لا تَظلِموني وَتَظلِموا الحِسْبَه

فليسَ بيني وَبينها نِسْبَه

Do not wrong me and wrong virtue,

For there is no kinship between it and me.

غيْرِي في البيعِ وَالشِّرَا دَرِبٌ

وَليس في الحالتيْنِ لي دُرْبَه

Others sell and buy, but I have no occupation with either,

In none of these conditions do I have experience.

فهو أبو حَبَّةٍ كما ذَكَرُوا

لا يَتَغَاضَى للناسِ في حَبهْ

He is Abu Habba as they mentioned,

He does not overlook people in his love.

وَقامَ في قومِهِ لِيُنْذِرَهُم

فهْوَ بإنْذَارِ قومِهِ أشْبَهْ

And he stood among his people to warn them,

So he is most like his people in warning.

والناسُ كالزَّرْعِ في منابِتِهِ

هذا له تُرْبَةٌ وَذَا تُرْبَهْ

And people are like plants in their beds,

This one has fertile soil while that has gravel.

تاللَّهِ لا يَرْضَى فضلي وَلا أدَبي

وَلا طِباعِي في هذهِ السُّبَّهْ

By Allah, my merit, etiquette and nature are not satisfactory

In this rabble.

أَجْلِسُ والناسُ يُهْرَعُونَ إِلَى

فِعْلِي في السُّوقِ عُصْبَةً عُصْبَهْ

I sit while people rush excitedly

To my activity in the market forming groups.

أُوجِعُ زَيْداً ضَرْباً وَأُشْبِعُهُ

سَبّاً كَأني مُرَقِّصُ الدُّبَّهْ

I hurt Zaid with beating and satisfy him

With insults as if I am tossing him.

ويُكسِبُ الغيْظُ مُقْلَتَيَّ وخَد

ديَّ احْمِراراً كنامر القِرْبَهْ

Anger colors my eyelids and cheek

With redness like the dye of wars.

وآمُرُ الناسَ بالصَّلاحِ ولا

أُصْلِحُ نَفْسِي حُرِمْتُها حِسْبَهْ

And I order people to righteousness while I

Do not reform myself when I am deprived of virtue.

لَمْ أَرَ في قُبْحِ فِعْلِهَا حَسَناً

كالكلبِ فِي السُّوقِ يُلْقِحُ الكلْبَهْ

I have not seen any good in its ugliness

Like the dog fertilizing the bitch in the street.

وما كفَاها حتى يُخَيَّلَ لِي

أَن اتِّباعِي أَهْوَائِها قُرْبَهْ

It was not enough until it seemed to me

That following its whims is kinship.

أَعُوذُ باللَّهِ أَنْ أَكُونَ كَمَنْ

تَغْلِبُهُ في الرَّقاعَةِ الرَّغْبَهْ

I seek refuge in Allah from being like one

Who is overwhelmed by desire in craving.

يمشي بها والصِّغارُ تُنْشِدُهُ

أميرُنا زارَنا بِلا ركْبَهْ

Walking with it while children chant to him,

“Our leader visited us without riding.”

وَما يزالُ الغُلامُ يَتْبَعُهُ

بدرَّةٍ مِثْلَ رَأْسِهِ صُلْبَهْ

And the boy keeps following him

With a pearl like his head, spherical.

وَهْوَ يقولُ افْسَحوا لِمُحْتَسِبٍ

قد جاءكم مِنْ دِمَشْقَ في عُلْبَهْ

And he says, “Make way for the censor

Who has come to you from Damascus in a box.”

لا تَنْقَفِلْ يا فُلانُ في بَلَدٍ

لَمْ تَنْقَفِلْ منكَ بينهمْ ضَبَّهْ

Do not dawdle, O so-and-so, in a country

You did not dawdle in while they were buzzing around you.

فمنْ تَبَاهَى بأَنَّهُ وتدٌ

فلْيَحْتَمِلْ دَقَّ كلِّ مِرْزَبَّهْ

So whoever boasts of being a peg

Must endure being pounded by every sledgehammer.

ما بالُه خايَلَ الزّمانَ بها

كَمْ كانَ لِلَّيْلِ فيك مِنْ صَبَّهْ

Why did the times make him wistful?

How much yearning did the night have for you!

وقائلٍ لَمْ يَقُلْ أَتاهُ كَذَا

يَسْفَهُ في قولِهِ ولا يُجبَهْ

And someone saying something came to him,

Senselessly, and he does not answer him.

معناه مَنْ لَمْ يكنْ كَوالدِهِ

فَهْوَ لَقيطٌ رَمَتْ به قَحْبَهْ

Its meaning is: whoever is not like his father

Is a foundling thrown by a whorish woman.

قلتُ لهم عندَ صاحبي حُمقٌ

في كُلِّ حينٍ يُلْقِيهِ في نَكْبَهْ

I said to them: “There is stupidity in my companion

That throws him into distress at every moment.”

