أَلَسنا بِفُرعٍ قَد عَلِمتُم دِعامَةً

وَرابِيَةً تَنشَقُّ عَنها سُيولُها

Are we not a branch that you knew to be supported

And a highland from which its floods split off

وَقَد عَلِمَت سَعدُ بنُ ذُبيانَ أَنَّنا

رَحاها الَّذي تَأوي إِلَيها وُجولُها

And Sa'd bin Dhubyan had known that we

Are the pasture to which its grazing livestock return

إِذا لَم تَسئَكُم في الأُمورِ وَلَم تَكُن

لِحَربٍ عَوانٍ لامِحٍ مَن يَثولُها

If you are not harmed in affairs and are not

For a violent war, having one who makes it rage

فَلَستُم بِأَهدى في البِلادِ مِنَ الَّتي

تَرَدَّدُ حَيرى حينَ غابَ دَليلُها

Then you are not more guided in the lands than she who

Wanders confused when her guide was lost

دَعَت جُلُّ يَربوعٍ عَقيلاً لِحادِثٍ

مِنَ الأَمرِ فَاِستَخفى وَأَعيا عَقيلُها

The best part of Jarbu' called ‘Aqil for an incident

Of the matter, so he was indifferent and his intellect failed him

فَقُلتُ لَهُ هَلّا أَجَبتَ عَشيرَةً

لِطارِقِ لَيلٍ حينَ جاءَ رَسولُها

So I said to him, why didn't you respond to a tribe

Whose night visitor came when its messenger came

وَكائِنٌ لَنا مِن رَبوَةٍ لا تَنالُها

مَراقيكَ أَو جُرثومَةٌ لا تَطولُها

And we will have from Rabwah which your

Horses cannot reach or Jurthumah which your raiding parties cannot raid

فَخَرَّتَ بِأَيّامٍ لِغَيرِكَ فَخرُها

وَغُرَّتُها مَعروفَةٌ وَحُجولُها

So you fell for days not yours, and their glory

Is well-known, and their mature she-camels

إِذا الناسُ هابوا سوءَةً عِمَدَت لَها

بَنو جابِرٍ شُبّانُها وَكُهولُها

When people recoil from evil, the clan of Jabir

Set out for it, their youth and their elders

فَهَلّا بَني سَعدٍ صَبَحتَ بِغارَةٍ

مُسَوَّمَةٍ قَد طارَ عَنها نَسيلُها

Why don't the clan of Sa‘d attack with a raid

In numbers, after its runoff has flowed

فَتُدرِكَ وِتراً عِندَ أَلأُمِ واتِرٍ

وَتُدرِكَ قَتلى لَم تُتَمَّ عُقولُها

So you can catch up to a heavily laden camel when the unweaner calls

And catch up to dead people whose minds were not complete