أَتُنكِرُ يا اِبنَ إِسحاقٍ إِخائي

أَتُنكِرُ يا اِبنَ إِسحاقٍ إِخائي

وَتَحسَبُ ماءَ غَيري مِن إِنائي

وَتَحسَبُ ماءَ غَيري مِن إِنائي

Do you deny my friendship, O son of Ishaq,

Do you deny, O son of Isaac, my brotherhood

Do you deny, O Ibn Ishaq, the brotherhood between us,

And think another's water comes from my vessel?

And reckon the water of others from my vessel?

And mistake the water of another for the draught of my vessel?

أَأَنطِقُ فيكَ هُجراً بَعدَ عِلمي

أَأَنطِقُ فيكَ هُجراً بَعدَ عِلمي

بِأَنَّكَ خَيرُ مَن تَحتَ السَماءِ

بِأَنَّكَ خَيرُ مَن تَحتَ السَماءِ

Would I utter foul words about you, after learning

Shall I speak estrangement of you after my knowledge

Would I speak foulness against you, knowing full well

That you are the best of all beneath the sky,

That you are the best of those under the sky?

That you are the noblest soul beneath the heavens?

وَأَكرَهُ مِن ذُبابِ السَيفِ طَعماً

وَأَكرَهُ مِن ذُبابِ السَيفِ طَعماً

وَأَمضى في الأُمورِ مِنَ القَضاءِ

وَأَمضى في الأُمورِ مِنَ القَضاءِ

And more bitter to taste than the sword's point,

And dislike more than the taste of the sword's blade

You, who are more bitter to the taste than the sword's sharp edge,

And more decisive in affairs than fate?

And go farther in affairs than destiny?

And more decisive in affairs than Destiny itself?

وَما أَربَت عَلى العِشرينَ سِنّي

وَما أَربَت عَلى العِشرينَ سِنّي

فَكَيفَ مَلِلتُ مِن طولِ البَقاءِ

فَكَيفَ مَلِلتُ مِن طولِ البَقاءِ

And my age has not exceeded twenty,

I have not reached twenty years old

My years have not yet mounted past the count of twenty,

So how could I have tired of a long life?

So how have I wearied of a long life?

So how could I have grown weary of the length of life?

وَما اِستَغرَقتُ وَصفَكَ في مَديحي

وَما اِستَغرَقتُ وَصفَكَ في مَديحي

فَأَنقُصَ مِنهُ شَيئاً بِالهِجاءِ

فَأَنقُصَ مِنهُ شَيئاً بِالهِجاءِ

Nor have I encompassed all your qualities in my praise,

I have not exhausted praising you in my eulogy

I have not yet exhausted your description in my praise,

So that I could diminish any of them through satire.

To detract anything from it with blame.

That I should diminish it now by turning to satire.

وَهَبني قُلتُ هَذا الصُبحُ لَيلٌ

وَهَبني قُلتُ هَذا الصُبحُ لَيلٌ

أَيَعمى العالَمونَ عَنِ الضِياءِ

أَيَعمى العالَمونَ عَنِ الضِياءِ

And suppose I said, 'This dawn is night'—

This morning my saying "This is a night" was a gift,

Grant that I said: 'Behold, this morning is night'—

Would the people of the world be blind to the light?

Are the people blind to the illumination?

Would the eyes of the world be blinded to the light?

تُطيعُ الحاسِدينَ وَأَنتَ مَرءٌ

تُطيعُ الحاسِدينَ وَأَنتَ مَرءٌ

جُعِلتُ فِدائَهُ وَهُمُ فِدائي

جُعِلتُ فِدائَهُ وَهُمُ فِدائي

You heed the envious, though you are a man

You obey the envious ones and you are a man

You listen to the envious, though you are a man

Whose ransom I would be, while they are mine.

I was made your ransom while they are my ransom.

For whom I would be ransom, while they are ransom for me.

وَهاجي نَفسِهِ مَن لَم يُمَيِّز

وَهاجي نَفسِهِ مَن لَم يُمَيِّز

كَلامي مِن كَلامِهِمِ الهُراءِ

كَلامي مِن كَلامِهِمِ الهُراءِ

And he lampoons himself who fails to distinguish

He who does not distinguish my words

He satirizes his own soul, the one who cannot distinguish

My words from their empty babble.

From their foolish prattle rebukes himself.

My eloquent speech from their nonsensical babble.

وَإِنَّ مِنَ العَجائِبِ أَن تَراني

وَإِنَّ مِنَ العَجائِبِ أَن تَراني

فَتَعدِلَ بي أَقَلَّ مِنَ الهَباءِ

فَتَعدِلَ بي أَقَلَّ مِنَ الهَباءِ

And surely it is a wonder that you see me,

And of the wonders is that you see me

And verily, it is a wonder that you look upon me,

Yet equate with me someone worth less than dust,

And make me equal to less than vapor.

Then weigh me as equal to less than a speck of dust,

وَتُنكِرَ مَوتَهُم وَأَنا سُهَيلٌ

وَتُنكِرَ مَوتَهُم وَأَنا سُهَيلٌ

طَلَعتُ بِمَوتِ أَولادِ الزِناءِ

طَلَعتُ بِمَوتِ أَولادِ الزِناءِ

And find their death strange, though I am Suhayl:

And you deny their death while I am Suhayl,

And deny their demise, when I am the star Canopus,

I have risen, bringing death to the children of fornication.

I rose at the death of the sons of adultery.

Who has risen to mark the death of the sons of adultery.