النظم أولى به إن كنتَ تعرفه

والنثر أولى بنا إن كنت تعرفنا

Prose is more suited to us if you know us,

And poetry more suited to him if you know him.

فالوجه أولى بنا إن كنت تشهده

ونحن أولى به إن كنت تشهدنا

The face is more suited to us if you witness it,

And we are more suited to it if you witness us.

فما يعز عليه فهو بي وله

وما يعز علينا قد يخص بنا

What is hard for him, that is for me and mine,

What is hard for us, he may reserve for us.

فما لنا منه إلا ما يكون لنا

مجلى فننظره وليس ينظرها

We have of him only what there is for us,

A shining moon - we look at it, not looking at us.

ما إنْ ذكرتك في سرٍّ وفي علن

إلا رأيتُ الذي ما زال يذكرنا

When I mention you in secret and openly,

I only see the one who still mentions us.

ولست أفرح بالذكرى على سخط

لكن على كثب إن كنت تعلمنا

I’m not happy with memories out of anger,

But out of longing if you know us.

والله يذكر قوماً ما لأخلاق لهم

بقوله اخسأوا فيها ويشهدنا

And God mentions a people with no morals,

Saying, “Be apes” - and He witnesses us.

مقامهم وهم عن عينهم حجبوا

به وعنهم بما هم فيه يحجبنا

Their status while they are veiled from their eyes

By Him, and from them by what veils us from Him.

لو عاين القلب منهم ما أعاينه

لعاينوه بلا شك يعايننا

If the heart saw them as I saw them,

They would see Him without doubt seeing us.