You have so frightened

the polytheists

that even their unborn embryos

are afraid of you

Abdullah has spread fear

of his vengeance

over the night

so that scorpions

would not dare to crawl

at night

They trade,

whenever and wherever they meet,

stares that obliterate

the prints

of each others’ feet

He casts down his eyes

in modesty

Others cast down theirs

in awe

So he can be spoken to

only when he is

smiling

Verily, you are like the night

that will always

overtake me

even if I imagine the distance

between us

to be very vast indeed

The critic ʿAbd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī (d. 471/1078) likens this line and one other to “pearls in their shells that do not expose themselves unless you split the shells, or like a beloved that does not show you her face unless you seek her permission.”

You have cast over your enemy,

O son of Muhammad,

two spells:

morning light and darkness

If he is awake

you frighten him

and if he is asleep

dreams unsheathe your swords

against him

Pressed by the Caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd (reigned from 170–193/ 786–809) as to the origin of the line, the poet Ashjaʿ admitted that he had plagiarized al-Nābighah's line, immediately above.