1. We used to measure grammar in days gone by
On the tongue of the first Arabs

2. Until a people came who measured it
On the language of the elders of Qatar

3. Then came a people who measured it
On the tongue of the most vile Nabateans

4. And so they all worked to destroy what
With it truth is attained not tainted

5. Verily Al-Kisa'i and his companions
Sink in grammar to the lowest depths