رأيت قومي يذم بعض

بعضا إذا غابت الوجوه

I saw my people: some disparage

others when faces are out of sight.

وإن تلاقوا ففي تصاف

كأن هذا لذا أخوه

Yet when they meet, it is with mutual warmth,

as though this one were that one's brother.

كريمهم لا يسُدُّ سمعا

ووغدهم لا يُسدّ فوه

Their noble one does not close his ears,

and their scoundrel's mouth is never shut.

وكلهم عاقل حكيم

وغيره الجاهل السفيه

Each of them is sensible and wise,

and everyone else the ignorant fool.

وذا ابن من مات عن كثير

وذا ابن من قد سما أبوه

And this one is the son of one who died leaving much wealth,

and this one is the son of one whose father rose high.

وذا بإسلامه مدل

وذا بعصيانه يتيه

And this one boasts of his Islam,

and this one struts in his disobedience.

وكلهم قائم بمبدا

ومبدأ الكل ضيعوه

And each of them stands by a principle,

yet they have neglected the principle shared by all.

فمذ بدا لي أن قد تساوى

في ذلك الغمر والنبيه

So when it became clear to me that they were equal—

in this, the naive and the astute—

وليس من بينهم نزيه

ولا أنا الواحد النزيه

and that no one among them was upright,

nor was I the one upright man,

جعلت هذا مرآة هذا

أنظر فيها ولا أفوه

I made this one a mirror of the other;

I look into it and say nothing.