عن العرب الصيد الألى أحرزوا العلى — Al Zamakhshari

عَنِ العَرَبِ الصّيدِ الألى أَحرَزوا العُلى

وَطابَت لَهُم أَعراقُهُم وَالمَغارِسُ

Of the lordly Arabs who attained the heights,

And whose lineages and ancestral roots were pure.

غَطارِفةٌ شُمٌّ تَرَبّوا أَعِزَّةً

فَما شَمَّ ريح الذُلِّ مِنهُم معاطسُ

Noble lords, proud, raised in honor,

So none of their nostrils smelled humiliation's scent.

وَالعَرَبُ العَرباءُ أَصلَبُ نَبعَةً

وَهَل يَستَطيعُ الحَزَّ في النَبعِ ضارِسُ

And the trueborn Arabs are of the hardest stock;

And can a biter notch the nabʿ wood?

فَيا أُمَّةً لو يَشعرُ الصَّخر بِالَّذي

تمارسُ ضَجَّ الصَّخرُ مِمّا تُمارسُ

So, O nation, if rock were aware of what

you endure, rock would cry out at what you endure.

إِباء إِباء الخَيلِ وَهيَ شَوامِسٌ

وَصَبرٌ كَصَبرِ الخَيلِ وَهيَ هَوامِسُ

Defiance—the defiance of horses when they are restive;

And endurance like that of horses when they tread softly.

وَما نالَ مِنهُم في الهَزاهِزِ كُلِّها

فَوارِس هَيجا أَم لُيوث فَوارِسُ

And in all the upheavals they were never bested

by horsemen of battle or lions that rend their prey.

فَكَم طَعنَة بكرٍ يَطيرُ رَشاشُها

لِفِتيانِهِم وَالحَربُ شَمطاءُ عانِسُ

So how many a virgin spear-thrust, its spray flying,

their young men have dealt, while war was a gray-haired spinster!

وَيَكفيكَ مِن أَيّامِهِم وَحُروبِهِم

بِما جَرَّتِ الغَبراءُ أَو جَرَّ داحِسُ

And enough for you, of their battle-days and wars,

is what al-Ghabra brought on, or what Dahis brought on.

وَهُم فَرَسوا أَبناءَ فارِس كُلّهِم

بِأَنيابِهِ وَهيَ الرِماحُ المَداعِسُ

And they tore apart all the sons of Persia

with its fangs—the piercing spears.

وَهُم سَلَبوا التيجان هامَ مُلوكهُم

وَلَم يَقطَعوا عَنهُم وَفارس فارِسُ

And they stripped the crowns from their kings' heads,

and did not disengage from them, while Persia was still Persia.

وَأَيّ سَخاءٍ يُدَّعى كَسَخائِهِم

بِما مَلَكوا وَالجَوُّ أَغبَر عابِسُ

And what generosity can be claimed to match theirs,

with what they possessed, while the sky was dust-gray and scowling?

بِأَسيافِهِم يَمرونَ سوقَ عِشارِهِم

إِذا نَزَلَ الأَضيافُ وَالضَرعُ يابِسُ

With their swords they milk their pregnant she-camels' shanks,

when guests arrive and the udder is dry.

وَإِن تَستَعِذ مِنهُم بِأَعظَم مَيِّتٍ

فَذَلِكَ حِصنٌ مانِعٌ لَكَ حارِسُ

And if you seek refuge with the bones of one of their dead,

then that is a fortress that protects and guards you.

إِذا اِعتَقَلَت كَفّاكَ فيهِم بِذِمَّةٍ

فَخصمُكَ فَلَّ ناكِص عَنكَ ناكِسُ

When your two hands grasp a pledge of protection among them,

then your foe is routed, retreating from you with head bowed.

وَأَعراضهم أَعراقهم وُكِّلَت بِها

مُهَيمنَةً حَتّى اِتّقَتها المَدانِسُ

And their lineages were entrusted with guarding their honor,

keeping watch, until defilements themselves shunned it.

وَعَن صهرِ كِسرى صَدَّ نُعمان باوه

فَخَنقهُ في خانِقين الفَوارِسُ

And Nu'man's pride kept him from marriage-alliance with Kisra;

so the horsemen strangled him in Khaniqin.

وَهانَ عَلَيهِ يَومهُ قَبلَ ساعَة

يُكابِدُ فيها صِهر مَن لا يُجانسُ

And his day of death seemed easier to him than an hour

spent enduring marriage-alliance with one not of his own kind.

وَقُل هَل فَشا في الأَرضِ غَيرُ لِسانِهِم

لِسانٌ فُشوَّ الضَوء وَاليَوم شامِسُ

And say: besides their tongue, has there spread across the earth

a tongue as light spreads when the day is sunlit?

بِهِ عَجَّ في أَمصارِها كُلِّ مِنبَرٍ

وَطَنَّت بِهِ الخافِقينَ المَدارِسُ

With it every pulpit rang out in the earth's cities,

And schools hummed with it across east and west.

عَلى ظَهرِها لَم يَخلقِ اللَهُ أُمَّةً

تُناسِبُهُم في خصلَةٍ أَو تُلابِسُ

Upon its back God has created no nation

that matches them in a trait or even comes close.

يُقايِسُ بَينَ الناسِ حَتّى إِذا اِنتَهى

إِلى العَرَبِ القيّاس طاحَ المقايِسُ

The measurer compares people with one another until he reaches

the Arabs—then the comparer collapses.

وَواحِدَة تَكفيكَ هاتيكَ حجَّة

بِساطِعِها تَنشَقُّ عَنكَ الحَنادِسُ

And one thing suffices you: that is a proof

by whose radiance the deep darkness parts from you:

أَجَلُّ رَسولٍ مِنهُم وَبِلسنِهِم

أَجَلّ كِتابٍ فَاِعتَبِر يا مَنافِسُ

The most exalted Messenger is from them, and in their tongue

is the most exalted Book—so take heed, O rival!

وَقُل لِلشّعوبِيينَ إِنَّ حَديثَكُم

أَضاليل مِن شَيطانِكُم وَوَساوِسُ

And tell the Shu'ubis: indeed, your discourse

is falsehoods from your devil and whisperings.

لَكُم مَذهَبٌ فَسلٌ يُغَرُّ بِمِثلِهِ

أَشايبُ حَمقى لا الرِّجالُ الأَكايِسُ

Yours is a worthless doctrine, whose like deceives

foolish riffraff, not discerning men.