1. ألا طرقتنا هندُ والرَّكبُ هُجَّعُ

    وطافَ لها منّي خيالٌ مروِّعُ

    Behold, Hind visited us by night while the caravan slept,

    And a fearsome phantom of me wandered to her.

  2. عجبتُ لها أنّى سَرت فَتَعسَّفَتْ

    ظلامَ الدجى والليل أعبسُ أسفَعُ

    I wondered at her: how had she traveled and ventured through

    The darkness of night, while night scowled, dark-faced?

  3. فأنَّى اهتدت للركبِ والركبُ مُعْرِسٌ

    بحيث يَظلّ الطيرُ والوحشُ تَرْتَعُ

    How had she found the caravan, as the caravan lay encamped

    Where birds linger by day and wild beasts graze?

  4. وعَهدي بها ترتاعُ من صوتِ وَطئِها

    ومَن فَيَّها بين المقاصيرِ تَجزعُ

    I had known her to fear the sound of her own footsteps,

    And to start at her own shadow among the secluded chambers.

  5. فقلتُ لها يا هندُ أهلاً ومرحباً

    وبتُّ بِها من لَيلتي أتمتَّعُ

    I said to her, 'Hind, welcome, welcome!'

    And spent my night taking pleasure in her,

  6. بِضَمٍّ وتقبيلٍ على غير رِقبةٍ

    وطيبِ عناق ليس فيه تمنُّعُ

    With embraces and kisses, unwatched,

    And sweet embraces in which there was no resistance.

  7. ألا حظُ منها الوجهَ كالشمسِ تطلعُ

    وألثُمُ منها الثغرَ كالمِسك يَسطعُ

    I gaze upon her face, like the sun rising,

    And kiss her lips, fragrant as spreading musk.

  8. وأرشُف من فيها رُضاباً كأنّه

    مُعتّقه راحٌ بماءٍ تُشَعْشَعُ

    I sip from her mouth sweet moisture, as though it were

    Aged wine diluted with water.

  9. فيا طيبَ ليلٍ بتّ فيه مُمَتَّعاً

    إلى أن بدا وجهٌ من الصّبحِ يَشنُعُ

    Oh, how sweet a night I spent in delight,

    Until the hateful face of dawn appeared!

  10. فقمتُ حزيناً آكلُ الكفَّ حسرةً

    وأعلم أن قد كنتُ في النوم أُخدَعُ

    Then I rose grieving, gnawing my hand in regret,

    And knew that I had been deceived in sleep.

  11. أما تَرحمي يا هندُ صبّا متيَّماً

    وكادَ اشتياقاً قلبُه يَتقطَّعُ

    Will you not pity, Hind, a lovesick, enthralled man,

    Whose heart nearly tears apart with longing?

  12. يبيتُ وقد قرَّتْ بوصِلكِ عينُه

    ويُضحي وما في نظرةِ منك يَطمَعُ

    He spends the night, his eye gladdened by union with you,

    And comes morning without hope of a glance from you.

  13. فيا ليتَ شعري هل لديكِ لِوامقٍ

    سبيلٌ وإلاّ هل عن الحبِّ مَرجعُ

    Oh, would that I knew: is there, with you, for a lover

    A path—or, if not, a turning back from love?

  14. بلى في هوى آل النبيِّ محمدٍ

    لمثلي تَعلٍّ عن هَواك ومَقنَعُ

    Yes, in love for the family of the Prophet Muhammad,

    One like me finds elevation beyond loving you, and contentment.

  15. ألا أنّما العبدُ الذي هو مؤمنٌ

    يقيناً هو المرءُ الذي يَتَشَّيعُ

    Behold, the servant who is a believer

    Is, in truth, only the man who embraces Shiism.

  16. إذا أنا لم أهوَ النبيًّ وآلهَ

    فمن غيرُهم لي في القيامةِ يَشفعْ

    If I do not love the Prophet and his family,

    Who other than they will intercede for me at the Resurrection?

  17. ومن يسقني رِيّاُ من الحوضِ شربةً

    هنالك إلاّ أصلعُ الرأسِ أنزَعُ

    And who will give me a thirst-quenching draught from the Pool

    There, except the bald-headed man with bare temples?