حَصَّلَ مالاً جَمَّاً وعَدَّدَه

مِنْ أَصْلِ مَالِ الزَّكاةِ والوهْبَهْ

He accumulated much wealth and counted it

From the money of alms and grants.

وَصارَ عَدْلاً وعاقِداً وَأَمِي

نَ الحُكْمِ دون العدولِ في حِقْبَهْ

And he became a judge and contractor and took

The rule without counsel in a period of time.

مُنَبِّهٌ قومَهُ عَلَى شُغُلٍ

وساعدَ الوقْتُ سَعْدَ مَنْ نَبَّهْ

Cautioning his people about preoccupation,

And time assisted whoever cautioned.

وَخِفْتُ مِنْ عَتْبِهِمْ عَلَيَّ كما

خافَ العَتاهِي العَتْبَ مِنْ عُتْبَهْ

And I feared their blame on me as

The dim-witted fear the blame of bright ones.

فَطَارَ بُرْغُوثُهُ لِخِفَّتِهِ

وَرامَ يَحْكِي الأسودَ في الوثْبَهْ

So his flea took flight out of fear,

And it attempted to mimic the lion in a leap.

فَلَمْ يَرم إذْ رَمَتْهُ بِفِطْنَتِهِ

إلى وُهودِ الْخمولِ مِنْ هَضْبَهْ

But when it leaped, it threw him with its perception

To the pits of inaction from a slope.

أَغْرَقَهُ جَهْلُهُ وَما سُتِرَتْ

قَطُّ لَهُ سُرَّةٌ وَلا رُكْبَهْ

His ignorance drowned him, and no veil

Was ever drawn over him, nor clothing.

وَعَادَ تَمْوِيهُهُ عليه وكَمْ

أَخْجَلَ شَيْبُ الذقونِ منْ خَضبهْ

And his deception went back to him, and how

The gray hair of his temples was put to shame by dye!

وَرَاحَ مِثْلَ النَّواتِ في سُفُنٍ

خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ سُلافَةٍ عَطْبَهْ

And he went away like bats in vessels -

Better for him than rotten carrion.

وَسَاءَنِي ما جَرَى عليه مِنَ النِّسْ

وَةِ يومَ الخميسِ في التُّرْبَهْ

And I hated what happened to him from women

The day of Thursday in the cemetery.

فلا تَسَلْنِي فما حَضَرْتُ لها

لكِنْ سمِعْتُ الصِّيَاحَ والنُّدْبَهْ

So do not ask me, for I did not attend it,

But I heard the screaming and lamenting.

وقالتِ الناسُ عندما وَرَدَتْ

لِعَزْلِهِ الكُتْبُ هانَتِ الوَجْبَهْ

And when the note arrived removing him,

The people said: The duty has been carried out.

فالحمدُ للَّهِ فاحْمدُوهُ مَعِي

على خَلاصِي مِنْ هذهِ النِّسْبَهْ

So praise be to Allah; praise Him with me

For my deliverance from this lineage.

اليوْمَ حَقَّقْتُ أَنَّ أَمْرَكَ بالحس

بَةِ لِي ليسَ كان لِي لُعْبَهْ

Today I realized your order to take account

Of me was not jest or play to me.

يا ماجِداً ما يَزالُ يُنْقِذُ مَنْ

رَماهُ رَيْبُ الزَّمانِ فِي كُرْبَهْ

O Majid, who still saves whoever

The caprice of time throws into distress.

إِنِّي امْرُؤٌ حِرْفَتِي الحِسابُ فَلا

يَدْخُلُ رَيْبٌ عليَّ في حِسْبَهْ

I am a man whose profession is accounting, so

No doubt enters me in accounting.

ولا تَرُدُّ الكُتَّابُ جائزةً

على حِسابٍ منِّي ولا شَطْبَهْ

And the writers do not return a prize

To me for accounting or cross anything out.

يَشْرَقُ مني بِرِيقِهِ رَجُلٌ

يَشْرَبُ مالَ العُمالِ فِي شَرْبَهْ

A man whose saliva is radiant drinks

The wealth of employees in one draught.

وَالشِّعْرُ مِيزَانُهُ أُقَوِّمُهُ

وليس تَنْقَامُ منه لي حَدْبَهْ

And poetry is my scale - I adjust it,

And taking revenge on it is no concern of mine.

فإنني لا أرَى المدِيحَ به

لِلْمَالِ بلْ لِلْوِدَادِ والصُّحْبَهْ

For I do not see praise of wealth through it

But of affection and companionship.

وَالشِّعْرُ عندي أَخُو العَدالةِ لا

أحسِبُ أَقْوَالَهُ وَلا كَسْبَه

And to me poetry is the brother of justice -

I do not calculate its words or earnings.

فَلَمْ أَكُنْ أَتْبَعُ العَذُولَ إلَى

عَقْدٍ إذا ما دُعَاؤُهُ خُطْبَهْ

So I was not one who followed

Every fool whose call was courtship.

