أيها الشيخ الذى

أيها الشيخ الذى

برز قدما فى السيادة

برز قدما فى السيادة

O hopeful sheikh,

O elder who

you have long stood foremost in eminence;

has long excelled in eminence,

والذى أعطاه أهل ال

والذى أعطاه أهل ال

أرض فى السبق المقاده

أرض فى السبق المقاده

and mankind has given him—the people of

and who was granted by the people of the

earth—the reins of precedence.

earth the reins in the race,

وأقر الكل منهم

وأقر الكل منهم

انه عين القلاده

انه عين القلاده

Every one of them has acknowledged

and whom they all acknowledged

that he is the necklace’s central jewel.

to be the necklace’s central jewel:

أنا يكفينى من المشروب

أنا يكفينى من المشروب

ما يكفى جراده

ما يكفى جراده

For my part, all the drink I need is

I need only as much drink

as much as would suffice a locust.

as would suffice a locust.

وحديثى طال فيه

وحديثى طال فيه

مثل تفسير قتاده

مثل تفسير قتاده

My discourse about it has run long,

And my talk of it has grown long,

like Qatadah’s exegesis;

like Qatadah’s commentary;

وهو ابرام ونقض

وهو ابرام ونقض

فاكفنى فيه الاعاده

فاكفنى فيه الاعاده

it is all affirmation and reversal—

and it is binding and unbinding,

so spare me from repeating it.

so spare me repeating it.