حَكِّم سُيوفَكَ في رِقابِ العُذَّلِ

وَإِذا نَزَلتَ بِدارِ ذُلٍّ فَاِرحَلِ

Wield your swords upon the necks of the wretched,

And if you alight in an abode of humiliation, move on,

وَإِذا بُليتَ بِظالِمٍ كُن ظالِماً

وَإِذا لَقيتَ ذَوي الجَهالَةِ فَاِجهَلي

And if you are wronged by an oppressor, be an oppressor,

And if you meet the ignorant, be ignorant.

وَإِذا الجَبانُ نَهاكَ يَومَ كَريهَةٍ

خَوفاً عَلَيكَ مِنَ اِزدِحامِ الجَحفَلِ

And if the coward forbids you on an ominous day,

Fearing for you the thronging of the throngs,

فَاِعصِ مَقالَتَهُ وَلا تَحفِل بِها

وَاِقدِم إِذا حَقَّ اللِقا في الأَوَّلِ

Then disobey his words and pay no heed,

And advance when the time of battle comes at first.

وَاِختَر لِنَفسِكَ مَنزِلاً تَعلو بِهِ

أَو مُت كَريماً تَحتَ ظُلِّ القَسطَلِ

And choose for yourself a high abode,

Or die nobly beneath the shadow of a spear,

فَالمَوتُ لا يُنجيكَ مِن آفاتِهِ

حِصنٌ وَلَو شَيَّدتَهُ بِالجَندَلِ

For death will not save you from its harms,

Though you build a fortress of marble.

مَوتُ الفَتى في عِزَّةٍ خَيرٌ لَهُ

مِن أَن يَبيتَ أَسيرَ طَرفٍ أَكحَلِ

Better for a man to die with honor,

Than to pass the night a captive of a blue-eyed maid.

إِن كُنتَ في عَدَدِ العَبيدِ فَهِمَّتي

فَوقَ الثُرَيّا وَالسِماكِ الأَعزَلِ

If I am counted among the slaves, still my spirit

Is higher than Sirius and the bare-tailed shooting star.

أَو أَنكَرَت فُرسانُ عَبسٍ نِسبَتي

فَسِنانُ رُمحي وَالحُسامُ يُقِرُّ لي

Or if the horsemen of ‘Abs denied my lineage,

Then the spearheads and the swords affirm me,

وَبِذابِلي وَمُهَنَّدي نِلتُ العُلا

لا بِالقَرابَةِ وَالعَديدِ الأَجزَلِ

And with my raids and onslaughts I attained exaltation,

Not through ties of kinship or numerous tribe.

وَرَمَيتُ مُهري في العَجاجِ فَخاضَهُ

وَالنارُ تَقدَحُ مِن شِفارِ الأَنصُلِ

And I flung my prize into ‘Ajjāj, stirring it up,

As fire kindles from the striker of the flints.

خاضَ العَجاجَ مُحَجَّلاً حَتّى إِذا

شَهِدَ الوَقيعَةَ عادَ غَيرَ مُحَجَّلِ

He stirred up ‘Ajjāj, all armed, until when

He witnessed the battle, he returned unarmed.

وَلَقَد نَكَبتُ بَني حُريقَةَ نَكبَةً

لَمّا طَعَنتُ صَميمَ قَلبِ الأَخيَلِ

And I dealt the Banū Ḥurayqah a terrible blow

When I stabbed the heart of their cavalry.

وَقَتَلتُ فارِسَهُم رَبيعَةَ عَنوَةً

وَالهَيذُبانَ وَجابِرَ بنَ مُهَلهَلِ

And I killed their champion Rabī‘ah by force

And Al-Haydhabān and Jābir ibn Muhallal,

وَاِبنَي رَبيعَةَ وَالحَريشَ وَمالِكا

وَالزِبرِقانُ غَدا طَريحَ الجَندَلِ

And the two sons of Rabī‘ah and Al-Ḥarish and Mālik,

And tomorrow Az-Zubayriqān will lie slain.

وَأَنا اِبنُ سَوداءِ الجَبينِ كَأَنَّها

ضَبُعٌ تَرَعرَعَ في رُسومِ المَنزِلِ

And I am the son of a black-browed mother, as if

She were a hyena nurtured among homestead ruins,

الساقُ مِنها مِثلُ ساقِ نَعامَةٍ

وَالشَعرُ مِنها مِثلُ حَبِّ الفُلفُلِ

With legs like an ostrich’s legs

And hair like grains of pepper,

وَالثَغرُ مِن تَحتِ اللِثامِ كَأَنَّهُ

بَرقٌ تَلَألَأَ في الظَلامِ المُسدَلِ

And a mouth beneath the veil as if it were

Lightning flashing in the darkest night.

يا نازِلينَ عَلى الحِمى وَدِيارِهِ

هَلّا رَأَيتُم في الدِيارِ تَقَلقُلي

O you who alight at the sanctuary and its lands!

Have you not seen me restless in these lands?

قَد طالَ عِزَّكُم وَذُلّي في الهَوى

وَمِنَ العَجائِبِ عِزَّكُم وَتَذَلَّلي

Long has your glory lasted, and long my love,

And of wonders is your glory and my abasement.

لا تَسقِني ماءَ الحَياةِ بِذِلَّةٍ

بَل فَاِسقِني بِالعِزِّ كَأسَ الحَنظَلِ

Give me not the water of life in abasement,

Nay, give me the cup of honor to drink as hanzal.

ماءُ الحَياةِ بِذِلَّةٍ كَجَهَنَّمٍ

وَجَهَنَّمٌ بِالعِزِّ أَطيَبُ مَنزِلِ

The water of life in abasement is like Hell,

While Hell with honor is the fairest abode.