It reached us, not from the pondering of a calculating mind,
nor from the pages of a copyist, nor the pen-strokes of a clerk.

At one moment it meets the need of a questioner,
issuing a legal ruling to the inquirer, admonishing the listener;

it presents proofs, enjoins statutes,
recounts past tales, and sets out explicit aims;

it turns parables this way and that, makes the argument firm,
instructs the denier, and restrains the liar.

Whether in the council hall, amid the clash of battle,
or when baffling, unprecedented crises arise,

whichever of its paths you choose to tread,
its meanings stand straight and its treasures flow in abundance.

Each portion confirms the rest, as though
a vigilant eye were watching its sense unfold.

Humanity’s inability to bring forth anything like it
is a truth made certain by long experience.

He was graced with ʿAbd Allah, the noblest of fathers,
from whom shone a lineage of exalted dignity;

and with Shaybah, the man of praise—
Quraysh boasted of him before every clan of rank and honor—

the one whose very face was sought to draw down rainclouds,
whose counsel guided people in times of hardship.

Then Hāshim, who built and raised his glory
through mighty endeavors and generous gifts. (1)

ʿAbd Manāf, who schooled his people
to stretch beyond the bounds of hope and let noble aims prevail;

Qusayy, sprung from that honored stock,
standing at a fountain no sword-brandishing hand could reach.

Through him God gathered the tribes after pillaging hands
had scattered them as spoils among the aggressors.

Kilāb occupied a fortress-like summit of glory,
unapproachable to those both near and far.

Murrah—no fool’s frivolity,
no envious mishap could loosen his firm resolve. (2)

Kaʿb—his stature rose above every seeker of glory;
with the slightest effort he attained the loftiest ranks.

Luʾayy bent the hostile to submission,
and the proud, lofty spirits yielded to his will.

In Ghālib there was valor: valor itself balked at facing them,
and every contending champion fought on their side.

Fihr possessed within Quraysh an eloquence
to which disputants repaired when debates grew tense.

Malik remained the finest leader among them,
the noblest companion and the truest friend.

Al-Naḍr reached a height the eye cannot encompass,
where the light of piercing stars converges.

By my life, Kinānah before him had already displayed
virtues unwilling to bow to any would-be conqueror. (3)