1. ما قُدِّمَ البَغيُ إِلّا أُخِّرَ الرَشَدُ

    وَالناسُ يُلقونَ عُقبى كُلِّ ما اِعتَقَدُوا

    Wrongdoing is never advanced without sound judgment being set back.

    And people encounter the outcome of everything they have embraced.

  2. مَن ساسَ خَيراً رَأى خَيراً وَمَن وَلَدَت

    أَفعالُهُ الشَرَّ لاقى شَرَّ ما تَلِدُ

    Whoever conducts affairs well sees good; and he whose

    deeds beget evil meets the evil they bring forth.

  3. بَغى عَلَينا رِجالٌ عادَ بَغيُهُمُ

    عَلَيهِمُ وَأَعانَ الواحِدُ الصَمَدُ

    Men wronged us; their wrongdoing returned

    upon them, and the One, the Self-Sufficient, gave aid.

  4. وافَوا وَقَد عَقَدُوا عَقداً فَما ظَفِرُوا

    بِما أَرادُوا وَحَلَّ اللَهُ ما عَقَدُوا

    They came having bound a pact, but did not attain

    what they wanted; God untied what they had bound.

  5. ظَنُّوا السَلامَةَ حَتّى خابَ ظَنُّهُمُ

    وَالخَيلُ عَن يَمنَةِ السَعدِيِّ تَطَّرِدُ

    They expected safety, until their expectation failed,

    while the cavalry streamed onward from al-Sa'di's right side.

  6. فَلَم تَجُل جَولَةً حَتّى رَأَيتَهُمُ

    في جِيدِ كُلِّ كَمِيٍّ مِنهُمُ مَسَدُ

    It had not wheeled once before you saw them,

    a rope around the neck of each armored warrior among them,

  7. مُجَنَّبِينَ وَصَرعى تَحتَ أَرجُلِنا

    كَما تُصَرَّعُ يَومَ الرِحلَةِ العَمَدُ

    some led captive, others slain beneath our feet,

    as tent poles are felled on the day of departure.

  8. سالَت مَذانِبُ صَيدا مِن دِمائِهِمُ

    وَطَرّحَت حائِرَ الراسُومَةِ العُدَدُ

    Sidon's watercourses ran with their blood,

    and their equipment littered the basin of al-Rasuma.

  9. وَعاوَدُوا نَحوَ دانِيث فَشَكَّهُمُ

    صُمُّ الأَنابِيبِ ما في خَلقِها أَوَدُ

    They returned toward Danith and were transfixed

    by solid-jointed spears, with no bend in their making,

  10. في كَفِّ كُلِّ كَمِيِّ مِن فَوارِسِنا

    سَردُ الدِلاصِ عَلى أَكتافِهِ لِبَدُ

    in the hand of every armored warrior among our horsemen,

    with smooth, linked mail thick as felt upon his shoulders.

  11. وَعاوَدُوا يَطلُبُونَ الشَرَّ ثانِيَةً

    وَلِلمَنايا عَلى أَرواحِهِم رَصَدُ

    They returned, seeking evil a second time,

    while death had watchers lying in wait for their souls.

  12. وَلَم تَكُن يَومَ أَعزالٍ فَوارِسُنا

    بِئسَ الفَوارِسُ وَالقَسطالُ مُنعَقِدُ

    On the day of A'zal, our horsemen were not

    wretched horsemen, when the battle dust hung thick.

  13. ثُمَّ استَقَلَّت إِلى السَعديِّ ظُعنُهُمُ

    فَمُنذُ صارُوا إِلى السَعدِيِّ ما سُعِدوا

    Then their caravans set out toward al-Sa'di;

    since they reached al-Sa'di, they have known no good fortune.

  14. وَلَو وَمِن خَلفِهِم جَيشٌ فَوارِسُهُ

    قَد أَبحَدَتنا بِها الجَوزاءُ وَالأَسَدُ

    They fled, with an army behind them whose horsemen

    al-Jawza and the Lion had sent to aid us.

