1. يا دارَ عَمرَةَ مِن مُحتَلِّها الجَرَعا

    هاجَت لِيَ الهَمَّ وَالأَحزانَ وَالوَجَعا

    O abode of ʿAmrah, at her dwelling in al-Jarʿā,

    You stirred in me anxiety, sorrows, and pain.

  2. تامَت فُؤادي بِذاتِ الجِزعِ خَرعَبَةٌ

    مَرَّت تُريدُ بِذاتِ العَذبَةِ البِيَعا

    A supple young woman at Dhāt al-Jizʿ enslaved my heart;

    She passed, seeking the churches at Dhāt al-ʿAdhbah.

  3. جَرَّت لِما بَينَنا حَبلَ الشُموسِ فَلا

    يَأساً مُبيناً تَرى مِنها وَلا طَمَعا

    She drew a restive beast's rope between us, so neither

    Clear despair nor hope could you discern from her.

  4. فَما أَزالُ عَلى شَحطٍ يُؤَرِّقُني

    طَيفٌ تَعَمَّدَ رَحلي حَيثُما وُضِعا

    Still, despite the distance, I am kept awake by

    A phantom that seeks my camp wherever it is set.

  5. إِنّي بِعَينَيَّ إِذ أَمَّت حُمولُهُمُ

    بَطنَ السَلَوطَحِ لا يَنظُرنَ مَن تَبِعا

    With my own eyes I watched as their laden mounts headed

    Into the valley of al-Salawṭaḥ, not looking at those who followed.

  6. طَوراً أَراهُمُ وَطَوراً لا أُبينُهُمُ

    إِذا تَواضَعَ خِدرٌ ساعَةً لَمَعا

    Sometimes I see them, and sometimes cannot discern them;

    When a curtained howdah dipped, it gleamed for a moment.

  7. بَل أَيُّها الراكِبُ المُزجي عَلى عَجَلٍ

    نَحوَ الجَزيرَةِ مُرتاداً وَمُنتَجِعا

    But you, rider, urging your mount onward in haste

    Toward al-Jazīrah, seeking a campsite and pasture,

  8. أَبلِغ إِياداً وَخَلِّل في سَراتِهِمِ

    أَنّي أَرى الرَأَيَ إِن لَم أُعصَ قَد نَصَعا

    Carry word to Iyād, and make your way among their chiefs:

    I see the right counsel now made clear, if I am not disobeyed.

  9. يا لَهفَ نَفسِيَ أَن كانَت أُمورُكُمُ

    شَتّى وَأُحكِمَ أَمرُ الناسِ فَاِجتَمَعا

    Alas for my soul, that your affairs should be

    Divided, while others' purpose is made firm and united!

  10. أَلا تَخافونَ قَوماً لا أَبا لَكُمُ

    أَمسَوا إِلَيكُم كَأَمثالِ الدَبا سُرُعا

    Do you not fear a people—no father to you!—

    Who at evening rush toward you like young locusts?

  11. أَبناءُ قَومٍ تَأَوَّوكُم عَلى حَنَقٍ

    لا يَشعُرونَ أَضَرَّ اللَهُ أَم نَفَعا

    Sons of a people who have gathered against you in rage,

    Not knowing whether God has harmed or helped.

  12. أَحرارُ فارِسَ أَبناءُ المُلوكِ لَهُم

    مِنَ الجُموعِ جُموعٌ تَزدَهي القَلَعا

    Persia's nobles, sons of kings; they have

    Hosts among their hosts that overwhelm fortresses.

  13. فَهُم سِراعٌ إِلَيكُم بَينَ مُلتَقِطٍ

    شَوكاً وَآخَرَ يَجني الصابَ وَالسَلَعا

    So they hasten toward you: some gathering

    Thorns, and others harvesting bitter ṣāb and poisonous salaʿ.

  14. لَو أَنَّ جَمعَهُمُ راموا بِهَدَّتِهِ

    شُمَّ الشَماريخِ مِن ثَهلانَ لَاِنصَدَعا

    If they aimed their host, with its crashing force, at

    Thahlān's towering summits, it would surely split apart.

  15. في كُلِّ يَومٍ يَسُنّونَ الحِرابَ لَكُم

    لا يَهجَعونَ إِذا ما غافِلٌ هَجَعا

    Each day they sharpen their spears for you;

    They do not sleep when an unwary person sleeps.

