and a remnant of Hilāl we left at Autās—
their bodies rolled in dust, their faces ground to earth.

Had we encountered the gathered ranks of Banū Kilāb,
their women would have risen wailing while the dust still lay heavy.

We spurred our horses on among them, swift as leopards,
until they plunged into the ravines, letting fall their plunder.

Amid the tumult the Messenger of Allah was present;
his squadron exposed itself to the blows of the swords.

Abās ibn Mirdās also said:

O Seal of the Prophets! You are a Messenger of truth;
every guidance along the path is drawn from your guidance.

God has planted love for you in the hearts of His creation
and has exalted you, naming you Muhammad.

Those who kept the covenant they pledged to you
are an army over whom you set al-Ḍaḥḥāk—

a man whose weapons strike sharply; it is as though,
when the enemy surrounds him, he beholds you before him.

He falls upon even close kinsmen, seeking
only the pleasure of the All-Merciful and then your pleasure.

I tell you: I have witnessed his stratagem
under the swirling dust—crushing idolatry.

At times he grapples with his bare hands; at others
he splits skulls with a keen, severing blade.

He brings that sword down on warriors’ heads; and,
were you to see what I have seen of him, it would delight you.

In front of him the men of Sulaym hasten,
striking and thrusting at the enemy without pause.

They march beneath his banner as though they were lions of the lair,
intent upon combat.

They ask no favor of kin or clan—
only obedience to their Lord and your good pleasure.

These are our deeds, well-known to all;
our Patron is your Patron.

Abās ibn Mirdās also said:

Mijdal has been emptied of its folk—and so Mutāliʿ,
Mitlā of Arīk, and the fortresses lie deserted.

These were our dwellings, O Juml, when most of our life was ease
and the turns of time still gathered the clan.

Beloved Ḥubayyiba was worn down by lonely exile;
now that we are parted, can any of the life that has passed return?

If you seek to fight the unbelievers without blame,
know that I am the Prophet’s minister and follower.

The best delegation you know summoned us to him—
Khuzayma, al-Marrār, and Wāsiʿ among them.

So we came with a thousand men of Sulaym,
clad in splendid armor like that wrought for David.

We pledged allegiance to him at the twin Akhshabs,
pledging—between those two mountains—to the very Hand of God.