ترهّب بعدك الحسن بن سهل

ترهّب بعدك الحسن بن سهل

فأغلق بابه دون المديح

فأغلق بابه دون المديح

After you, al-Hasan ibn Sahl turned monk;

After you, al-Hasan ibn Sahl became a monk,

so he shut his door against all praise.

so he shut his door to praise.

كذبت له ولم اكذب عليه

كذبت له ولم اكذب عليه

كما كذب النصارى للمسيح

كما كذب النصارى للمسيح

I lied in his favor, but never lied against him—

I lied in his favor, but did not lie against him,

just as the Christians lied in the Messiah’s favor.

as the Christians lied in Christ’s favor.