ينادي وضيع العرق هل من مماثل

ينادي وضيع العرق هل من مماثل

فترمقه ذهلا كرام الفصائل

فترمقه ذهلا كرام الفصائل

A man of lowly lineage calls out, "Is there anyone my equal?"

The lowborn calls, is there anyone like me?

So the nobles of the clans gaze at him in bewilderment.

So the nobles gaze at him perplexed,

فشوس قصي تطرق الباب طرقا

فشوس قصي تطرق الباب طرقا

وجرب زويغ في صدور المحافل

وجرب زويغ في صدور المحافل

So the proud men of Qusayy knock and knock at the door,

Knock loudly on the door, knock loudly,

While the scabby men of Zuwaygh are at the head of assemblies.

And try, O Zuwail, to enter the assemblies,

معائب لو يدري الزمان بحكمها

معائب لو يدري الزمان بحكمها

تخافى خجيلا عن هذيم ووائل

تخافى خجيلا عن هذيم ووائل

Disgraces—if time knew the judgment they deserve,

If only time knew of their faults,

It would hide, ashamed, from Hudhaym and Wa'il.

It would hide shyly from them and the ancestors,

ورب نصوح قال اياك والعلا

ورب نصوح قال اياك والعلا

وكن سافلا فالعيش عيش الا سافل

وكن سافلا فالعيش عيش الا سافل

And many a sincere adviser said, "Beware of high station,

And many sincere ones said, beware of eminence,

And be lowly, for life is the life of the lowliest."

And be lowly, for life is for the lowly,

فطاوعني عقلي وعرقي مخالف

فطاوعني عقلي وعرقي مخالف

يحاول اعزازا بزهر الخصائل

يحاول اعزازا بزهر الخصائل

So my reason yielded to me, but my lineage opposed it,

But my mind and nature opposed me,

Seeking honor through the blossoms of virtue.

As I tried arrogantly to gather the flowers of nobility,

واين العلا والوقت يا هند راقد

واين العلا والوقت يا هند راقد

عن الفضل مشغول بخل وجاهل

عن الفضل مشغول بخل وجاهل

And where is honor, when time, O Hind, lies asleep,

And where is eminence while time, O Hind, is asleep,

Heedless of virtue, engrossed in a close friend and an ignoramus?

Busy with greed and ignorance over virtue,

الا لاغفا طرف الليالي فانها

الا لاغفا طرف الليالي فانها

مفوقة نبل الاذى للافاضل

مفوقة نبل الاذى للافاضل

Ah, may the eye of the nights never sleep, for they

If only the nights would forget their vigilance, for they

Have nocked arrows of harm against the virtuous.

Are superior in nobility to the mean ones amongst the virtuous,

ترى العين في اعلا المنابر ناقصا

ترى العين في اعلا المنابر ناقصا

توشح رغم الفضل بردة كامل

توشح رغم الفضل بردة كامل

The eye sees, atop the highest pulpits, a deficient man

You see in the highest pulpits one deficient,

Who has donned, in defiance of merit, an accomplished man's mantle.

Wearing the mantle of perfection despite his deficiency,

وينتهز العلياء خب ملوث

وينتهز العلياء خب ملوث

فيدركها قبل الشريف الشمائل

فيدركها قبل الشريف الشمائل

And a tainted schemer seizes high station,

And the eminent seize the chance of corruption,

Reaching it before the man of noble character.

And attain it before the noble ones of repute,

وتجتذب الدنيا بخيلا لصدرها

وتجتذب الدنيا بخيلا لصدرها

وتلبس جم الجود امراط سائل

وتلبس جم الجود امراط سائل

And the world draws a miser to its breast,

And the world draws misers to its bosom,

And clothes the lavishly generous in a beggar's garments.

And dresses the beautiful in rags,

رضينا على حلو الزمان ومره

رضينا على حلو الزمان ومره

بما ابدع الفعال زين الفعائل

بما ابدع الفعال زين الفعائل

We are content, through time's sweetness and bitterness,

We are content with the sweet and bitter of time,

With what the Doer, whose deeds are fair, has created.

With what the most High has created, the best of creators,

ونفثة مصدور يفوه بسرها

ونفثة مصدور يفوه بسرها

اخو ارق اعنته سود الطوائل

اخو ارق اعنته سود الطوائل

And an anguished breast's outpouring, whose secret is voiced

The whispered utterance of one aggrieved, whose brother,

By a sleepless sufferer burdened by dark calamities.