  16. لا الحَرثُ يَشغَلُهُم بَل لا يَرَونَ لَهُم

    مِن دونِ بَيضَتِكُم رِيّاً وَلا شِبَعا

    Tillage does not distract them; indeed, they see for themselves

    Neither quenching nor satiety short of your people's heartland.

  17. وَأَنتُمُ تَحرُثونَ الأَرضَ عَن سَفَهٍ

    في كُلِّ مُعتَمَلٍ تَبغونَ مُزدَرَعا

    Yet you till the earth out of foolishness,

    Seeking land to sow in every place you work.

  18. وَتُلقِحونَ حِيالَ الشَولِ آوِنَةً

    وتَنتِجونَ بِدارِ القُلعَةِ الرُبَعا

    At times you put your unpregnant, dry she-camels to stud,

    And deliver spring-born calves in an unsettled abode.

  19. أَنتُم فَريقانِ هَذا لا يَقومُ لَهُ

    هَصرُ اللُيوثِ وَهَذا هالِكٌ صَقَعا

    You are two factions: one against which

    Even lions' crushing force cannot stand; the other perishes foolishly.

  20. وَقَد أَظَلَّكُمُ مِن شَطرِ ثَغرِكُمُ

    هَولٌ لَهُ ظُلَمٌ تَغشاكُمُ قِطَعا

    Already there looms over you, from the direction of your frontier,

    A terror whose dark masses engulf you in patches.

  21. ما لي أَراكُم نِياماً في بُلَهنِيَةٍ

    وَقَد تَرَونَ شِهابَ الحَربِ قَد سَطَعا

    Why do I see you asleep in easy comfort,

    When you can see war's blazing flame already flaring?

  22. فَاِشفوا غَليلي بِرَأيٍ مِنكُمُ حَسَنٍ

    يُضحي فُؤادي لَهُ رَيّانَ قَد نَقِعا

    So cure my burning anguish with sound counsel from you,

    By which my heart becomes refreshed, its thirst quenched.

  23. وَلا تَكونوا كَمَن قَد باتَ مُكتَنِعاً

    إِذا يُقالُ لَهُ اِفرِج غُمَّةً كَنَعا

    Do not be like one who spends the night cowering,

    Who, when told, 'Dispel this distress,' shrinks back.

  24. صونوا جِيادَكُمُ وَاِجلوا سُيوفَكُمُ

    وَجَدِّدوا لِلقِسِيِّ النَبلَ وَالشِرَعا

    Protect your noble steeds and polish your swords,

    And renew the arrows and bowstrings for your bows.

  25. وَاِشروا تِلادَكُمُ في حِرزِ أَنفُسِكُم

    وَحِرزِ نِسوَتِكُم لا تَهلِكوا هَلَعا

    And sell your ancestral wealth to safeguard yourselves

    And safeguard your women; do not perish in panic.

  26. وَلا يَدَع بَعضُكُم بَعضاً لِنائِبَةٍ

    كَما تَرَكتُم بِأَعلى بيشَةَ النَخَعا

    Let none of you abandon another to calamity,

    As you abandoned al-Nakhaʿ in upper Bīshah.

  27. أَذكوا العُيونَ وَراءَ السَرحِ وَاِحتَرِسوا

    حَتّى تُرى الخَيلُ مِن تَعدائِها رُجُعا

    Send scouts beyond the grazing herd, and keep watch,

    Until the horses are seen coming back from their gallop.

  28. فَلا تَغُرَّنَّكُم دُنيا وَلا طَمَعٌ

    لَن تَنعَشوا بِزِماعِ ذَلِكَ الطَمَعا

    Let neither worldly life nor greed deceive you:

    You will not revive that hope through mere resolve.

  29. يا قَومِ بَيضَتُكُم لا تُفجَعُنَّ بِها

    إِنّي أَخافُ عَلَيها الأَزلَمَ الجَذَعا

    My people, your heartland—do not suffer its loss!

    I fear for it the smooth yearling—Time.

  30. يا قَومِ لا تَأمَنوا إِن كُنتُمُ غُيُراً

    عَلى نِسائِكُمُ كِسرى وَما جَمَعا

    My people, do not trust—if you are jealous guardians

    Of your women—Kisrā and all he has mustered.

