أُنبِئتُ أَنَّ أَبا حَنيفٍ

لامَني في اللائِمينا

I was told that Abu Hanifa

blamed me among the blamers

أَبُنَيَّ هَل أَحسَستَ أَع

مامي بَني أُمِّ البَنينا

My son, have you felt the death

of your uncle, the father of sons?

وَأَبي الَّذي كانَ الأَرا

مِلُ في الشِتاءِ لَهُ قَطينا

And my father who was gracious

in winter, he had two coats

وَأَبو شُرَيحٍ وَالمُحا

مي في المَضيقِ إِذا لَقينا

Abu Shureih and Al-Muhami

when we met in distress

الفِتيَةُ البيضُ المَصا

لِتُ أَشبَعوا حَزماً وَلينا

The white young men, the tolerant

they were filled with resolve and calm

ما إِن رَأَيتُ وَلا سَمِع

تُ بِمِثلِهِم في العالَمينا

I have not seen nor heard

of their like in both worlds

لَم تَبقَ أَنفُسُهُم وَكا

نوا زينَةً لِلناظِرينا

Their souls remained while they

were adornment to the beholder

فَلَئِن بَعَثتُ لَهُم بُغا

ةً ما البُغاةُ بِواجِدينا

So if I revolted against them

the rebels cannot find them

فَمَكَثتُ بَعدَهُم وَكُن

تُ بِطولِ صُحبَتِهِم ضَنينا

I remained after them while I

was saddened by their long company

ذَرني وَما مَلَكَت يَمي

ني إِن رَفَعتُ بِهِ شُؤونا

Leave me and whatever possesses

my right hand if I raise concerns

وَاِفعَل بِمالِكَ ما بَدا

لَكَ إِن مُعاناً أَو مُعينا

And do with your money what

appeals to you, be it scarce or abundant

وَاِعفِف عَنِ الجاراتِ وَاِمنَح

هُنَّ مَيسِرَكَ السَمينا

And refrain from the neighbors and grant

them your fat livelihood

وَاِبذُل سَنامَ القِدرِ إِن

نَ سَوائَها دُهماً وَجونا

And spend the tenderness of the pot if

its sides are covered in smoke and cooking

ذا القَدرَ إِن نَضِجَت وَعَج

جِل قَبلَهُ ما يَشتَوينا

This pot, if cooked and hurried

before it what we desire

إِنَّ القُدورَ لَواقِحٌ

يُحلَبنَ أَمثَلَ ما رُعينا

Indeed the pots are pregnant

and give the best of what was herded

وَإِذا دَفَنتَ أَباكَ فَاِج

عَل فَوقَهُ خَشَباً وَطينا

And when you bury your father

make wood and clay above him

وَصَفائِحاً صُمّاً رَوا

سيها يُسَدِّدنَ الغُضونا

And deaf slabs whose

branches make firm the sides

لِيَقينَ وَجهَ المَرءِ سَف

سافَ التُرابِ وَلَن يَقينا

To protect the face of man from

the sliding sands and they will not protect

ثُمَّ اِعتَبِر بِثَناءِ رَه

طِكَ إِذ ثَوى جَدثاً جَنينا

Then consider the praise of your

departed as he lay in a narrow grave

وَتَراجَعوا غُبرَ المَرا

فِقِ مِن أَخيهِم يائِسينا

And they turned back the dust of parting

from their brother disappointed

تِلكَ المَكارِمُ إِن حَفِظ

تَ فَلَن تُرى أَبَداً غَبينا

Those virtues, if kept

will never be seen lost

في رَبرَبٍ كَنِعاجِ صا

رَةَ يَبتَئسنَ بِما لَقينا

In disturbance like fearful ewes

who suffer what we have suffered

مُتَسَلُّباتٍ في مُسو

حِ الشِعرِ أَبكاراً وَعونا

Stripped in the plain of poetry

virgins and helpers

وَحَذِرتُ بَعدَ المَوتِ يَو

مَ تَشينُ أَسماءُ الجَبينا

And I warned after death a day

names of the dignified are disgraced