صبَحَ فَضلٌ ظاهِرَ التيهِ

صبَحَ فَضلٌ ظاهِرَ التيهِ

وَذاكَ مُذ صِرتُ أُهاجيهِ

وَذاكَ مُذ صِرتُ أُهاجيهِ

Fadl awoke with his arrogance plain,

Morning dawned, excellence was manifest, astray

Fadl arose this morning, parading his conceit,

And that has been so since I began trading satires with him.

That has been so since I began to passionately love him

Which only appeared once I started to lampoon him.

لِلَّهِ شِعري أَيُّ مُفواهَةٍ

لِلَّهِ شِعري أَيُّ مُفواهَةٍ

لِكُلِّ مَن دوني قَوافيهِ

لِكُلِّ مَن دوني قَوافيهِ

God bless my poetry! How eloquent

To God belongs my poetry, how wondrous is its rhetoric

By God, my poetry—what a masterful voice!

Its rhymes are for everyone beneath me!

To all those other than me, its rhymes

Its rhymes are destined for all those beneath me.

كَم بَينَ فَضلٍ مُنذُ هاجَيتُهُ

كَم بَينَ فَضلٍ مُنذُ هاجَيتُهُ

وَبَينَهُ قَبلَ أُهاجيهِ

وَبَينَهُ قَبلَ أُهاجيهِ

What a difference between Fadl since I traded satires with him

How much between excellence since I passionately loved him

How changed is Fadl since the day I mocked him,

And what he was before I traded satires with him!

And before I began to passionately love him

Compared to the man he was before my satire stung.

فَالحَمدُ لِلَّهِ وَإِن كُنتُ لَم

فَالحَمدُ لِلَّهِ وَإِن كُنتُ لَم

أَحفِل بِقَومٍ نَصَحوا فيهِ

أَحفِل بِقَومٍ نَصَحوا فيهِ

So praise be to God, though I had not

So praise be to God, even if I don’t

So praise be to God, even though I never did

Heeded those who advised me about him.

Care for people who advise about him

Pay heed to the folk who gave counsel regarding him.

رَضيتُ أَن يَشتِمَني ساقِطٌ

رَضيتُ أَن يَشتِمَني ساقِطٌ

شِسعِيَ خَيرٌ مِن مَواليهِ

شِسعِيَ خَيرٌ مِن مَواليهِ

I consented to be insulted by a lowlife—

I was content to be insulted by a fallen one

I resigned myself to abuse from a lowlife,

My sandal strap is better than his masters.

My passion is better than his allies

Though my sandal-strap is nobler than his patrons.

وَلَيسَ ذا أَعجَبَ مِن ذاكُمُ

وَلَيسَ ذا أَعجَبَ مِن ذاكُمُ

جارِيَةُ النَطّافِ تُغريهِ

جارِيَةُ النَطّافِ تُغريهِ

And this is no stranger than that:

And this is not more wondrous than you

Yet this is no stranger than that other affair:

Al-Nattaf's slave-girl incites him.

A perfumer’s slave girl infatuated him

The wine-maker’s slave girl egging him on.

وَآفَةُ النَطّافِ مِن غَضبَةٍ

وَآفَةُ النَطّافِ مِن غَضبَةٍ

أَغضَبُها يَوماً فَآتيهِ

أَغضَبُها يَوماً فَآتيهِ

And al-Nattaf's undoing comes from a fit of rage

And the perfumer’s affliction from anger

The wine-maker’s ruin springs from a rage

I fly into one day; then I go to him,

That angered her one day and she came to him

I spark in her one day, then I seek him out,

حَتّى إِذا قُمتُ عَلى بابِهِ

حَتّى إِذا قُمتُ عَلى بابِهِ

سَمَّيتُ لِلناسِ زَوانيهِ

سَمَّيتُ لِلناسِ زَوانيهِ

Until, when I stand at his door,

Until when I stood at his door

Until, taking my stand at his very door,

I name his harlots for everyone.

I called the people his girlfriends

I call out the names of his whores to the crowd.