يا عَجَباً لابن عطاءٍ رَوى

يا عَجَباً لابن عطاءٍ رَوى

وربّما صرّحَ بالمنكَرِ

وربّما صرّحَ بالمنكَرِ

How astonishing: Ibn ʿAṭāʾ related—

How strange the son of 'Ata' narrates

and sometimes he openly uttered what is reprehensible—

And he may explicitly state the incorrect

عن سيّد الناس أبي جعفرٍ

عن سيّد الناس أبي جعفرٍ

فلم يقلْ صِدقاً ولم يبرُرِ

فلم يقلْ صِدقاً ولم يبرُرِ

on the authority of the master of mankind, Abū Jaʿfar,

About the master of mankind, my father Ja'far

yet he told no truth and was not upright:

So he did not say truthfully nor justify

دفنتُ عمّي ثمّ غادرتُه

دفنتُ عمّي ثمّ غادرتُه

حليفَ لِبنٍ وتراب ثَري

حليفَ لِبنٍ وتراب ثَري

“I buried my uncle, then left him

I buried my uncle then abandoned him

a companion of mud bricks and moist earth.”

An ally of mud and plentiful soil

ما قال ذا قطّ ولو قاله

ما قال ذا قطّ ولو قاله

قلنا انتفاءً من أبي جعفرِ

قلنا انتفاءً من أبي جعفرِ

He never said this; and even had he said it,

He never said this, and if he had said so

we would have declared our disavowal of Abū Jaʿfar.

We would deny on behalf of my father Ja'far