يُخَبِّرونَكَ عَن رَبِّ العُلى كَذِباً

وَما دَرى بِشُؤونِ اللَهِ إِنسانُ

They inform you falsely about the Lord Most High

And no human knows the affairs of Allah

وَبِالقَضاءِ لِآسادِ الشَرى لُجُمٌ

وَلِلوُحوشِ بِإِذنِ اللَهِ أَرسانُ

And for defeating the evildoers are lions

And for the beasts by Allah's command are dens

فَأَلسِنوني أُبَيِّن مُشكِلاتِكُمُ

أَم لَيسَ فيكُم لِأَهلِ الحَقِّ إِلسانُ

So make me speak, I will clarify your problems

Or is there among you no eloquent one for the people of truth?

هَل تَسمَعونَ فَإِنّي فارِسٌ أَرَبي

مِنَ الفَراسَةِ إِذ لِلحَربِ فُرسانُ

Can you hear me? For I am an Arab horseman

Skilled in horsemanship, since for war there are horsemen

ما كانَ في هَذِهِ الدُنيا أَخو رَشَدٍ

وَلا يَكونُ وَلا في الدَهرِ إِحسانُ

There was not in this world a brother of righteousness

Nor will there be, nor in time, any goodness

وَإِنَّما يَتَقَضّى المُلكُ مِن غِيَرٍ

كَما تَقَضَّت بَنو نَصرٍ وَغَسّانُ

Rather kingship is attained by another

As the rule of Banu Nasr and Ghassan was attained

حَسَّتهُمُ حادِثاتٌ لَم تَبِن أَسَفاً

كَأَن تَأَسَّفَ إِثرَ القَومِ حَسّانُ

Misfortunes befell them, calamities not made known

As if Hassan grieved over the people afterwards

بَنو أُمَيَّةَ بِالشامَينِ دينَ لَهُم

وَالهاشِمِيّونَ والَتهُم خُراسانُ

Banu Umayya ruled the two Shams

While the Hashimites deserted them for Khurasan

وَلَستُ آمَنُ أَن يُدعى إِمامُكُمُ

مِن عالَةِ الزِنجِ أَو رَبَّتهُ مَيسانُ

And I do not feel assured that your imam

Would be from the lowly Zanj or his nursemaid is Maysan

وَالرَأيُ أَن تَبعَثَ الأَنضاءُ واحِدَةً

إِلى دِمَشقَ فَبِئسَ الدارُ بيسانُ

And the view is that the lionesses should be sent forth as one

To Damascus, for miserable is the land of lowness