بَنو أَسَدٍ رِجلانِ رِجلٌ تَذَبذَبَت
وَرِجلٌ أَضافَتها إِلَينا التَراتِرُ
The sons of Asad, two men - one whose allegiance wavered,
And one who was brought to us by the camels’ litters.
فَما الدينَ حاوَلتُم وَلَكِن دَعاكُمُ
إِلى الدينِ جوعٌ لا يُغَمِّضُ ساهِرُ
Not for religion did you endeavor, but hunger called you
To religion - hunger that no wakeful sleeper can ignore.
بَني أَسَدٍ قيسَت بِيَ الرُهنُ قَبلَكُم
ذَواتُ المَدى وَالمُلهِباتُ المَحاضِرُ
O sons of Asad, my pledge was tested before yours
By those of great distances and destructive wars.
فَما كانَ في مَدِّ المَدى لِيَ نَكبَةٌ
وَلا عَثرَةٌ إِنَّ البِطاءَ العَواثِرُ
Never in the length of distances did I stumble
Nor trip - truly it is slowness that causes one to stumble.
أَخَنجَرُ لَو كُنتُم قُرَيشاً شَبِعتُمُ
وَما هَلَكَت جوعاً بِلَغوى المَعاصِرُ
O Khnajar, had you been Quraysh, you'd be sated
And would not have perished from the pangs of hunger that torment.
إِذاً لَضَرَبتُم في البِطاحِ بِسُهمَةٍ
وَكانَ لَكُم مِن طَيرِ مَكَّةَ طائِرُ
Then you'd shoot arrows in the valleys with perfect aim
And the birds of Mecca would be your catch.
وَلَكِنَّما اِحتَكَّت بِكُم قَمَلِيَّةٌ
بِها باطِنٌ مِن داءِ سوءٍ وَظاهِرُ
But you were infested with parasites -
Inside, diseased; outside, appearing healthy.
وَأَمّا تَمَنّيكُم قُرَيشاً فَإِنَّها
مَصابيحُ يَرميها بِعَينَيهِ ناظِرُ
As for your wish to be Quraysh, it is but
Lamps that a watcher casts with his eyes.
إِذا نَوفَلٌ حَلَّت بِزَمزَمَ أَرحُلاً
وَعَبدُ مَنافٍ حَيثُ تُهدى النَحائِرُ
When An-Nawfal camped at Zamzam with camel-litters
And Abd Manaf where offerings are guided.
فَتِلكُم قُرَيشٌ عِندَ ذاكَ وَأَنتُمُ
مَكانَ الخُصى قُدّامَهُنَّ المَناخِرُ
Those were Quraysh at that time, while you
Were in front of them like the nostrils in front of the snout.
فَما أَنتُمُ مِنهُم وَلَكِنَّكُم لَهُم
عَبيدُ العَصا ما دامَ لِلزَيتِ عاصِرُ
You are not of them; rather you are their slaves
As long as there is oil for which to press.
وَما خُتِمَت أَكتافُكُم لِنُبُوَّةٍ
وَأَستاهُكُم ما فَسَّحَتها المَنابِرُ
Nor were your shoulders sealed with prophecy,
And your master never sat upon a pulpit.
بَني أَسَدٍ لَستُم بِسِيِيِ فَتُشتَموا
وَلَكِنَّما سِيِيِ سُلَيمٌ وَعامِرُ
O sons of Asad! You are not noble to be insulted,
Rather, it is the Sii'i - Sulaym and Aamir.
بَني أَسَدٍ لا تَذكُروا الفَخرَ بَينَكُم
فَأَنتُم لِئامَ الناسِ بادٍ وَحاضِرُ
O sons of Asad! Do not boast of glory among yourselves,
For you are the worst of people, sedentary and nomadic.
بَني أَسَدٍ لا تَذكُروا المَجدَ وَالعُلا
فَإِنَّكُمُ في السوقِ كُذبٌ سَماسِرُ
O sons of Asad! Do not mention glory and highness,
For in the market you are liars and swindlers.
