وقالوا الخمر قلت لهم حرام

على نصّ الشريعة والمثاني

And they spoke of wine; I told them it was forbidden,

according to the text of sacred law and the oft-repeated verses.

وقلت لهم كتاب الله بيني

وبينكم وتفسير القران

And I told them: God's Book stands between me

and you, along with the interpretation of the Qur'an.

فإن كان الكتاب أبان هذا

بتحريم صريح أو بيان

So if the Book has made this clear

by an explicit prohibition or explanation—

وإلا فارتحلنا من بلاد

إلى الأخرى من خوف القناني

and if not, then we departed from one land

to another, out of fear of the bottles.

وإن تك بنت كرم ذات قدم

تزيد من العجائب والبهان

And if the vine's daughter is of ancient vintage,

adding to marvels and [al-bahān: unclear],

فلست بزاهد في مثل هذا

قوافيه شكونا في المكان

then I am not one to abstain from such a thing.

We complained of its rhymes in that place.

أحرّم ما يصحّ به مزاجي

وينفي الهمّ عن قلب مهان

Shall I forbid what makes my constitution sound

and banishes sorrow from a humiliated heart?

فإن كفّوا كففت وإن أعادوا

شربت الخمر من حلب الأواني

So if they desist, I shall desist; and if they resume,

I shall drink wine milked from the vessels,

على ما سطر النعمان فيها

مسحا أو على شرط بيان

according to what al-Nuʿmān wrote about it:

By wiping, or on condition of clarification.