إِذا رَفَعوا سَمِعتَ لَهُم عَجيجاً

عَجيجَ مُحَلِّئٍ نَعَماً نِهالا

When they raise up, you will hear from them clamor,

The clamor of a lad carrier of favors and tender youth,

وَمَن سَمَكَ السَماءَ لَهُ فَقامَت

وَسَخَّرَ لِاِبنِ داوُدَ الشَمالا

And He who ceiled the sky for Him it stood,

And subjected the north wind to the son of David,

وَمَن نَجّى مِنَ الغَمَراتِ نوحاً

وَأَرسى في مَواضِعِها الجِبالا

And He who saved Noah from the deluges

And anchored in their places the mountains,

لَئِن عافَيتَني وَنَظَرتَ حِلمي

لَأَعتَتِنَن إِنِ الحَدَثانُ آلا

If you grant me well-being and look upon my forbearance,

I will surely exclaim: surely calamities befell!

إِلَيكَ فَرَرتُ مِنكَ وَمِن زِيادٍ

وَلَم أَحسِب دَمي لَكُما حَلالا

To You I fled from You and from Ziyad,

And I did not reckon my blood to you both lawful,

وَلَكِنّي هَجَوتُ وَقَد هَجَتني

مَعاشِرُ قَد رَضَختُ لَهُم سِجالا

But I lampooned while they lampooned me,

A band I had contended with in wrangles,

فَإِن يَكُنِ الهِجاءُ أَحَلَّ قَتلي

فَقَد قُلنا لِشاعِرِهِم وَقالا

So if lampooning sanctions my murder,

We have said to their poet and he said,

وَإِن تَكُ في الهِجاءِ تُريدُ قَتلي

فَلَم تُدرِك لِمُنتَصِرٍ مَقالا

And if you mean by lampooning to seek my murder,

You have not attained for a victor words,

تَرى الشُمَّ الجَحاجِحَ مِن قُرَيشٍ

إِذا ما الأَمرُ في الحَدَثانِ عالا

You see the chiefs of Quraysh,

When the command in the two arbitrators rose high,

بَني عَمِّ الرَسولِ وَرَهطَ عَمرٍ

وَعُثمانَ الَّذينَ عَلَوا فَعالا

The Prophet's paternal cousins and Umar's comrades

And Uthman whose actions rose so high,

قِياماً يَنظُرونَ إِلى سَعيدٍ

كَأَنَّهُمُ يَرَونَ بِهِ هِلالا

Standing looking at Sa'id

As though they see in him a new moon,

ضَروبٍ لِلقَوانِسِ غَيرِ هِدٍّ

إِذا خَطَرَت مُسَوَّمَةً رِعالا

Assailers of lanterns without steady aim

Whenever they moved, marked with the brand.