تنبّأ المتنَبّي فيكُمُ عُصُرا

ولو رأى رأيكم في شعِره كفَرا

Al-Mutanabbi prophesied an era about you all

Had he seen your opinion of his poetry, he would have blasphemed

مهْلاً فلا المتنبّي بالنبيّ ولا

أعُدُّ أمثالَهُ في شعره السُّوَرا

Hold on! Al-Mutanabbi is no prophet and

I do not consider his poems to be scripture

تِهْتُمْ علينا بمرآه وعلَّكُمُ

لم تُدركوا منه لا عَيناً ولا أثَرا

You criticize him for his mirror, as if

You did not understand from it neither form nor trace

هذا على أنّكُم لم تُنصِفوه ولا

أورثتموه حميدَ الذكر إن ذُكِرا

That is, even though you did not do him justice or

Make his mention honorable if mentioned

وَيْلُمِّهِ شاعراً أخمَلتْمُوه ولم

نَعلمْ له عندنَا قدْراً ولا خَطَرا

Woe to him as a poet whom you made imperfect and

We do not know for him any worth or significance with us

فقد حَمَلتُمْ عليهِ في قَصائِدِهِ

ما يُضْحِكُ الثَّقَلَينِ الجِنَّ والبشَرا

For you critiqued in his poems

What makes both mankind and jinn laugh

صَحَّفْتُمُ اللّفظَ والمعنى عليهِ معاً

في حالةٍ وزعمْتُمْ أنّه حَصَرا

You distorted the words and their meanings together

And claimed he had made a mistake

إذ تُقسِمونَ بَرأسِ العَيرِ أنّكُمُ

شافَهْتُموهُ فهل شافَهتم الحَجَرا

As you swear by the head of a camel that

You met him in person, did you meet a rock?

فما يقولُ لنا القرطاسُ ويلكُمُ

إنّا نَرَى عِظَةً فيكُم ومُعتَبَرا

So what does the paper tell us, woe to you

We see a lesson and example in you

شعراً أحَطتُمْ بهِ عِلماً كأنّكُمُ

فاوضْتُمُ العِيرَ في فحواهُ والحُمُرا

A poetry you encompassed with knowledge as if

You negotiated with the camel about its contents and donkeys

فلو يُصِيخُ إليكم سمْعُ قائِلِهِ

ما باتَ يعمَلُ في تحبيرِه الفِكَرا

If only the hearing of its sayer would cry out to you

He would not spend the night pondering it

أريتموني مثالاً من روايتكم

كالأعجميِّ أتى لا يُفصِحُ الخَبرا

You showed me an example from your narration

Like a non-Arabic speaker who cannot articulate the news

أصَمُّ أعْمى ولكنْي سهِرْتُ لهُ

حتى رددتُ إليهِ السمعَ والبصَرا

Deaf, blind, but I stayed up for him

Until I returned his hearing and vision

كانتْ معانيه ليلاً فامتعضْتُ لَهُ

حتى إذا ما بَهرنَ الشمسَ والقمرا

His meanings were dark nights so I was disgusted by him

Until the sun and the moon shone

ضَجرتُمُ وأتانا من مَلامكُمُ

ومن معاريضِكُم ما يُشبهُ الضَّجَرا

You were annoyed and your blame of us came

And your disapproval that resembles annoyance

تَتْرَى رسائلُكم فيه ورُسْلُكُمُ

إذا أتَتْ زُمَراً أردفْتُمُ زُمَرا

Your letters about him come in groups

When they come in bands, more bands follow

فلو رأى ما دهاني من كِتابِكُمُ

وما دها شِعْرَهُ منكم لما شَعُرا

If only he could see what your writing did to me

And what your mouths did to his poetry, he would not sense

ولو حَرصْتُم على إحياء مُهْجَتِهِ

كما حرَصْتُم على ديوانه نُشِرا

Had you tried to revive his genius

As you tried to publish his diwan, it would have spread

هَبُوا الكِتابَ رددْناهُ برُمَّتِهِ

فمن يرُدُّ لكُم أذهانَهُ أُخَرا

Send the book, we will return it completely

But who will return his minds to you afterwards?

لئن أعدْتُ عليكمُ منْهُ ما ظَهَرا

فما أعَدْتُ عليكُمْ منْه ما استترا

If I compile against you from it what is apparent

I have not compiled against you from it what is hidden

أعَرْتُموني نفيساً منه في أدَمٍ

فمَن لكم أن تعاروا البحثَ والنظَرا

You stripped me of the finest parts of it into leather

So who has permitted you to forbid searching and thinking?