  31. هُوَ الجَلاءُ الَّذي يَجتَثُّ أَصلَكُمُ

    فَمَن رَأى مِثلَ ذا رَأياً وَمَن سَمِعا

    It is the expulsion that uproots your very stock;

    Who has witnessed such a sight, and who has heard of it?

  32. فَقَلِّدوا أَمرَكُمُ لِلَّهِ دَرُّكُمُ

    رَحبَ الذِراعِ بِأَمرِ الحَربِ مُضطَلِعا

    So entrust your affairs—God bless you!—

    To one broad of arm and fully capable in the conduct of war,

  33. لا مُشرِفاً إِن رَخاءُ العَيشِ ساعَدَهُ

    وَلا إِذا عَضَّ مَكروهٌ بِهِ خَشَعا

    Not grasping when ease of living favors him,

    Nor abject when hardship bites him,

  34. مُسَهَّدَ النَومِ تَعنيهِ ثُغورُكُمُ

    يَرومُ مِنها إِلى الأَعداءِ مُطَّلَعا

    Sleepless, with your frontiers weighing on him,

    Seeking from them a vantage over the enemy.

  35. ما اِنفَكَّ يَحلُبُ دَرَّ الدَهرِ أَشطُرَهُ

    يَكونُ مُتَّبِعاً طَوراً ومُتَّبَعا

    He has never ceased milking Time's yield from all its quarters,

    At times following, and at times followed.

  36. وَلَيسَ يَشغَلُهُ مالٌ يُثَمِّرُهُ

    عَنكُم وَلا وَلَدٌ يَبغي لَهُ الرَفَعا

    Neither wealth that he increases distracts him

    From you, nor a child whose advancement he seeks,

  37. حَتّى اِستَمَرَّت عَلى شَزرٍ مَريرَتُهُ

    مُستَحكِمَ السِنِّ لا قَحماً وَلا ضَرَعا

    Until his cord of resolve has grown firm and tightly twisted,

    Mature in years, neither decrepit nor callow.

  38. كَمالِكِ بنِ قَنانٍ أَو كَصاحِبِهِ

    زَيدِ القَنا يَومَ لاقى الحارِثَينِ مَعا

    Like Mālik son of Qanān, or like his companion,

    Zayd of the Spears, when he faced the two Ḥāriths together.

  39. إِذ عابَهُ عائِبٌ يَوماً فَقالَ لَهُ

    دَمِّث لِجَنبِكَ قَبلَ اللَيلِ مُضطَجَعا

    When a fault-finder once reproached him, he said to him,

    'Make a soft resting-place for your side before nightfall.'

  40. فَساوَروهُ فَأَلفَوهُ أَخا عَلَلٍ

    في الحَربِ يَحتَبِلُ الرِئبالَ وَالسَبُعا

    They assailed him and found him a man of repeated onslaughts,

    In war, snaring the mighty lion and the beast of prey.

  41. عَبلَ الذِراعِ أَبِيّاً ذا مُزابَنَةٍ

    في الحَربِ لا عاجِزاً نِكساً وَلا وَرَعا

    Thick of arm, defiant, a man of fierce resistance

    In war—not helpless, craven, or timid.

  42. مُستَنجِداً يَتَحَدّى الناسَ كُلَّهُمُ

    لَو قارَعَ الناسَ عَن أَحسابِهِم قَرَعا

    Valiant, challenging every man,

    Were he to contest men's ancestral honors, he would prevail.

  43. لَقَد بَذَلتُ لَكُم نُصحي بِلا دَخَلٍ

    فَاِستَيقِظوا إِنَّ خَيرَ العِلمِ ما نَفَعا

    I have offered you my counsel without deceit;

    So awake, for the best knowledge is that which benefits.

  44. هَذا كِتابي إِلَيكُم وَالنَذيرُ لَكُم

    فَمَن رَأى رَأيَهُ مِنكُم وَمَن سَمِعا

    This is my letter to you, and a warning for you:

    Who among you has considered its counsel, and who has listened?

