1. لا فَارِسَ الْيَوْمَ يَحْمِي السَّرْحَ بِالْوَادِي

    طَاحَ الرَّدَى بِشِهَابِ الْحَرْبِ وَالنَّادِي

    No horseman today guards the grazing herds in the valley.

    Death has felled the blazing star of battle and assembly.

  2. مَاتَ الَّذِي تَرْهَبُ الأَقْرَانُ صَوْلَتَهُ

    وَيَتَّقِي بَأْسَهُ الضِّرْغَامَةُ الْعَادِي

    He is dead whose onslaught his rivals feared,

    And whose might the charging lion shunned.

  3. هَانَتْ لِمَيْتَتِهِ الدُّنْيَا وَزَهَّدَنَا

    فَرْطُ الأَسَى بَعْدَهُ فِي الْمَاءِ والزَّادِ

    At his death the world grew worthless, and we lost our desire—

    Through overwhelming grief after him—for water and food.

  4. هَلْ لِلْمَكارِمِ مَنْ يُحْيِي مَنَاسِكَهَا

    أَمْ لِلضَّلالَةِ بَعْدَ الْيَوْمِ مِنْ هَادِي

    Is there anyone to revive the rites of noble deeds,

    Or, after today, any guide out of error?

  5. جَفَّ النَّدَى وانْقَضَى عُمْرُ الْجَدَا وَسَرَى

    حُكْمُ الرَّدَى بَيْنَ أَرْواحٍ وَأَجْسَادِ

    Bounty has dried up, largesse's life has ended, and there has spread

    Death's decree among souls and bodies.

  6. فَلْتَمْرَحِ الْخَيْلُ لَهْوَاً فِي مَقَاوِدِهَا

    وَلْتَصْدَإِ الْبِيضُ مُلْقَاةً بِأَغْمَادِ

    So let the horses frolic idly at their tethers,

    And let the bright swords rust, cast aside in sheaths.

  7. مَضَى وَخَلَّفَنِي فِي سِنِّ سَابِعَةٍ

    لا يَرْهَبُ الْخَصْمُ إِبْرَاقِي وإِرْعَادِي

    He departed and left me at the age of seven;

    The foe fears neither my lightning nor my thunder.

  8. إِذَا تَلَفَّتُّ لَمْ أَلْمَحْ أَخَا ثِقَةٍ

    يَأْوِي إِلَيَّ ولا يَسْعَى لإِنْجَادِي

    When I look around, I glimpse no trusted companion

    Who turns to me or hastens to my aid.

  9. فَالْعَيْنُ لَيْسَ لَهَا مِنْ دَمْعِهَا وَزَرٌ

    والْقَلْبُ لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ حُزْنِهِ فَادِي

    So the eye has no refuge from its tears,

    And the heart has none to ransom it from its sorrow.

  10. فَإِنْ أَكُنْ عِشْتُ فَرْدَاً بَيْنَ آصِرَتِي

    فَهَا أَنَا الْيَوْمَ فَرْدٌ بَيْنَ أَنْدَادِي

    For if I have lived alone among my kin,

    Then here I am today, alone among my peers.

  11. بَلَغْتُ مِنْ فَضْلِ رَبِّي مَا غَنِيتُ بِهِ

    عَنْ كُلِّ قَارٍ مِنَ الأَمْلاكِ أَوْ بَادِي

    Through my Lord's bounty I gained what made me independent

    Of every king, whether settled or nomadic.

  12. فَمَا مَدَدْتُ يَدِي إِلَّا لِمَنْحِ يَدٍ

    ولا سَعَتْ قَدَمي إِلَّا لإِسْعَادِ

    So I have stretched out my hand only to bestow a favor,

    Nor has my foot hastened except to give aid.

  13. تَبِعْتُ نَهْجَ أَبِي فَضْلاً وَمَحْمِيَةً

    حَتَّى بَرَعْتُ وَكَانَ الْفَضْلُ لِلْبَادِي

    I followed my father's path in virtue and zeal for honor,

    Until I excelled, yet the credit belonged to the pioneer.

  14. أَبِي وَمَنْ كَأَبِي فِي الْحَيِّ نَعْلَمُهُ

    أَوْفَى وَأَكْرَمُ في وَعْدٍ وَإِيعادِ

    My father—and whom in the clan do we know like my father?—

    Was most faithful and most noble in promise and threat.

  15. مُهَذَّبُ النَّفْسِ غَرَّاءٌ شَمائِلُهُ

    بَعِيدُ شَأْوِ الْعُلا طَلاعُ أَنْجَادِ

    Refined in soul, radiant in his qualities,

    Far-reaching in glory, a scaler of highlands.

  16. قَدْ كَانَ لِي وَزَراً آوِي إِلَيْهِ إِذَا

    غَاضَ الْمَعِينُ وَجَفَّ الزَّرْعُ بِالْوَادِي

    He was a refuge for me, to whom I turned when

    The flowing water receded and the crops dried up in the valley.

  17. لا يَسْتَبِدُّ بِرَأْيٍ قَبْلَ تَبْصِرَةٍ

    وَلا يَهُمُّ بِأَمْرٍ قَبْلَ إِعْدَادِ

    He never acts on his own judgment before reflection,

    Nor embarks on a task before making ready.

  18. تَرَاهُ ذَا أُهْبَةٍ فِي كُلِّ نَائِبَةٍ

    كَاللَّيْثِ مُرْتَقِباً صَيْداً بِمِرْصَادِ

    You see him prepared for every calamity,

    Like a lion in ambush, watching for prey.