أمسى ابن حمادٍ قليلاً شُغُلُهْ

أمسى ابن حمادٍ قليلاً شُغُلُهْ

أقلُّ خلقٍ عدداً منْ يصلُهْ

أقلُّ خلقٍ عدداً منْ يصلُهْ

Ibn Hammad now has little to occupy him.

The son of Hammad's worries have lessened somewhat,

Fewest of all are those who visit him.

Fewer people visit him now than before.

كانَ فبانَ والرَّزايا قُمَّنٌ

كانَ فبانَ والرَّزايا قُمَّنٌ

بأن تَسوءَ منْ تراخى أجلُهْ

بأن تَسوءَ منْ تراخى أجلُهْ

He was, then was gone; calamities are apt

What was hidden is now apparent, as misfortunes arise

To distress those whose allotted lives run long.

When one who postpones his death sees his time run short.

أقفرَ إلا منْ بناتَ منزلُهْ

أقفرَ إلا منْ بناتَ منزلُهْ

ودرستْ آياتُهُ وطللُهْ

ودرستْ آياتُهُ وطللُهْ

His home is deserted, save for daughters,

Except for the homes of his daughters, his dwellings are deserted,

And its traces and standing ruins have faded.

His signs and shelters lie in ruins.

قدْ بان منها كُلُّ شيءٍ حسنٍ

قدْ بان منها كُلُّ شيءٍ حسنٍ

إلا الغناءَ قضبهُ ورملُهْ

إلا الغناءَ قضبهُ ورملُهْ

Every beautiful thing has departed from it,

All that was beautiful is now clearly gone,

Except singing—its beat-marking sticks and its ramal rhythms.

Except for singing, strumming, and chanting.

فهي كما أرسلَ حيٌّ مثلاً

فهي كما أرسلَ حيٌّ مثلاً

مالك منْ شنجكَ إلا عملُهْ

مالك منْ شنجكَ إلا عملُهْ

So it is as a tribe once put it in a proverb:

So it remains, alive, sending an example,

You have nothing from your monkey but its work.

No one owns you but your own deeds.