---
title: Selections from Antara’s Poetry and Reflections
description: "# ![](https://i0.wp.com/majalla.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Antara_in_desert_90bpi.jpg?resize=1165%2C568&ssl=1) ## A Bilingual Reader of Antara's Poetry ### Introduction Before Antara became a legend, he was a lover. Before generations remembered him as a warrior whose spear scattered armies and whose courage became proverbial among the Arabs, he…"
url: "https://majalla.org/ilm/selections-from-antaras-poetry-and-reflections/"
updated: "2026-07-20"
category: Art and Literature / Poetry
tags:
  - Poetry
---

# Selections from Antara’s Poetry and Reflections

# ![](https://i0.wp.com/majalla.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Antara_in_desert_90bpi.jpg?resize=1165%2C568&ssl=1)

## A Bilingual Reader of Antara's Poetry

### Introduction

Before Antara became a legend, he was a lover.

Before generations remembered him as a warrior whose spear scattered armies and whose courage became proverbial among the Arabs, he stood where all human beings stand at some point in their lives: before longing, separation, hope, and loss.

Love is not a minor theme in Antara's poetry. It is one of its foundations. His beloved, Abla, is not merely a woman remembered from youth; she is the emotional center around which much of his poetic universe revolves. Through her, Antara speaks of desire, distance, beauty, dignity, exile, memory, and the pain of social barriers. His love poems reveal a voice very different from the fearless warrior celebrated in popular memory. Here we encounter vulnerability, tenderness, and yearning.

Yet even in love, Antara remains Antara. The lover and the warrior are never separate. The courage with which he enters battle is mirrored by the courage with which he confronts longing. The endurance that carries him through war also sustains him through separation. In his poetry, love is neither weakness nor escape; it is another arena in which character is tested.

The poems gathered in this section present Antara as the poet of longing, devotion, and memory. They invite us into a world where the cry of a bird awakens sorrow, where the sight of abandoned camps stirs old wounds, where the desert wind becomes a messenger, and where a single remembered face illuminates an entire life.

---

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---

# Read a selection here:

---

# The Making of Antara

### **Honor Cannot Be Inherited**

**Arabic**

لا يَحمِلُ الحِقدَ مَن تَعلو بِهِ الرُتَبُ

وَلا يَنالُ العُلا مَن طَبعُهُ الغَضَبُ

وَمَن يَكُن عَبدَ قَومٍ لا يُخالِفُهُم

إِذا جَفَوهُ وَيَستَرضي إِذا عَتَبوا

سَلوا صَرفَ هَذا الدَهرِ كَم شَنَّ غارَةً

فَفَرَّجتُها وَالمَوتُ فيها مُشَمِّرُ

بِصارِمِ عَزمٍ لَو ضَرَبتُ بِحَدِّهِ

دُجى اللَيلِ وَلّى وَهوَ بِالنَجمِ يَعثُرُ

دَعوني أَجُدَّ السَعيَ في طَلَبِ العُلا

فَأُدرِكَ سُؤلي أَو أَموتَ فَأُعذَرُ

**English Translation**

Malice finds no home

in those whom honor has raised.

Nor does true greatness belong

to one mastered by anger.

A man who lives among his people

must not turn against them;

when they grow distant,

he seeks reconciliation,

and when they reproach him,

he answers with patience.

Ask the turning years

how many raids they hurled upon us—

raids I broke apart

while death stood ready among them.

With a blade of resolve

whose edge, had it struck the night itself,

would have scattered darkness

and left it stumbling among the stars.

Leave me to pursue

the heights I seek.

Either I shall attain them—

or die with my purpose fulfilled.

__________

![](https://i0.wp.com/majalla.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Antara_aBANDONEDbYFATHER_90bpi.jpg?resize=1024%2C596&ssl=1)

#### **My Deeds Are My Lineage**

**Arabic**

يا عَبلُ لو أَنّي لَقيتُ كَتيبَةً

سَبعينَ أَلفاً ما رَهِبتُ لِقاها

وَأَنا المَنِيَّةُ وَابنُ كُلِّ مَنِيَّةٍ

وَسَوادُ جِلدي ثَوبُها وَرِداها

**English Translation**

Abla,

were I to face an army

seventy thousand strong,

I would not fear its coming.

I am death

and the son of death itself.

And this dark skin of mine—

it is the cloak death wears,

and the mantle wrapped around its shoulders.

_____________________

#### **Let Them Ask the Battlefield**

**Arabic**

سَلي يا عَبلَ قَومَكِ عَن فَعالي

وَمَن حَضَرَ الوَقيعَةَ وَالطِرادا

وَرَدتُ الحَربَ وَالأَبطالُ حَولي

تَهُزُّ أَكُفُّها السُمرَ الصِعادا

وَخُضتُ بِمُهجَتي بَحرَ المَنايا

وَنارُ الحَربِ تَتَّقِدُ اِتِّقادا

وَعُدتُ مُخَضَّباً بِدَمِ الأَعادي

وَكَربُ الرَكضِ قَد خَضَبَ الجَوادا

وَلَولا صارِمي وَسِنانُ رُمحي

لَما رَفَعَت بَنو عَبسٍ عِمادا

**English Translation**

Ask your people, Abla,

about what I have done.

Ask those who witnessed

the clash of battle

and the fury of pursuit.

I entered the war

while heroes stood around me,

their hands shaking

long brown spears.

I plunged with my life

into the sea of death,

while the fires of battle

rose blazing to the sky.

And I returned

bathed in the blood of enemies,

while sweat and dust

stained the flanks of my horse.

Had it not been

for my sword

and the point of my spear,

the house of Abs

would never have stood so high.

_____________________

#### **I Am Known in War**

**Arabic**

أَنا في الحَربِ العَوانِ

غَيرُ مَجهولِ المَكانِ

أَينَما نادى المُنادي

في دُجى النَقعِ يَراني

وَحُسامي مَعَ قَناتي

لِفِعالي شاهِدانِ

أَنَّني أَطعَنُ خَصمي

وَهُوَ يَقظانُ الجَنانِ

**English Translation**

In the bitter war

my place is never unknown.

Wherever the battle-cry rises

through the darkness of dust,

I am there.

My sword

and my spear

stand witness to my deeds.

They know

that when I strike an enemy,

I strike him

while his courage is still awake.

__________

![](https://i0.wp.com/majalla.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/antara_abla_90_dpi.jpg?resize=989%2C540&ssl=1)

## Abla

#### **The Chains of Love**

**Arabic**

وَهَيهاتَ يَخفى ما أُكِنُّ مِنَ الهَوى

وَثَوبُ سِقامي كُلَّ يَومٍ يُجَدَّدُ

أُقاتِلُ أَشواقي بِصَبري تَجَلُّداً

وَقَلبيَ في قَيدِ الغَرامِ مُقَيَّدُ

إِلى اللَهِ أَشكو جَورَ قَومي وَظُلمَهُم

إِذا لَم أَجِد خِلّاً عَلَى البُعدِ يَعضُدُ

خَليلَيَّ أَمسى حُبُّ عَبلَةَ قاتِلي

وَبَأسي شَديدٌ وَالحُسامُ مُهَنَّدُ

حَرامٌ عَلَيَّ النَومُ يا اِبنَةَ مالِكٍ

وَمَن فِراشُهُ جَمرُ الغَضا كَيفَ يَرقُدُ

سَأَندُبُ حَتّى يَعلَمَ الطَيرُ أَنَّني

حَزينٌ وَيَرثي لي الحَمامُ المُغَرِّدُ

وَأَلثِمُ أَرضاً أَنتِ فيها مُقيمَةٌ

لَعَلَّ لَهيبي مِن ثَرى الأَرضِ يَبرُدُ

رَحَلتِ وَقَلبي يا اِبنَةَ العَمِّ تائِهٌ

عَلى أَثَرِ الأَظعانِ لِلرَكبِ يَنشُدُ

لَئِن يَشمَتِ الأَعداءُ يا بِنتَ مالِكٍ

فَإِنَّ وِدادي مِثلَما كانَ يَعهَدُ

**English Translation**

How could I conceal

what love has hidden in my heart,

when every day

renews the garment of my affliction?

I battle my longing

with all the patience I can summon,

yet my heart remains chained

in the captivity of love.

To God I complain

of the injustice of my people,

when no friend remains

to strengthen me from afar.

My companions,

the love of Abla has become my undoing,

though my courage is fierce

and my sword is forged of Indian steel.

Sleep is forbidden to me,

daughter of Malik.

How can a man find rest

when his bed is burning embers?

I shall lament

until the birds themselves know my sorrow,

until even the singing doves

take pity on my grief.

I kiss the earth

where you make your dwelling,

hoping the fire within me

may cool upon its dust.

You departed,

and my heart, cousin,

wanders bewildered,

following the traces of the caravan

that carried you away.

And though my enemies rejoice,

daughter of Malik,

my love remains unchanged,

as steadfast as it has always been.

__________

#### **House of Abla**

**Arabic**

يا دارَ عَبلَةَ بِالجَواءِ تَكَلَّمي

وَعِمي صَباحاً دارَ عَبلَةَ وَاسلَمي

فَوَقَفتُ فيها ناقَتي وَكَأَنَّها

فَدَنٌ لِأَقضِي حاجَةَ المُتَلَوِّمِ

وَتَحُلُّ عَبلَةُ بِالجَواءِ وَأَهلُنا

بِالحَزنِ فَالصَمّانِ فَالمُتَثَلَّمِ

حَيِّيتُ مِن طَلَلٍ تَقادَمَ عَهدُهُ

أَقوى وَأَقفَرَ بَعدَ أُمِّ الهَيثَمِ

**English Translation**

House of Abla,

in the valley,

speak.

Peace be upon you,

house of Abla—

may you endure.

