I stand amazed at the decree of God—yet God is fully able;
none can overpower the Almighty in what He wills.

On the Day of Badr He ordained that we confront a folk
who had transgressed, for the path of tyranny is ever cruel.

They mustered, calling to arms all who were near them
until their hordes swelled and multiplied.

They advanced on us, intent on no one but us—
Kaʿb in full array, ʿĀmir in full array.

But in our ranks stood the Messenger of God, the Aws encircling him—
for him they were a fortress, mighty and loyal.

The clans of Banū al-Najjār marched beneath his banner,
striding in mail while the dust clouds billowed.

When the lines met, every warrior fought
steadfast, daring, his soul resolute for his comrades.

We bore witness that there is no Lord but God
and that the Messenger of God stands manifest in truth.

Bright, nimble swords were unsheathed—
like flaming torches lifted before your eyes.

With those blades we shattered their host; it scattered,
and the wicked met the doom that awaited him.

Abū Jahl was flung on his face, slain;
ʿUtbah we left where he fell, prostrate.

Shaybah and the man of Taym we left amid the fray—
all of them unbelievers in the Lord of the Throne.

They ended as fuel for the Fire in its abode;
every ingrate is destined for Hell.

A blaze sears them, its heat already kindled,
stoked with masses of iron and stone.

The Messenger of God had called, “Come forward!”
but they turned away, saying, “You are but a sorcerer!”

So God willed a matter by which they were destroyed;
none can repel a decree God has fixed.

Kaʿb also said, on the Day of Badr (long metre):

Has news reached Ghassān, distant though their dwellings be—
news best known to those versed in affairs—

that Maʿadd, both its reckless and its prudent,
loosed upon us the arrows of enmity from their bows?

All because we worshipped God alone, hoping for none but Him,
yearning for the Gardens when their guarantor came to us—

a Prophet who among his people possesses an inherited honor
and a lineage of truth refined by noble roots.

They marched and we marched; we met like death-defying lions
whose wounded prey can hope for no cure.

We struck them until, caught in the whirl of our assault,
the proud nose of a great man of Luʾayy was brought low.

They fled, and we trampled them with keen white swords;
to us their allies and their kin were all the same.

Kaʿb likewise said (wāfir metre):

By your father’s life, O sons of Luʾayy,
in the pride and self-glory you flaunt