لَقَد ساسَ أَهلَ الأَرضِ قَومٌ تَفَتَّقَت

أُمورٌ فَما أَلفَت لَهُم يَدَ راتِقِ

A people have ruled the people of earth, whose affairs are chaotic,

So no hand has become accustomed to them as an ally,

هُمُ هَتَكوا بِالراحِ أَستارَ عاذِلٍ

وَلَم يَحفَظوا بِالنُسكِ حُرمَةَ ناتِقِ

They have torn down with mischief the curtains of one who finds fault,

And they have not preserved with moral codes the sanctity of a well-mannered woman.

إِذا جَرَحوا دَنّاً فَلَم يَرجُ عِندَهُم

قِصاصاً أَجادوا قَتلَ عَذراءَ عاتِقِ

When they wound a person lowly, they do not care, with them,

About retaliation—they excel in killing an innocent maid.

وَصاغوا بِما تَجني الوُلاةُ مَراكِناً

وَزادوا عَلى أَسيافِهِم وَالمَناتِقِ

And they have built, with what governors pilfer, structures,

And they have added to their swords embellishments and scabbards.

وَلَو كانَ لِلدُنِّيا لَدى اللَهِ قيمَةٌ

لَما نَظَروا في آهِلاتِ الرَساتِقِ

If this world had, with God, any value,

They would not have looked at the neglectors of duty.