There I halted my she-camel,

and stood before the ruins

like one lingering long,

unable to depart.

Abla dwells in the valley,

while my people wander

among distant lands,

across stony plains

and broken hills.

I greeted the traces

of a dwelling long abandoned,

a place left empty

after those who gave it life

had gone.

__________

#### **If Only You Could See**

**Arabic**

قِفي وَانظُري يا عَبلُ فِعلي وَعايِني

طِعاني إِذا ثارَ العَجاجُ المُكَدَّرُ

تَري بَطَلاً يُلقي الفَوارِسَ ضاحِكاً

وَيَرجِعُ عَنهُم وَهُوَ أَشعَثُ أَغبَرُ

وَلا يَنثَني حَتّى يُخَلّي جَماجِماً

تَمُرُّ بِها ريحُ الجَنوبِ فَتَصفِرُ

وَأَجسادَ قَومٍ يَسكُنُ الطَيرُ حَولَها

**English Translation**

Stand and watch, Abla.

See what I do.

See my spear

when the dust of battle rises.

You would see a warrior

casting horsemen down with a smile,

then returning from the fight

dust-covered,

wild-haired,

and unbroken.

He does not turn away

until the field is emptied,

until skulls lie bare beneath the wind

and the southern breeze whistles through them.

Until the birds descend

to settle among the fallen.

__________

#### **The Fire of Longing and Distance**

**Arabic**

أَحرَقَتني نارُ الجَوى وَالبُعادِ

بَعدَ فَقدِ الأَوطانِ وَالأَولادِ

شابَ رَأسي فَصارَ أَبيَضَ لَوناً

بَعدَما كانَ حالِكاً بِالسَوادِ

وَتَذَكَّرتُ عَبلَةً يَومَ جاءَت

لِوَداعي وَالهَمُّ وَالوَجدُ بادي

وَهِيَ تُذري مِن خيفَةِ البُعدِ دَمعاً

مُستَهِلّاً بِلَوعَةٍ وَسُهادِ

قُلتُ كُفّي الدُموعَ عَنكِ فَقَلبي

ذابَ حُزناً وَلَوعَتي في اِزدِيادِ

وَيحَ هَذا الزَمانِ كَيفَ رَماني

بِسِهامٍ صابَت صَميمَ فُؤادي

غَيرَ أَنّي مِثلُ الحُسامِ إِذا ما

زادَ صَقلاً جادَ يَومَ جِلادِ

حَنَّكَتني نَوائِبُ الدَهرِ حَتّى

أَوقَفَتني عَلى طَريقِ الرَشادِ

وَلَقيتُ الأَبطالَ في كُلِّ حَربٍ

وَهَزَمتُ الرِجالَ في كُلِّ وادي

وَتَرَكتُ الفُرسانَ صَرعى بِطَعنٍ

مِن سِنانٍ يَحكي رُؤوسَ المَزادِ

قَلَّ صَبري عَلى فِراقِ غَصوبٍ

فَكَأَنّي أُعانِقُ الأَكبادِ

**English Translation**

The fire of longing

and the ache of distance

have consumed me,

after losing homeland

and those I loved.

My hair has turned white,

though once it was black as night.

And I remembered Abla

on the day she came

to bid me farewell,

her sorrow plain upon her face.

She shed tears

at the thought of separation,

tears born of sleepless nights

and a heart already wounded.

I said:

Hold back your tears.

My own heart is melting with grief,

and my longing only grows.

Cruel is this age—

how it has struck me

with arrows aimed

at the center of my soul.

Yet I am like a sword:

the more it is polished,

the brighter it shines

on the day of battle.

The hardships of time

have seasoned me,

until they set my feet

upon the path of wisdom.

I have faced heroes

in every war,

and defeated men

in every valley.

I have left warriors fallen

beneath the thrust of my spear.

Yet all my courage

cannot teach me patience

when I am parted from the one I love.

__________

#### **The Earth Where You Dwell**

**Arabic**

وَأَلثِمُ أَرضاً أَنتِ فيها مُقيمَةٌ

لَعَلَّ لَهيبي مِن ثَرى الأَرضِ يَبرُدُ

رَحَلتِ وَقَلبي يا اِبنَةَ العَمِّ تائِهٌ

عَلى أَثَرِ الأَظعانِ لِلرَكبِ يَنشُدُ

**English Translation**

I kiss the earth

where you make your home,

hoping its dust

might cool the fire within me.

You departed,

and my heart, cousin,

wanders lost,

following the fading tracks

of the caravan that carried you away.

__________

#### **Love Has Become My Slayer**

**Arabic**

خَليلَيَّ أَمسى حُبُّ عَبلَةَ قاتِلي

وَبَأسي شَديدٌ وَالحُسامُ مُهَنَّدُ

حَرامٌ عَلَيَّ النَومُ يا اِبنَةَ مالِكٍ

وَمَن فِراشُهُ جَمرُ الغَضا كَيفَ يَرقُدُ

سَأَندُبُ حَتّى يَعلَمَ الطَيرُ أَنَّني

حَزينٌ وَيَرثي لي الحَمامُ المُغَرِّدُ

**English Translation**

My friends,

the love of Abla

has become my slayer—

though my courage is fierce

and my sword is forged of steel.

Sleep is forbidden to me,

daughter of Malik.

How can a man rest

when his bed is made of burning coals?

I shall mourn

until the birds themselves know my sorrow,

until even the singing dove

grieves for me.

__________

#### **I Remembered You**

**Arabic**

وَلَقَد ذَكَرْتُكِ وَالرِّماحُ نَواهِلٌ

مِنّي وَبِيضُ الهِندِ تَقطُرُ مِن دَمي

فَوَدِدتُ تَقبيلَ السُيوفِ لأَنَّها

لَمَعَت كَبارِقِ ثَغرِكِ المُتَبَسِّمِ

**English Translation**

I remembered you

while the spears drank deeply

from my flesh,

and Indian blades

dripped with my blood.

Then I longed

to kiss the swords,

for their sudden gleam

was like the flash

of your smiling mouth.

__________

![](https://i0.wp.com/majalla.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Antara_at_war_90bpi.jpg?resize=1165%2C679&ssl=1)

#### **Your Memory in Battle**

**Arabic**

يا عَبلُ لَو أَنّي لَقيتُ كَتيبَةً

سَبعينَ أَلفاً ما رَهِبتُ لِقاها

وَأَنا المَنِيَّةُ وَاِبنُ كُلِّ مَنِيَّةٍ

وَسَوادُ جِلدي ثَوبُها وَرِداها

**English Translation**

Abla,

if I were to face

an army seventy thousand strong,

I would not fear its coming.

I am death,

and the son of death.

This dark skin of mine

is the cloak it wears,

and the mantle wrapped about it.

__________

#### **Stand and Witness**

**Arabic**

قِفي وَانظُري يا عَبلُ فِعلي وَعايِني

طِعاني إِذا ثارَ العَجاجُ المُكَدَّرُ

تَري بَطَلاً يُلقي الفَوارِسَ ضاحِكاً

وَيَرجِعُ عَنهُم وَهُوَ أَشعَثُ أَغبَرُ

وَلا يَنثَني حَتّى يُخَلّي جَماجِماً

تَمُرُّ بِها ريحُ الجَنوبِ فَتَصفِرُ

**English Translation**

Stand and watch, Abla.

See with your own eyes

how I fight

when the dust of battle rises.

You will see a warrior

casting horsemen down

with laughter on his lips,

then returning

dust-covered,

wind-torn,

and unbowed.

He does not turn away

until the field is cleared,

until the wind whistles

through the skulls of the fallen.

__________

#### **Ask the Horses**

**Arabic**

هَلّا سَأَلتِ الخَيلَ يا اِبنَةَ مالِكٍ

إِن كُنتِ جاهِلَةً بِما لَم تَعلَمي

يُخبِركِ مَن شَهِدَ الوَقيعَةَ أَنَّني

أَغشى الوَغى وَأَعِفُّ عِندَ المَغنَمِ

**English Translation**

Why not ask the horses,

daughter of Malik,

if there is something

you do not know of me?

Those who witnessed the battle

will tell you:

I enter the heart of war,

yet keep my honor

when the spoils are divided.

__________

#### **The Warrior's Confession**

**Arabic**

خَليلَيَّ أَمسى حُبُّ عَبلَةَ قاتِلي

وَبَأسي شَديدٌ وَالحُسامُ مُهَنَّدُ

**English Translation**

My friends,

the love of Abla

has become my slayer—

though my courage is fierce

and my sword

is forged of tempered steel.

__________

## The Desert and the Journey

#### **House of Abla in the Valley**

**Arabic**

يا دارَ عَبلَةَ بِالجَواءِ تَكَلَّمي

وَعِمي صَباحاً دارَ عَبلَةَ وَاسلَمي

فَوَقَفتُ فيها ناقَتي وَكَأَنَّها

فَدَنٌ لِأَقضِي حاجَةَ المُتَلَوِّمِ

حَيِّيتُ مِن طَلَلٍ تَقادَمَ عَهدُهُ

أَقوى وَأَقفَرَ بَعدَ أُمِّ الهَيثَمِ

**English Translation**

House of Abla,

in the valley,

speak.

Peace be upon you,

house of Abla—

may you endure.

There I halted my camel

and lingered beside the ruins,

like one unwilling to depart,

finding excuses to remain.

I greeted traces

whose age had grown long,

a dwelling emptied

and abandoned,

after those who gave it life

had gone away.

__________

**Following the Caravan**

**Arabic**

رَحَلتِ وَقَلبي يا اِبنَةَ العَمِّ تائِهٌ

عَلى أَثَرِ الأَظعانِ لِلرَكبِ يَنشُدُ

**English Translation**

You departed,

and my heart, cousin,

was left wandering.