مِنْ كلِّ مَنْ لا يخافُ عاقِبَةً

كأنّه في ذهابِهِ عُقْبَهْ

Whoever does not fear consequences

Will be slaughtered by his injustice and slain by

يَذْبَحُهُ ظُلْمُهُ وَيَنْحَرُهُ الْ

جَهْلُ بِلا شَفْرَةٍ ولا حَرْبَهْ

Ignorance without a knife or war.

How much misleading testimony did the witness bring you

كَمْ غَيَّةٍ قدْ أتَاكَ بها ال

شاهدُ في سَلَمٍ وَفي كِذْبَهْ

In peace and in lies?

Draining the spigot of immorality from his mouth -

يُنِيلُ نَيْلَ الفُسوقِ مِنْ فَمهِ

لا بارَكَ اللَّهُ فيهِ مِنْ جعْبَهْ

May Allah not bless him, what a leather bag!

So I have no profit from the witnesses

فليسَ لِي فِي الشُّهودِ مِنْ أرَبٍ

إذْ وُصِفُوا كاليهودِ بالأُرْبَهْ

When they are described like the Jews as blind.

So have mercy on an intelligent man who called you one day

فارْحَمْ لبيباً يَوْماً دَعَاكَ وَقد

بَلَّغَتِ الجوع رُوحَهُ اللَّبَّهْ

When hunger made his soul ravenous.

If the son of the builder were given succession

لوْ عُمِّرَ ابنُ المِعمار خَوَّلهُ

نِيَابَةَ الخِدْمَتَيْنِ والخُطْبَهْ

To both services and courtship,

And did not burden anyone

وَلَمْ يَدَعْهُ كَلًّا عَلَى أَحَدٍ

بغَيْرِ نَفْعٍ كأنهُ وَلْبَهْ

With harm, as if he were a plaything,

You are too gracious; your doors are my homeland.

حاشاكَ يا مَنْ أَبوابُهُ وَطنِي

تَخْتَارُ لِي أَنْ أَموتَ فِي الغُرْبَهْ

Choose for me to die in alienation!

And my situation and my family’s

وَأَنَّ حالِي وَحالَ عائلَتي

لا يَحْمِلُونَ النُّوَى ولا الغُرْبَهْ

Cannot endure exile and alienation.

If the times were pleased with our separation,

إنْ كانَ أَرْضَى الزَّمانَ فُرْقَتنا

فاغْضَبْ على صَرْفِهِ لنا غَضْبَهْ

Be angry with its changing us for anger.

For you are from a group the days obey

فأَنْتَ مِنْ مَعْشَرٍ تُطِيعُهُمُ ال

أَيَّامُ عنْ رَغْبَةٍ وَلا رَهْبَهْ

Out of desire, not awe or fear.

And from a sovereign above whose rank

وَمِنْ مَلِيكٍ ما فَوْقَ رُتْبَتِهِ

على عظيم اتِّضاعِهِ رُتْبَهْ

There is the utmost humility in rank.

The King of Rome in his supremacy

ما مَلِكُ الرُّومِ في جَلالَتِهِ

أَحَقَّ منه بالطَّيْرِ والقُبَّهْ

Is no more deserving of the feathers and dome.

You are the prince who restores our tongues

أَنْتَ الأميرُ المُعيدُ أَلْسُنَنا

كالعُودِ منه بِذِكْرِهِ رَطْبَهْ

Like a moist branch through mention of him.

And the foremost of the early ones in generosity

والسابِقُ الأَوَّلِينَ في كَرَمٍ

لَمَّا جَرَى والكِرامُ في حَلْبَهْ

When it flowed, and the generous are in Aleppo.

And the defeater of the army and battalions with

والهازِمُ الجَيْشَ والكَتائِبَ بال

طَّعْنَة يَوْمَ الوَغَى وبالضَّرْبَهْ

Stabbing the day of battle and with striking.

And the pure of train and retinue - or

والطاهرُ الذَّيْلِ والطَّوِيَّةِ أَوْ

يَكْفِي السَّعِيدَ الحَراكَ والنَّصْبَهْ

It suffices the happy one trial and effort.

One whose nature is like the breeze spreading fragrance

مَنْ خُلْقُهُ كالنَّسِيمِ يَنْشُرُ إنْ

هَبَّ عليه مِنْ نشرهِ هَبَّهْ

When it blows over it with its gusts.

And one who, when you mention his amiability,

وَمَنْ إذا ذَكَرْتَ سُؤْدُدَهُ

يَهُزُّني عندَ ذِكْرِهِ طَرْبَهْ

Shakes me in rapture at his mention.

His righteousness utilized time for him

صَلاحُهُ اسْتَخْدَمَ الزَّمانَ لَهُ

فصارَ يَمْشِي قُدَّامَهُ حَجْبَهْ

So it walks before him covering him.