هويتُ بخيلاً ظالماً فاستقادَني

هوايَ له حتى اقتديتُ بفعلِهِ

I accused him of being unjust and mean so he corrected me

I loved him to the point that I emulated his actions

فأحببتُ مَن يُدعى ظلوماً لظلمه

وأحببتُ مَن يُدعي بخيلاً لبخلِهِ

So I grew fond of one called unjust for his injustice

And I grew fond of one called stingy for his stinginess

أرى ظلمَه عندي جميلاً كعدلِهِ

فألزمني في هجره شكرَ وصلِهِ

I see his injustice as beautiful as his justice

So he obliged me in his estrangement with gratitude and his affection

صنعتُ لكيلا يشمتوا بي قصيدة

إليه تعدُّ المنعَ إسرافَ بذلِهِ

I composed for him a poem so that none would gloat over me

In which I counted his refusal extravagance of his generosity