It followed the caravan's fading trail,

searching the dust

for what had already vanished.

__________

#### **The Earth That Holds Her Footsteps**

**Arabic**

وَأَلثِمُ أَرضاً أَنتِ فيها مُقيمَةٌ

لَعَلَّ لَهيبي مِن ثَرى الأَرضِ يَبرُدُ

**English Translation**

I kiss the earth

where you make your dwelling,

hoping the dust beneath your feet

may cool

the fire consuming my heart.

__________

#### **A Wilderness Far from Men**

**Arabic**

وَقَد أَبعَدوني عَن حَبيبٍ أُحِبُّهُ

فَأَصبَحتُ في قَفرٍ عَنِ الإِنسِ نازِحِ

**English Translation**

They drove me far

from the one I love,

until I found myself

in a wilderness

far from the company of men.

__________

#### **The Path of Hardship**

**Arabic**

حَنَّكَتني نَوائِبُ الدَهرِ حَتّى

أَوقَفَتني عَلى طَريقِ الرَشادِ

**English Translation**

The hardships of time

were my teachers,

until they brought me at last

to the road of wisdom.

__________

#### **The Star Beneath Me**

**Arabic**

رَأَيتُ النَجمَ تَحتي وَهُوَ يَجري

وَقَوماً آخَرينَ سَعَوا وَعادوا

**English Translation**

I saw the star

running beneath me,

while others came and went

upon their separate paths.

__________

#### **The Bird of the Arāk Tree**

**Arabic**

فَيا طَيرَ الأَراكِ بِحَقِّ رَبٍّ

بَراكَ عَساكَ تَعلَمُ أَينَ حَلّوا

وَتُطلِقُ عاشِقاً مِن أَسرِ قَومٍ

لَهُ في حُبِّهِم أُسُرٌ وَغُلُّ

**English Translation**

Bird of the arāk tree,

by the Lord who created you,

perhaps you know

where they have settled.

Set free a lover

held captive by longing,

a man whose love

has bound him

with chains and iron fetters.

__________

#### **No Place Like Yours**

**Arabic**

يُنادوني وَخَيلُ المَوتِ تَجري

مَحَلُّكَ لا يُعادِلُهُ مَحَلُّ

**English Translation**

They call to me

while the horses of death are running,

yet no place in all the world

equals the place where you are.

__________

## War

#### **Ask the Battlefield**

**Arabic**

سَلوا صَرفَ هَذا الدَهرِ كَم شَنَّ غارَةً

فَفَرَّجتُها وَالمَوتُ فيها مُشَمِّرُ

بِصارِمِ عَزمٍ لَو ضَرَبتُ بِحَدِّهِ

دُجى اللَيلِ وَلّى وَهُوَ بِالنَجمِ يَعثُرُ

دَعوني أَجُدَّ السَعيَ في طالَبِ العُلا

فَأُدرِكَ سُؤلي أَو أَموتَ فَأُعذَرُ

**English Translation**

Ask the years

how many raids they sent against us,

raids I scattered

while death stood ready among them.

With a blade of resolve

whose edge, if turned against the night,

would drive darkness away

and leave it stumbling among the stars.

Leave me to pursue

the heights I seek.

Either I shall reach them—

or die

with my purpose intact.

__________

#### **Into the Sea of Death**

**Arabic**

وَرَدتُ الحَربَ وَالأَبطالُ حَولي

تَهُزُّ أَكُفُّها السُمرَ الصِعادا

وَخُضتُ بِمُهجَتي بَحرَ المَنايا

وَنارُ الحَربِ تَتَّقِدُ اِتِّقادا

**English Translation**

I entered the war

while heroes surrounded me,

their hands brandishing

long brown spears.

And I plunged with my soul

into the sea of death,

while the fires of battle

rose blazing all around me.

__________

#### **The Dust of Battle**

**Arabic**

قِفي وَانظُري يا عَبلُ فِعلي وَعايِني

طِعاني إِذا ثارَ العَجاجُ المُكَدَّرُ

تَري بَطَلاً يُلقي الفَوارِسَ ضاحِكاً

وَيَرجِعُ عَنهُم وَهُوَ أَشعَثُ أَغبَرُ

**English Translation**

Stand and watch, Abla.

See my spear

when the dust-cloud rises.

You will see a warrior

casting horsemen down

with laughter on his lips,

then returning

dust-covered,

wind-blown,

and undefeated.

__________

#### **My Sword and My Spear**

**Arabic**

وَحُسامي مَعَ قَناتي

لِفِعالي شاهِدانِ

أَنَّني أَطعَنُ خَصمي

وَهُوَ يَقظانُ الجَنانِ

**English Translation**

My sword

and my spear

stand witness to my deeds.

They know

that when I strike an enemy,

I strike him

while his courage

is still awake.

__________

#### **Not Unknown in War**

**Arabic**

أَنا في الحَربِ العَوانِ

غَيرُ مَجهولِ المَكانِ

أَينَما نادى المُنادي

في دُجى النَقعِ يَراني

**English Translation**

In the bitter war

my place is never unknown.

Wherever the battle-cry rises

through the darkness of dust,

I am there.

__________

#### **The Sweetest Sounds**

**Arabic**

أَطيَبُ الأَصواتِ عِندي

حُسنُ صَوتِ الهِندُواني

وَصَريرُ الرُمحِ جَهراً

في الوَغى يَومَ الطِعانِ

وَصِياحُ القَومِ فيهِ

وَهُوَ لِلأَبطالِ داني

**English Translation**

The sweetest sounds to me

are the singing edge

of an Indian blade,

the sharp cry of a spear

in the day of combat,

and the shouting of men

when battle draws near.

__________

#### **Let Me Give the Sword Its Due**

**Arabic**

دَعوني أُوَفّي السَيفَ في الحَربِ حَقَّهُ

وَأَشرَبُ مِن كَأسِ المَنِيَّةِ صافِيا

**English Translation**

Leave me

to give the sword

its rightful due in battle,

and drink from the cup of death

clear and undiluted.

__________

**The Field of the Fallen**

**Arabic**

وَلا يَنثَني حَتّى يُخَلّي جَماجِماً

تَمُرُّ بِها ريحُ الجَنوبِ فَتَصفِرُ

وَأَجسادَ قَومٍ يَسكُنُ الطَيرُ حَولَها

**English Translation**

He does not turn away

until the field lies silent,

until the southern wind

whistles through empty skulls,

and birds descend

to settle among the fallen.

__________

**The Sea of Spears**

**Arabic**

وَرُمحي ما طَعَنتُ بِهِ طَعيناً

فَعادَ بِعَينِهِ نَظَرَ الرَشادِ

وَسَيفي مُرهَفُ الحَدَّينِ ماضٍ

تَقُدُّ شِفارُهُ الصَخرَ الجَمادا

**English Translation**

Never have I struck a man

with my spear

and left him searching again

for the path of wisdom.

My sword,

keen on both edges,

cuts forward relentlessly—

its blades could split

solid stone.

__________

## Wisdom and Time

#### **The Hardships of Time**

**Arabic**

حَنَّكَتني نَوائِبُ الدَهرِ حَتّى

أَوقَفَتني عَلى طَريقِ الرَشادِ

**English Translation**

The hardships of time

have seasoned me,

until they set my feet

upon the road of wisdom.

__________

**I Rebuke an Age**

**Arabic**

أُعاتِبُ دَهراً لا يَلينُ لِناصِحِ

وَأُخفي الجَوى في القَلبِ وَالدَمعُ فاضِحي

وَقَومي مَعَ الأَيّامِ عَونٌ عَلى دَمي

وَقَد طَلَبوني بِالقَنا وَالصَفائِحِ

وَقَد أَبعَدوني عَن حَبيبٍ أُحِبُّهُ

فَأَصبَحتُ في قَفرٍ عَنِ الإِنسِ نازِحِ

**English Translation**

I rebuke an age

that listens to no counsel.

I hide my sorrow in my heart,

yet my tears betray me.

My own people,

together with the passing days,

have become allies against my blood.

They came for me

with spears and shining blades,

and drove me far

from the one I love,

until I found myself alone

in a wilderness beyond mankind.

__________

#### **Better Death Than Shame**

**Arabic**

فَيا رَبِّ لا تَجعَل حَياتي مَذَمَّةً

وَلا مَوتَتي بَينَ النِساءِ النَوائِحِ

وَلَكِن قَتيلاً يَدرُجُ الطَيرُ حَولَهُ

**English Translation**

My Lord,

do not let my life

become a thing of disgrace.

Nor let me die

among wailing mourners.

Instead,

let me fall where birds circle overhead,

upon a field

earned by courage.

__________

#### **They Mock My Color**

**Arabic**

تُعَيِّرُني العِدا بِسَوادِ جِلدي

وَبيضُ خَصائِلي تَمحو السَوادا

**English Translation**

My enemies mock

the darkness of my skin,

yet the brightness of my deeds

wipes away that darkness.

__________

**Patience**

**Arabic**

وَبِالصَبرِ الجَميلِ وَإِن تَمادى

تُعَيِّرُني العِدا بِسَوادِ جِلدي

وَبيضُ خَصائِلي تَمحو السَوادا

**English Translation**

With patient endurance,

even when trials grow long,

I withstand them.

Let my enemies speak of my color—

my character

answers for me.

__________

#### **The Turning of Fortune**

**Arabic**

أُعادي صَرفَ دَهرٍ لا يُعادى

وَأَحتَمِلُ القَطيعَةَ وَالبِعادا

وَأُظهِرُ نُصحَ قَومٍ ضَيَّعوني

**English Translation**

I contend

with a fate no man can conquer.

I endure estrangement

and separation.

And still I offer loyalty

to people

who abandoned me.

