رَأَيتُ قُرَيشاً حينَ مَيَّزَ بَينَها
تَباحُثُ أَضغانٍ وَطَعنُ أُمورِ
I saw the Quraysh when it was distinguished among them
The hatred of some and the disapproval of matters
عَلَتها بُحورٌ مِن أُمَيَّةَ تَرتَقي
ذُرا هَضبَةٍ ما فَرعُها بِقَصيرِ
Its summits were tall mountains from Umayyah ascending
As high as a plateau whose branches were not short
أَخالِدُ ما بَوّابُكُم بِمُلَعَّنٍ
وَلا كَلبُكُم لِلمُعتَفي بِعَقورِ
O Khālid, your doorkeeper is not cursed
Nor is your dog to the seeker unkind
أَخالِدُ إِيّاكُم يَرى الضَيفُ أَهلَهُ
إِذا هَرَّتِ الضيفانُ كُلَّ ضَجورِ
O Khālid, the guest sees his family
When the two guests flee, every coward
يَرَونَ قِرىً سَهلاً وَداراً رَحيبَةً
وَمُنطَلَقاً في وَجهِ غَيرِ بَسورِ
They see a plain homeland and spacious house
And unrestrained path without enclosure
أَخالِدُ أَعلى الناسِ بَيتاً وَمَوضِعاً
أَغِثنا بِسَيبٍ مِن نَداكَ غَزيرِ
O Khālid, most highly placed of men in home and rank
Help us with abundant rain from your clouds
إِذا ما اِعتَراهُ المُعتَفونَ تَحَلَّبَت
يَداهُ بِرَيّانِ الغَمامِ مَطيرِ
When the refugees afflict him, his hands drip
With the downpour of clouds pouring rain
وَلَو سُئِلَت عَنّي أُمَيَّةُ أَخبَرَت
لَها بِأَخٍ حامي الذِمارِ نَصورِ
If Umayyah were asked about me, she would say
She has a brother, protector of the sanctuary, victorious
إِذا اِنقَشَعَت عَنّي ضَبابَةُ مَعشَرٍ
لَبِستُ لِأُخرى مَحمَلي وَزُروري
When the cloudiness of a company turns from me
I don my saddlebags and litter
وَزارٍ عَلى النابينَ في الحَربِ لَو بِهِ
أَضَرَّت لَهَرَّ الحَربَ أَيَّ هَريرِ
And I visit the fleeing in war—if only with him
The war would roar with any din
وَلَيسَ أَخوها بِالسَؤومِ وَلا الَّذي
إِذا زَبَنَتهُ كانَ غَيرَ صَبورِ
His brother is neither ill-omened nor one who
When disaster strikes him, lacks endurance
أَمَعشَرَ قَيسٍ لَم يُمَتَّع أَخوكُمُ
عُمَيرٌ بِأَكفانٍ وَلا بِطَهورِ
O people of Qays, your brother ‘Umayr
Was not shrouded in winding sheets or perfumed
تَدُلُّ عَلَيهِ الضَبعَ ريحٌ تَضَوَّعَت
بِلا نَفحِ كافورٍ وَلا بِعَبيرِ
The wind indicates him, diffusing its scent
Without perfume of camphor or fragrance of musk
وَقَتلى بَني رِعلٍ كَأَنَّ بُطونَها
عَلى جَلهَةِ الوادي بُطونُ حَميرِ
And the slain of Banū Ri’l are as if their bellies
Were bellies of donkeys in the valley’s basin
وَإِن تَسأَلونا بِالحَريشِ فَإِنَّنا
مُنينا بِنوكٍ مِنهُمُ وَفُجورِ
And if you ask us about al-Ḥārith, we
Stabbed them with the tips of our spears and smote them
غَداةَ تَحامَتنا الحَريشُ كَأَنَّها
كِلابٌ بَدَت أَنيابُها لِهَريرِ
On the morrow when al-Ḥārith attacked us, they were
Like dogs whose fangs appeared with a snarling
وَجاؤوا بِجَمعٍ ناصِرٍ أُمَّ هَيثَمٍ
فَما رَجَعوا مِن ذَودِها بِبَعيرِ
And they came with a helping tribe, Umm Haytham's
But they did not return from confronting it with a camel
إِذا ذَكَرَت أَنيابَها أُمُّ هَيثَمٍ
رَغَت جَيأَلٌ مَخطومَةٌ بِضَفيرِ
Whenever Umm Haytham mentions their fangs
Bellows a docked-tailed cow with braided tail
أَلا أَيُّهَذا المَوعِدي وَسطَ وائِلٍ
أَلَستَ تَرى زاري وَعِزَّ نَصيري
O you who reproached amid perils!
Do you not see my weakness and might of my supporter?
وَغَمرَةَ مَوتٍ لَم تَكُن لِتَخوضَها
وَلَيسَ اِختِلاسي وَسطَهُم بِيَسيرِ
And a deathly darkness you should not have plunged into
My withdrawal from them was no easy matter
هُمُ فَتَكوا بِالمُصعَبَينِ كِلَيهِما
وَهُم سَيَّروا عَيلانَ شَرَّ مَسيرِ
They wreaked havoc on both al-Muṣʿab’s
And they dispatched Iylān, the worst guide
وَناطوا مِنَ الكَذّابِ كَفّاً صَغيرَةً
وَلَيسَ عَلَيهِم قَتلُهُ بِكَبيرِ
They tied the hands of the petty liar
Killing him was no major matter for them
وَأَحمَوا بِلاداً لَم تَكُن لِتَحُلَّها
هَوازِنُ إِلّا عُوَّذاً بِأَميرِ
They usurped lands that only under protection
Of an emir could Hawāzin dwell in
وَذادَ تَميماً وَالَّذينَ يَلونَهُم
بِها كُلُّ ذَيّالِ الإِزارِ فَخورِ
And they repelled Tamīm and those next to them
With it every loose-robed man haughty
