الحَمدُ لِلَّهِ هَذا أَعجَبُ العَجَبِ

الهَيثَمُ اِبنُ عَدِيٍّ صارَ في العَرَبِ

Praise be to Allah, this is the most wondrous wonder

Praise be to God, this is the wonder of wonders,

Al-Haytham son of ‘Adi has become renowned among the Arabs

That Al-Haitham ibn 'Adi has appeared among the Arabs.

يا هَيثَمُ اِبنَ عَدِيٍّ لَستَ لِلعَرَبِ

وَلَستَ مِن طَيِّئٍ إِلّا عَلى شَغَبِ

O Haytham son of ‘Adi, you are not one of the Arabs

O Haitham ibn 'Adi, you belong not to the Arabs,

Nor are you from Tayy except in strife

And you are not of Tayyi', save by distinct commotion.

إِذا نَسَبتَ عَدِيّاً في بَني ثُعَلٍ

فَقَدِّمِ الدالَ قَبلَ العَينِ في النَسَبِ

If you attribute ‘Adi to the clan of Thu'al

If you trace 'Adi’s line back to the sons of Thu'al,

Put the dal before the ‘ayn in lineage

Then place the D before the A to spell his true descent.

كَأَنَّني بِكَ فَوقَ الجِسرِ مُنتَصِباً

عَلى جَوادٍ قَريبٍ مِنكَ في الحَسَبِ

It is as if I see you standing tall on the bridge

I can picture you standing there atop the bridge,

On a steed close to you in pedigree

Mounted on a steed that is your near kin in rank,

حَتّى نَراكَ وَقَد دَرَّعتَهُ قُمُصاً

مِنَ الصَديدِ مَكانَ الليفِ وَالكَرَبِ

Until we see you clad in a coat of mail

Until we see you clothing it in tunics,

In place of wool and sacking

Woven from pus, in place of palm fiber and husk.

لِلَّهِ أَنتَ فَما قُربى تَهُمُّ بِها

إِلّا اِجتَلَيتَ لَها الأَنسابَ مِن كَثَبِ

By Allah you are lost, and any kin you claim

God help you! There is no kinship you desire,

You have fabricated for them genealogies from fiction

But that you forge a lineage for it from close at hand.

فَلا تَزالُ أَخا حِلٍّ وَمُرتَحَلٍ

إِلى المَوالي وَأَحياناً إِلى العَرَبِ

So you remain brother to the vagabond and nomad

So you remain a brother of departure and arrival,

And sometimes to the Arabs

Moving to the clients once, and sometimes to the Arabs.