  15. لَم يَعلَمُوا حينَ باتَ السَيلُ يَدهَمُهُم

    أَنَّ المُدُودَ لَنا مِن خَلفِهِم مَدَدُ

    They did not know, when the torrent assailed them by night,

    that the floodwaters behind them were reinforcements for us.

  16. تَرى الخِيامَ عَلى التَيّارِ طافِيَةً

    كَأَنَّما هِيَ في حافاتِهِ زَبَدُ

    You see the tents floating on the current,

    as though they were foam along its edges.

  17. وَالسَيلُ قَد جَرَّ ما ضَمَّت عِيابُهُمُ

    حَتّى تَشابَهَتِ الأَمواجُ وَالزَرَدُ

    The torrent dragged away what their baggage sacks had held,

    until the waves and rings of mail looked alike.

  18. يا أَيُّها الراكِبُ العادي يَخُبُّ بِهِ

    عَبلُ الشَوى مُجفِرٌ أَو عَبلَةٌ أُجُدُ

    O rider hastening onward, borne at a trot by

    a stout-limbed, broad-bellied camel, or a strong, sturdy she-camel,

  19. بَلِّغ تَحِيَّتَنا طَيّاً وَقُل لَهُمُ

    ما ضَرَّنا ذَلِكَ الحَشدُ الَّذي حَشَدُوا

    convey our greeting to Tayy, and tell them:

    That host they mustered did us no harm.

  20. عَققتُمُونا وَقَد قُمنا بِبِرِّكُمُ

    كَما يَقومُ بِبِرِّ الوالِدِ الوَلَدُ

    You treated us undutifully, though we had shown you devotion,

    as a child shows devotion to a parent.

  21. فَما رَعَت حَقَّنا كَلبٌ وَلا حَفِظَت

    لَنا الصَنيعَةَ قَحطانٌ وَلا أُدَدُ

    Kalb did not honor our rights, nor did

    Qahtan or Udad remember the kindness we had shown.

  22. قَصَدتُمُ الشامَ إِذ غابَت فَوارِسُهُ

    وَالذِئبُ يَرقُصُ حَتّى يَحضُرَ الأَسَدُ

    You headed for Syria when its horsemen were absent;

    the wolf dances until the lion arrives.

  23. وَأَطمَعَتكُم حَماةُ في مَمالِكِنا

    وَالمَطمَعُ السُوءُ مَقرونٌ بِهِ الحَسَدُ

    Hama made you covet our realms,

    and envy is coupled with evil ambition.

  24. سَتُستَعادُ بِبيضِ الهِندِ ثانِيَةً

    إِذا نَزَلنا وَمِن قَبليِّنا صَدَدُ

    It will be reclaimed with India's bright swords once more,

    when we encamp, with Sadad to our south.

  25. لَولا الإِمامُ وَلَولا فَرطُ خَشيَتِهِ

    لَم يَقطَعِ الجِسرَ مِن فُرسانِكُم أَحَدُ

    Were it not for the Imam, and our profound fear of him,

    not one of your horsemen would have crossed the bridge.

  26. وَإِنَّما نَهنَهتَنا طاعَةٌ تَرَكَت

    سُيُوفَكُم عَن أَذانا لَيسَ تَنغَمِدُ

    It was obedience alone that restrained us, leaving

    your swords unsheathed in their work of harming us.

  27. فَحينَ أَحوَجتُمُونا لَم نُلَقِّكُمُ

    غَيرَ السُيوفِ المَواضِي وَالقَنا القُصُدُ

    When you forced our hand, we offered you nothing

    but keen-cutting swords and straight spears.

