أيها الشيخ الذى

برز قدما فى السيادة

O hopeful sheikh,

you have long stood foremost in eminence;

والذى أعطاه أهل ال

أرض فى السبق المقاده

and mankind has given him—the people of

earth—the reins of precedence.

وأقر الكل منهم

انه عين القلاده

Every one of them has acknowledged

that he is the necklace’s central jewel.

أنا يكفينى من المشروب

ما يكفى جراده

For my part, all the drink I need is

as much as would suffice a locust.

وحديثى طال فيه

مثل تفسير قتاده

My discourse about it has run long,

like Qatadah’s exegesis;

وهو ابرام ونقض

فاكفنى فيه الاعاده

it is all affirmation and reversal—

so spare me from repeating it.