يا عَوفُ وَيحَكَ هَلّا قُلتَ عارِفَةً

مِنَ الكَلامِ وَلَم تَتبَع بِهِ طَبِعا

O Awf, woe to you! Why did you not speak with knowledge

Of speech, and not follow your nature with it?

أَو أَدرَكَتكَ حُمَيّا مَعشَرٍ أُنُفٍ

وَلَم تَكُن قاطِعاً يا عَوفُ مُنقَطِعا

Or did the zeal of a proud company seize you,

And you were not, O Awf, one who cuts off?

أَما حَزِنتَ مِنَ الأَقوامِ إِذ حَسَدوا

مِن أَن تَقولَ وَقَد عايَنتَهُ قَرَعا

Are you not grieved by the people when they envied

That you should speak, though you saw it clearly, a lie?

لَما رَمَيتَ حَصاناً غَيرَ مُقرِفَةٍ

أَمينَةَ الجَيبِ لَم تَعلَم بِهِ خَضَعا

When you shot an unsaddled horse, not knowing it,

The keeper of the purse, you did not know submission.

فيمَن رَماها وَكُنتُم مَعشَراً أُفُكاً

مِن سَيِّىءِ القَولِ في اللَفظِ الخَنا سُرُعا

Among those who shot her while you were a company of liars

Of evil speech in mocking vain words swift,

فَأَنزَلَ اللَهُ قُرآناً يُبَرِّئُها

وَبَينَ عَوفٍ وَبَينَ اللَهِ ما صَنَعا

So God sent down a Quran that clears her

And between Awf and God is what he did.

فَإِن أَعِش أَجزِ عَوفاً عَن مَقالَتِهِ

شَرَّ الجَزاءِ بِما أَلفَيتُهُ طَبَعا

If I live, I will reward Awf for his saying

The worst reward for what I knew of his nature.