1. شَفَيْتَ بطردِ صالحِ كلّ صدرٍ

    ولم تَبْرَحْ شِفاءً للصدورِ

    By expelling Salih, you healed every breast,

    And you have never ceased to be a balm for breasts.

  2. وطهَّرْتَ الشَّريعة من دنيٍّ

    يبيعُ الدِّين في فلسٍ صغيرِ

    And you purged the sacred law of a vile man

    Who sells religion for a paltry copper coin.

  3. مطامعُ نفسِه قد صَيَّرَتْهُ

    كما تدري إلى بئس المصير

    His soul's greedy desires have brought him,

    As you know, to a wretched end.

  4. ويشكو فَقره للنَّاس طرًّا

    وما هو وربّك بالفقير

    And he complains of his poverty to people, one and all,

    Yet, by your Lord, he is not poor.

  5. تعاطى من تجاسُرِه أُموراً

    يَسُرُّ عِداك في تلك الأُمور

    In his audacity he undertook deeds;

    In those deeds he pleases your enemies.

  6. ويبطِشُ بطشَ جبَّار على أنْ

    له جأشٌ يَفِرُّ من الصفير

    And he lashes out with a tyrant's force, although

    His heart takes flight at a whistle.

  7. فكيفَ يلينُ مولانا لخصمٍ

    أشَدَّ عليك من صُمِّ الصّخور

    How, then, can our lord be gentle with a foe

    Harsher toward you than unyielding rocks?

  8. عقورٍ إنْ ذُكِرْتَ له بغيبٍ

    له الويلات من كلْبٍ عقور

    A savage biter whenever you are mentioned to him in your absence—

    Woe upon him—what a vicious dog!

  9. ومن يك ذاته نَجِساً خبيثاً

    متى يلقاك في قلب طهور

    And one whose very self is impure and vile—

    When could he meet you with a pure heart?

  10. فلو يُرمى بلجّ البحر يوماً

    لنَجَّسَ شيبُه ماءَ البحور

    If he were cast one day into the depths of the sea,

    His gray hair would surely defile the waters of the seas.

  11. نظرتَ إليه في عيني رحيمٍ

    صفوحٍ عن جنايته غفور

    You looked upon him with the eyes of a merciful man,

    Pardoning his offense, ever forgiving.

  12. وأَحْيَيْتَ اسمَه من بعد موتٍ

    وكانَ يُعَدُّ من أهل القبور

    And you revived his name after death,

    And he had been counted among the dwellers of graves.

  13. فعاد لما نُهي عنه وأمسى

    على تلك السَّفاهة والفجور

    So he returned to what he was forbidden, and remained

    In that folly and depravity.

  14. يظنُّ لجهله من غير علمٍ

    بأنَّك غير مُطَّلعٍ خبير

    He supposes, in his ignorance and without knowledge,

    That you are neither informed nor aware.

  15. ولك يتحمَّل الإِكرام حتَّى

    رماه لؤمه في قعرِ بير

    And for you he bears the honor, until

    His baseness cast him into the bottom of a well.

  16. يطيش إذا الْتَفَتَّ إليه طيشاً

    ولا ربَّ الخورنق والسَّدير

    He grows wildly reckless when you turn toward him;

    No, by the Lord of al-Khawarnaq and al-Sadir—

  17. فلو طالت يداه عليك يوماً

    أراك الحتفَ ذو الباع القصير

    If his hands could reach you one day,

    That man of short reach would show you death.

  18. وإنَّ سَماعَك الأَخبارَ عنه

    وإنْ كَثُرتْ قَليلٌ من كَثير

    And indeed the reports you hear about him,

    However many, are but a little of a great deal.

  19. وكدَّرَ كلّ من يهواك منَّا

    وكنَّا قبلُ كالماء النَّمير

    And he troubled all of us who love you,

    And before, we were like clear, sweet water.

  20. ولا ترضى الحميرُ به إذا ما

    نَسَبْناه إلى جنس الحمير

    And donkeys would not accept him if ever

    We classed him among the donkey kind.

  21. أَزَلْتَ وجودَه فغَنِمتَ أجراً

    كأعظم ما يكون من الأُجور

    You removed his presence and thus earned a reward

    Like the greatest reward there can be.

  22. فأنتَ فُدِيتَ للإِسلام حصنٌ

    وسُورٌ للشريعة أَيُّ سور

    So you—may you be ransomed—are a fortress for Islam,

    And a rampart for the sacred law—what a rampart!

  23. تحامي عن شريعة دين طه

    بماضيها محاماة الغيور

    You defend the sacred law of Taha's faith,

    With its keen blade, as a zealous guardian defends.