__________

#### **The White Hair of Experience**

**Arabic**

شابَ رَأسي فَصارَ أَبيَضَ لَوناً

بَعدَما كانَ حالِكاً بِالسَوادِ

وَيحَ هَذا الزَمانِ كَيفَ رَماني

بِسِهامٍ صابَت صَميمَ فُؤادي

**English Translation**

My hair has turned white,

though once it was dark as night.

Cruel is this age—

how many arrows it has loosed,

and how deeply

they have struck my heart.

__________

#### **No Messenger from the Unseen**

**Arabic**

وَلا تَختَشوا مِمّا يُقَدَّرُ في غَدٍ

فَما جاءَنا مِن عالَمِ الغَيبِ مُخبِرُ

وَكَم مِن نَذيرٍ قَد أَتانا مُحَذِّراً

فَكانَ رَسولاً بِالسُرورِ يُبَشِّرُ

**English Translation**

Do not fear

what tomorrow may bring.

No messenger has come to us

from the unseen world.

How often have warnings arrived

foretelling disaster,

only to become

bearers of joy.

__________

#### **The Measure of a Man**

**Arabic**

لا يَحمِلُ الحِقدَ مَن تَعلو بِهِ الرُتَبُ

وَلا يَنالُ العُلا مَن طَبعُهُ الغَضَبُ

**English Translation**

A man raised by true honor

does not carry hatred.

And greatness

never belongs

to one ruled by anger.

_____________________

## Legacy

#### **Let the Horses Speak**

**Arabic**

هَلّا سَأَلتِ الخَيلَ يا اِبنَةَ مالِكٍ

إِن كُنتِ جاهِلَةً بِما لَم تَعلَمي

يُخبِركِ مَن شَهِدَ الوَقيعَةَ أَنَّني

أَغشى الوَغى وَأَعِفُّ عِندَ المَغنَمِ

**English Translation**

Why not ask the horses,

daughter of Malik,

if there is something

you do not know of me?

Those who witnessed battle

will tell you:

I enter the heart of war,

yet remain honorable

when the spoils are shared.

__________

#### **My Sword Is My Witness**

**Arabic**

وَحُسامي مَعَ قَناتي

لِفِعالي شاهِدانِ

**English Translation**

My sword

and my spear

bear witness

to the life I have lived.

__________

#### **Ask the Years**

**Arabic**

سَلوا صَرفَ هَذا الدَهرِ كَم شَنَّ غارَةً

فَفَرَّجتُها وَالمَوتُ فيها مُشَمِّرُ

**English Translation**

Ask the passing years

how many storms they sent,

and how many times

I stood before them

while death waited near.

__________

#### **What Endures**

**Arabic**

وَلَولا صارِمي وَسِنانُ رُمحي

لَما رَفَعَت بَنو عَبسٍ عِمادا

**English Translation**

Had it not been

for my sword

and the point of my spear,

the house of Abs

would never have risen so high.

__________

#### **The Brightness of Deeds**

**Arabic**

تُعَيِّرُني العِدا بِسَوادِ جِلدي

وَبيضُ خَصائِلي تَمحو السَوادا

**English Translation**

My enemies mock

the darkness of my skin,

yet the brightness of my deeds

erases their reproach.

__________

#### **Greatness**

**Arabic**

لا يَحمِلُ الحِقدَ مَن تَعلو بِهِ الرُتَبُ

وَلا يَنالُ العُلا مَن طَبعُهُ الغَضَبُ

**English Translation**

Those raised by honor

do not carry hatred.

And greatness

never belongs

to those governed by anger.

__________

#### **The Road of Wisdom**

**Arabic**

حَنَّكَتني نَوائِبُ الدَهرِ حَتّى

أَوقَفَتني عَلى طَريقِ الرَشادِ

**English Translation**

The hardships of time

were my teachers,

until they placed me

upon the road of wisdom.

__________

#### **A Life Without Shame**

**Arabic**

فَيا رَبِّ لا تَجعَل حَياتي مَذَمَّةً

وَلا مَوتَتي بَينَ النِساءِ النَوائِحِ

**English Translation**

My Lord,

do not let my life

be marked by disgrace,

nor my death

by regret.

__________

#### **The Final Measure**

**Arabic**

دَعوني أَجُدَّ السَعيَ في طَلَبِ العُلا

فَأُدرِكَ سُؤلي أَو أَموتَ فَأُعذَرُ

**English Translation**

Let me continue

my pursuit of excellence.

Either I shall reach

what I seek,

or I shall die

having given my fullest effort.

__________

#### **The Color of Musk**

**Arabic**

لَئِن أَكُ أَسوَداً فَالمِسكُ لَوني

وَما لِسَوادِ جِلدي مِن دَواءِ

**English Translation**

Yes, my skin is dark—

but so is musk,

the fragrance cherished by kings.

There is no cure

for my color,

and I seek none.

__________

#### **The Last Word**

**Arabic**

وَلَكِن تَبعُدُ الفَحشاءُ عَنّي

كَبُعدِ الأَرضِ عَن جَوِّ السَماءِ

**English Translation**

Yet dishonor remains far from me,

as distant

as the earth

from the heights of heaven.

________________________

## Songs of Love

1. #### **The Bird of the Bān Tree**

**Arabic**

يا طائِرَ البانِ قَد هَيَّجتَ أَشجاني

وَزِدتَني طَرَباً يا طائِرَ البانِ

إِن كُنتَ تَندُبُ إِلفاً قَد فُجِعتَ بِهِ

فَقَد شَجاكَ الَّذي بِالبَينِ أَشجاني

زِدني مِنَ النَوحِ وَاِسعِدني عَلى حَزَني

حَتّى تَرى عَجَباً مِن فَيضِ أَجفاني

وَقِف لِتَنظُرَ ما بي لا تَكُن عَجِلاً

وَاِحذَر لِنَفسِكَ مِن أَنفاسِ نيراني

وَطِر لَعَلَّكَ في أَرضِ الحِجازِ تَرى

رَكباً عَلى عالِجٍ أَو دونَ نَعمانِ

يَسري بِجارِيَةٍ تَنهَلُّ أَدمُعُها

شَوقاً إِلى وَطَنٍ ناءٍ وَجيرانِ

ناشَدتُكَ اللَهَ يا طَيرَ الحَمامِ إِذا

رَأَيتَ يَوماً حُمولَ القَومِ فَاِنعاني

وَقُل طَريحاً تَرَكناهُ وَقَد فَنِيَت

دُموعُهُ وَهوَ يَبكي بِالدَمِ القاني

**English Translation**

O bird among the bān trees,

you have awakened my sorrows

and stirred my heart once more.

If you lament a companion

from whom fate has torn you,

then you know the grief

that separation has taught me.

Sing again.

Lend your voice to my sorrow,

until you witness

the flood of tears in my eyes.

Pause a moment.

Look upon what has become of me.

Do not hurry away—

and guard yourself

from the fire of my sighs.

Then fly.

Perhaps somewhere in the land of Ḥijāz

you will glimpse a caravan

crossing the desert plains,

bearing a young woman

whose tears flow freely,

yearning for a distant homeland

and the neighbors she left behind.

And if one day,

bird of the dove's lament,

you see the tents of her people,

carry my message.

Tell them:

We left behind a man

struck down by longing,

a man whose tears were exhausted

until he wept blood.

_____________________

1. #### **If My Heart Were Mine**

**Arabic**

لَو كانَ قَلبي مَعي ما اِختَرتُ غَيرُكُمُ

وَلا رَضيتُ سِواكُم في الهَوى بَدَلا

لَكِنَّهُ راغِبٌ في مَن يُعَذِّبُهُ

فَلَيسَ يَقبَلُ لا لَوماً وَلا عَذَلا

**English Translation**

If my heart belonged to me,

it would choose no one but you.

Never would it accept another

in love's place.

But my heart has a will of its own.

It longs for the very one

who causes its suffering.

Neither reproach

nor wise advice

can turn it from its path.

_____________________

1. #### **The Army of Longing**

**Arabic**

وَبَدَّلَ قُربي حادِثُ الدَهرِ بِالبُعدِ

لَبَستُ لَها دِرعاً مِنَ الصَبرِ مانِعاً

وَلاقَيتُ جَيشَ الشَوقِ مُنفَرِداً وَحدي

وَبِتُّ بِطَيفٍ مِنكِ يا عَبلَ قانِعاً

وَلَو باتَ يَسري في الظَلامِ عَلى خَدّي

فَبِاللَهِ يا ريحَ الحِجازِ تَنَفَّسي

عَلى كَبِدٍ حَرّى تَذوبُ مِنَ الوَجدِ

**English Translation**

Time transformed nearness

into distance.

So I clothed myself

in a shield of patience

and stood alone

against the army of longing.

Night after night

I lived upon your memory,

Abla,

content with nothing more

than the shadow of your presence.

O wind of the Ḥijāz,

if you pass this way,

breathe gently

upon a heart aflame—

a heart melting slowly

from desire.

_____________________

1. #### **A Messenger of Light**

**Arabic**

وَيا بَرقُ إِن عَرَّضتَ مِن جانِبِ الحِمى

فَحَيِّ بَني عَبسٍ عَلى العَلَمِ السَعدي

وَإِن خَمَدَت نيرانُ عَبلَةَ مَوهِناً

فَكُن أَنتَ في أَكنافِها نَيِّرَ الوَقدِ

وَخَلِّ النَدى يَنهَلُّ فَوقَ خِيامِها

يُذَكِّرُها أَنّي مُقيمٌ عَلى العَهدِ

**English Translation**

O lightning,

if your brilliance passes

over the lands of my people,

greet the tribe of Abs for me.

And if the fires

before Abla's tent

have faded in the night,

then become their flame.

Shine in her darkness.

Let the dew descend

upon her dwelling,

and remind her

that I remain faithful

to my promise,

unchanged by time

or distance.

