1. ما زلتَ تهجوني وتَشتمني

    فاللهُ ربِّي خيرُ منتقمِ

    You go on lampooning me and insulting me;

    For God, my Lord, is the best avenger.

  2. فاذكر وقوفَكَ للحسابِ غدًا

    متفردًا من عصبةٍ ودمِ

    So remember your standing for reckoning tomorrow,

    Alone, apart from clan and blood-kin.

  3. أنا لن أردَّ برغمِ مقدرتي

    لكنني أشكو إلى الحَكَمِ

    I will not answer, despite my ability;

    But I complain to the Judge.

  4. وإليه أرفعُ بالدُّعاءِ يدِي

    تحت السَّماءِ بطخوةِ الظُّلَمِ

    And to Him I raise my hand in supplication,

    Beneath the sky, in a cloud of darkness.

  5. ما كان يُرضي اللهَ أفعلُه

    وإليه ظنبوبي مِن الهممِ

    Whatever pleases God, I do;

    And toward Him my shin is turned by high resolve.

  6. والشَّرَّ أزجرُ لستُ أتْبعُه

    بغَّتْ به شحناءُ ذي النِّقَمِ

    And evil I repel; I do not follow it.

    The rancor of the vengeful has seethed with it.

  7. والخيرُ كالضحِّ استنار به

    مَن قام للرحمنِ مِن أَمَمِ

    And goodness is like sunlight; by it is illumined

    Whoever stands before the Most Merciful, close at hand.

  8. فإليكَ عنِّي إنَّني رجلٌ

    سمْحُ الخلائقِ مؤْثلُ الكرمِ

    So keep away from me: I am a man

    Gracious in character, firmly rooted in nobility,

  9. من معشرٍ سنَّ الإله لهم

    شرفًا رفيعًا غيرَ مرتطمِ

    From a people for whom God ordained

    Lofty honor, not brought crashing down.

  10. لولا الملامةُ أن تلاحقني

    لبعثتُها حربًا على الأممِ

    Were it not for the reproach that would pursue me,

    I would unleash it as war upon the nations.

  11. أبلغْ إلى الأوشابِ أنَّ لهم

    عندي عتابًا غيرَ منحسمِ

    Tell the rabble that for them

    I have a reproach that will not end.

  12. أوَهكذا عُلِّمْتُمُ شيمًا

    من دِينِ ربِّكمُ إلى النَّسَمِ

    And is this how you were taught to behave,

    By your Lord's faith, toward human souls?

  13. تبتْ يدا رجلٍ تُدافِعُه

    نحوي الضَّغائنُ غيرَ منفطمِ

    May the hands perish of a man whom

    Grudges drive toward me, still unweaned from them.

  14. علَّمتُه علمًا لينفعَه

    فإذا الجزاء السَّبُّ فاحتكِمِ

    I taught him knowledge to benefit him;

    Yet behold, the reward is abuse—so seek judgment!

  15. إنِّي وإن طالت مُسالَمَتي

    لا بدَّ تفصح عن أسى عَرِمِ

    Indeed, though my peaceful forbearance has lasted long,

    It must reveal a fierce sorrow.

  16. ما كنتُ ذا بغيٍ وما سبقتْ

    مني الشكيمةُ غير مؤتزمِ

    I was no aggressor, nor did

    My fierce resolve take the lead except under constraint.

  17. فلطالما حاربتُ ذا سفهٍ

    متوقِّدَ الوقبَيْنِ كاللَّجِمِ

    For many a time I have fought a fool,

    Both eye-sockets ablaze, like one enraged,

  18. يرنو إليَّ رُنُوَّ طاويةٍ

    بين الجوانح وقْدةَ الشَّبِمِ

    Who gazes at me like one concealing

    Between the ribs a cold one's blaze.

  19. ألزمتُه خزيًا تأبَّده

    وكذاك أجزي كلَّ مجترمِ

    I bound him to disgrace that clung to him forever,

    And thus I requite every wrongdoer.