounts,

The testicles might meet the blow,

أَعْوَجَ لا يَعْرِفُ حَقّاً فاطِرا

مُشْتَقَّ جَوْرٍ لَم يَدَعْهُ جائِرا

And the command of the righteous, vanquisher,

The resolved decision of one whose steps never faltered,

وَإِنْ تَنَمَّى يَرْكَب الأَواعِرا

وَقَدْ يُصِيبُ المِخْصَرُ المَخاصِرا

Comes with eased affairs facilely,

And if he saw a stricken or afflicted one,

وَفْقَ صَلاحٍ وَقَضاءً قاهِرا

عَزْمَ امْرِىءٍ لَمْ يَرْتَدِ الدَغَامِرا

He blamed him with lies and baseless claims,

The enemies tasted from him stabbing swords,

يَأتِي بِأَمْرِ اليَسَرِ المُيَاسِرا

وَإِنْ رَأَى أَعْسَر أَوْ مُعاسِرا

Most furious, with lasting, festering hatred,

When the cooking boiled over, fiercely bubbling,

أَلْقَى عَلَيْهِ الزَوْرَ وَالكَرَاكِرا

قَدْ عالَجَتْ مِنْهُ العُدَا قُناسِرا

He cured the honor's wound with spreading harm,

With oil, burning and flaming embers,

أَشْوَس أَبّاءً وَعَضْباً باتِرا

إِذا اسْتَجاشَ الطَبْخَ غَلْياً آفِرا

While the blaze heals mangy camels,

After friction that scrapes away the scales,

دَاوَى بِأَرْضِ العِرْضِ عَرّاً باثِرا

بِالنَفط إِحراقاً وشَعلاً ساجرا

When he saw the injustices and schemes,

Watering bitter afflictions and simmering angers,

وَالشَعْلُ يَشْفِي الجَرَبَ القُسابِرا

بَعْدَ احْتِكاكٍ يَقْشِرُ المَقاشِرا

He bridled the weaving of fabrics and stoked the fires,

A Lord sufficed to restrain wrongs and immoralities,

لَمّا رَأَى الأَضْغانَ وَالمَآئِرا

يَسْقِين أَمْراراً وَغَيْظاً واجِرا

He did not cease until binding the relations,

Brandishing the enemies a flashing blade,

سَدَّ سَتَى النَسْجِ وَشَدَّ النائِرا

رَبٌّ كَفَاُ العَسْفَ وَالجَوائِرا

You see him casting them down into misfortunes,

Either perishing or plummeting from the high places,

ما زالَ حَتَّى وَثَّقَ الضَبائِرا

وَلَوَّح الأَعْداءَ صَهْراً صاهِرا

And if he commanded binding the elite

Around the neck of an obstinate criminal,

تَراهُ يُهْوِيهمْ عَلَى مَشازِرا

فِي المَوْت أَوْ يَهْوُونَ عَنْ مَطامِرا

Blinder than a dog or chaser,

He twisted him or pulled his pegs,

وَإِن أَمَرَّ العُقَد الشَزائِرا

في عُنْقِ عاصٍ يَجْتَنِي المَغَادِرا

The tent rope coiled, swirling,

And if the fallen one collapsed into a wadi,

أَعْمَى عُمَاة كَلِباً أَوْ داعِرا

أَلْوَى به أَوْ جاذَبَ العَتائِرا

That faltering weakling did not meet him,

Punishing in his essence or forgiving,

سُمْرَ القَنا مَلْوِيَّةً سَماهِرا

وَإِنْ هَوَى الهاوِي عَلَى تَراتِرا

You will find for him in each day a besieger,

A duty from truth and issuing justice,

لمَْ تَلْقَهُ ذاكَ الذَلُولَ العاثِرا

مُعاقِباً في كُنْهِه أَوْ غافِرا

And the order of greatness gathering people,

When his days manifest their glories,

تَرَى لَهُ في كُلِّ يَوْمٍ حاصِرَا

وِرْداً مِنَ الحَقِّ وَحَقّاً صادِرا

The son of Abdullah extended splendidly

To the lofty heights, luminously shining,

وأَمْرَ جُلٍّ يَجْمَعُ المَعَاشِرا

إِذا أَجْتَلَت أَيّامُه المَفَاخِرا

Like the dawn, brighter and more radiant,

You are a man who builds enduring glory,

مَدَّ ابْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ شِبْراً شابِرا

إِلَى عُلا الأَعْلا وَضَوْءاً زاهِرا

The noblest of nobles and the last of them,

The finest of the fine and the most bountiful,

كَالصُبْح أَجْلَى وَالسِرَاجَ باهِرا

أَنْتَ امْرُؤٌ تَعْمُرُ مَجْداً عامِرا

And the most generous, first and last,

