أَتَينا الزُبَيرَ فَدانى الكَلامَ
وَطَلحَةُ كَالنَجمِ أَو أَبعَدُ
We came to al-Zubayr, and he softened his speech;
and Talha was as distant as a star, or farther still.
وَأَحسَنُ قَولَيهِما فادِحٌ
يَضيقُ بِهِ الخَطبُ مُستَنكَدُ
And the better of their two statements is crushing,
so dire that even calamity is hard-pressed by it.
وَقَد أَوعَدونا بِجهدِ الوَعيدِ
فَأَهوِن عَلَينا بِما أَوعَدوا
And they have threatened us with their fiercest threats;
yet how little their threats weigh upon us!
فَقُلنا رَكَضتُم وَلَم تُرمِلوا
وَأَصدَرتُمُ قَبلَ أَن تُورِدوا
So we said: You galloped without even trotting,
and you led them away from water before bringing them to it.
فَإِن تَلقَحوا الحَربَ بَينَ الرِجالِ
فَمُلقِحُها جَدُّهُ الأَنكَدُ
So if you set war breeding among men,
then its breeder's fortune is the most wretched.
وَإِنَّ عَليّاً لَكُم مُصحِرٌ
أَلا إِنَّهُ الأَسَدُ الأَسوَدُ
And Ali will face you in the open;
behold, he is the black lion!
أَما إِنَّهُ ثالِثُ العابِدينَ
بِمَكَةَ واللَهُ لا يُعبَدُ
Indeed, he was the third of the worshippers
in Mecca, when God was not worshipped.
فَرَخّوا الخِناقَ وَلا تَعجَلوا
فَإِنَّ غَداً لَكُمُ مَوعِدُ
So loosen the noose, and do not hasten,
for tomorrow is your appointed time.
Sol 6.1