  28. وَمِن كِلابٍ رِجالٌ غابَ أَكثَرُهُم

    عَنكُم وَوا أَسَفا لَو أَنَّهُم شَهِدُوا

    There are men of Kilab, most of whom were absent

    from your encounter—alas, if only they had been there,

  29. حَتّى تَرَوا بِالمُصَلّى كَيفَ طَعنُهُم

    بِالسَمهَرِيَّةِ وَالأَرواحُ تُفتَقَدُ

    so you could see at al-Musalla how they thrust

    with Samhari spears, while souls are lost.

  30. وَقَد عَرَفتُم وَجَرَّبتُم فَوارِسَنا

    بِالمَشهَدَينِ وَنارُ الحَربِ تَتَّقِدُ

    You have known and tested our horsemen

    at the two battlefields, while the fire of war blazed.

  31. ذَادُوكُمُ بِالعَوالي عَن خِيامِهِم

    فَما استُبيحَ لَها طُنبٌ وَلا وَتِدُ

    They drove you from their tents with lofty spearpoints,

    so not one of their tent ropes or pegs was seized.

  32. كُنتُم ثَلاثَةَ آلافٍ فَرَدَّكُمُ

    ثَلاثَةٌ وَأَبى أَن يَنفَعَ العَدَدُ

    You were three thousand, yet you were turned back

    by three, and numbers refused to be of use.

  33. وَما القَليلُ قَليلاً حينَ تَخبُرُهُ

    وَلا الكَثيرُ كَثيراً حينَ يَنتَقَدُ

    The few are not few when you test them,

    nor are the many many when closely examined.

  34. لا واخَذَ اللَهُ قَوماً مِن عَشِيرَتِنا

    تَأَلَّبوا في زَوالِ العِزِّ وَاِجتَهَدُوا

    May God not hold to account some of our kinsmen,

    who banded together and strove to bring glory down.

  35. باعُوا العَشِيرَةَ بَيعَ البَخسِ وَاِنقَلَبُوا

    بِالذُلِّ ما أَخلَفُوا العِزَّ الَّذي فَقَدُوا

    They sold their kin for a paltry price and returned

    in humiliation, without replacing the glory they had lost.

  36. وَدَرَّ دَرُّ رِجالٍ مِنهُمُ مَنَعُوا

    أَعداءَهُم جانِبَ الوِردِ الَّذي وَرَدُوا

    May bounty flow freely for those men among them who barred

    their enemies from the edge of the watering place they had reached,

  37. وَمانَعُوا دُونَ شامٍ لَو نَبا بِهِمُ

    وَحاوَلوا عِوَضاً مِنهُ لَما وَجَدُوا

    and defended Syria—had it proved inhospitable to them,

    and had they sought a substitute for it, they would have found none.

  38. قَد ناصَحُونا فَلافَوا غِبَّ نُصحِهِمُ

    وَعاهَدُونا وَأَوفَوا بالَّذي عَهِدُوا

    They gave us loyal counsel and met its outcome,

    pledged themselves to us and kept what they had pledged.

  39. يا عائِدينَ إِلى الأَوطانِ مِن حَلَبٍ

    وَفي قُلوبِهِمُ مِن فَوتِها كَمَدُ

    O you returning to your homelands from Aleppo,

    with grief in their hearts at failing to gain it,

  40. لَستُم بِأَوّلِ قَومٍ حاوَلُوا طَمَعاً

    مِنها وَضَلُّوا عَنِ القَصدِ الَّذي قَصَدُوا

    you are not the first people to seek some coveted gain

    from it, and stray from the goal they had intended.

  41. لَم تَنزِلوها بِأَمرٍ غَيرَ أَنَّكُمُ

    رُمتُم فَسادَ أُمُورٍ لَيسَ تَنفَسِدُ

    You came to it for no purpose other than that

    you sought to corrupt affairs that cannot be corrupted.

  42. وَعُقتُمُ القَودَ أَن تَمضي وَلا عَجَباً

    أَنَّ الخَليفَةَ يَدري ثُمَّ لا يَجِدُ

    You hindered the led horses from proceeding; and no wonder

    that the Caliph knows, yet receives nothing.

