أَلاَ اسْمَعْ قَدْ أجَابَتْكَ الْهُدَاةُ

أَلاَ اسْمَعْ قَدْ أجَابَتْكَ الْهُدَاةُ

بِمَا تَعْنُو لِحُجَّتِهِ الْغُوَاةُ

بِمَا تَعْنُو لِحُجَّتِهِ الْغُوَاةُ

Listen! The guides have indeed answered you

Listen, the righteous have answered you

Listen well! The rightly guided have answered you,

with an answer to whose proof the misguided bow.

With what the misguided argue for their case

With proofs to which the misguided must humbly submit.

فَقَدْ حَاجَيْتَ فِي صَرَمَتْكَ أَسْمَا

فَقَدْ حَاجَيْتَ فِي صَرَمَتْكَ أَسْمَا

ءُ بَعْدَ وِصَالِهَا فَبَدَا الشَّمَاتُ

ءُ بَعْدَ وِصَالِهَا فَبَدَا الشَّمَاتُ

For you posed a riddle about 'Asmāʾ forsook you

You have contended obstinately, after attaining the names,

For you have posed a riddle about Asma severing her ties,

after her union with you, and gloating appeared.'

So the fault-finders appeared

After her past union, which brought forth the gloating of foes.

فَفِي صَرَمَتْكَ مَعْ ذَا وِصالٍ شَكْلٌ

فَفِي صَرَمَتْكَ مَعْ ذَا وِصالٍ شَكْلٌ

وَفِي مَا بَعْدَهُ أَيْضاً هَنَاتُ

وَفِي مَا بَعْدَهُ أَيْضاً هَنَاتُ

So in 'she forsook you' and 'union' there is shakl, a metrical shortening,

In your obstinacy, despite the attainment, there is a form

For in 'she cut you off' alongside this union, there is an ambiguity,

and in what follows it there are faults as well.

And after it, there is also anxiety

And in what follows it, there are also subtle flaws.

غَدَا مِنْهَا تَمُكْتَئِباً حَزِيناً

غَدَا مِنْهَا تَمُكْتَئِباً حَزِيناً

يُوَازِنُهُ مَفَاعِلُ فَاعِلاَتُ

يُوَازِنُهُ مَفَاعِلُ فَاعِلاَتُ

'Because of her, he became dejected and sorrowful'

You became from it depressed and sad

From which one becomes dejected and sorrowful,

is matched metrically by 'mafāʿilu fāʿilātu.'

It is balanced by its rhyming meter

Whose measure is balanced by the prosodic feet of Mafa'ilu Fa'ilatu.

وَفِي نَجْمٍ يُرَى فَتَغِيبُ شَمْسٌ

وَفِي نَجْمٍ يُرَى فَتَغِيبُ شَمْسٌ

بِإِثْرِ طُلُوعِهِ فَإِذَا الْبَيَاتُ

بِإِثْرِ طُلُوعِهِ فَإِذَا الْبَيَاتُ

And about a star that is seen, whereupon a sun disappears

And in a star that is seen, a sun disappears

And in a star that appears, causing a sun to set

after its rising—and behold, nightfall.

After its rising, so there are the spent nights

Immediately upon its rising, bringing forth the sudden night.

وَفِي عِلْمِ الْمَنَائِرِ كُلَّ وَقْتٍ

وَفِي عِلْمِ الْمَنَائِرِ كُلَّ وَقْتٍ

نَهَارِيٍّ تَحِينُ بِهِ الصَّلاَةُ

نَهَارِيٍّ تَحِينُ بِهِ الصَّلاَةُ

And about knowledge of the minarets at every hour

And in the knowledge of lighthouses, at every

And in the knowledge of the minarets at every hour

of daylight when prayer falls due.

Daily time, for it the prayer is anticipated

Of the day when the time for prayer arrives.

وَفِي نَاعُورَةٍ أَبْدَتْ حَنِيناً

وَفِي نَاعُورَةٍ أَبْدَتْ حَنِيناً

كَمُعْوِلَةٍ أُصِيبَ لَهَا بَنَاتُ

كَمُعْوِلَةٍ أُصِيبَ لَهَا بَنَاتُ

And about a waterwheel that gave forth a plaintive cry,

And in a spouting fountain that showed yearning

And in a waterwheel that expressed a mournful longing,

like a wailing woman whose daughters were stricken.

Like a bereaved mother, for it daughters

Like a wailing mother afflicted by the loss of her daughters.

وَلَكِنْ فِي كَلاَمِكَ بَعْضُ حَشْوٍ

وَلَكِنْ فِي كَلاَمِكَ بَعْضُ حَشْوٍ

وَكَسْرٍ تَسْتَضِرُّ بِهِ الرُّوَاةُ

وَكَسْرٍ تَسْتَضِرُّ بِهِ الرُّوَاةُ

But in your words there is some padding

But in your words there is some padding

Yet in your speech there is some excessive filler,

and broken metre from which the reciters suffer,

And breaking that narrators are embarrassed by

And metrical fractures that distress the reciters,

إِلَى مَا لَيْسَ يَجْهَلُهُ أَدِيبٌ

إِلَى مَا لَيْسَ يَجْهَلُهُ أَدِيبٌ

لَدَيْهِ الْبَاقِيَاتُ الصَّالِحَاتُ

لَدَيْهِ الْبَاقِيَاتُ الصَّالِحَاتُ

besides what no man of letters fails to know,

To what no literate person is ignorant of

Adding to matters not unknown to any man of letters

who possesses enduring good deeds.

For him are the remaining righteous deeds

Who possesses enduring and righteous virtues.

فَمِنْ عَجَبٍ تُحَاجَنِي فِي عَرُوضٍ

فَمِنْ عَجَبٍ تُحَاجَنِي فِي عَرُوضٍ

وَتَخْتَرِمُ الْقَرِيضَ فَمَا النَّجَاةُ

وَتَخْتَرِمُ الْقَرِيضَ فَمَا النَّجَاةُ

So it is a wonder that you challenge me in prosody,

So it is strange you contend with me about prosody

How astonishing that you challenge me with riddles of prosody,

yet you mutilate verse—what deliverance is there?

And mangle rhymed prose, so what is the salvation

While you yourself violate the rules of verse—so where is your escape?