1. يا سيفَ دين الله عش سالماً

    فالدِّينُ ما عشتَ به بارِهُ

    O Sword of God's faith, live unharmed.

    For the faith flourishes as long as you live by it.

  2. ودُم لأهل العلم ما دامت الـ

    ـدُّنيا فأنت العالِم الدَّارِهُ

    And endure for the learned as long as the

    world lasts, for you are the discerning scholar.

  3. إنّ الذي يَسمو إِلى نَيل ما

    شيدّت من أكرومةٍ وارِهُ

    Indeed, whoever aspires to attain what

    you have built of noble distinction is a fool.

  4. كم لكَ عند الروم من وقعةٍ

    ذكرُك في الدنيا بها جارِهُ

    How many a battle you have fought against the Romans,

    through which your fame resounds throughout the world!

  5. عففتَ إِلا عن نفوسٍ لهم

    أنت إِليها أبداً شارِه

    You have shown restraint, save toward their lives,

    for which you are forever ravenous.

  6. وكم لهم من مقلة طرفُها

    للذّلِّ من أدمعه مارِه

    And how many an eye of theirs has a gaze

    bleared by its tears of humiliation!

  7. أنت باذلال العِدا حيثما

    كانوا وإعزاز العِدا غارِهُ

    You are eager to humble foes, wherever

    they may be, and to exalt foes.

  8. كم تشتكي الخيل إليك السُّرى

    هل أنتَ بالرفق لها آرِهُ

    How often the horses complain to you of night marches:

    Are you inclined to treat them gently?

  9. أنحلتها بالغَزو حتى استوى

    في الأَين منها الجذع والقارِهُ

    You have thinned them with campaigning, until

    the young and mature among them are alike in weariness.

  10. هذي قوافي الخالويهيّ لا

    يَطرَح منها لفظةً طارِهُ

    These are al-Khalawayhi's rhymes; no

    expert will discard a single word of them.

  11. ألَّفها الكنديُّ طَوعاً ولن

    يستويَ الطائعُ والكارِهُ

    Al-Kindi composed them willingly, and never

    will the willing and the unwilling be equal.

  12. والخِلعة الحسناء حقَّي على

    ما قلتُه والمركَب الفارِهُ

    And the handsome robe of honor is my due for

    what I have said—as is the splendid mount.