فَإِن تَدعُ سَعداً لا يُجِبكَ وَدونَها
لُجَيمُ بنُ صَعبٍ وَالحُلولُ الكَراكِرُ
If you call upon Saad he will not answer you, and below him
Is Lujaym ibn S'ab and the galloping horses.
هُمُ يَومَ ذي قارٍ أَناخوا فَجالَدوا
غَداةَ أَتاهُم بِالفُيولِ الأَساوِرُ
They on the day of Dhi Qar tethered and fought
The next morning when the horsemen came to them.
تُمَسّي بِآجامَ الفُراتِ سَفاهَةً
وَتُحصِدُ في حافاتِهِ وَتُكاثِرُ
You spend the evening by the banks of the Euphrates as fools
And harvest along its edges proliferating.
إِذا شِئتَ أَن تَلقى غُلامَ نَزيعَةٍ
بَنو كاهِلٍ أَخوالُهُ وَالغَواضِرُ
If you wish to meet a boy of Nuza'ah
The sons of Kahil are his uncles and defenders.
بَنو مُردَفاتٍ رَدَّهُنَّ لِعَنوَةٍ
قِراعُ الكُماةِ وَالرِماحُ الشَواجِرُ
The sons of Muddafat who were driven back by the curse
Of the club-bearers and the piercing, long spears.
أَخَنجَرُ قَد أَخزَيتَ قَومَكَ بِالَّتي
رَمَتكَ فُوَيقَ الحاجِبَينِ السَنابِرُ
O Khnagar, you have disgraced your people with her
Who tossed you the brow-raising glance.
فَلَو كُنتَ ذا عِزٍّ مَنَعتَ بِبَعضِهِ
جَبينَكَ أَن تَدمى عَلَيهِ البَصائِرُ
If you had any honor you'd have used some of it
To prevent your brow being bloodied by the looks.
فَأَبدِ لِمَن لاقَيتَ وَجهَكَ وَاِعتَرِف
بِشَنعاءَ لِلذِبّانِ فيها مَصايِرُ
So pretend to those who saw your face and confess
To the ugliness which leads the wolves to their doom.
بِنَعّارَةٍ يَنفي المَسابيرَ أَريُها
عَلَيها مِنَ الزُرقِ العُيونِ العَساكِرِ
With glance removing the eyeliner I see her
As if upon her are armies with bright blue eyes.
أَمِن عَوَزِ الأَسماءِ سُمّيتَ خَنجَراً
وَشَرُّ سِلاحِ المُسلِمينَ الخَناجِرُ
Is it from lack of names you were called Khnagar?
Daggers are the worst weapons of Muslims.
غَمَرناكَ إِسلاماً وَإِن تَكُ فِتنَةٌ
تَكُن ثَعلَباً دارَت عَلَيهِ الدَوائِرُ
We submerged you in Islam - and if there remains deviance
It would be a fox around which fates revolved.
وَلَو كُنتَ أَبصَرتَ القَنابِلَ وَالقَنا
وَهَبوَةَ يَومٍ هَيَّجَتها الحَوافِرُ
Had you seen the bombs, the spears
And the fervor of a day stirred by the horses
بِرابِيَةِ الخابورِ ما أَقرَنَت لَنا
خُزَيمَةُ إِذ سارَت إِلَينا وَعامِرُ
At Rabee'ah al-Khaboor, Khuzaymah would not have linked
Herself to us when she went out to us and Aamir.
وَإِنَّ اِمرَأً ما بَينَ عَينَيهِ كَاِستِهِ
هَجا وائِلاً طُرّاً لِأَحمَقُ فاجِرُ
A man blames Waa'il, impudent corruptor,
To what's between his eyes though he's blind and immoral.
تَرى الحَنظَلَ العامِيُّ حَولَ بُيوتِهِم
فَبِئسَ القِرى مِمّا تُسيغُ الحَناجِرُ
You see the uncouth Bedouin around their homes -
Miserable settlements from which throats are fed.
وَمالَكَ في حَيَّي خُزَيمَةَ مِن حَصىً
وَلا لَكَ في قَيسِ بنِ عَيلانَ ناصِرُ
You have no allies in the valley of Khuzaymah
Nor among Qais ibn Ailan's helpers.
