1. أتى من أريج النصر ما يشرح الصدرا

    فأنشقت الآفاق من نَشره عِطرا

    From victory's fragrance came what gladdens the breast.

    So the horizons breathed perfume from its spreading scent.

  2. وقد تم هذا الفتح بالمجد والعلا

    وألسُنُ أهل الحق تتلو له ذِكرا

    This conquest was accomplished in glory and exaltation,

    and the tongues of the people of truth recite its praise.

  3. وصار قيام المسلمين ورأيهم

    سديداً وجمع الشملِ بَينَهُمُو أحرَى

    The Muslims' rising and their judgment became

    sound, and gathering them together was more fitting.

  4. قيامٌ له نصرٌ ونصرٌ له حِجى

    فنحمد مولانا على كل ما أجرى

    A rising with victory, and a victory with wisdom;

    so we praise our Lord for all He has brought about.

  5. سأشرح ما قد كان في سيرةٍ جَرَت

    من الدوحة العَليا الفلاحيةِ الغَرَّا

    I shall recount the course of deeds that unfolded

    from the lofty, radiant tree of Al Falah.

  6. أبو زايد قد صمَّمَ العزم قائماً

    وجهَّز جيشاً يملأ السهل والوَعرا

    Abu Zayed arose and made his resolve firm,

    and equipped an army filling plains and rugged ground.

  7. وقدَّم في تلك الجيوش أخاً له

    الأجلَّ أبا طحنون من أنتج الفكرا

    He placed foremost among those armies a brother of his,

    the most illustrious Abu Tahnun, who conceived the plan.

  8. فقامت لديه عصبةٌ يمنيَّة

    من الأزد مأواها معوَّدة النصرا

    Then a Yemeni band rallied around him,

    with its home among the Azd, accustomed to victory,

  9. على أعوَجِيَّاتٍ لقد عَمَّت الفضا

    عليها كُماةٌ لا يخافونه الذُعرا

    on A‘waj-bred mares that filled the open expanse.

    Upon them were armored warriors who feared no terror,

  10. أسُود مصاليتٌ لدى حَومه الوغى

    لأنَّهُمُو يوم الوغى الآيةُ الكبرى

    bold lions in the thick of battle,

    for on battle day they were the greatest marvel.

  11. سَلِ الجوَّ عن أبناء عامر أينهم

    وأين الأحاديثُ التي عَنهُمُو تُقرا

    Ask al-Jaww about the sons of ‘Amir: where are they?

    And where are the tales read about them?

  12. جَنَوا من ثمار الخير ما كان يانعاً

    ونالوا نَوالاً لا يعُدُّ له حصرا

    They harvested the ripe fruits of goodness,

    and received bounty beyond all reckoning.

  13. وقَدَّمَهُم شيخ المكارم والعلا

    ومن جود كفَّيه لقد عَمَّهم طُرَّا

    The sheikh of noble deeds and eminence advanced them,

    and the generosity of his two hands embraced them all.

  14. تعدَّوا حدود الله لا شك أنَّ من

    تعدَّى حدود الله مَعقَبُهُ خُسرا

    They transgressed God's bounds; surely whoever

    transgresses God's bounds ends in loss.

  15. زَرَت بِهِمُو النعماء من آل زايد

    فأمسَوا شتاتاً يا لها عبرة عبرا

    The bounty of Al Zayed brought them low,

    and they became scattered—what a lesson among lessons!

  16. وأمحَلَت الأرجاء من بعد خصبها

    وقد أضجرتهم قاعة المَهمَه القَفرا

    The regions grew barren after their fertility,

    and the bare ground of the desolate wilderness distressed them.

  17. فولَّوا فراراً بين هاوٍ وعاويٍ

    فتحسبهم من خوفهم حُمُرا فُرَّا

    They turned and fled, some falling, some howling,

    and in their terror you would take them for fleeing asses.

  18. أتتهم جنود الله تَترَى كأنما

    تلاطم تيَّار غشا موجُهُ البرَّا

    God's troops came upon them, one after another, like

    a crashing current whose waves covered the land:

  19. لوامع برق في صواعق نقمة

    تجرِّعهم كأساً تحسَّوا به قسرا

    flashes of lightning amid thunderbolts of vengeance,

    making them drink a cup they sipped under compulsion.

  20. ألم يحسَبوا الأسد الضواري على المدى

    تنوشهمو من حيث لم يحسِبوا أمرا

    Did they not reckon that ravening lions, over time,

    would reach them from where they expected no such thing?

  21. فلم يلبثوا حتى أتتهم صواعقٌ

    بأيدي رجالٍ في الوغى ورثوا الصبرا

    It was not long before thunderbolts came upon them,

    at the hands of men who inherited endurance in battle.

  22. فصُبَّت على آل الظفيرة نقمةٌ

    منازلهم أضحت بهم حفرة غبرا

    Vengeance was poured upon the house of al-Dhafirah;

    their dwellings became a dusty pit with them inside.

