Sirat Ibn Hisham 1040
Account of the poetry recited on the day of Uḥud
[ شِعْرُ كَعْبٍ فِي الرَّدِّ عَلَى عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: فَأَجَابَهُمَا كَعْبُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ، فَقَالَ: أَبْلِغْ قُرَيْشًا وَخَيْرُ الْقَوْلِ أَصْدَقُهُ وَالصِّدْقُ عِنْدَ ذَوِي الْأَلْبَابِ مَقْبُولُ أَنْ قَدْ قَتَلْنَا بِقَتْلَانَا سَرَاتَكُمْ أَهْلَ اللِّوَاءِ فَفِيمَا يَكْثُرُ الْقِيلُ وَيَوْمَ بَدْرٍ لَقِينَاكُمْ لَنَا مَدَدٌ فِيهِ مَعَ النَّصْرِ مِيكَالُ وَجِبْرِيلُ إنْ تَقْتُلُونَا فَدِينُ الْحَقِّ فِطْرَتُنَا وَالْقَتْلُ فِي الْحَقِّ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَفْضِيلُ وَإِنْ تَرَوْا أَمْرَنَا فِي رَأْيِكُمْ سَفَهًا فَرَأْيُ مَنْ خَالَفَ الْإِسْلَامَ تَضْلِيلُ فَلَا تَمَنَّوْا لِقَاحَ الْحَرْبِ وَاقْتَعِدُوا إنَّ أَخَا الْحَرْبِ أَصْدَى اللَّوْنِ مَشْغُولُ إنَّ لَكُمْ عِنْدَنَا ضَرْبًا تَرَاحُ لَهُ عُرْجُ الضِّبَاعِ لَهُ خَذْمٌ رَعَابِيلُ إنَّا بَنُو الْحَرْبِ نَمْرِيهَا وَنَنْتِجُهَا وَعِنْدَنَا لِذَوِي الْأَضْغَانِ تَنْكِيلُ إنْ يَنْجُ مِنْهَا ابْنُ حَرْبٍ بَعْدَ مَا بَلَغَتْ مِنْهُ التَّرَاقِي وَأَمْرُ اللَّهِ مَفْعُولُ فَقَدْ أَفَادَتْ لَهُ حِلْمًا وَمَوْعِظَةً لِمَنْ يَكُونُ لَهُ لُبٌّ وَمَعْقُولُ وَلَوْ هَبَطْتُمْ بِبَطْنِ السَّيْلِ كَافَحَكُمْ ضَرْبٌ بِشَاكِلَةِ الْبَطْحَاءِ تَرْعِيلُ تَلْقَاكُمْ عُصَبٌ حَوْلَ النَّبِيِّ لَهُمْ مِمَّا يُعِدُّونَ لِلْهَيْجَا سَرَابِيلُ مِنْ جِذْمِ غَسَّانَ مُسْتَرْخٍ حَمَائِلُهُمْ لَا جُبَنَاءُ وَلَا مِيلٌ مَعَازِيلُ يَمْشُونَ تَحْتَ عَمَايَاتِ الْقِتَالِ كَمَا تَمْشِي الْمَصَاعِبَةُ الْأُدْمُ الْمَرَاسِيلُ أَوْ مِثْلُ مَشْيِ أُسُودِ الظِّلِّ أَلْثَقَهَا يَوْمُ رَذَاذٍ مِنْ الْجَوْزَاءِ مَشْمُولُ فِي كُلِّ سَابِغَةٍ كَالنِّهْيِ مُحْكَمَةٍ قِيَامُهَا فَلَجٌ كَالسَّيْفِ بُهْلُولُ تَرُدُّ حَدَّ قِرَامِ النَّبْلِ خَاسِئَةً وَيَرْجِعُ السَّيْفُ عَنْهَا وَهُوَ مَفْلُولُ وَلَوْ قَذَفْتُمْ بِسَلْعِ عَنْ ظُهُورِكُمْ وَلِلْحَيَاةِ وَدَفْعِ الْمَوْتِ تَأْجِيلُ مَا زَالَ فِي الْقَوْمِ وِتْرٌ مِنْكُمْ أَبَدًا تَعْفُو السِّلَامَ عَلَيْهِ وَهُوَ مَطْلُولُ عَبْدٌ وَحُرٌّ كَرِيمٌ مُوثِقٌ قَنَصًا شَطْرَ الْمَدِينَةِ مَأْسُورٌ وَمَقْتُولُ كُنَّا نُؤَمِّلُ أُخْرَاكُمْ فَأَعْجَلَكُمْ مِنَّا فَوَارِسُ لَا عُزْلٌ وَلَا مِيلُ إذَا جَنَى فِيهِمْ الْجَانِي فَقَدْ عَلِمُوا حَقًّا بِأَنَّ الَّذِي قَدْ جَرَّ مَحْمُولُ مَا نَحْنُ لَا نَحْنُ مِنْ إثْمٍ مُجَاهَرَةً وَلَا مَلُومٌ وَلَا فِي الْغُرْمِ مَخْذُولُ
Translation
✧ [Kaʿb's poetry in reply to ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ] Ibn Isḥāq said: Kaʿb b. Mālik answered them, saying: Convey to Quraysh, and the best speech is its most truthful, and truthfulness with possessors of hearts is accepted: That we have slain in return for our slain your nobles, the bearers of the standard, so in what does much talk abound? And on the day of Badr we met you, we had reinforcement therein, with victory, Mīkāl and Jibrīl. If you kill us, the religion of truth is our innate nature, and killing in the truth with God is a merit. And if you see our affair, in your opinion, as foolishness, the opinion of one who opposes Islam is misguidance. Do not wish for the war's pregnant camels, and sit firmly; the brother of war is rust-colored and occupied. You have with us a striking at which the lame hyenas rejoice, with swift, lean ones. We are the sons of war, we stir it and bring it forth, and with us for the malicious is exemplary punishment. If Ibn Ḥarb escapes from it after it reached his collarbones, and God's command is executed, It has given him forbearance and admonition to one who has a mind and reason. And had you descended into the valley's bottom, a strike at the edge of al-Baṭḥāʾ, in formation, would have confronted you, Troops around the Prophet meet you, having for what they prepare for battle, coats of mail, From the stock of Ghassān, their sword belts loose, not cowards nor unarmed laggards. They walk beneath the dust-clouds of battle as walk the strong, dark, swift camels, Or like the walk of shadow lions on a drizzly day of al-Jawzāʾ, with a north wind. In every ample coat like a pool, perfected, whose standing is a split like a shining sword. It repels the edge of the arrow's shaft, driven back, and the sword returns from it, notched. And had you cast Salʿ behind your backs, with postponement for life and warding off death, There ever remained among the people a blood-price from you, over which peace passes, but it is unavenged; A slave and a noble freeman, bound as captives, half of Madinah, prisoners and slain. We had hoped for your end, but our horsemen hastened you, not unarmed nor laggards. When a wrongdoer commits a crime among them, they know truly that what he has brought is borne. We are not, we are not of sin openly, nor blamed, nor forsaken in the fine.
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