فَلَمْ أهْجُكُمْ إلاَّ لأنَّي حَسِبْتُكُمْ

فَلَمْ أهْجُكُمْ إلاَّ لأنَّي حَسِبْتُكُمْ

كَرَهْطِ ابنِ بَدْرِ أو كَرَهْطِ ابنِ مَعْبَدِ

كَرَهْطِ ابنِ بَدْرِ أو كَرَهْطِ ابنِ مَعْبَدِ

So I satirized you only because I thought you

I did not blame you except because I thought you were

Like Ibn Badr's clan, or Ibn Ma'bad's clan.

Like the companions of the son of Badr or the companions of the son of Ma'bad

فَلَمَّا سَألْتَ النَّاسِ عَنْكُمْ وَجَدْتُكُمْ

فَلَمَّا سَألْتَ النَّاسِ عَنْكُمْ وَجَدْتُكُمْ

بَرَاذِينَ شُقْراً أُرْبِطَتْ حَوْلَ مِذْوَدِ

بَرَاذِينَ شُقْراً أُرْبِطَتْ حَوْلَ مِذْوَدِ

Then, when you asked the people about yourselves, I found you

But when I asked people about you, I found you

Chestnut packhorses tethered around a feeding trough.

Mangy hyenas, tied around a skinning post

فأنْتُمْ بَنِي النَّجَّارِ أكْفَاء مِثْلَنَا

فأنْتُمْ بَنِي النَّجَّارِ أكْفَاء مِثْلَنَا

فَأبْعِدْ بِكُمْ عَمَّا هَنَالِكَ أبْعِدِ

فَأبْعِدْ بِكُمْ عَمَّا هَنَالِكَ أبْعِدِ

So you, sons of al-Najjar, are equals of men like us—

You are the equal of the carpenters, sons of carpenters

How far you are from that—far indeed!

So stay far away from us, very far away

فإنْ شِئْتُمُ فاخَرتُمُ عَنْ أبيكُم

فإنْ شِئْتُمُ فاخَرتُمُ عَنْ أبيكُم

إلى مَنْ أردتُمْ مِنْ تَهَامٍ وَمُنْجِدِ

إلى مَنْ أردتُمْ مِنْ تَهَامٍ وَمُنْجِدِ

So if you wish, vie in boasting on your father's behalf

If you wish, denounce your father

Before whomever you choose, from Tihamah or Najd.

To whoever you want, Taham or Munjid

وَمَا كُنْتُ أدرِيَ ما حُسَامٌ وَمَا ابْنُهُ

وَمَا كُنْتُ أدرِيَ ما حُسَامٌ وَمَا ابْنُهُ

وَلاَ أم ذاكَ الْيَثْرَبِيّ المُوَلَّدِ

وَلاَ أم ذاكَ الْيَثْرَبِيّ المُوَلَّدِ

And I did not know what Husam was, or what his son was,

I did not know who Husam was or who his son was

Nor the mother of that Yathribi of mixed descent.

Nor did I know that Madinan of unknown birth

فَلَمَّا أتَانِي ما يَقُولُ وَدُونَهُ

فَلَمَّا أتَانِي ما يَقُولُ وَدُونَهُ

مَسِيرَةُ شَهْرٍ لِلْبَرِيدِ المُبَرَّدِ

مَسِيرَةُ شَهْرٍ لِلْبَرِيدِ المُبَرَّدِ

Then, when what he said reached me—and between us lay

But when his words came to me, needing

A month's journey for the dispatched courier—

A month's journey for the mail carrier

سَمَوْتُ لَهُ بِالمَجْدِ حَتَّى رَدَدْتُه

سَمَوْتُ لَهُ بِالمَجْدِ حَتَّى رَدَدْتُه

إلى نَسَبٍ فَاءٍ عَنِ المَجْدِ مُقْعَدِ

إلى نَسَبٍ فَاءٍ عَنِ المَجْدِ مُقْعَدِ

I rose against him in glory until I drove him back

I named him with glory until I repelled him

To a lineage withdrawn from glory, crippled.

To a lineage lacking glory, made to sit