1. I seek forgiveness from Allah, no pride or glory
No loyalty, no faith, no zeal either

2. As if we are in deep darkness
And the veils are not lifted from our eyes

3. You increase ignorance if you seek guidance
Can the lantern enlighten the eyes of the blind?

4. And the ancient philosophers are exemplary
They strived in this path and did not transgress

5. And they have brought you strange tales
That make the ink and pages laugh

6. Far-fetched conjectures and fabricated words
That sometimes are hidden and sometimes exposed

7. The matter is greater than any enclosing thought
And life is too short to be fully grasped

8. So exalt your Creator if you attempt the absolute
And die for Him - for so the predecessors passed

9. Strange accounts have come about a people I believe
Lived long and spoke nonsense after they declined

10. Absurdities to which the narrators add more
Evil measuring and recklessness abound

11. O Governor of Egypt, do not heed their condemnation
For with them all judgment is crooked

12. And let not their oaths deceive you
They are the most mendacious when swearing vows

13. Some claim the meteors are eternal
Others say they have a time and then disappear

14. I did not trust my intellect in their quarrel
Nor imagined anything but what they described

15. O Mother of Dhufr, may Allah reward you with goodness
Even if the people ascribe to you what they fabricated

16. They say you are foolishly deceived by them
While the lessons of death and senility are within you

17. You left no disgrace that you could be identified by
Even if the roaming beast disdained you

18. Many a people made me lose my way though they understood
My worth, yet neither recognized my merit nor knew me