_____________________

1. #### **How Could I Conceal My Love?**

**Arabic**

وَهَيهاتَ يَخفى ما أُكِنُّ مِنَ الهَوى

وَثَوبُ سِقامي كُلَّ يَومٍ يُجَدَّدُ

أُقاتِلُ أَشواقي بِصَبري تَجَلُّداً

وَقَلبيَ في قَيدِ الغَرامِ مُقَيَّدُ

إِلى اللَهِ أَشكو جَورَ قَومي وَظُلمَهُم

إِذا لَم أَجِد خِلّاً عَلَى البُعدِ يَعضُدُ

خَليلَيَّ أَمسى حُبُّ عَبلَةَ قاتِلي

وَبَأسي شَديدٌ وَالحُسامُ مُهَنَّدُ

حَرامٌ عَلَيَّ النَومُ يا اِبنَةَ مالِكٍ

وَمَن فِراشُهُ جَمرُ الغَضا كَيفَ يَرقُدُ

سَأَندُبُ حَتّى يَعلَمَ الطَيرُ أَنَّني

حَزينٌ وَيَرثي لي الحَمامُ المُغَرِّدُ

وَأَلثِمُ أَرضاً أَنتِ فيها مُقيمَةٌ

لَعَلَّ لَهيبي مِن ثَرى الأَرضِ يَبرُدُ

رَحَلتِ وَقَلبي يا اِبنَةَ العَمِّ تائِهٌ

عَلى أَثَرِ الأَظعانِ لِلرَكبِ يَنشُدُ

لَئِن يَشمَتِ الأَعداءُ يا بِنتَ مالِكٍ

فَإِنَّ وِدادي مِثلَما كانَ يَعهَدُ

**English Translation**

How could I hide

what love has hidden in my heart,

when each new day

renews the garment of my affliction?

I wage war against longing

with the frail shield of patience,

yet my heart remains bound

in the chains of desire.

To God alone I carry my complaint—

the cruelty of fate,

the injustice of my people,

the loneliness of distance.

My friends,

the love of Abla has become my undoing,

though my courage is fierce

and my sword is forged of tempered steel.

Sleep is forbidden to me,

daughter of Malik.

How can a man find rest

when his bed is made of burning embers?

I shall mourn

until the birds learn my sorrow,

until even the mourning dove

takes pity on my grief.

I kiss the earth

upon which you walk,

hoping its dust may cool

the fire within me.

You departed,

and my heart wandered after you,

following the fading tracks

of the caravan.

And though my enemies may rejoice,

daughter of Malik,

my love remains unchanged,

faithful as ever.

_____________________

1. #### **The Fire of Longing and Distance**

**Arabic**

أَحرَقَتني نارُ الجَوى وَالبُعادِ

بَعدَ فَقدِ الأَوطانِ وَالأَولادِ

شابَ رَأسي فَصارَ أَبيَضَ لَوناً

بَعدَما كانَ حالِكاً بِالسَوادِ

وَتَذَكَّرتُ عَبلَةً يَومَ جاءَت

لِوَداعي وَالهَمُّ وَالوَجدُ بادي

وَهِيَ تُذري مِن خيفَةِ البُعدِ دَمعاً

مُستَهِلّاً بِلَوعَةٍ وَسُهادِ

قُلتُ كُفّي الدُموعَ عَنكِ فَقَلبي

ذابَ حُزناً وَلَوعَتي في اِزدِيادِ

وَيحَ هَذا الزَمانِ كَيفَ رَماني

بِسِهامٍ صابَت صَميمَ فُؤادي

**English Translation**

The fire of longing

and the ache of distance

have consumed me,

after the loss of homeland

and all that once gave life its meaning.

My hair has turned white,

though once it was black as the desert night.

And I remember Abla

on the day she came

to bid me farewell.

Sorrow stood plainly upon her face.

Tears flowed from her eyes,

born of separation,

born of sleepless nights

and a wounded heart.

I said:

Do not weep.

My own heart

is melting beneath its grief,

and my longing only grows.

Cruel is this age—

how mercilessly it has struck me,

sending arrows

to the very center of my soul.

_____________________

1. #### **The Day of Farewell**

**Arabic**

وَتَذَكَّرتُ عَبلَةً يَومَ جاءَت

لِوَداعي وَالهَمُّ وَالوَجدُ بادي

وَهِيَ تُذري مِن خيفَةِ البُعدِ دَمعاً

مُستَهِلّاً بِلَوعَةٍ وَسُهادِ

**English Translation**

I remember Abla

on the morning of farewell.

Grief was written

across her face.

She feared the distance

that would soon stand between us,

and tears fell freely

from her eyes—

tears born

from love,

from sorrow,

and from nights without sleep.

_____________________

1. #### **If Only the Wind Could Carry Me**

**Arabic**

فَبِاللَهِ يا ريحَ الحِجازِ تَنَفَّسي

عَلى كَبِدٍ حَرّى تَذوبُ مِنَ الوَجدِ

وَيا بَرقُ إِن عَرَّضتَ مِن جانِبِ الحِمى

فَحَيِّ بَني عَبسٍ عَلى العَلَمِ السَعدي

**English Translation**

O wind of the Ḥijāz,

breathe gently

upon this burning heart

that melts from longing.

And you, lightning,

if your brilliance passes

over the lands of my people,

carry my greeting.

Tell them

that distance has not erased memory,

nor time diminished love.

_____________________

1. #### **A Heart That Refuses Counsel**

**Arabic**

لَو كانَ قَلبي مَعي ما اِختَرتُ غَيرُكُمُ

وَلا رَضيتُ سِواكُم في الهَوى بَدَلا

لَكِنَّهُ راغِبٌ في مَن يُعَذِّبُهُ

فَلَيسَ يَقبَلُ لا لَوماً وَلا عَذَلا

**English Translation**

If my heart belonged to me,

it would choose no one but you.

It would never accept another

in the place of love.

Yet the heart is a strange ruler.

It desires the one

who causes its suffering,

and turns away

from every warning,

every counsel,

every attempt at reason.

_____________________

1. #### **The Earth Beneath Your Feet**

**Arabic**

وَأَلثِمُ أَرضاً أَنتِ فيها مُقيمَةٌ

لَعَلَّ لَهيبي مِن ثَرى الأَرضِ يَبرُدُ

**English Translation**

I kiss the earth

where you dwell,

hoping that its dust

has preserved some trace of you.

Perhaps then

the fire within me

will cool,

if only for a moment.

_____________________
 **11. Love Is Not Diminished by Distance**

**Arabic**

لَئِن يَشمَتِ الأَعداءُ يا بِنتَ مالِكٍ

فَإِنَّ وِدادي مِثلَما كانَ يَعهَدُ

وَإِن طالَ هَذا البُعدُ بَيني وَبَينَكُم

فَعَهدُ الهَوى في القَلبِ لا يَتَبَدَّدُ

**English Translation**

Though enemies may rejoice,

daughter of Malik,

my love remains

as steadfast as ever.

Let distance stretch

its endless road between us—

the covenant of love

within my heart

does not fade.

What is written in the soul

cannot be erased

by miles,

by years,

or by the designs of fate.

_____________________

1. **Alone with Memory**

**Arabic**

وَبِتُّ بِطَيفٍ مِنكِ يا عَبلَ قانِعاً

وَلَو باتَ يَسري في الظَلامِ عَلى خَدّي

**English Translation**

I spent the night

content with nothing

but your memory,

Abla.

Even if that memory

passed lightly across my cheek

like a shadow in darkness,

it was enough

to sustain me

until dawn.

_____________________

1. #### **The Companion of My Exile**

**Arabic**

إِلى اللَهِ أَشكو جَورَ قَومي وَظُلمَهُم

إِذا لَم أَجِد خِلّاً عَلَى البُعدِ يَعضُدُ

**English Translation**

To God I carry my complaint:

the harshness of my people,

the injustice of circumstance.

For in exile

there is no faithful companion,

no hand to steady the traveler,

except memory—

and the hope

that survives within it.

_____________________

1. #### **The Long Road Between Us**

**Arabic**

رَحَلتِ وَقَلبي يا اِبنَةَ العَمِّ تائِهٌ

عَلى أَثَرِ الأَظعانِ لِلرَكبِ يَنشُدُ

**English Translation**

You departed,

and my heart was left behind,

wandering after the caravan.

Across the empty plain

it searched the fading tracks,

asking the wind

where you had gone,

asking the dust

to preserve your footsteps.

_____________________

1. #### **The Language of Tears**

**Arabic**

وَهِيَ تُذري مِن خيفَةِ البُعدِ دَمعاً

مُستَهِلّاً بِلَوعَةٍ وَسُهادِ

**English Translation**

She wept

at the thought of separation.

Not with loud lamentation,

but with tears

too deep for words.

They flowed quietly,

bearing the weight

of longing,

fear,

and sleepless nights.

_____________________

1. #### **The Unconquered Heart**

**Arabic**

خَليلَيَّ أَمسى حُبُّ عَبلَةَ قاتِلي

وَبَأسي شَديدٌ وَالحُسامُ مُهَنَّدُ

**English Translation**

My friends,

the love of Abla

has become my slayer.

Yet I remain

the same man

whose courage does not falter,

whose sword is forged

from the finest steel.

Many enemies

have failed to overcome me.

Love alone

has found a way.

_____________________

1. #### **The Fire Beneath the Ashes**

**Arabic**

حَرامٌ عَلَيَّ النَومُ يا اِبنَةَ مالِكٍ

وَمَن فِراشُهُ جَمرُ الغَضا كَيفَ يَرقُدُ

**English Translation**

Sleep is forbidden to me,

daughter of Malik.

How can a man rest

when his bed

is made of glowing embers?

Outwardly,

the night is still.