  18. ومَن قائلٌ للنار إذْ ما وَرَدْتُها

    ذَرى ذا وجُلُّ الناسِ في النّارِ وقَّعُ

    And who will say to the Fire, when I reach it,

    'Leave this one!' while most people lie fallen in the Fire?

  19. ومن بِلواءِ الحمدِ ثَمَّ يُظلّني

    سواهُ وشمسُ الحشرِ في الوجهِ تَلذَعُ

    And who there will shade me with the Banner of Praise

    Other than him, while the sun of the Gathering scorches my face?

  20. عليٌّ وصيُّ المصطفى ووزيرُه

    وناصرُه والبيضُ بالبيضِ تُقرَعُ

    Ali, the Chosen One's legatee and his minister,

    And his champion, when bright helmets are struck by bright swords;

  21. وأكرمُ خلق الله صنو محمد

    ومن ليس عن فضلٍ إذا عُدّ يُدفعُ

    The noblest of God's creatures, Muhammad's counterpart,

    And one whose merit, when reckoned, cannot be denied;

  22. ومن معه صلّى وصامَ لربِّهِ

    وللاّت قومٌ ساجدونَ وركَّعُ

    He who prayed beside him and fasted for his Lord,

    While people prostrated and bowed to al-Lat.

  23. فذاك أمير المؤمنينَ ومن له

    فضائلُ ما كادتْ لخِلقٍ تَجَمَّعُ

    That is the Commander of the Faithful, the one whose

    Virtues could scarcely be gathered in a single creature.

  24. هو الخاطرُ المختالُ يَمشي بِسيفِهِ

    إلى أهلِ بدرٍ والأَسَّنةُ تُنْزَعُ

    He is the strutting, swaggering one, walking with his sword

    Toward the men of Badr, while spearheads are pulled free.

  25. وقد زُفّت الحربُ العوانُ إليهمُ

    عليها حِليٌّ من قواضبَ تَلمَعُ

    Oft-renewed war had been led to them like a bride,

    Wearing ornaments of flashing, keen-edged swords.

  26. فجاشت لها نفسُ الشجاعِ مخافةً

    وقصّر عنها الفارسُ المتسرِّعُ

    At her, the brave man's soul surged with fear,

    And the headlong horseman fell short before her.

  27. واحجم عنها المسلمونَ ولم يكن

    ليثبتَ إلاّ رابطُ الجأشِ أروعُ

    The Muslims shrank back from her, and none could

    Stand firm except a steadfast, awe-inspiring man.

  28. مشى باذِلاً للموتِ في الله نفسَهُ

    وأيّده واللهُ ما شاء يَصنعُ

    He walked on, offering his life to death in God's cause,

    And God strengthened him—God does whatever He wills.

  29. هناك بَرى هامَ الكُماةِ بصارمٍ

    له من سيوفِ الهند ما مَسّ يَقْطَعُ

    There he hewed the warriors' heads with a keen blade,

    One of his Indian swords, cutting whatever it touched.

  30. وفي خيبرٍ فاسأل به آل خيبرٍ

    أَمِن ضربِهم بالسيفِ هل كان يَشبَعُ

    And at Khaybar, ask the people of Khaybar about him:

    Did he ever have his fill of striking them with his sword?

  31. ألم يُردِ فيها مَرحباً فارسَ الوغى

    صَريعاً لجنبيهِ ذئابٌ وأَضبُعُ

    Did he not strike down there Marhab, the warrior of battle,

    Fallen, with wolves and hyenas at his sides?

  32. أما فتحَ الحصنَ المَشيدَ بناؤُّهُ

    وقد كاعَ عنه قبل ذلك تُبَّعُ

    Did he not open the fortress, lofty in its construction,

    Before which Tubbaʿ had previously shrunk back?

  33. ومن قَلعتَ يُمنى يديه رِتاجه

    وقد قصَّرت عنه أكفٌّ وأذرعُ

    And whose right hand tore out its gate,

    When hands and arms had failed against it?

