إِكسَعِ البِصرِيَّ إِن لا قَيتَهُ

إِنَّما يُكسَعُ مَن قَلَّ وَذَل

Rebuke Iksah the Basran, if you do not fear him,

Only he who is lowly and abject will show tolerance.

وَاِجعَلِ الكوفِيَّ في الخَيلِ وَلا

تَجعَلِ البَصرِيَّ إِلّا في النَفَل

Assign the Kufan to (the care of) horses, and do not

Appoint the Basran except to spinning.

أَفَخَرتُم أَن قَتَلتُم أَعبُداً

وَهَزَمتُم مَرَّةً آلَ عَزَل

Are you boasting that you killed 'Abd

And once defeated the family of 'Azal?

نَحنُ سُقناهُم إِلَيكُم عُنوَةً

وَجَمَعنا أَمرَكُم بَعدَ فَشَل

We drove them forcibly to you,

And united your affairs after failure.

فَإِذا فاخَرتُمونا فَاِذكُروا

ما فَعلَنا بِكُمُ يَومَ الجَمَل

So if you boast against us, recall

What we did to you on the day of the Camel,

بَينَ شَيخٍ خاضِبٍ عُثنونَهُ

وَفَتىً أَبيَضَ وَضّاحٍ رِفَل

Between an elderly man with dyed hair, 'Uthman,

And a fair youth, radiant and delicate, Rifa'l.

جاءَنا يَرفُلُ في سابِغَةٍ

فَذَبَحناهُ ضُحىً ذَبحَ الحَمَل

He came prancing about in a dyed garment,

So we slaughtered him at morning like a fattened lamb.

وَعَفَونا فَنَسيتُم عَفوَنا

وَكَفَرتُم نِعمَةَ اللَهِ الأَجَل

We pardoned you, but you forgot our pardoning

And showed ingratitude for Allah's sublime favor.

وَقَتَلتُم خَشَبِيّينَ بِهِم

بَدَلاً مِن قَومِكُم شَرَّ بَدَل

And you killed two Khushabiites wrongfully instead

Of your own people - the worst exchange!