1. شَغَلَت خِداشاً عَن مَساعي مَخلَدِ

    خَمرٌ تَوَقَّدُ في صِحافِ العَسجَدِ

    Khidash has been distracted from Makhlad’s endeavors

    By wine that blazes in bowls of gold.

  2. فَلَيُصبِحَنَّ مِنَ الدَراهِمِ مُفلِساً

    وَلِيُمسِيَنَّ مِنَ النَدى صِفرَ اليَدِ

    So he will surely wake penniless,

    And surely reach evening empty-handed, with nothing to give.

  3. قَد شَرَّدَت أَموالَهُ فَضِحاتُهُ

    وَمَقالُهُ لِنَديمِهِ هاتِ اِنشُدِ

    His shameful deeds have scattered his wealth,

    And his saying to his drinking companion, “Come, recite:

  4. قُل لِلمَليحَةِ في الخِمارِ الأَسوَدِ

    ماذا فَعَلتِ بِراهِبٍ مُتَعَبِّدِ

    ‘Say to the lovely woman in the black veil:

    What have you done to a devout monk?

  5. قَد كانَ شَمَّرَ لِلصَلاةِ إِزارَهُ

    حَتّى وَقَفتِ لَهُ بِبابِ المَسجِدِ

    He had already hitched up his loincloth for prayer,

    Until you stood before him at the mosque’s door.’”

  6. وَالخَمرُ شاغِلَةٌ إِذا ما عوقِرَت

    يا اِبنَ الزُبَيرِ عَنِ النَدى وَالسُؤدُدِ

    And wine, whenever it is drunk, distracts—

    O son of al-Zubayr—from generosity and nobility.

  7. ما يُثبِتُ الإِخوانُ حِليَةَ وَجهِهِ

    مِمّا يَغيبُ فَلا يُرى في مَشهَدِ

    His friends cannot recall the features of his face,

    So often is he absent, unseen at any gathering.

  8. هَذا وَلَيسَ مِنَ الخُمارِ بِعارِفٍ

    سَمتَ الطَريقِ إِلى مُصَلّى المَسجِدِ

    All this, while his hangover keeps him from knowing

    The way to the mosque’s prayer place.