1. ألا مَن رسول أصلحَ اللهُبالَه

    وأُعطي من الحاجاتِ ما كانَ يطلب

    Is there a messenger—may God set his affairs right,

    And may he be granted whatever he sought for his needs—

  2. يبلّغ أمير المؤمنين رسالةً

    تنحّلها مملٍ وآخرُ يكتب

    Who will convey a message to the Commander of the Faithful,

    Claimed as his own by one who dictates, while another writes,

  3. فيخبرُ فيها أن بيني وبينه

    أواصرُ لا تُرعى ولا هي تقرب

    And report in it that between me and him

    Are bonds neither tended nor brought close;

  4. وأن يزيداً ليس يطلب عندنا

    كتاباً ولا حقاً وذو الحق يطلب

    And that Yazid seeks from us neither

    A document nor a right, while one with a right seeks it;

  5. وأن يزيداً كان في متنَزَهٍ

    وفي معزلٍ عمّا تزاول تغلب

    And that Yazid was in a place apart,

    And removed from what Taghlib practices:

  6. رجال أصحاءُ الجلود من الخَنا

    وألسنة كعروفة أين تذهب

    Men whose skins are unscathed by foul speech,

    And tongues [unclear word in the supplied text]—where do they go?

  7. وأنّي مما أخمد الحرب تارةً

    وأُحمل أحياناً عليها فأركب

    And that I am one who sometimes quenches war,

    And at times I am driven into it, so I mount.