  43. وَما اِعتَمَدنا عَلى قَودٍ تُقَرِّبُنا

    مِنهُ وَلَكِن عَلى النِيّاتِ نَعتَمِدُ

    We have not relied on led horses to draw us

    near to him; rather, we rely on our intentions.

  44. حاشا الإِمامَ وَحاشا طِيبَ عُنصُرِهِ

    أَن يَظهرَ الزُهدُ في قَومٍ وَما زَهِدُوا

    Far be it from the Imam, far from his noble stock,

    to show indifference toward people who have not been indifferent.

  45. لا تَطلُبُوا مَصعَداً في هَضبِ شاهِقَةٍ

    زَلَّت بِأَقدامِ قَومٍ قَبلَكُم صَعِدُوا

    Do not seek an ascent on lofty crags

    that made the feet of earlier climbers slip.

  46. فَالدِزبِرِيُّ حَطَطنا مَن عَصى مَعَهُ

    عَلى الإِمامِ وَفي آنافِهِم عُبُدُ

    As for al-Dizbiri, we brought down those who rebelled with him

    against the Imam, with wrath in their nostrils,

  47. مِن بَعدِ ما تَرَكَ المُرّانُ أَكثَرَهُم

    صَرعى يُهالُ عَلى مَثواهُمُ السَنَدُ

    after ash-wood spears had left most of them

    slain, with hillside earth heaped upon their resting places.

  48. خانُوا الإِمامَ وَما خُنّا وَأَفسَدَهُم

    ضَعفُ اليَقينِ وَلَم نَفسُد كَما فَسَدوا

    They betrayed the Imam; we did not betray him. They were corrupted

    by weak conviction; we did not become corrupt as they did.

  49. وَلا عَصَينا أَميرَ المُؤمِنينَ كَما

    عَصى المُظَفَّرُ وَهوَ السَيفُ وَالعَضُدُ

    Nor did we disobey the Commander of the Faithful as

    al-Muzaffar disobeyed, though he was the sword and the supporting arm.

  50. لَكِن أَطَعنا وَناصَحنا وَما عَلِقَت

    لآلِ مِرداسِ إِلّا بِالإِمامِ يَدُ

    Rather, we obeyed and counseled loyally; no hand

    of the house of Mirdas held fast to anyone but the Imam.

  51. لَو كانَ يُعبَدُ غَيرُ اللَهِ ما اِمتَنَعُوا

    أَن يَعبُدُوهُ مَعَ الرَبِّ الَّذي عَبَدُوا

    Were anyone but God to be worshipped, they would not refuse

    to worship him alongside the Lord they have worshipped.

  52. أَمّا الإِمامُ فَما حالَت مَحَبَّتُهُ

    وَإِنَّما في رِجالٍ حَولَهُ حَسَدُ

    As for the Imam, his love has not changed;

    there is only envy among some men around him.

  53. سامُوا لَنا عِندَهُ أَمراً لِيَحمَدَهُم

    فَالحَمدُ لِلّهِ قَد لِيموا وَما حُمِدُوا

    They sought a measure against us before him, so he would praise them;

    but praise be to God: they were blamed, not praised.

  54. وَنَحنُ أَنفَعُ مِنهُم إِن أَلَمَّ بِهِ

    خَطبٌ وَأَوجَدُ لِلهَمِّ الَّذي يَجِدُ

    We are more useful than they if he is struck by

    a calamity, and better equipped for the care he feels.

  55. وَلِلخَليفَةِ مِنّا حينَ يَندُبُنا

    أَموالُنا وَالقَنا وَالمالُ وَالوَلَدُ

    When the Caliph summons us, he has from us

    our possessions and spears, our wealth and our children.

  56. لا نَرتَضي غَيرَهُ مَولىً نُعَزُّ بِهِ

    وَلا يُغَيِّرُنا عَن حُبِّهِ الأَبَدُ

    We accept no patron but him, through whom we are honored;

    nor will eternity turn us from loving him.