More pained than him, the dark nights have killed,

يخيط بها جرح الفؤاد بزعمه

يخيط بها جرح الفؤاد بزعمه

وذلك زعم باطل أي باطل

وذلك زعم باطل أي باطل

He stitches the heart's wound with it, so he claims,

With it he sews the wound of his heart, as he claims,

And that belief is false—utterly false.

But that is a false claim - yes, a false claim -

ايحسن حال القلب والهم حشوه

ايحسن حال القلب والهم حشوه

ويصفو وذي الاكدار اعظم شاغل

ويصفو وذي الاكدار اعظم شاغل

Can the heart's condition improve when grief fills it,

Does it improve the heart’s state when worry fills it?

And grow serene when these troubles are its greatest concern?

Can it be purified when disquiet is its greatest preoccupation?

لحا الله دهرا لا يرق لماجد

لحا الله دهرا لا يرق لماجد

وقاتل وقتا لا يلين لفاضل

وقاتل وقتا لا يلين لفاضل

May God curse an age that shows no tenderness to the noble,

May God make an era forever unkind to the laudable

And smite a time that will not soften toward the virtuous.

And a time unforgiving to the virtuous,

افاض من الدنيا سحابا لاحمق

افاض من الدنيا سحابا لاحمق

واحجبها نارا على كل عاقل

واحجبها نارا على كل عاقل

It poured out the world's rainclouds for a fool,

It has rained upon the ignorant and veiled

And veiled it in fire against every man of sense.

The intelligent with fire,

به ساد انذال طغام وقد طغوا

به ساد انذال طغام وقد طغوا

ومدوا لهدم المجد باع التطاول

ومدوا لهدم المجد باع التطاول

In it, base rabble held sway and grew tyrannical,

Through it the vile riffraff have gained power and become tyrannical,

And stretched out the arm of insolence to demolish glory.

And they extended the ropes of destruction upon glory,

زمان راينا من عجيب فعاله

زمان راينا من عجيب فعاله

شؤنا تهز الارض هز الزلازل

شؤنا تهز الارض هز الزلازل

An age among whose strange deeds we have seen

A time whose deeds we have seen

Events that shake the earth as earthquakes do.

Shocking matters that shake the foundations,

تباعدت الآمال عن كل سيد

تباعدت الآمال عن كل سيد

نجيب واضحي العز حظ الاراذل

نجيب واضحي العز حظ الاراذل

Hopes have receded from every lord

Hopes have parted from every noble,

Of noble birth, and honor has become the lot of the vilest.

Pure, splendid master from the masses of wicked men,

ونام به وهنا قروم اولي النهى

ونام به وهنا قروم اولي النهى

وصار السهي من دون ذبل الخوامل

وصار السهي من دون ذبل الخوامل

And in it, the great men of reason have slumbered in weakness,

And through it the lords of prohibition have fallen asleep

And Suha has sunk below the withered, obscure ones.

And the undignified became the undignified,

وشن الاداني خيب الله سعيهم

وشن الاداني خيب الله سعيهم

على الدين والاسلام غارة قاتل

على الدين والاسلام غارة قاتل

And the lowliest—may God frustrate their striving—launched

Those who slander - may God thwart their efforts -

Against religion and Islam a killer's raid.

Have attacked the religion and Islam with a fatal raid,

وقد نصبوا للنهب والسلب فخهم

وقد نصبوا للنهب والسلب فخهم

وقد اعملوا للبغي كل الوسائل

وقد اعملوا للبغي كل الوسائل

And they have set their trap for plunder and pillage,

And they have set up their trap of looting and theft,

And have employed every means for oppression.

And prepared every means for wrongdoing,

حبائل مكر اهمل الوقت امرها

حبائل مكر اهمل الوقت امرها

فيا عجبا من شؤم تلك الحبائل

فيا عجبا من شؤم تلك الحبائل

Snares of deceit whose workings time has neglected—

The affairs of their cunning plots which time has neglected -

Oh, how astonishing the ill omen of those snares!

So strange are the evils of those plots!

لان اغفل الايام اعمال من بغوا

لان اغفل الايام اعمال من بغوا

فما الله عما يعملون بغافل

فما الله عما يعملون بغافل

Even if the days have overlooked the deeds of those who transgressed,

For days are heedless of the deeds of those who are wantonly aggressive,

God is not heedless of what they do.

Yet God is not heedless of what they do.