  23. وقد غرَّهم وعدٌ وما من نتيجةٍ

    وعنهم إله العرش قد كشف السترا

    A promise had deceived them, with nothing coming of it,

    and the God of the Throne had stripped away their veil.

  24. وقد حاولوا أمرا وليسوا بأهله

    أمانيهم صارت مناياهمو دهرا

    They had attempted something they were not fit for;

    their hopes became their dooms for an age.

  25. ومن بعد لما استصعبوا الأمر قدَّروا

    بنو غافر أنَّ الجراحات لا تبرا

    Afterward, when they found the task too hard, they realized—

    the sons of Ghafir—that the wounds would not heal.

  26. لقد رجعوا أمر المشورة بينهم

    وقد طردوهم من منازلهم قهرا

    They returned to deliberation among themselves,

    and they had driven them from their homes by force.

  27. فيا رب فرِّق جمعهم وامح ذكرهم

    لأنهم قد أسَّسوا في القرى شرَّا

    O Lord, scatter their gathering and erase their memory,

    for they have planted evil in the villages.

  28. وطهِّر بقاع الأرض منهم طهارةً

    تكون لهم ذلاً وتبقى لنا فخرا

    And cleanse the regions of the earth of them, with a cleansing

    that brings them humiliation and leaves us lasting pride.

  29. ولا تبق ديَّاراً على الأرضِ منهمو

    فما قوم عاد منهمو بعدوا أمرا

    Leave not a single dweller of theirs upon the earth,

    for the people of ‘Ad were not far removed from them in conduct.

  30. وقد حاولوا أهل الفليجات قصدهم

    ليستعظم الخطب المهم الذي مرَّا

    They sought to make the people of al-Fulayjat their target,

    so the grave calamity that passed might be reckoned immense.

  31. ألم يحسبوا أن الوبال عليهمو

    فيا بئس رأي يورث الذل والعسرا

    Did they not reckon that ruin would fall upon them?

    What an evil judgment, bequeathing humiliation and hardship!

  32. سَلوا يوم غارات الفليجات أينهم

    بنو قتب لم يخرجوا كيف ما العذرا

    Ask, on the day of the raids on al-Fulayjat, where they were:

    the sons of Qitab did not come out—how so, and what excuse?

  33. فحِيزت مواشيهم وصارت غنائماً

    وريقت دماهم في مواطنهم هدرا

    Their livestock was seized and became booty,

    and their blood was spilled in their homelands unavenged.

  34. ألم تحسبوا أن الملوك إذا سطوا

    على قرية يستعبدون بها الحرَّا

    Did you not reckon that kings, when they assail

    a village, enslave the free within it?

  35. تذكّرهم ما قد نسَوهُ من الأولى

    وما قد مضى فيهم به معنا خبرا

    It reminds them of what they had forgotten of earlier times,

    and of what befell them, of which we have an account.

  36. وسل قاعة المعمور ماذا جرى بها

    شوارعها تبكي بها الدهر قد أزرى

    Ask the plain of al-Ma‘mur what happened there;

    its streets weep: Time has brought it low.

  37. فلم تأتها من آل عامر عصبةٌ

    فكيف وقد ظنَّت بأن لها ذخرا

    No band of the house of ‘Amir came to it;

    how could that be, when it thought it had support in reserve?

  38. وقد حاولوا أمرا إلى آل حامدٍ

    وشنَّوا به الغارات لم يستطع صبرا

    They had attempted a venture toward the house of Hamid,

    and launched raids there; he could not endure them.

  39. أراقوا دماء المسلمين خيانة

    فَبِئس خيانات عواقبها غدرا

    They treacherously shed the blood of Muslims;

    evil indeed are betrayals whose outcome is treachery.

  40. أتتهم جيوش من هلال بن عامرٍ

    تخالهُم جيشاً بِمُلكِ بني كسرى

    Armies of Hilal ibn ‘Amir came upon them;

    you would take them for an army in the kingdom of the sons of Kisra.

  41. فقاموا على شرح بن علوان مدة

    على كل فَجٍّ من إغاراتهم تَترى

    They rose against Sharh ibn ‘Alwan for a time,

    their raids following one another through every mountain pass.

  42. كذا وادي العيني وأسود سلهما

    يجيباك بالأخبار إن كنت ذا ذكرى

    Likewise, ask Wadi al-‘Ayni and Aswad:

    they will tell you the news, if you are mindful.

  43. تمرُّ هناك الصافنات كأنها

    لوامع برقٍ خِلتَ من عَجِّها كَدرا

    The poised steeds pass there as though they were

    flashes of lightning; you would take their dust for a murky haze.

  44. سنابكها منها زنود إذا وَطَت

    على الصخرة الصماء أضرمتِ الصخرا

    Their hooves are fire-strikers when they tread

    on the solid rock, setting the rocks aflame.

  45. كذاك العقيبات التي يصفونها

    تمرُّ بها الركبان لا صادفت عثرا

    Likewise al-‘Uqaybat, which they describe:

    riders pass through it—may they encounter no stumbling.