When they traced fathers and relatives,

وَالأَشْرَف الأَشْرَف وَالأَخايِرا

وَالاَطْيَبِينَ الطِيبَ وَالاَكاثِرا

In an honored lineage and abundant ancestry,

And you surpassed Qais with prolific increase,

وَالأَكْرَمِينَ أَوَّلاً وَآخِرا

إِذْ حَسَبُوا الآباءَ وَالضَرائِرا

The length of pillars and firm-rooted continuity,

And the torrent with rushing spillways,

في عامِرٍ مَجْداً وَعِرْضاً وافِرا

وَسَدَّ أَيّام العُدَى المَخَاصِرا

They risked glory, while you remained victorious,

You became thanking God abundantly,

فَقَدْ وَسَطْتَ البَزَرَى الآبازِرا

أَشْرافَها وَالسادَةَ البَهازِرا

The scale of justice and an aware guide,

Recognizing norms, denying the deniable,

مَجْداً تَلِيداً لَسْتَ عَنْهُ قاصِرا

في الإِرْثِ وَالعادِيَّةَ الجَماهِرا

When matters confused even the greatest,

With puzzling issues that invalidate the claims,

وَازدَدْتَ مِنْ قَيْسٍ عَدِيداً زاخِرا

طُولَ دِعاماتٍ وَضَبْراً ضابِرا

Begetting or pollinating proliferating harm,

Or yielding on the inauspicious day of the deceiver,

وَالسَيْلَ ذا الدُفّاعِ وَالأَباجِرا

قَدْ قامَرُوا المَجْدَ فَكُنْتَ القامِرا

You roused, undertaking them boldly,

And if the timbers of lofty trees writhed,

أَصْبَحْتَ تَجْزِي اللَّهَ شُكْراً شاجِرا

مِيزانَ عَدْلٍ وَإِماماً خابِرا

A sublime mark raising the sights,

Gleaning wisely from his words and preferring,

عارِفَ عُرْفٍ يُنْكِر الأَناكِرَا

إِذا الأَمُورُ اعْرَوْرَتِ الأَكَابِرا

And of God's Book, remembering the reminder,

Compiling meanings and apportioning them,

بِمُعْضلاتٍ تُبْطِل الأَهاتِرا

يُنْتَجْن أو يُلْقَحْنَ شَرّاً باسِرا

Or a rescue - you were the brave, supportive pillar,

Whose foundation is stirred by reflections,

أَوْ خُضْنَ يَوْمَ الكَلِبِ المَغَامِرا

نَهَّضْتَ حَمّالاً بِهِنَّ جاسِرا

When the bastard brings back the Byzantines,

In the belly of one vicious and clawed,

وَإِنْ عَلَوْبَ الخَشَبَ الشَواجِرا

أَشْرَفَ سَامٍ يَرْفَعُ النَواظِرا

Relinquishing what his veins fancy,

And when good tidings of gladness come to pass,

يَسْتَنُّ في القَوْمِ اسْتِنَاناً ماهِرا

مُقْتَضِباً مِنْ قَوْلِهِ وَآثِرا

As the steeds blanket the racecourses,

And the enemy lightens the enraged burden,

وَمِنْ كِتابِ اللَّهِ ذِكْراً ذاكِرا

جَوامِع الأَشْتاتِ وَالأَشاطِرا

You granted from it lasting rain,

Pardoning while you subjugated the ruinous,

أَوْ نَجْدَةً كُنْتَ الشُجَاعَ الآصِرا

يَدُقُّ رُكْنَاكَ الهِقَبَّ الخاطِرا

After being mired in what drowns settlements,

Sheltering the kindling of its smoking embers,

إِذا أَعاد الزِيرَ وَالبَرابِرا

في جَوْفِ ذِي ضَغْمٍ وَذِي أَظافِرا

But I have sworn an oath and warning,

While my knowledge informs the well-informed,

يَتْرُكُ ما أَهْوَى لَهُ شراشِرا

وَحِينَ تُجْرِي يُرْزَقُ البَشائِرا

You saw flaws and dishonor,

Suffering vituperation and quick reprisal,

إِذا الجِيادُ عَمَّتِ المَحَامِرا

وَأَوْخَفَ العَدْوُ العَجاجَ الثَائِرا

From us when evil adorns its fineries,

And oath-breaker and forgiver,

أَعْطَيْتَ مِنْهُ غَيِّثاً مُثابِرَا

عَفْواً وَإِنْ طاوَلْتَهُ مُهامِرا

And the Meccan and Maghrebi and veil-makers,

And the cavalry that bite the gaping throat,

بَعْدَ اغْتِراقٍ يُغْرِقُ المَحَاضِرا

يَحْمِي تَأَوِّي كَعْتِهِ الدَوابِرا

God has made them behind an impregnable wall,

To oppress the sinners, an overwhelming sovereign.