1. سَأرمِي بِنَبلِي ذائِدا عن حِمَى نُبلِي

    وَأغتَرُّ حَظِّي بالغُرَيرِيَّةِ الفُتلِ

    I shall shoot my arrows, defending the sanctuary of my nobility,

    And snatch my share of fortune on stout-limbed Ghurayri camels,

  2. قَدِيراً علَى نَيلِ الأَمَانِيِّ عَنوَةً

    إِذا لَم تُنِلنيهَأ اللَّيالي على رِسلِ

    Able to gain my desires by force,

    If the nights will not grant them to me with ease.

  3. إذا سَأَلَت مِنِّي القَبَائِلُ نِسبَةً

    كَتَبتُ لَها أصلِي عَلَى ظُبَتَي نَصلِي

    When the tribes ask me for my lineage,

    I inscribe my ancestry for them on my blade's two edges.

  4. تُعَزِّزُ نَفسِي هِمَّةٌ نَشَأت مَعِي

    فَلَن تُبتَغَى بَعدِي وَلا وُجِدَت قَبلِي

    A lofty resolve that grew up with me fortifies my soul,

    So it will never be sought after me, nor was it found before me.

  5. وَفي زَمَنٍ أغضَى لِيَخبُرَ أهلَهُ

    فَأكسَبَهُ الإِغضَاءُ ضَرباً مِنَ الخَبلِ

    And this in an age that closed its eyes to test its people,

    Only for closing its eyes to bring it a kind of madness.

  6. وَأصبحَتِ الأعجَازُ فِي غَفلاتِهِ

    هَوَادِيَ والهَامَاتُ يُوطَأنَ بِالنَّعلِ

    And in its moments of heedlessness, hindquarters became

    Foreparts, while heads were trampled beneath sandals.

  7. وَعُدَّ النَّدَى تَبذِيرَ مَالٍ عَلَى الفَتَى

    وَخَوضُ الوَغَى رَأياً بَعِيداً مَنَ العَقلِ

    And generosity was deemed a young man's waste of wealth,

    And plunging into battle a decision far from reason.

  8. ولا تُشتَرَى اليومَ السُّيوفُ لِقَطعِهَا

    وَلَكِن لِحُسنِ الحَليِ أو رَونَقِ الصَّّقلِ

    Nor are swords bought today for their cutting power,

    But for the beauty of their ornaments or the sheen of their polish.

  9. ولا تُوهَبُ المَدَّاحُ عَن حُرِّ مَدحِهَا

    وَلَكن عَلَى قَدرِ الفُكَاهَةِ وَالهَزلِ

    Nor are panegyrists given gifts for their noble praise,

    But in proportion to their humor and jest.

  10. فَلَولا ابنُ عَبدِ اللهِ مَا لاحَ لِلنّدَى

    جَبِينٌ وَلا اقتَادَ السَّمَاحُ مِنَ البُخلِ

    But for Ibn Abd Allah, generosity would have no shining

    Brow, nor would liberality exact retribution from miserliness.

  11. وَولا أبُو عَبدِ الإلاهِ بنُ سَبرَةٍ

    لأضحَى نِجَارُ المَجدِ مُنقَطِعَ النَّسلِ

    And but for Abu Abd al-Ilah ibn Sabra,

    The stock of glory would have been left without offspring.

  12. وَلولا أيادِيهِ المُبَدِّدُ شَملَهَا

    نَداهُ لَكَانَ الجُودُ مُفتَرِقَ الشَّملِ

    And but for his favors, scattered

    By his bounty, generosity would have been torn apart.

  13. وَمَا كُنتُ لَولا أَنتَ إلا مُزَمِّماً

    رَكَابِي مُثٍِيراً عَن بَلنسِيَةٍ رَحلِي

    And but for you, I would only have been fitting halters to

    My riding camels, taking up my saddle to leave Valencia,

  14. وُمستَبدِلاً أهلاً سِوَاهَا وَمَنزِلاً

    وَإِن كَانَ فِيهَا مَنزِلي وَبِهَا أهلِي

    And exchanging her for other people and another home,

    Though my home is there, and my family is there.

  15. فَأمرُكَ لِي بِالمُكثِ فِيهَا إقَامَةٌ

    وَصَلتُ بِهَا أهلِي وَصُنتُ بِهَا إبلِي

    So your command that I stay there has secured my residence,

    Through which I have maintained my family ties and safeguarded my camels.