  46. وسَل تَهدِكَ الأنباء عن بي قليلة

    بيوم عبوسٍ قد هدَوا أهله الشرَّا

    Ask, and the reports will guide you concerning Bi Qalilah,

    on a grim day when they brought its people evil,

  47. بأيدي غطاريف هُمُ أُسُدُ الشَّرى

    لقد أمَّنوا ذا الصقع واستكسبوا الوقرا

    at the hands of noble warriors, lions of al-Shara.

    They made this district secure and earned reverence.

  48. فبثُّوا بيوتاً ثم حازوا غنايماً

    وسفك دم الأعداء نالوا به أجرا

    They dispersed households, then seized spoils,

    and by shedding the enemies' blood they earned reward.

  49. ووادي عدا به والعميري فسلهما

    بما لَقيا من ملتقى الراية الحمرا

    And Wadi ‘Ada Bih and al-‘Umayri—ask them both

    what they met when encountering the red banner.

  50. تمر بها الأبطال من كل فاتكٍ

    بيومٍ شديدٍ فيه قد حمَّت الشِّعرا

    Heroes pass through them, every one a deadly fighter,

    on a fierce day when Sirius grew hot.

  51. فأين المحاميد الذين تسنَّموا

    على صَهَوات الطَود واستصحبوا الصحرا

    Where are the Mahamid, who climbed

    onto the mountain's saddlebacks and took the desert as their companion?

  52. ينادونهم يا آل حامد أينكم

    فهذي جيوش منكمو تطلب الأقرا

    They call to them: 'House of Hamid, where are you?

    Here are armies asking hospitality of you!'

  53. فولَّوا فراراً لا يجيبون دعوةً

    وكسرُهُمُو في الدهر ليس له جَبرا

    They turned and fled, answering no summons,

    and their defeat admits no mending through the ages.

  54. وكم غزوةٍ منا أتتهم فُجاءةً

    على واديِ الجرد قد حمدوا المسرا

    How many raids of ours came upon them suddenly

    at Wadi al-Jard—they praised the night march!

  55. وكم مزَّقت خود من الحزن جَيبَها

    ونالت من الدنيا الرزيَّة والوزرا

    How many a fair maiden tore her bodice in grief,

    and suffered calamity and burden from this world!

  56. رأوا عدداً في عدةٍ مستقلةٍ

    معبأةٍ من سالف الأصيد الأثرا

    They saw a host with self-sufficient equipment,

    marshaled from the legacy of the noble lord of old.

  57. ومن بعد ذا لمَّا اضمحل مرامهم

    من الرتبة الأولى إلى الرتبة الأخرى

    After this, when their ambition dwindled

    from the first rank to the other rank,

  58. أتوا قاصدين السير نحو مُمَلَّك

    أبي زايد بحر الندى ذي اليد الوفَرا

    they came, intending to journey toward a sovereign:

    Abu Zayed, sea of generosity, whose hand is bountiful,

  59. مطيعين فيما يقتضي رأيه لهم

    وأنهم مستمثلون له أمرا

    obedient to what his judgment required of them,

    and complying with his command.

  60. فجاد لهم صفحاً وعن ذنبهم عفا

    ومن طلب الغفران يستوجب الغفرا

    He generously pardoned them and forgave their offense;

    whoever seeks forgiveness merits forgiveness.

  61. فآل فلاح أفلح الناس كلِّهم

    ومن يأتهِم يُمسِ به عُسرهُ يُسرا

    The house of Falah is the most successful of all people;

    whoever comes to them has his hardship turned to ease by evening.

  62. عطاياهم في الخلق كل جميلة

    وعن كل جبار همو الكنف الأذرى

    All their gifts among humankind are beautiful,

    and from every tyrant they are the most protective shelter.

  63. وقائعُهم سودٌ وبيضُ صنايعٍ

    مواضيهمُ حمرٌ مرابيعهم خَضرا

    Their battles are black, their beneficent deeds white;

    their sharp swords are red, their spring pastures green.

  64. فيا أيها الشيخ المعظمُ قدره

    حُبيتَ من المولى السعادة والنصرا

    O sheikh whose standing is revered,

    you have been granted happiness and victory by the Lord.

  65. فهاكَ من النظم الأغرِّ خَريدةً

    فلاحية المأوى هلاليةً زَهرا

    Take, then, a peerless maiden of radiant verse,

    Falahian in abode, Hilalian and radiant,

  66. تخصُّك بالتمجيد والشكر والثنا

    فأنت لذا أهلٌ وأتمِم لها مَهرا

    singling you out for glorification, thanks, and praise;

    you are worthy of this—complete her bridal dower.

  67. وآخِرُ قولي مثل ما قلتُ أوَّلاً

    أتى من أريج النصر ما يشرح الصدرا

    The last of my words is as I said at first:

    From victory's fragrance came what gladdens the breast.