and all that, as well as the lands of Iyas (1) and Sis. They also seized (2) the regions of Amid and al-Ruhā, [and Raʾs al-ʿAyn] (3), together with many other districts besides. They slaughtered great multitudes of Muslims—numbers known only to Allah (4), Exalted is He—and they carried off (5) the Muslim offspring, women and children alike, in quantities beyond all measure or description. All of these territories had been opened by the Companions and had become domains of Islam; yet they plundered the wealth of the Muslims in amounts that defy enumeration or portrayal. On one occasion they nearly (6) gained control of Damascus—[but Allah safeguarded it by His gracious care and preserved it by His providence] (7).

Then, when their days came to an end and the fabric they had woven unraveled, Allah—Exalted is He—restored all these lands to [their rightful owners, the noble Muslims] (8) by His power and might, His bounty and mercy. He sent the unbelievers back disappointed, overturning them because of what their own hands had earned, in this world and on the Day of Judgment.

The poet Ḥassān, known as (9) ʿUrqala (10), said—in the khafīf metre:

Royal authority, once the House of ʿAlī had passed,
shone forth in the kings of the House of Shādhī (11);
The East has come to envy the West (12) for their sake,
and Egypt now flaunts itself before Baghdad.
They captured it (13) only through resolute resolve (14)
and the ringing of steel against steel (15),
Not like Pharaoh and al-ʿAzīz and those (16) who were there—
such as al-Khaṣīb (17) and al-Ustād.