تؤَخرني سادات دهري وقد دَرَوا

تؤَخرني سادات دهري وقد دَرَوا

صفاتي وأنسابي التي هي أكرم

صفاتي وأنسابي التي هي أكرم

The lords of my age hold me back, though they know

My peers in status keep me back though they know

My qualities and my lineages, which are most noble.

My qualities and lineage, more noble than theirs.

كأنهمُ قد خالفوا قول أحمدٍ

كأنهمُ قد خالفوا قول أحمدٍ

فما عندهم إلا النسيب المقدم

فما عندهم إلا النسيب المقدم

As though they had contradicted Ahmad's saying,

As if contradicting the words of Ahmad, who said

For among them, only the well-born is given precedence.

Merit alone takes precedence, not status by birth.