  34. ومن ذا سَبى منه حصاناً كريمَةَ

    يَذُبّ هُمامُ القومِ عنها ويَدفعُ

    And who took from it a chaste, noble woman captive,

    Whom the people's valiant champion guarded and defended?

  35. فقرَّ رسولُ الله عيناً بقربِها

    وقد طَمِعَتْ منها نفوسٌ تَطلَّعُ

    Then the Messenger of God's eye was gladdened by her nearness,

    While yearning souls had coveted her.

  36. ومن ذا له قال النبيُّ محمدٌ

    غداةَ تَبوكٍ حين قالوا وشنّعوا

    And to whom did the Prophet Muhammad speak

    On the morning of Tabuk, when they spoke and maligned him,

  37. فغَمّ أميرَ المؤمنين مقالُهم

    وكادت أماقيه من الحُزنِ تَدمَعُ

    Their words grieving the Commander of the Faithful,

    And his eye-corners nearly welling with tears of sorrow?

  38. فقام رسول الله فيهم مبلِّغاُ

    لهم فضلّه لو كان ذلك يَنجَعُ

    Then God's Messenger rose among them to proclaim

    His excellence to them—if that would do any good.

  39. فقالَ عليٌّ فاعلموا من نبيّكمْ

    كهارونَ من موسى فكفُّوا وأَقلِعوا

    He said: 'Ali—know this—is to your Prophet

    As Aaron was to Moses; so desist and stop.'

  40. ومن ذا لهم في يوم خُمٍّ أقامَه

    وقال لهم فيه مَقالاً فأجمعوا

    And whom did he make stand before them on the day of Khumm,

    And speak of him in a declaration to which they all agreed?

  41. فقال فمن قد كنتُ مولاه منكمُ

    فهذا له مَولىً يُطاعُ ويُسمَعُ

    He said: 'Whoever among you has had me as his master,

    This man is his master, to be obeyed and heeded.'

  42. ومن حملته الريحُ فوق سحابةٍ

    بقدرةِ ربٍّ قدرَ من شاء يَرفعُ

    And whom did the wind carry above a cloud,

    By the power of a Lord who raises the rank of whomever He wills?

  43. ومرّ بأصحابِ الرقيمِ مسلِّماً

    فردّوا من الكهفِ السلامَ فأسمعوا

    And he passed the Companions of al-Raqim, greeting them,

    Who returned the greeting from the cave and made themselves heard.

  44. ومن فجَّر الصخرَ الأصمَّ لجندِه

    ففاضَ معيناً منه للقوم يَنُبعُ

    And who split the unyielding rock for his troops,

    So a flowing spring gushed from it, welling up for the people?

  45. ومن لصلاةِ العَصر عند غُروبها

    تُرَدُّ له والشمسُ بيضاُ تَلمَعُ

    And for whom, for the afternoon prayer at sunset,

    Was the sun brought back, gleaming white?

  46. فصلّى صلاةَ العصرِ ثم انثنتْ له

    تَسير كَسَيرِ البرقِ والبرقُ مُسرعُ

    He prayed the afternoon prayer, then it turned back for him,

    Moving like lightning—and lightning is swift.

  47. فيا لائمي في حُبّهم كُفَّ إنّني

    بحبِّ أميرِ المؤمنينَ لَمولَعُ

    O you who blame me for loving them, stop, for I

    Am passionately devoted to the Commander of the Faithful.

  48. ولا دِنْتُ إلاّ حبَّ آل محمدٍ

    ولا شيءً منه في القيامة أنفَعُ

    I have followed no creed but love for Muhammad's family,

    And nothing is more beneficial than it at the Resurrection.

  49. إذا العدلُ والتوحيدُ كانا وحبُّه

    بقلبي فإنّي العابدُ المُتطَوِّعُ

    If justice, belief in God's oneness, and love for him dwell

    In my heart, then I am the worshipper, willingly devoted.

  50. أنا السيّد القوَال فيهم مدائحاً

    تمرُّ بقلبِ الناصِبينَ فتَصدَعُ

    I am al-Sayyid, who speaks abundant praises of them,

    That pass through their enemies' hearts and cleave them.