أَقفَرَتِ البُلخُ مِن عَيلانَ فَالرُحَبُ
فَالمَحلَبِيّاتُ فَالخابورُ فَالشُعَبُ
The deserts of Balkh are empty of tents, the open plains,
The pastures, the lowlands and the mountain paths,
فَأَصبَحوا لا يُرى إِلّا مَنازِلُهُم
كَأَنَّهُم مِن بَقايا أُمَّةٍ ذَهَبوا
Leaving only the traces of dwellings,
As if a people had vanished and were gone.
فَاللَهُ لَم يَرضَ عَن آلِ الزُبَيرِ وَلا
عَن قَيسِ عَيلانَ طالَما خَرَبوا
God was not pleased with the clan of Zubayr, nor
With the Qays of Ailan, however much they fought and raided.
يُعاظِمونَ أَبا العاصي وَهُم نَفَرٌ
في هامَةٍ مِن قُرَيشٍ دونَها شَذَبُ
They respected the rebel while they themselves were a faction
Of Quraysh, apart from the rest—an outcast branch.
بيضٌ مَصاليتُ أَبناءُ المُلوكِ فَلَن
يُدرِكَ ما قَدَّموا عُجمٌ وَلا عَرَبُ
White-complexioned chiefs, sons of kings. But never
Will foreigners or Arabs reach what they amassed,
إِن يَحلُموا عَنكَ فَالأَحلامُ شيمَتُهُم
وَالمَوتُ ساعَةَ يَحمى مِنهُمُ الغَضَبُ
If they show you clemency, it is their way.
But death in the hour of anger spares none of them wrath.
كَأَنَّهُم عِندَ ذاكُم لَيسَ بَينَهُمُ
وَبَينَ مَن حارَبوا قُربى وَلا نَسَبُ
It was as if when facing you, no ties of kinship
Or blood relation lay between them and their foes.
كانوا مَوالِيَ حَقٍّ يَطلُبونَ بِهِ
فَأَدرَكوهُ وَما مَلّوا وَلا لَغِبوا
They were true supporters of the Right, seeking it
And attaining it. They never failed or flagged.
إِن تَكُ لِلحَقِّ أَسبابٌ يُمَدُّ بِها
فَفي أَكُفِّهِمِ الأَرسانُ وَالسَبَبُ
If the means exist to extend the Truth,
In their grasp lie the weapons and the means.
هُمُ سَعَوا بِاِبنِ عَفّانَ الإِمامِ وَهُم
بَعدَ الشِماسِ مَرَوها ثُمَّتَ اِحتَلَبوا
They strove for the Imam ibn Affan though after dark
They groped their way. Then they took light again.
حَرباً أَصابَ بَني العَوّامِ خانِبُها
بُعداً لِمَن أَكَلَتهُ النارُ وَالحَطَبُ
A war that afflicted the clan of Awwam on one side—
Far be he whom the fire consumed and the flames!
حَتّى تَناهَت إِلى مِصرٍ جَماجِمُهُم
تَعدو بِها البُردُ مَنصوباً بِها الخَشَبُ
Until their skulls reached Egypt, transported there,
While the cold makes them shake and the wood rattles.
إِذا أَتَيتَ أَبا مَروانَ تَسأَلُهُ
وَجَدتَهُ حاضِراهُ الجودُ وَالحَسَبُ
If you come to Abu Marwan to ask of him,
You will find generosity and nobility present.
تَرى إِلَيهِ رِفاقَ الناسِ سابِلَةً
مِن كُلِّ أَوبٍ عَلى أَبوابِهِ عُصَبُ
You see petitioners from all tribes crowded
At his doors, arriving in bands.
يَحتَضِرونَ سِجالاً مِن فَواضِلِهِ
وَالخَيرُ مُحتَضَرُ الأَبوابِ مُنتَهَبُ
They gather to receive his bounty
While good things stand ready to be seized from his doors.
وَالمُطعِمُ الكومَ لا يَنفَكُّ يَعقِرُها
إِذا تَلاقى رِواقُ البَيتِ وَاللَهَبُ
The ever-filling pot never ceases to boil
Where the wings of the house and the flames meet.
كَأَنَّ حيرانَها في كُلِّ مَنزِلَةٍ
قَتلى مُجَرَّدَةُ الأَوصالِ تُستَلَبُ
It is as though the cauldrons in each encampment
Were slain men stripped of their limbs and plundered.
لا يَبلُغُ الناسُ أَقصى وادِيَيهِ وَلا
يُعطي جَوادٌ كَما يُعطي وَلا يَهَبُ
People cannot fully traverse the length of his valleys,
Nor can any steed give as much as he freely grants.
