1. بَنِي عامرٍ رُدُّوا عَنِ الشرِّ عامرا

    ولن يَجدَ الباغي على البغي ناصرا

    O sons of Amir, turn Amir away from evil.

    And the aggressor will find no helper in aggression.

  2. أصابَ هوىً من نفسِ أربدَ فابتغَى

    من الأمرِ ما يُعيي الكميَّ المُقامرا

    He found favor in Arbad's soul, and sought

    a deed that would baffle the risk-taking armored warrior.

  3. وجاء بمكرٍ لا محالة خائبٍ

    وأخيبُ أهل السُّوءِ من كان ماكرا

    He came with a plot inevitably doomed to fail,

    and the most thwarted of evildoers is the schemer.

  4. أناشِدُكم هل صاحبَ الوفدُ منهما

    بني عامرٍ إلا أثيماً وفاجرا

    I adjure you: were those two whom the delegation accompanied,

    O sons of Amir, any but a sinner and a wicked man?

  5. هما أزمعا أن يأخذا اللّيثَ خادِراً

    على غِرَّةٍ والجهلُ يُعمِي البصائرا

    The two resolved to seize the lion in his lair,

    unawares—and ignorance blinds inward sight.

  6. دنا الأحمقُ المخبولُ منه وهذه

    يَدُ السُّوءِ منه تحملِ السَّيفَ باترا

    The deranged fool drew near him, and there was

    his evil hand, bearing a cleaving sword.

  7. يشيرُ إليهِ ابنُ الطفيلِ أنِ اقْتَحِمْ

    وماذا يَردُّ السيفَ لو كان قادرا

    Ibn al-Tufayl gestured to him: “Charge!”

    And what could turn aside the sword, had he been able?

  8. أبَى اللَّهُ إلا أن يُعِزَّ رسولَهُ

    ويرجعُ من يبغِي به السُّوءِ صاغرا

    God willed only to exalt His Messenger,

    and whoever sought to harm him would return abased.

  9. أطاعَ هَواهُ جاهلاً وخلا بِهِ

    يُخادِعُه كيما يرى الدمَ مائرا

    Ignorantly, he obeyed his desire and met him alone,

    trying to deceive him so he might see blood surging.

  10. أتسألُه يا ابنَ الطفيلِ خِلافةً

    وَتطمعُ أن تُدْعَى الشَّريكَ المُشاطِرا

    Do you ask him, O Ibn al-Tufayl, for the succession,

    and hope to be called the partner with an equal share?

  11. لكَ الويلُ ما هذا الذي أنتَ قائلٌ

    أكنتَ امرءاً من نفسِهِ رَاحَ ساخِرا

    Woe to you! What is this you are saying?

    Were you a man who went about mocking himself?

  12. جُبارُ اسْتَقِمْ واشهدْ فَربُّكَ واحدٌ

    وخُذْ حظّكَ الأوفى من الخيرِ شاكرا

    Jubar, be upright and bear witness, for your Lord is One;

    and take your fullest share of goodness with gratitude.

  13. وبَشِّرْ رعاكَ اللَّهُ صحبَكَ أنّهم

    أصابوه غُنماً من هُدى اللهِ وافرا

    And bring your companions glad tidings—may God guard you—that they

    have won it as a plentiful bounty from God's guidance.

  14. وَدَعْ عامراً يهوِي به الداءُ خاسِئاً

    وأربَدَ يَلْقَى الحتفَ خَزيانَ خاسِرا

    And leave Amir, brought low by disease, spurned,

    and Arbad to meet his doom, disgraced and defeated.

  15. رماه الذي يرمي القُوى فَيهدُّها

    فهدَّ قُواهُ إنّه كان كافرا

    The One who strikes powers and shatters them struck him,

    and shattered his strength, for he was an unbeliever,

  16. بصاعقةٍ ممّا رَمَى اللهُ إذ رمى

    ثموداً وعاداً والقرون الغوابرا

    with a thunderbolt of the kind God hurled when He struck

    Thamud, Ad, and the generations long gone.

  17. رَماهُ بها ناريَّة لو تنزّلتْ

    على جبلٍ لانْدَكَّ في الأرضِ غائرا

    He struck him with it, fiery; had it descended

    upon a mountain, that mountain would have crumbled and sunk into the earth.

  18. أبى عامرٌ من شيمةٍ جاهليةٍ

    لِقاءَ الرَّدى عند التي جَاءَ زائرا

    Amir, driven by a trait of the Age of Ignorance, refused

    to meet death at the home of the woman he had come to visit.

  19. يقول أطاعوناً وموتاً بمنزلٍ

    يَضيقُ بأمثالي إذن لستُ عامرا

    He says: “A plague, and death in a dwelling

    too cramped for men like me? Then I am not Amir!

  20. جَوادِي جَوادِي ليس لي غيرَ مَتنهِ

    أُلاقِي عليهِ عادِيَ الموتِ كابرا

    My steed! My steed! I have nowhere but its back;

    upon it I shall face death's assault, proudly defiant.”

  21. وجاءوا به يُزجيه عزريلُ فاسْتوى

    على سرجِهِ وانْسَابَ حرّان ثائرا

    And they brought it; Azrael urged him on, and he settled

    upon his saddle and swept away, parched and raging.

  22. يَجولُ عليه يَحملُ الرُّمحَ ما يرى

    سوى حتفه المقدور قرناً مغاورا

    He wheeled about on it, bearing the spear, seeing nothing

    but his destined death, a charging adversary.

  23. فما هو إلا أن هوى غير معقب

    سِوَى الخزيِ من ذكرٍ لمن كان ذاكرا

    Then it was but a moment before he fell, leaving nothing behind

    but a memory of disgrace for whoever remembered.

  24. مضى الأمرُ لم يَسمعْ عُكاظٌ نِداءَهُ

    ولم تشهدِ الأقوامُ تِلكَ المفاخرا

    The affair was over; Ukaz did not hear his call,

    nor did the peoples witness those vaunted exploits.

  25. إذا المرءُ لم يُؤمِنْ ولم يَخْشَ ربّهُ

    فليس يَرى شيئاً على الدَّهرِ ضائرا

    If a man neither believes nor fears his Lord,

    he sees nothing harmful throughout time.

  26. ألحّتْ عليه دعوةٌ من مُحمّدٍ

    رَمتهُ بداءٍ يتركُ الطِّبَ حائرا

    A prayer from Muhammad bore down upon him,

    striking him with a disease that leaves medicine bewildered.

  27. رسولُ الهُدَى والخيرِ من يَرْعَ حقَّهُ

    فليس يَرى شيئاً على الدّهرِ ضائرا

    The Messenger of guidance and goodness—whoever respects his due,

    he sees nothing harmful throughout time.

  28. لقد كان فيما قَال أربدُ زاجرٌ

    عن الشَّرِّ لو يخشَى امرؤُ السّوءِ زاجرا

    Indeed, in what Arbad said there was a warning

    against evil—if an evil man would fear a warning.

  29. رأى آيةً تَغتالُ هِمَّةَ نفسِهِ

    وتُذهِلُ منه اللُّبَّ لو كان ناظرا

    He saw a sign that would have slain his soul's resolve

    and bewildered his reason, had he been observant.

  30. كِلاءةُ ربٍّ كلُّ أصيدَ غالبٍ

    يبيدُ ويبقى غالبَ البأسِ قاهرا

    A Lord's protection: every proud conqueror

    perishes, while He remains, supreme in might, all-subduing.