أَلا يا حادِثاً فيهِ

لِمَن يَتَعَجَّبُ العَجَبُ

Lo! A strange event to behold

Oh, strange phenomenon in whom exists

For one who wonders in amazement

A source of wonder for the curious mind:

لِأَسماءٍ يُسَمّيهِن

نَ أَشجَعُ حينَ يَنتَسِبُ

At names he calls them

Regarding names that Ashjaʿ designates

The boldest when he claims descent

Whenever he attempts to trace his line.

تَعَلَّمَها وَإِخوَتِهِ

فَكُلُّهُمُ بِها ذَرِبُ

Learnt by him and his brethren

He and his brothers memorized this art,

And all of them are liars about it

And every one of them is sharp of tongue.

فَيا لَكِ عُصبَةً إِن حَد

دَثوا عَن أَصلِهِم كَذَبوا

So what a band you are if one

Oh, what a clique! Whenever they recount

Speaks of their origin they lie

The story of their source, they speak deceit.

وَهُم ما لَم تُنَقِّر عَن

أَرومِ أُصولِهِم عَرَبُ

While they are not pecked out of

They pass as Arabs, provided you refrain

The rocks of their ancestry, Arabs

From digging deep into their root and stock;

لَهُم في بَيتِهِم نَسَبٌ

وَفي وَسطِ المِلا نَسَبُ

For them in their house is lineage

Within their house, one lineage they hold,

And in the midst of the throng, lineage

But in the public crowd, another kin.

كَما لَم تَخفَ سافِرَةٌ

وَتُنكَرُ حينَ تَنتَقِبُ

Just as an unveiled traveller does not hide

Just as a face unveiled is clearly known,

And denies when she veils herself

Yet unacknowledged when behind the veil.