لَعَمرُكَ ما العَبّاسُ مِن وَلَدِ الفَضلِ

لَعَمرُكَ ما العَبّاسُ مِن وَلَدِ الفَضلِ

فَيُرجى لِفَضلٍ أَو يُعينُ عَلى بَذلِ

فَيُرجى لِفَضلٍ أَو يُعينُ عَلى بَذلِ

By your life, al-ʿAbbās is not of al-Faḍl’s offspring,

By your life! Al-'Abbas is not from the progeny of merit

By your life, Al-Abbas is no true son of Al-Fadl,

To be looked to for bounty, or to lend a hand in giving.

So that one hopes for his merit or he helps in generosity

That one might hope for virtue from him, or aid in any gift.

فَتىً كُلَّما نادَيتُهُ لِمُلِمَّةٍ

فَتىً كُلَّما نادَيتُهُ لِمُلِمَّةٍ

دَعَوتُ مِثالاً لا يُمِرُّ وَلا يُحلي

دَعَوتُ مِثالاً لا يُمِرُّ وَلا يُحلي

A youth whom, whenever I called upon him in a calamity,

A young man, whenever I called upon him in adversity

A youth whom, whenever I called out to him in calamity,

I called upon an effigy that neither makes bitter nor makes sweet.

I called upon an ideal that does not pass away or become base

I called upon a statue that yields neither bitter nor sweet.

وَكَيفَ يُرَجّى الفَضلُ مِمَّن خِلافُهُ

وَكَيفَ يُرَجّى الفَضلُ مِمَّن خِلافُهُ

تُراثٌ لِفَضلٍ وَالرَبيعُ أَبو الفَضلِ

تُراثٌ لِفَضلٍ وَالرَبيعُ أَبو الفَضلِ

And how can bounty be hoped for from one in whom its opposite

And how can one hope for merit from someone whose lineage

And how can Bounty be hoped from one whose contrary nature

Is Faḍl’s legacy—and al-Rabīʿ is al-Faḍl’s father?

Is the inheritance of merit, and the springtime is the father of merit

Is the legacy of Al-Fadl, though Al-Rabi' was father to Al-Fadl?