But beneath the silence

a fire continues to burn.

_____________________

1. #### **The Dove's Lament**

**Arabic**

سَأَندُبُ حَتّى يَعلَمَ الطَيرُ أَنَّني

حَزينٌ وَيَرثي لي الحَمامُ المُغَرِّدُ

**English Translation**

I shall mourn

until the birds themselves

learn my sorrow,

until the singing dove

pauses in its song

to grieve with me.

Perhaps then

the sky will understand

what words cannot express.

_____________________

1. #### **The Dust of Her Homeland**

**Arabic**

وَأَلثِمُ أَرضاً أَنتِ فيها مُقيمَةٌ

لَعَلَّ لَهيبي مِن ثَرى الأَرضِ يَبرُدُ

**English Translation**

I kiss the earth

where you dwell,

hoping that somewhere

within its dust

a trace of your presence remains.

And perhaps,

through that touch alone,

the fever of longing

may briefly cool.

_____________________

1. #### **Love's Last Refuge**

**Arabic**

لَو كانَ قَلبي مَعي ما اِختَرتُ غَيرُكُمُ

وَلا رَضيتُ سِواكُم في الهَوى بَدَلا

لَكِنَّهُ راغِبٌ في مَن يُعَذِّبُهُ

فَلَيسَ يَقبَلُ لا لَوماً وَلا عَذَلا

**English Translation**

If my heart were mine,

it would choose another path.

It would seek peace,

avoid sorrow,

and spare itself this longing.

But the heart belongs

to its own kingdom.

It chooses whom it loves,

and once it has chosen,

neither wisdom,

nor warning,

nor time itself

can persuade it otherwise.

_____________________
 **21. I Remembered You Amid the Spears**

**Arabic**

وَلَقَد ذَكَرْتُكِ وَالرِّماحُ نَواهِلٌ

مِنّي وَبِيضُ الهِندِ تَقطُرُ مِن دَمي

فَوَدِدتُ تَقبيلَ السُيوفِ لأَنَّها

لَمَعَت كَبارِقِ ثَغرِكِ المُتَبَسِّمِ

**English Translation**

I remembered you

while the spears drank deeply

from my flesh,

and Indian blades,

bright as lightning,

dripped with my blood.

Then I longed

to kiss those flashing swords,

for in their sudden gleam

I saw again

the radiance

of your smiling lips.

_____________________

1. #### **Love on the Edge of Death**

**Arabic**

وَلَقَد ذَكَرْتُكِ وَالرِّماحُ نَواهِلٌ

مِنّي وَبِيضُ الهِندِ تَقطُرُ مِن دَمي

**English Translation**

I remembered you

when death stood nearest.

Not in safety.

Not in comfort.

Not beneath a peaceful sky.

I remembered you

while wounds opened

and steel surrounded me.

And in that moment

love proved stronger

than fear.

_____________________

1. #### **Stand and Watch, Abla**

**Arabic**

قِفي وَانظُري يا عَبلُ فِعلي وَعايِني

طِعاني إِذا ثارَ العَجاجُ المُكَدَّرُ

تَري بَطَلاً يُلقي الفَوارِسَ ضاحِكاً

وَيَرجِعُ عَنهُم وَهُوَ أَشعَثُ أَغبَرُ

**English Translation**

Stand and watch,

Abla.

See with your own eyes

how I fight

when the dust-cloud rises.

You will see a warrior

casting horsemen down

with laughter on his lips,

returning from battle

covered in dust,

his hair tangled by the wind,

yet undefeated.

_____________________

1. **Let the Horses Tell You**

**Arabic**

هَلّا سَأَلتِ الخَيلَ يا اِبنَةَ مالِكٍ

إِن كُنتِ جاهِلَةً بِما لَم تَعلَمي

يُخبِركِ مَن شَهِدَ الوَقيعَةَ أَنَّني

أَغشى الوَغى وَأَعِفُّ عِندَ المَغنَمِ

**English Translation**

Ask the horses,

daughter of Malik,

if there is anything

about me you do not know.

Those who witnessed battle

will tell you:

I enter the heart of war,

yet remain honorable

when victory is won.

For courage without honor

is only another form

of defeat.

_____________________

1. **Your Name in the Dust**

**Arabic**

قِفي وَانظُري يا عَبلُ فِعلي وَعايِني

طِعاني إِذا ثارَ العَجاجُ المُكَدَّرُ

**English Translation**

When the battlefield vanished

beneath clouds of dust,

and the world dissolved

into noise and motion,

one thing remained clear:

your name.

It traveled beside me

through the storm,

guiding my hand

more faithfully

than any star.

_____________________

1. #### **The Smile and the Sword**

**Arabic**

فَوَدِدتُ تَقبيلَ السُيوفِ لأَنَّها

لَمَعَت كَبارِقِ ثَغرِكِ المُتَبَسِّمِ

**English Translation**

I longed

to kiss the swords,

for their brilliance

reminded me of you.

How strange,

that a warrior should find

the image of his beloved

in sharpened steel.

Yet love transforms the world.

Even weapons

borrow beauty

from the one remembered.

_____________________

1. #### **The Measure of Courage**

**Arabic**

يا عَبلُ لَو أَنّي لَقيتُ كَتيبَةً

سَبعينَ أَلفاً ما رَهِبتُ لِقاها

وَأَنا المَنِيَّةُ وَاِبنُ كُلِّ مَنِيَّةٍ

وَسَوادُ جِلدي ثَوبُها وَرِداها

**English Translation**

Abla,

were I to face

an army seventy thousand strong,

I would not fear its coming.

I have walked beside death

so often

that it knows my name.

This dark skin of mine

is no mark of weakness.

It is the cloak

beneath which courage lives.

_____________________

1. **The Warrior's Secret**

**Arabic**

خَليلَيَّ أَمسى حُبُّ عَبلَةَ قاتِلي

وَبَأسي شَديدٌ وَالحُسامُ مُهَنَّدُ

**English Translation**

My friends,

there is a secret

no enemy has ever discovered.

Spears could not break me.

Swords could not defeat me.

Yet the love of Abla

has conquered

what armies could not.

_____________________

1. #### **A Heart in Two Worlds**

**Arabic**

أُقاتِلُ أَشواقي بِصَبري تَجَلُّداً

وَقَلبيَ في قَيدِ الغَرامِ مُقَيَّدُ

**English Translation**

I fight my longing

with all the patience I possess.

Yet my heart remains captive,

bound by love.

One part of me

belongs to battle.

The other

belongs to you.

And neither

can abandon the other.

_____________________

1. **The Beloved Beyond Distance**

**Arabic**

رَحَلتِ وَقَلبي يا اِبنَةَ العَمِّ تائِهٌ

عَلى أَثَرِ الأَظعانِ لِلرَكبِ يَنشُدُ

**English Translation**

You journeyed far away,

yet distance could not take you from me.

My heart followed

the path of your caravan,

crossing valleys,

deserts,

and years.

For those who truly love,

absence is only

another form

of presence.

# Songs of Honor and Identity

### Introduction

If love reveals the heart, honor reveals the soul.

Among the poets of pre-Islamic Arabia, few spoke about dignity with the intensity and urgency of Antara. His concern was not merely personal reputation. It was something deeper: the question of human worth itself.

Born into a society that measured people by lineage, tribe, and status, Antara knew from an early age what it meant to stand at the edge of acceptance. He was praised for his courage in battle yet reminded of his origins. Celebrated for his service yet denied full belonging. His poetry became the arena in which he confronted these contradictions.

Again and again, Antara returns to a single idea: a person's value lies not in ancestry, appearance, or inherited rank, but in character, action, and integrity.

These poems are not simply declarations of pride. They are acts of self-definition. Through them, Antara creates one of the most powerful voices of dignity in Arabic literature.

_____________________

## 1. The Color of Musk

**Arabic**

لَئِن أَكُ أَسوَداً فَالمِسكُ لَوني

وَما لِسَوادِ جِلدي مِن دَواءِ

وَلَكِن تَبعُدُ الفَحشاءُ عَنّي

كَبُعدِ الأَرضِ عَن جَوِّ السَماءِ

**English Translation**

Though my skin is dark,

its color is the color of musk—

the fragrance prized by kings.

There is no cure

for the darkness of my flesh,

and I seek none.

Yet dishonor remains far from me,

as distant

as the earth

from the vault of heaven.

_____________________

1. #### **The Brightness of Deeds**

**Arabic**

تُعَيِّرُني العِدا بِسَوادِ جِلدي

وَبيضُ خَصائِلي تَمحو السَوادا

سَلي يا عَبلَ قَومَكِ عَن فَعالي

وَمَن حَضَرَ الوَقيعَةَ وَالطِرادا

**English Translation**

My enemies mock

the darkness of my skin,

yet the brightness of my deeds

wipes away their reproach.

Ask your people, Abla,

about what I have done.

Ask those who witnessed

battle

and pursuit.

Let actions speak

where prejudice is silent.

_____________________

1. #### No Man of Honor Carries Hatred

**Arabic**

لا يَحمِلُ الحِقدَ مَن تَعلو بِهِ الرُتَبُ

وَلا يَنالُ العُلا مَن طَبعُهُ الغَضَبُ

**English Translation**

Those raised by true honor

do not carry hatred.

And greatness

never belongs

to those ruled by anger.

The highest place

is reached not through rage,

but through mastery of oneself.

_____________________

1. #### The Measure of Greatness

**Arabic**

وَمَن يَكُن عَبدَ قَومٍ لا يُخالِفُهُم

إِذا جَفَوهُ وَيَستَرضي إِذا عَتَبوا

**English Translation**

A man does not become noble

by resisting every slight.

When his people turn away,

he seeks reconciliation.

When they rebuke him,

he answers with patience.

For strength

is not always found

in the raised spear.

