لا أقذَعُ السلطانَ في أيامه

خوفاً لسطوته ومُرِّ عقابِهِ

I do not insult the sultan during his days

Out of fear of his might and bitterness of his punishment

وإذا الزمانُ أصَابَهُ بصروفِهِ

حاذرتُ رجعتَهُ ووشْكَ مَثابِهِ

And when fate strikes him with its vicissitudes

I beware his decline and the peril of his reward

وأعُدُّ لؤماً أن أهُمَّ بعَضَّهِ

إذ فلَّتِ الأيامُ من أنيابِهِ

And I consider it harmful to think of harming him

When time has slipped from his grasp

تاللَّه أهجو من هجاهُ زمانُهُ

حَرُمَتْ مُواثَبَتِيهِ عندَ وثابِهِ

By Allah, I lampoon whoever's time lampoons him

My pouncing upon him is forbidden in his presence

فليعلمِ الرؤساءُ أني راهبٌ

للشرّ والمرهوبُ من أسبابِهِ

So let the leaders know that I am a devout man

Who shuns evil and dreads its causes

طَبٌّ بأحكامِ الهجاءِ مُبصِّرٌ

أهلَ السَّفاهِ بزَيغهِ وصوابِهِ

It is right to censor with satire, making clear

To the foolish their deviance and rectitude

حَرُمَ الهجاءُ على امرئٍ إلا امرَأً

وقَعَ الهجاءُ عليه من أضرابِهِ

Satire is forbidden against a man unless a man

Who satire has befallen due to his peers

أو طالباً قوتاً حماهُ قادرٌ

ظلماً حقوقَ طَعامِهِ وشرابِهِ

Or one seeking sustenance whom a tyrant protects

Wrongfully depriving him of his food and drink