إِذا قيلَ أَيُّ الناسِ خَير قَبيلَة

إِذا قيلَ أَيُّ الناسِ خَير قَبيلَة

وَأَصبرُ يَوماً لا تُوارى مَواكِبُه

وَأَصبرُ يَوماً لا تُوارى مَواكِبُه

When asked, “Which people are the finest tribe,

If it is asked which people are best as a tribe

When asked, which people are the best tribe,

and the most steadfast on a day when its marching hosts stand unconcealed?”

and most steadfast on a day whose marching hosts cannot be hidden,

And most steadfast on a day when its glory does not fade,

فَإِنَّ بَني لأم بنِ عمرٍو أَرومَةٌ

فَإِنَّ بَني لأم بنِ عمرٍو أَرومَةٌ

عَلَت فَوقَ صَعبٍ لا تَنالُ مَراقِبُه

عَلَت فَوقَ صَعبٍ لا تَنالُ مَراقِبُه

Surely the sons of Laʾm ibn ʿAmr are a noble stock

then the sons of La’m ibn ‘Amr are an ancestral stock

The Bani Lam, sons of Amr are truly noble,

that has risen above a height whose watchpoints none can reach.

that rose above a rugged mountain whose heights cannot be reached.

Rising high above difficulty, unreachable by critics.

أَضاءَت لَهُم أَحسابُهُم وَوُجوهُهُم

أَضاءَت لَهُم أَحسابُهُم وَوُجوهُهُم

دُجى اللَيلِ حَتّى نَظَّمَ الجَزعَ ثاقِبُه

دُجى اللَيلِ حَتّى نَظَّمَ الجَزعَ ثاقِبُه

Their lineage and their faces lit for them

Their ancestral honors and their faces lit up for them

Their lineages and faces shine bright,

the darkness of night, until its piercing star strung the onyx beads.

the darkness of night, until the onyx was strung by its driller.

Piercing the darkness of night when panic spreads.

لَهُم مَجلِسٌ لا يُحصَرونَ عَنِ النَدى

لَهُم مَجلِسٌ لا يُحصَرونَ عَنِ النَدى

إِذا مَطلَبُ المَعروفِ أَجدَبَ راكِبُه

إِذا مَطلَبُ المَعروفِ أَجدَبَ راكِبُه

They have an assembly where none are barred from bounty

Theirs is an assembly where they are not held back from generosity,

They have a gathering where kindness overflows,

when the quest for kindness leaves its rider in a barren land.

when a rider seeking bounty finds only barren ground.

When the seekers of good are left barren by their mounts.

وَإِنّي مِنَ القَومِ الَّذينَ هُمُ هُمُ

وَإِنّي مِنَ القَومِ الَّذينَ هُمُ هُمُ

إِذا ماتَ مِنهُم سَيِّدٌ قامَ صاحِبُه

إِذا ماتَ مِنهُم سَيِّدٌ قامَ صاحِبُه

And I am of that people who are themselves—none other—

And indeed I am of the people who are who they are:

I am of the people who, when their chief dies,

when one lord among them dies, his peer rises in his place:

when a chief among them dies, his companion rises to take his place.

His successor rises to take the place of the departed.

نُجومُ سَماءٍ كُلَّما غابَ كَوكَبٌ

نُجومُ سَماءٍ كُلَّما غابَ كَوكَبٌ

بَدا كَوكَبٌ تَأوي إِلَيهِ كَواكِبُه

بَدا كَوكَبٌ تَأوي إِلَيهِ كَواكِبُه

stars of a sky—whenever one star vanishes,

Stars in the sky—whenever a star sets,

Stars in the sky, whenever one star disappears,

another appears, to which its fellow stars repair.

a star appears, and its stars seek refuge with it.

Another star appears, to which its satellites turn.

وَمازالَ مِنهُم حَيثُ كانَ مُسَوَّدٌ

وَمازالَ مِنهُم حَيثُ كانَ مُسَوَّدٌ

تَسيرُ المَنايا حَيثُ سارَت كَتائِبُه

تَسيرُ المَنايا حَيثُ سارَت كَتائِبُه

Wherever they have been, there has always been among them a man acknowledged as lord;

And there has always been a chief among them, wherever he may be,

And they have remained, wherever there was an armor-clad knight,

death itself goes wherever his battalions march.

Death marches wherever his battalions march.

Death marches wherever its battalions marched.