Sometimes

it is found

in restraint.

_____________________

1. #### **My Deeds Are My Lineage**

**Arabic**

سَلي يا عَبلَ قَومَكِ عَن فَعالي

وَمَن حَضَرَ الوَقيعَةَ وَالطِرادا

وَلَولا صارِمي وَسِنانُ رُمحي

لَما رَفَعَت بَنو عَبسٍ عِمادا

**English Translation**

Ask your people, Abla,

about my deeds.

Ask those who stood

where battle raged.

Had it not been

for my sword

and the point of my spear,

the house of Abs

would not stand so high.

My lineage is written

not in ancestry,

but in action.

_____________________

1. #### **What Makes a Man**

**Arabic**

وَلَكِن تَبعُدُ الفَحشاءُ عَنّي

كَبُعدِ الأَرضِ عَن جَوِّ السَماءِ

**English Translation**

Judge me not

by what I appear to be.

Judge me

by what I refuse to become.

For dishonor remains far from me,

as distant

as earth from heaven.

_____________________

1. **Let the Horses Speak**

**Arabic**

هَلّا سَأَلتِ الخَيلَ يا اِبنَةَ مالِكٍ

إِن كُنتِ جاهِلَةً بِما لَم تَعلَمي

يُخبِركِ مَن شَهِدَ الوَقيعَةَ أَنَّني

أَغشى الوَغى وَأَعِفُّ عِندَ المَغنَمِ

**English Translation**

Ask the horses,

daughter of Malik,

if there is anything

you do not know of me.

Those who witnessed battle

will tell you:

I enter the heart of war,

yet remain honorable

when victory is won.

Courage is easy.

Honor is harder.

_____________________

1. **The Worth of Character**

**Arabic**

لا يَحمِلُ الحِقدَ مَن تَعلو بِهِ الرُتَبُ

وَلا يَنالُ العُلا مَن طَبعُهُ الغَضَبُ

**English Translation**

The truly noble

have no need of bitterness.

Those who seek greatness

through anger

will never find it.

Character

is the foundation

upon which honor stands.

_____________________

1. **A Cloak of Courage**

**Arabic**

يا عَبلُ لَو أَنّي لَقيتُ كَتيبَةً

سَبعينَ أَلفاً ما رَهِبتُ لِقاها

وَأَنا المَنِيَّةُ وَاِبنُ كُلِّ مَنِيَّةٍ

وَسَوادُ جِلدي ثَوبُها وَرِداها

**English Translation**

Abla,

were I to face

an army seventy thousand strong,

I would not fear.

I have walked beside death

all my life.

And this dark skin of mine—

it is not a burden.

It is a cloak

woven from endurance,

strength,

and courage.

_____________________

1. **The Judgment of Time**

**Arabic**

سَلوا صَرفَ هَذا الدَهرِ كَم شَنَّ غارَةً

فَفَرَّجتُها وَالمَوتُ فيها مُشَمِّرُ

**English Translation**

Ask the turning years

how many trials they sent.

Ask how many times

death stood waiting.

Then ask

who remained standing

when the storm had passed.

Time itself

is my witness.

_____________________

1. **The Road to Honor**

**Arabic**

دَعوني أَجُدَّ السَعيَ في طَلَبِ العُلا

فَأُدرِكَ سُؤلي أَو أَموتَ فَأُعذَرُ

**English Translation**

Let me continue

my pursuit of excellence.

Either I shall reach

what I seek,

or I shall die

having given everything

to the journey.

There is no shame

in falling short.

The shame lies

in never striving.

_____________________

## Songs of Honor and Identity

1. #### **They Called Me a Slave**

**Arabic**

يُعَيِّرُني القَومُ الَّذينَ أُحِبُّهُم

بِأُمِّي وَقَد تَعلو بِأُمٍّ مَكارِمُ

فَإِن أَكُ مَملوكاً فَنَفسي عَزِيزَةٌ

وَإِن أَكُ أَسودَ اللَونِ فَالمِسكُ أَسوَدُ

**English Translation**

The very people I cherish

mock me because of my mother,

yet noble qualities

often rise from humble beginnings.

If I was born a slave,

my spirit was not.

If my skin is dark,

so too is musk—

the fragrance sought by kings.

_____________________

1. #### **The Nobility of Deeds**

**Arabic**

وَما سادَ مَن سادوا بِفَضلِ عَشيرةٍ

وَلَكِنَّهُم سادوا بِفَضلِ الشَمائِلِ

**English Translation**

No one achieves greatness

through lineage alone.

Those who truly rise

are lifted

by the excellence of their character.

A famous name

may open a door,

but only virtue

allows one to remain.

_____________________

1. #### **The Answer to Contempt**

**Arabic**

إِذا عابَ لَوني جاهِلٌ لَم أُجِبهُ

فَما كُلُّ مَن يَرمي الكَلامَ يُجاوَبُ

وَلَكِنَّ أَفعالي تُجيبُ مَكانَني

وَيَشهَدُ لي سَيفي إِذا القَومُ غالَبوا

**English Translation**

When a fool mocks my color,

I do not answer him.

Not every stone cast

deserves a reply.

Instead,

my deeds speak in my place.

And when men contend for honor,

my sword bears witness

to who I am.

_____________________

1. #### **The Place I Earned**

**Arabic**

أَنا في الحَربِ العَوانِ

غَيرُ مَجهولِ المَكانِ

أَينَما نادى المُنادي

في دُجى النَقعِ يَراني

**English Translation**

In the bitter days of war,

my place is never unknown.

Wherever the battle cry rises

through clouds of dust,

there I am.

I did not inherit my position.

I earned it.

_____________________

1. #### **A Name Written in Action**

**Arabic**

وَحُسامي مَعَ قَناتي

لِفِعالي شاهِدانِ

أَنَّني أَطعَنُ خَصمي

وَهُوَ يَقظانُ الجَنانِ

**English Translation**

My sword

and my spear

bear witness to my life.

They know

that when I meet an enemy,

I face him

while his courage is still awake.

Honor is not spoken.

It is demonstrated.

_____________________

1. #### **Greater Than Birth**

**Arabic**

لَيسَ الفَتى مَن قالَ كانَ أَبي

إِنَّ الفَتى مَن قالَ ها أَنَذا

**English Translation**

A man is not measured

by saying,

"My father was great."

A man is measured

when he can say,

"Here I stand."

The past belongs to others.

Character belongs to oneself.

_____________________

1. #### **What Remains**

**Arabic**

تَفنى الأَموالُ وَالأَنسابُ طُرّاً

وَيَبقى ذِكرُ مَن حَسُنَت فِعالُهُ

**English Translation**

Wealth fades.

Lineages disappear.

Names are forgotten.

Yet the memory

of noble deeds endures,

moving from one generation

to the next.

_____________________

1. #### **The Burden of Freedom**

**Arabic**

دَعوني أَجُدَّ السَعيَ في طَلَبِ العُلا

فَأُدرِكَ سُؤلي أَو أَموتَ فَأُعذَرُ

**English Translation**

Leave me to pursue

the heights I seek.

Either I shall attain them,

or I shall fall

while striving.

Freedom is not comfort.

It is the courage

to pursue one's purpose

despite uncertainty.

_____________________

1. #### **My Final Claim**

**Arabic**

تُعَيِّرُني العِدا بِسَوادِ جِلدي

وَبيضُ خَصائِلي تَمحو السَوادا

**English Translation**

My enemies speak

of the darkness of my skin.

Let them.

The brightness of my character

answers them better

than any argument.

A man's true color

is revealed

by his deeds.

_____________________

## Songs of War

**Introduction**

Antara's fame rests largely upon his reputation as a warrior. For more than a thousand years, storytellers, poets, and historians have remembered him as the horseman who rode into danger when others hesitated, the fighter whose courage became proverbial, and the defender whose spear secured the honor of his people.

Yet Antara's war poetry is more than a record of battles. It is a meditation on courage itself.

For Antara, war is the great test of character. It reveals who stands firm and who retreats, who acts with honor and who succumbs to fear. In battle, masks fall away. What remains is the true measure of a person.

These poems are filled with horses, swords, dust, spears, and the thunder of combat. Yet beneath the noise of war lies a deeper theme: the struggle to live according to one's values when life itself hangs in the balance.

_____________________

1. **Not Unknown in War**

**Arabic**

أَنا في الحَربِ العَوانِ

غَيرُ مَجهولِ المَكانِ

أَينَما نادى المُنادي

في دُجى النَقعِ يَراني

**English Translation**

In the bitter days of war,

my place is never unknown.

Wherever the battle cry rises

through clouds of dust,

there I am.

When danger calls,

I do not seek shelter.

I step forward

into the place where courage is required.

_____________________

1. #### **Into the Sea of Death**

**Arabic**

وَرَدتُ الحَربَ وَالأَبطالُ حَولي

تَهُزُّ أَكُفُّها السُمرَ الصِعادا

وَخُضتُ بِمُهجَتي بَحرَ المَنايا

وَنارُ الحَربِ تَتَّقِدُ اِتِّقادا

**English Translation**

I entered the war

while heroes stood around me,

their hands brandishing

long brown spears.

And I plunged with my soul

into the sea of death,

while the fires of battle

blazed across the field.

The brave do not wait

for danger to pass.

They cross through it.

_____________________

1. **The Dust of Battle**

**Arabic**

قِفي وَانظُري يا عَبلُ فِعلي وَعايِني

طِعاني إِذا ثارَ العَجاجُ المُكَدَّرُ

تَري بَطَلاً يُلقي الفَوارِسَ ضاحِكاً

وَيَرجِعُ عَنهُم وَهُوَ أَشعَثُ أَغبَرُ

**English Translation**

Stand and watch,

Abla.

See my spear

when the dust-cloud rises.

