أَلَم تَرَيَا أنَّ الخَلِيفَةَ لَزَّني
بِمَسجِدِهِ والقَصرِ ما لي ولِلقَصرِ
Have you two not seen how the caliph has fastened me
to his mosque and palace? What have I to do with the palace?
فَقَد صَدَّني عَن مَسجِدٍ أستَلِذُّهُ
أُعَلّلُ فيه بالسَّمَاعِ وبالخَمرِ
He has kept me from a mosque I find delightful,
where I beguile myself with music and wine.
وكَلَّفَني الأولى جميعاً وعَصرَها
فَويلي من الأُولى وعَولي مِنَ العَصرِ
He has made me attend the noon prayer in congregation, and the afternoon prayer as well;
woe is me for noon, and alas for the afternoon!
أُصلِّيهِما بالكُرهِ في غَيرِ مَسجدي
فما لي مِنَ الأولى ولا العَصرِ مِن أَجرِ
I perform them both unwillingly, in a mosque other than my own,
so I gain no reward from noon or afternoon.
يُكَلِّفُني مِن بعدِ ما شِبتُ تَوبَةً
يحطُّ بها عَنّي المثاقِيلَ مِن وِزرِي
After I have gone gray, he imposes upon me a repentance
by which the crushing weights of my burden of sin would be lifted.
لَقَد كان في قومي مَسَاجِدُ جَمَّةٌ
وَلَم يَنشَرِح يَوماً لِغِشيَانِها صَدري
Among my people there were mosques aplenty,
yet never once did my heart warm to frequenting them.
وواللهِ ما لي نِيَّةٌ في صلاته
ولا البِرُّ والإحسانُ والخَيرُ مِن أمري
And by God, I have no sincere intent in joining his prayer,
nor are piety, charity, and goodness any part of my ways.
وَمَا ضَرَّهُ واللهُ يغفِرُ ذَنبَهُ
لَوَ انّ ذُنوبَ العَالَمينَ على ظَهرِي
What harm would it do him—may God forgive his sin—
if the sins of all mankind were borne upon my back?
Sol 5.6