1. قَرى ضيفه الماء القراح ابنُ مسمع

    وكان لئيماً جارُه يتذلَّل

    Ibn Mismaʿ served his guest plain water.

    He was mean-spirited, and his neighbor lived in humiliation.

  2. فلما رأى الضيفُ القرى غير راهنٍ

    لديه تولى هارباً يتعلّل

    When the guest saw no hospitality ready

    at his host's, he turned away and fled, making excuses.

  3. يُنادي بأعلى الصوت بكر بن وائلٍ

    ألا كلُّ مَن يرجو قِراكم مُضلّل

    He called to Bakr ibn Wāʾil at the top of his voice:

    Take heed: whoever hopes for your hospitality is deluded!

  4. عميدُكُم هرَّ الضيوف فما لكم

    ربيعة أمسى ضيفكم يتحوّل

    Your chief snarled at the guests—what ails you,

    Rabīʿa, that your guest now moves on?

  5. وخفتُم بأن تقروا الضيوف وكنتم

    زماناً بكم يحيا الضريك المعيّل

    You feared to entertain guests, though you were

    once the lifeline of the needy man with dependents.

  6. فما بالكم باللَه أنتم بخلتُم

    وقصّرتُم والضيفُ يُقرى ويُنزَل

    What ails you, by God? You have grown miserly

    and fallen short, though a guest is to be fed and lodged,

  7. ويُكرَم حتى يقترى حين يقترى

    يقول إذا ولّى جميلاً فيُجمِل

    and honored, so that he is hosted whenever he seeks hospitality,

    and speaks kindly when he leaves, giving gracious praise.

  8. فمهلاً بني بكرٍ دعوا آل مسمع

    ورأيَهُم لا يسبقُ الخيل مُحنثَل

    So hold back, sons of Bakr: leave the clan of Mismaʿ

    and their counsel alone; a laggard cannot outrun horses.

  9. ودونكُم أضيافكم فتحدبوا

    عليهم وواسوهم فذلك أجمل

    Attend to your guests, and show care

    for them and share with them—that is more becoming.

  10. ولا تصبحوا أحدوثةً مثل قائلٍ

    به يضربُ الأمثالَ من يتمثل

    Do not become a byword, like a speaker

    whom those who quote proverbs cite as an example.

  11. إذا ما التقى الرُكبانُ يوماً تذاكروا

    بني مسمع حتى يحمّوا ويثقلوا

    When riders meet one day, they talk

    of the sons of Mismaʿ until they grow feverish and gravely ill.

  12. فلا تقربوا أبياتَهم إنّ جارَهم

    وضيفَهم سيّانِ أنّي توسلوا

    So do not approach their tents: their neighbor

    and their guest fare alike, however they plead.

  13. همُ القومُ غرّ الضيف منهم رواؤهم

    وما فيهمُ إلّا لئيمُ مبخّل

    They are the people whose fine appearance deceived the guest,

    yet every one of them is a wretch notorious for stinginess.

  14. فلو ببني شيبان حلّت ركائبي

    لكانَ قِراهم راهناً حين أنزل

    For had my riding camels halted among the sons of Shaybān,

    their hospitality would have been ready when I alighted.

  15. أولئك أولى بالمكارم كلِّها

    وأجدرُ يوماً أن يواسوا ويفضلوا

    Those men have the stronger claim to every noble trait,

    and are likelier, on any day, to share and give generously.

  16. بني مسمعٍ لا قرّبَ اللَه داركم

    ولا زال واديكم من الماءِ يُمحل

    Sons of Mismaʿ, may God never bring your dwelling near,

    and may your valley forever lie parched for lack of water.

  17. فلم تردعوا الأبطال بالبيض والقنا

    إذا جعلت نارُ الحروبِ تأكل

    For you did not repel champions with bright blades and spears

    when the fire of war began to consume.