Sol 5.6

  1. O sons of al-Mulawwah, there is no protector and no defender.

    Death has made its rounds; drinkers and cupbearer have met.

  2. The keen white blades have come to visit you—

    so welcome them with heads and necks.

  3. Ghalib marched with them, untouched by weakness,

    gathering horizon upon horizon for war.

  4. Faith’s high resolves cast him forth, obedient,

    while paganism trembles in fear and dread.

  5. What of this man whom his own horsemen encountered

    at al-Qudayd—will he proceed unhindered?

  6. No indeed. If what he says is true, then there is

    no injustice or oppression in what they seek.

  7. He will remain until they return; then he will accompany them

    to the Messenger, under solemn pledge and covenant.

  8. But if he is lying, the sword shall be his companion;

    and the sword is a faithful companion, no mere dabbler.

  9. They came to al-Kadid while their sentinel did not doze,

    though sleep toyed with eyelids and eyes.

  10. By night his figure appeared above the hill

    to a wakeful watcher who sprang up in terror.

  11. He loosed two arrows; neither missed him in its aim,

    nor passed beyond him when the bow was drawn and fully stretched.

  12. Pull them out, Ibn Makith; do not be afraid,

    nor fear blood shed in the cause of God.

  13. O swords of God’s Messenger, leave

    no survivor among those devoted to idols—

  14. those who have taken their station behind the truth,

    a station chosen only by the wicked and depraved.

  15. What do they reject in the faith they hate?

    Has it brought anything but refinement and noble character?

  16. A faith of lofty virtues that carries its followers upward

    to heights no climber’s ambition can attain;

  17. a faith that is a fetter, deterring every transgressor,

    casting souls into shackles and collars.

  18. It restrains the soul only when it thereby sets it free,

    and does no injustice in restraint or release.

  19. Sons of al-Mulawwah, turn back from your error:

    truth has evident brightness, manifest and radiant.

  20. It is the cure for the soul’s diseases when

    the physician is baffled and ends a hostage to failure.

  21. Do you turn away from the noblest path, though

    its heralds have called and every swift forerunner answered?

  22. Were it not for blindness, you would not, in your error, have followed

    a band of Quraysh devoid of discernment.

  23. People, because of leaders of evil, are lost in madness;

    it harms the physician and defeats the healer’s art.

  24. Woe to you if you are content with the heart of a darkness,

    filled with fire, with fold upon fold and depths beneath depths.

  25. What did you do to God’s cavalry when

    every clamorous crier among you called the tribe for aid?

  26. A scorching raid swept upon you, but it was quenched

    by Qudayd’s valley with a torrent pouring forth.

  27. Do not deny it: God’s decree sends

    the utter bewilderment and downcast silence that befell you.

  28. How mighty a sign it was! But for your ignorance,

    it would have been the finest proof of the best of creation.

  29. The decrees of fate were marshaled to his aid, preventing you

    from overtaking his army by any route of march.

  30. And you, O you who urge your mount onward

    toward the Messenger, pressing on at a yearning man’s pace—

  31. through Islam’s blessing you attained a treasure of guidance,

    with which your Lord enriched you after poverty.

  32. Rejoice in your provision, and thank Him who bestowed it on you:

    glory be to Him, the Provider from His immense bounty.

  33. Through Islam’s blessing you attained a treasure of guidance,

    with which your Lord enriched you after poverty.

  34. Rejoice in your provision, and thank Him who bestowed it on you:

    glory be to Him, the Provider from His immense bounty.

Sol 5.6