You will see a warrior

casting horsemen down

with laughter on his lips,

returning from battle

covered in dust,

his hair tangled by the wind,

yet unconquered.

_____________________

1. **Ask the Battlefield**

**Arabic**

سَلوا صَرفَ هَذا الدَهرِ كَم شَنَّ غارَةً

فَفَرَّجتُها وَالمَوتُ فيها مُشَمِّرُ

**English Translation**

Ask the turning years

how many raids they hurled upon us.

Ask how many times

death stood ready,

and how many times

I broke through its ranks.

The battlefield remembers

what memory sometimes forgets.

_____________________

1. **My Sword and My Spear**

**Arabic**

وَحُسامي مَعَ قَناتي

لِفِعالي شاهِدانِ

أَنَّني أَطعَنُ خَصمي

وَهُوَ يَقظانُ الجَنانِ

**English Translation**

My sword

and my spear

bear witness to my deeds.

They know

that when I meet an enemy,

I strike him

while his courage is still awake.

Victory means little

unless it is won fairly.

_____________________

1. #### **Let Me Give the Sword Its Due**

**Arabic**

دَعوني أُوَفّي السَيفَ في الحَربِ حَقَّهُ

وَأَشرَبُ مِن كَأسِ المَنِيَّةِ صافِيا

**English Translation**

Leave me

to give the sword

its rightful due in battle,

and drink from the cup of death

clear and undiluted.

Life gains meaning

when one is willing

to risk it

for something greater.

_____________________

1. **The Sweetest Sound**

**Arabic**

أَطيَبُ الأَصواتِ عِندي

حُسنُ صَوتِ الهِندُواني

وَصَريرُ الرُمحِ جَهراً

في الوَغى يَومَ الطِعانِ

**English Translation**

The sweetest sounds to me

are the song of an Indian blade

and the sharp cry of a spear

on the day of combat.

Others delight

in music and celebration.

My music

is the sound of courage.

_____________________

1. #### **A Warrior's Reputation**

**Arabic**

يا عَبلُ لَو أَنّي لَقيتُ كَتيبَةً

سَبعينَ أَلفاً ما رَهِبتُ لِقاها

**English Translation**

Abla,

were I to face

an army seventy thousand strong,

I would not fear its coming.

The size of an army

does not determine courage.

The heart does.

_____________________

1. #### **The Field of the Fallen**

**Arabic**

وَلا يَنثَني حَتّى يُخَلّي جَماجِماً

تَمُرُّ بِها ريحُ الجَنوبِ فَتَصفِرُ

وَأَجسادَ قَومٍ يَسكُنُ الطَيرُ حَولَها

**English Translation**

He does not turn away

until the field lies silent,

until the southern wind

whistles through empty skulls,

and birds descend

to settle among the fallen.

War is glory,

but it is also loss.

Antara never forgets this truth.

_____________________

1. #### **The Edge of Resolve**

**Arabic**

بِصارِمِ عَزمٍ لَو ضَرَبتُ بِحَدِّهِ

دُجى اللَيلِ وَلّى وَهُوَ بِالنَجمِ يَعثُرُ

**English Translation**

With a blade of resolve

whose edge, if turned against the night,

would scatter darkness

and leave it stumbling among the stars.

The greatest weapon

is not steel.

It is determination.

_____________________

1. #### **Death Knows My Name**

**Arabic**

وَأَنا المَنِيَّةُ وَاِبنُ كُلِّ مَنِيَّةٍ

وَسَوادُ جِلدي ثَوبُها وَرِداها

**English Translation**

I am death,

and the son of death.

This dark skin of mine

is the cloak it wears.

I have walked beside danger

for so long

that fear no longer recognizes me.

_____________________

1. #### **The Courage to Advance**

**Arabic**

دَعوني أَجُدَّ السَعيَ في طَلَبِ العُلا

فَأُدرِكَ سُؤلي أَو أَموتَ فَأُعذَرُ

**English Translation**

Let me continue

my pursuit of greatness.

Either I shall attain

what I seek,

or I shall die

having given everything.

For the warrior's shame

is not death.

It is hesitation.

_____________________

## Songs of Wisdom and Time

**Introduction**

Every great poet eventually arrives at time.

Youth speaks of desire.

Warriors speak of victory.

Lovers speak of longing.

But age teaches different lessons.

In these poems, Antara's voice becomes quieter, deeper, and more reflective. The fierce warrior remains present, but he no longer stands at the center of the stage. Instead, we encounter a man who has lived long enough to witness the turning of fortune, the fading of youth, the loss of companions, and the burden of memory.

What emerges is not resignation.

It is wisdom.

The wisdom of a man who has suffered, endured, loved, fought, and survived.

These poems reveal Antara not as a hero of legend, but as a human being confronting the same questions that confront all people: What endures? What matters? How should one live?

_____________________

1. #### **The Hardships of Time**

**Arabic**

حَنَّكَتني نَوائِبُ الدَهرِ حَتّى

أَوقَفَتني عَلى طَريقِ الرَشادِ

**English Translation**

The hardships of time

became my teachers,

until they placed me

upon the road of wisdom.

I did not learn from ease.

I learned from loss,

from struggle,

and from endurance.

_____________________

1. **White Hair**

**Arabic**

شابَ رَأسي فَصارَ أَبيَضَ لَوناً

بَعدَما كانَ حالِكاً بِالسَوادِ

**English Translation**

My hair has turned white,

though once it was dark as night.

Years have passed over me

like winds across the desert,

leaving their mark

upon everything they touched.

_____________________

1. **The Arrows of Time**

**Arabic**

وَيحَ هَذا الزَمانِ كَيفَ رَماني

بِسِهامٍ صابَت صَميمَ فُؤادي

**English Translation**

Cruel is this age.

How many arrows

has it sent toward me?

And how often

have they struck

the very center

of my heart?

_____________________

1. **I Rebuke an Age**

**Arabic**

أُعاتِبُ دَهراً لا يَلينُ لِناصِحِ

وَأُخفي الجَوى في القَلبِ وَالدَمعُ فاضِحي

**English Translation**

I rebuke an age

that listens to no counsel.

I conceal my sorrow

within my heart,

yet my tears

betray me.

Some griefs

cannot remain hidden.

_____________________

1. #### **Exile**

**Arabic**

وَقَد أَبعَدوني عَن حَبيبٍ أُحِبُّهُ

فَأَصبَحتُ في قَفرٍ عَنِ الإِنسِ نازِحِ

**English Translation**

They drove me far

from the one I loved,

until I found myself

alone

in a wilderness

beyond the company of men.

Exile is not distance.

It is separation

from what gives life meaning.

_____________________

1. **Patience**

**Arabic**

وَبِالصَبرِ الجَميلِ وَإِن تَمادى

**English Translation**

With patient endurance,

even when hardship lingers,

the heart discovers

a strength

it never knew it possessed.

_____________________

1. #### **Tomorrow**

**Arabic**

وَلا تَختَشوا مِمّا يُقَدَّرُ في غَدٍ

فَما جاءَنا مِن عالَمِ الغَيبِ مُخبِرُ

**English Translation**

Do not fear

what tomorrow may bring.

No messenger

has returned from the unseen

to reveal its secrets.

Live well today.

The future

belongs to God.

_____________________

1. #### **Unexpected Joy**

**Arabic**

وَكَم مِن نَذيرٍ قَد أَتانا مُحَذِّراً

فَكانَ رَسولاً بِالسُرورِ يُبَشِّرُ

**English Translation**

How often

has a warning arrived,

promising misfortune,

only to become

a bearer of unexpected joy?

The road ahead

is never fully known.

_____________________

1. #### **A Man of Honor**

**Arabic**

لا يَحمِلُ الحِقدَ مَن تَعلو بِهِ الرُتَبُ

وَلا يَنالُ العُلا مَن طَبعُهُ الغَضَبُ

**English Translation**

A man elevated by honor

does not carry hatred.

Nor does greatness

belong to one

governed by anger.

The strongest victory

is mastery of oneself.

_____________________

1. #### **Loyalty**

**Arabic**

وَأُظهِرُ نُصحَ قَومٍ ضَيَّعوني

**English Translation**

I continue to offer loyalty

to people

who abandoned me.

Not because they deserve it,

but because honor

demands it of me.

_____________________

1. #### **The Measure of Life**

**Arabic**

فَيا رَبِّ لا تَجعَل حَياتي مَذَمَّةً

وَلا مَوتَتي بَينَ النِساءِ النَوائِحِ

**English Translation**

My Lord,

do not let my life

become a thing of disgrace.

And do not let my death

be marked by regret.

Let both my living

and my leaving

possess dignity.

_____________________

1. #### **The Final Road**

**Arabic**

دَعوني أَجُدَّ السَعيَ في طَلَبِ العُلا

فَأُدرِكَ سُؤلي أَو أَموتَ فَأُعذَرُ

**English Translation**

Let me continue

my pursuit of excellence.

Either I shall reach

what I seek,

or I shall fall

while striving.

No one controls the outcome.

We control only

the sincerity of the effort.

_____________________

1. #### **What Endures**

**Arabic**

تُعَيِّرُني العِدا بِسَوادِ جِلدي

وَبيضُ خَصائِلي تَمحو السَوادا

**English Translation**

My enemies speak

of the darkness of my skin.

Time will forget their words.

But character endures.

The brightness of one's deeds

outlives every insult.

_____________________

1. #### **The Last Wisdom**

**Arabic**

وَلَكِن تَبعُدُ الفَحشاءُ عَنّي

كَبُعدِ الأَرضِ عَن جَوِّ السَماءِ

**English Translation**

Yet dishonor remains far from me,

as distant

as the earth

from the heights of heaven.

In the end,

a person is remembered

not for appearance,

not for wealth,

not for power,

but for the life they chose to live.

### *Related*