أَفدنا من بني عمر فقلنا

أَفدنا من بني عمر فقلنا

لعلَّ الشعر حيثُ مضى أَفادا

لعلَّ الشعر حيثُ مضى أَفادا

We benefited from Banu Umar, and said:

We sought aid from the sons of ‘Umar, so we said:

Perhaps poetry brought gain wherever it went.

Perhaps poetry has benefited wherever it went.

وجادَ لنا بنو نبهان حتّى

وجادَ لنا بنو نبهان حتّى

حَسبنا كل أَزديٍّ جوادا

حَسبنا كل أَزديٍّ جوادا

And Banu Nabhan gave generously to us, until

The Banū Nabhān were generous to us until

we thought every Azdi generous.

We deemed every Azdī magnanimous.

تحلّى بادّعاءِ الأزدِ قومٌ

تحلّى بادّعاءِ الأزدِ قومٌ

إذا سُئلوا وجدتُهم جمادا

إذا سُئلوا وجدتُهم جمادا

Some people adorned themselves by claiming descent from the Azd;

A people adorned themselves with claiming to be Azdī,

when they were asked, I found them lifeless matter.

Yet when asked, I found them inanimate.

سألنا أحمد القَصَبيَّ نَزراً

سألنا أحمد القَصَبيَّ نَزراً

فما أَبدى الشحيحُ ولا أَعادا

فما أَبدى الشحيحُ ولا أَعادا

We asked Ahmad al-Qasabi for a little,

We asked Aḥmad al-Qaṣabī for a little,

but the miser gave no response at all.

Yet the miserly one showed neither generosity nor repetition.

فعُدَّ البخلَ في يمن وإلاّ

فعُدَّ البخلَ في يمن وإلاّ

فألْزِمْ نِسبةَ الرّجل الفسادا

فألْزِمْ نِسبةَ الرّجل الفسادا

So reckon miserliness a trait of Yemen; otherwise,

So ascribe miserliness in Yemen or else

declare the man's claimed descent false.

Ascribe the man's lineage to corruption.