1. لِمَن الخيامُ بذي رُقَعْ

    كانت تُصافُ وتُرْتبع

    Whose are the tents at Dhu Ruqaʿ,

    once inhabited in summer and spring?

  2. ولمن تُرى تلك الخيام

    المشرفاتُ على القَزعَ

    And whose, I wonder, are those tents

    overlooking al-Qazaʿ?

  3. صَنَع الزمَانُ بأهلِها

    بعدَ التآلف مَا صَنَع

    Time has done to their people,

    after their fellowship, what it has done.

  4. فاليوم طرفي مَا أرى

    أطلالها إلاَّ دَمَع

    Today my eye—whenever I see

    their ruins—can only weep.

  5. ولقد جزعت على العُداةِ

    فما أفادني الجزَع

    Indeed, I have fretted over my foes,

    but what has anguish availed me?

  6. وودتُ لو رجع الشبابُ

    وفائتٌ لا يُرْتجع

    And I wished that youth would return,

    but what has passed cannot be recovered.

  7. ما لي وأوطانُ الخمول

    وفي البسيطة مُتسَع

    What have I to do with abodes of obscurity,

    when there is ample room upon the earth?

  8. وعلام أقنعُ بالقليل

    أبا لنَّفَاثةِ تُقتنع

    And why should I be content with little?

    Are you content with spittle?

  9. إن المقامَ على الهوانِ

    مشورةٌ لا تُسْتمَع

    Indeed, remaining in humiliation

    is counsel not to be heeded.

  10. وإنا سُليك القفر

    لا أرضى بذل المُضطجع

    And I am Sulayk of the wilderness;

    I will not accept a resting-place of shame.

  11. ولي القصائد والشوارد

    والشوائع والشيع

    Mine are odes and far-roaming verses,

    widely spread poems and bands of followers.

  12. إنّ النبي بمكة

    أنِف الأقامة فانتجعْ

    Indeed, the Prophet, in Mecca,

    scorned to remain and sought fresh pastures.

  13. ومضى ابن جفنة

    ما املا ولا خضَع

    And Ibn Jafna went forth,

    granting no respite and not submitting.

  14. إنْ أظلمت فستنجلي

    وكمِثل مَا حَمَلتْ تضع

    If it grows dark, it will clear,

    and as it has conceived, so will it give birth.

  15. يا شائماُ برقَ السماح

    الساعدي وقد لمع

    O watcher of the lightning of generosity,

    Saʿidi and already flashing,

  16. بيفاعتين إلى الدريب

    إلى الحصاد إلى نبع

    at Yafaʿatayn, reaching to al-Durayb,

    to al-Hasad, to Nabʿ.

  17. عَرَبٌ إذا لاقيتَهُمْ

    لاقيتَ خِصْبَ المُنْتجع

    Arabs—when you meet them,

    you find the abundance of fertile pasture.

  18. لام ابن حارثة العتيق

    إذا الصريخُ بهم نقع

    Lam, son of Haritha, the noble,

    when a caller for help cries out among them.

  19. فلعاقليهم الوَفَا

    ومُحمد يِهّمُ الورع

    Fidelity belongs to their ʿAqils,

    and piety to their Muhammads.

  20. ولعاقلِ حِفظُ الجُوار

    وخيرُ حُرّ من منع

    And ʿAqil safeguards those under protection,

    and the best freeborn man is he who protects.

  21. وعليّ آل مُحمّدٍ

    فله الصّنائع تصطنع

    And ʿAli of the house of Muhammad:

    his are the benefactions that are wrought.

  22. لا يُسْلِمون خفيرَهم

    ولو أنّهم قُطعوا قِطَع

    They do not surrender the one they protect,

    even if they are cut to pieces.

  23. لا يطمعونَ بدينَهم

    والدّين آفتُتُ الطمع

    They seek no gain through their faith,

    and faith's bane is greed.

  24. أموالهُم طوعُ العُفاة

    فما أردتَ فخذْ ودَعْ

    Their wealth is at the disposal of petitioners;

    so take what you wish and leave the rest.

  25. وعبيدُهم فالموقدون

    النارَ في راس القزع

    And their slaves are those who kindle

    the fire upon the summit of al-Qazaʿ.

  26. جيشٌ أجشّ العَارضين

    كموج دجلة إذ دفع

    An army, thundering on both flanks,

    like the Tigris's waves as they surge.

  27. أهلُ العديد بل الحديد

    بل التِراسِ بل القُبَع

    Men of great numbers—nay, of iron,

    nay, of shields; nay, of helmets.

  28. من كان من لامٍ فيُعْذر

    إن تكرّم أو شجع

    Whoever belongs to Lam is excused,

    if he is generous or brave.

  29. الطفلُ يولد منهُمُ

    والسيف في اليَدِ والنطع

    A child is born among them

    with sword and execution mat in hand,

  30. وبكفه اليسرى العنَانُ

    ومَا استهل ولا رضَع

    and the reins in his left palm,

    before he has even cried at birth or suckled.