1. We have entrusted ourselves to the Lord of the heavens,
And submitted to the causes of destiny.

2. We have settled, after trials,
Souls that forgave after being wronged.

3. The courts of kings are veiled,
Yet God's door is open and accessible.

4. So I hope for none but Him to relieve my pain,
And cry out to none but Him in my prayers.

5. Why shouldn't I complain of my sorrows and grief
To the One who does not ignore supplication?

6. The days speak to us and grieve,
And flow with good and ill fortune.

7. Neither length of life brings sustenance,
Nor does longevity bring it.

8. Wealth does not benefit the miser
When wealth itself is forbidden to him.

9. No money is lost to the generous,
Nor is the generous given from generosity.

10. Just as asking debases some people,
So giving honors others.

11. We have milked the days, their halves and wholes,
And we have tasted the ups and downs.

12. I did not lament a world that has turned away,
Nor did we hasten to beautifully console ourselves.

13. We did not abandon propriety in the face of harm,
Though some harm takes propriety away.

14. We and our forebears have experienced
That nothing is nobler than loyalty.

15. People disappoint, my son of my father and mother.
They follow fear and hope.

16. No friendship tomorrow should delude you
About something whose comradeship was not good yesterday.

17. Have you not seen those displaying enmity toward me
When just yesterday they were boon companions?

18. I was struck by misfortune and they left,
Inflicting on me the harshest causes of tribulation.

19. They refused to support me
With money, status, or integrity.

20. They feared it would be said they abandoned
A friend, so they pretended our friendship was long gone.

21. The Shia, the Christians, the Mu’tazilites
Banded together to revile me.

22. So Bukhtyishu’ testifies for the son of ‘Amr,
And ‘Izzun for Harun the Heretic.

23. As for Al-Jadhma’ the daughter of Abi Sumayr,
Her tongue’s wit cannot match her vulgarity.

24. They blame me though I have done them no wrong
Save my knowledge of the illegitimate children.

25. When the likes of them are counted as men,
What virtue do men have over women?

26. May God's curse be upon them at the start
And repeat each dawn and eve.

27. When I name them to people, they say
“Those are the worst under the heavens.”

28. I am Al-Mutawakkilī in passion and reason,
And there is no shame in trusting completely.

29. My detention by the Caliph is no disgrace,
Nor does remoteness from him make me despair.