Sol 5.6

  1. The tribes know full well that the son of Hashim

    is the bough of many branches—not the lone, ignoble one.

  2. You have no lineage among them that they acknowledge;

    so go on—cling to them, as the ape clung.

  3. And convey to Abu Sufyan a message from me:

    You have neither resolute courage nor any coming forward.

  4. Indeed, the splendor of glory in the House of Hashim

    belongs to the sons of Makhzum’s daughter—while your father is the slave.

  5. Nor have the branches of Zuhrah borne, from among you,

    a noble man; nor has glory drawn near your old women.

  6. You are neither like al-‘Abbas nor like a son of his mother,

    but a mongrel for whom no fire-stick can be made to spark.

  7. You were a spurious son, attached to the House of Hashim,

    as a lone arrow shaft is hung behind the rider.

  8. Indeed, a man whose mother was Sumayyah—

    dark-skinned at that—is overcome when hardship is brought upon him.

Sol 5.6