أَلا اِبكي عَلى صَخرٍ وَصَخرٌ ثِمالُنا

إِذا الحَربُ هَرَّت وَاِستَمَرَّ مَريرُها

Alas, should I weep over a rock when a rock is our support?

When war rages and its bitterness continues,

أَقامَ جَناحَي رَبعِها وَتَرافَدوا

عَلى صَعبِها حَتّى اِستَقامَ عَسيرُها

Its squadrons set up and they supported each other

Against its ruggedness until its difficulty eased

بِبارِقَةٍ لِلمَوتِ فيها عَجاجَةٌ

مَناكِبُها مَسمومَةٌ وَنُحورُها

With a lightning bolt of death in it, clamoring,

Its shoulders poisoned and its throat slit.

أَهَلَّ بِها وَكفُ الدِماءِ وَرَعدُها

هَماهِمُ أَبطالٍ قَليلٌ فُتورُها

It inspired with it and stopped the bloodshed and its thunder

Their zeal, the zeal of few heroes was diminished.

فَصَخرٌ لَدَيها مِدرَهُ الحَربِ كُلَّها

وَصَخرٌ إِذا خانَ الرِجالُ يُطيرُها

So a rock, in front of it is the battlefield in its entirety,

And a rock, when men betray, makes it fly

مِنَ الهَضبَةِ العُليا الَّتي لَيسَ كَالصَفا

صَفاها وَما إِن كَالصُخورِ صُخورُها

From the high plateau, not like Al-Safa

Its purity, and not like rocks are its rocks.

لَها شَرَفاتٌ لا تُنالُ وَمَنكِبٌ

مَنيعُ الذَرى عالٍ عَلى مَن يُثيرُها

It has ledges that cannot be reached and a shoulder

Inaccessible to those who would stir it up.

لَهُ بَسطَتا مَجدٍ فَكَفٌّ مُفيدَةٌ

وَأُخرى بِأَطرافِ القَناةِ شُقورُها

It has two outstretched wings of glory, so a useful palm

And another at the edges of the canal slit its throats.

مَنِ الحَربُ رَبَّتهُ فَلَيسَ بِسائِمٍ

إِذا مَلَّ عَنها ذاتَ يَومٍ ضَجورُها

He whom war raised is not well-fed

If one day its ferocity turns away from it.

إِذا ما اِقمَطَرَّت لِلمَغارِ وَأَيقَنَت

بِهِ عَن حِيالٍ مُلقِحٍ مَن يَبورُها

When it rains down for the cave, and is certain of

With it the ones with spears who perforate it.