1. وَإِذا الرِجالُ رَأَوا يَزيدَ رَأَيتَهُم

    خُضُعَ الرِقابِ نَواكِسَ الأَبصارِ

    And when men see Yazid, you see them

    with necks bowed and eyes downcast

  2. لَأَغَرَّ يَنجابُ الظَلامُ لِوَجهِهِ

    وَبِهِ النُفوسَ يَقَعنَ كُلَّ قَرارِ

    before a radiant man, before whose face the darkness parts,

    and through whom souls find complete repose.

  3. أَيَزيدُ إِنَّكَ لِلمَهَلَّبِ أَدرَكَت

    كَفّاكَ خَيرَ خَلائِقِ الأَخيارِ

    O Yazid, you are truly al-Muhallab's; attained

    by your two hands were the finest qualities of the virtuous.

  4. ما مِن يَدَي رَجُلٍ أَحَقُّ بِما أَتى

    مِن مَكرُماتِ عَظايِمِ الأَخطارِ

    No man's two hands are worthier of what he has accomplished

    in noble deeds of immense distinction

  5. مِن ساعِدَينِ يَزيدَ يَقدَحُ زِندَهُ

    كَفّاهُما وَأَشَدُّ عَقدِ جِوارِ

    than Yazid's two forearms, whose fire-stick is kindled

    by their two palms—nor firmer in binding a pledge of protection.

  6. وَلَوَ أَنَّها وُزِنَت شَمامِ بِحِلمِهِ

    لَأَمالَ كُلَّ مُقيمَةٍ حَضجارِ

    And were Shamam weighed against his forbearance,

    his forbearance would outweigh every massive, firmly rooted mountain.

  7. وَلَقَد رَجَعتَ وَإِنَّ فارِسَ كُلَّها

    مِن كُردِها لَخَوائِفُ المُرّارِ

    Indeed, you returned when all of Persia

    was, because of its Kurds, a terror to travelers.

  8. فَتَرَكتَ أَخوَفَها وَإِنَّ طَريقَها

    لِيَجوزَهُ النَبَطِيُّ بِالقِنطارِ

    So you left its most feared place with a road

    that a Nabataean could cross carrying a qintar.

  9. أَمّا العِراقُ فَلَم يَكُن يُرجى بِهِ

    حَتّى رَجَعتَ عَواقِبُ الأَطهارِ

    As for Iraq, there was no hope within it—

    until you returned—of good outcomes for the pure.

  10. فَجَمَعتَ بَعدَ تَفَرُّقٍ أَجنادَهُ

    وَأَقَمتَ مَيلَ بِنائِهِ المُنهارِ

    Then you gathered its armies after their dispersal,

    and straightened the tilt of its collapsing edifice.

  11. وَلِيُنزِلَنَّ بِجيلِ جَيلانَ الَّذي

    تَرَكَ البُحَيرَةَ مُحصَدَ الأَمرارِ

    And surely there will descend upon the people of Gilan, who

    left the lake with their cords tightly twisted,

  12. جَيشٌ يَسيرُ إِلَيهِ مُلتَمِسَ القِرى

    غَصباً بِكُلِّ مُسَوَّمٍ جَرّارِ

    an army marching toward them, seeking hospitality

    by force, with every marked, mighty host,

  13. لَجِبٍ يَضيقُ بِهِ الفَضاءُ إِذا غَدَوا

    وَأَرى السَماءَ بِغابَةٍ وَغُبارِ

    clamorous, crowding the open expanse when they march at dawn;

    and I see the sky through a thicket of spears and dust.

  14. فيهِ قَبائِلُ مِن ذَوي يَمَنٍ لَهُ

    وَقُضاعَةَ بنِ مَعَدَّها وَنِزارِ

    Within it are tribes of Yemen's people, serving him,

    and Qudaʿa, son of their Maʿadd, and Nizar.

  15. وَلَئِن سَلِمتَ لِتَعطِفَنَّ صُدورَها

    لِلتُركِ عِطفَةَ حازِمٍ مِغوارِ

    And if you remain unharmed, you will surely turn their chests

    toward the Turks, with the turn of a resolute, intrepid raider,

  16. حَتّى يَرى رَتبيلُ مِنها غارَةً

    شَعواءَ غَيرَ تَرَجُّمِ الأَخبارِ

    until Ratbil sees a raid from them,

    fierce and sweeping, not mere conjecture from reports.