وَإِذا عَدَدتَ بَني كُلَيبٍ لَم تَجِد
حَسَباً لَهُم يوفي بِشِسعِ قِبالِ
When you count the sons of Kulayb, you will not find
A lineage for them that fulfills the breadth of lineages.
لا يَمنَعونَ لَهُم حَرامَ حَليلَةٍ
بِمَهابَةٍ مِنهُم وَلا بِقِتالِ
They do not forbid the unlawful for them out of reverence,
Neither out of awe for them nor through fighting.
أَجَريرُ إِنَّ أَباكَ إِذ أَتعَبتَهُ
قَصَرَت يَداهُ وَمَدَّ شَرَّ حِبالِ
O Jarir, your father, when you wearied him
His hands grew short but he extended the rope of evil.
إِنَّ الحِجارَةَ لَو تَكَلَّمَ خَبَّرَت
عَنكُم بِأَلأَمَ دِقَّةٍ وَسِفالِ
If only the stones could speak, they would tell
About you, of intense vileness and lowness.
لَو تَعلَمونَ غَداةَ يُطرَدُ سَيبُكُم
بِالسَفحِ بَينَ مُليحَةٍ وَطِحالِ
If only you knew tomorrow when your captives
Will be driven in the plain between Mulayḥah and Ṭiḥāl.
وَالحَوفَزانُ مُسَوِّمٌ أَفراسَهُ
وَالمُحصَناتُ يَجُلنَ كُلَّ مَجالِ
The horsemen have marked their horses
And the veiled ladies wander every expanse.
يَحدُرنَ مِن أُمُلِ الكَثيبِ عَشِيَّةً
رَقَصَ اللِقاحِ وَهُنَّ غَيرُ أَوالِ
They descended from the sand dunes in the evening
When the pollen danced and they were not the first.
حَتّى تَدارَكَها فَوارِسُ مالِكٍ
رَكضاً بِكُلِّ طُوالَةٍ وَطُوالِ
Until the horsemen of Mālik overtook them
Galloping with their tall horses.
لَمّا عَرَفنَ وُجوهَنا وَتَحَدَّرَت
عَبَراتُ أَعيُنِهِنَّ بِالإِسبالِ
When they recognized our faces and tears flowed
From their eyes in streams.
وَذَكَرنَ مِن خَفَرِ الحَياءِ بَقِيَّةً
بَقِيَت وَكُنَّ قُبَيلُ في أَشغالِ
And they remembered of the veil of shame what remained
That remained while they belonged to the busy clan.
وارَينَ أَسوُقَهُنَّ حينَ عَرَفنَنا
ثِقَةً وَكُنَّ رَوافِعَ الأَذيالِ
They led their caravan when they recognized us
Confidently while they gathered their garments.
بِفَوارِسٍ لَحِقوا أَبوهُم دارِمٌ
بيضُ الوُجوهِ عَلى العَدُوِّ ثِقالِ
With horsemen who followed their father Dārim
White faced against the enemy, unflinching.
كُنّا إِذا نَزَلَت بِأَرضِكَ حَيَّةٌ
صَمّاءُ تَخرُجُ مِن صُدوعِ جِبالِ
Whenever a deaf viper descended upon your land
That emerged from the crevices of mountains.
يُخشى بَوادِرُها شَدَخنا رَأسَها
بِمُشَدِّخاتٍ لِلرُؤوسِ عَوالي
We feared its foreshadowing and split its head
With devices for splitting heads, lofty.
إِنّا لِنَنزِلُ ثَغرَ كُلِّ مَخوفَةٍ
بِالمُقرَباتِ كَأَنَّهُنَّ سَعالي
We descend upon the border of every feared place
With spears as if they were lightning bolts.
قوداً ضَوامِرَ في الرُكوبِ كَأَنَّها
عِقبانُ يَومِ تَغَيِّمٍ وَطِلالِ
Driving the studs in riding as if they were
The claws of a cloudy and rainy day.