  45. بِمُقلَتَي خاذِلٍ أَدماءَ طاعَ لَها

    نَبتُ الرِياضِ تُزَجّي وَسطَهُ ذَرَعا

    With the eyes of a tawny wild cow apart from her herd, to whom

    The meadow growth yields, as she urges a calf through it,

  46. وَواضِحٍ أَشنَبِ الأَنيابِ ذي أُشُرٍ

    كَالأُقحوُانِ إِذا ما نورُهُ لَمَعا

    And a gleaming mouth, its canine teeth cool, with fine serrations,

    Like a daisy when its blossom gleams.

  47. إِنّي أَراكُم وَأَرضاً تُعجَبونَ بِها

    مَثلَ السَفينَةِ تَغشى الوَعثَ وَالطَبَعا

    I see you and the land you so admire

    Like a ship entering loose sand and mire.

  48. خُزراً عُيونُهُمُ كَأَنَّ لَحظَهُمُ

    حَريقُ نارٍ تَرى مِنهُ السَنا قِطَعا

    Their eyes look askance, as though their glance were

    A blaze of fire whose radiance you see in flashes.

  49. وَتَلبَسونَ ثِيابَ الأَمنِ ضاحِيَةً

    لا تَجمَعون وَهَذا اللَيثُ قَد جَمَعا

    And you wear the garments of security out in the open,

    Not mustering, while this lion has already mustered.

  50. يَسعى وَيَحسِبُ أَنَّ المالَ مُخلِدُهُ

    إِذا اِستَفادَ طَريفاً زادَهُ طَمَعا

    He strives, imagining that wealth will make him immortal;

    Whenever he gains new wealth, it makes him greedier.

  51. فَاِقنَوا جِيادَكُمُ وَاِحموا ذِمارَكُمُ

    وَاِستَشعِروا الصَبرَ لا تَستَشعِروا الجَزَعا

    So maintain your noble steeds and guard all you hold inviolable,

    And wear patience next to your skin, not panic.

  52. فَإِن غُلِبتُم عَلى ضِنٍّ بِدارِكُمُ

    فَقَد لَقيتُم بِأَمرٍ حازِمٍ فَزَعا

    If you are overcome despite clinging dearly to your homeland,

    You will have met terror with resolute action.

  53. لا تُلهِكُم إِبِلٌ لَيسَت لَكُم إِبِلٌ

    إِنَّ العَدُوَّ بِعَظمٍ مِنكُمُ قَرَعا

    Do not let camels distract you—camels that are not yours.

    The enemy has struck at your very core.

  54. لا تُثمِروا المالَ لِلأَعداءِ إِنَّهُمُ

    إِن يَظهَروا يَحتَووكُم وَالتِلادَ مَعا

    Do not increase wealth for your enemies, for they,

    If they prevail, will seize you and your ancestral wealth together.

  55. هَيهاتَ لا مالَ مِن زَرعٍ وَلا إِبِلٍ

    يُرجى لِغابِرِكُم إِن أَنفُكُم جُدِعا

    Far from it! No wealth of crops or camels

    Can be hoped for by your survivors if your nose is cut off.

  56. وَاللَهِ ما اِنفَكَّتِ الأَموالُ مُذ أَبَدٍ

    لِأَهلِها إِن أُصيبوا مَرَّةً تَبَعا

    By God, wealth has always, since time immemorial,

    Followed its owners once calamity strikes them.

  57. ماذا يُرَدُّ عَلَيكُم عِزُّ أَوَّلِكُمُ

    إِن ضاعَ آخِرُهُ أَو ذَلَّ وَاِتَّضَعا

    What can the glory of your forebears restore to you

    If its latter part is lost, or abased and brought low?

  58. قوموا قِياماً عَلى أَمشاطِ أَرجُلِكُم

    ثُمَّ اِفزَعوا قَد يَنالُ الأَمنَ مَن فَزِعا

    Rise, standing on the balls of your feet,

    Then rouse yourselves; those who take alarm may attain safety.

  59. لا يَطعَمُ النَومَ إِلّا رَيثَ يَبعَثُهُ

    هَمٌّ يَكادُ سَناهُ يَقصِمُ الضِلَعا

    He tastes sleep only a moment before he is roused by

    A care whose blaze almost breaks his ribs.

  60. يا قَومِ إِنَّ لَكُم مِن إِرثِ أَوَّلِكُم

    مَجداً قَد أَشفَقتُ أَن يَفنى وَيَنقَطِعا

    My people, among the legacy of your forebears you possess

    A glory I fear may perish and be cut off.