1. لا تأخذنك رأفة أو رحمة

    فيمن له بعدو ربك علقة

    Let neither pity nor mercy take hold of you

    toward anyone bound to your Lord's enemy.

  2. إن ابن روبك والسحولي عصبة

    للكرمني على الإِله وعدة

    Indeed, Ibn Rubak and al-Sahuli are a faction

    for al-Karmani against God, and a supporting force.

  3. فهو الذي بأذانه صلواتهم

    وهو الذي إن يعقدوها القبلة

    He is the one by whose call to prayer they pray,

    and, when they perform those prayers, he is their qibla.

  4. ما قاله في ربنا قالا به

    فعليه من رب السماء اللعنة

    What he said about our Lord, those two professed;

    so upon him be the curse of the Lord of heaven.

  5. سكنت فتنته لما اخملته

    فأبوا وأدركهم عليه حمية

    His turmoil subsided when you consigned him to obscurity,

    but they refused, and partisan zeal for him seized them.

  6. ورأى بن روبك أنه في وقته

    وجه وكلمته بكم مسموعة

    Ibn Rubak saw that, in his time, he was

    a man of standing, whose word was heeded through you.

  7. فأراد يرفع من وضعت ومن له

    رب السما أضحى عدوا يمقت

    So he sought to raise the one you brought low, the one to whom

    the Lord of heaven had become an enemy, loathing him.

  8. فأتاك يذكر عنه فضلا ما له

    أصل ولا للوهم منه حقيقة

    He came to you recounting merit in him that had no

    foundation, nor any reality in the imagined claim.

  9. قال ابن روبك ناظروا مابينهم

    ليبين عندك من عليه العمدة

    Ibn Rubak said, 'Have a debate held between them,

    so it becomes clear to you who can be relied upon.'

  10. اتراه ظن الكفر كفوا للهدى

    فأراد يعرف أي قول أثبت

    Do you think he deemed unbelief a match for guidance,

    and so wished to know which claim was more firmly established?

  11. لو أن ملك العالمين أجابه

    ندم ابن روبك واعترته الخجلة

    Had the king of all realms answered him,

    Ibn Rubak would have regretted it, and shame would have overtaken him.

  12. ورأى بصاحبه الكفور بربه

    زللا به ليست تقال العثرة

    He would have seen in his companion, who disbelieved in his Lord,

    a lapse whose stumbling could not be forgiven.

  13. ولكان أصغر طالبي علم الهدى

    يلقي عليه فتعتريه اللكنة

    Even the youngest seeker of the knowledge of guidance

    would put questions to him, and a stammer would seize him.

  14. قل لابن روبك لم لاعدار بنا

    منك الوداد وللموالي الشنأة

    Say to Ibn Rubak: why, for our Lord's enemies,

    is there affection from you, but hatred for his allies?

  15. حاربتني إذ قلت ربك واحد

    ونصرته إذ قال بل هم عدة

    You fought me when I said, 'Your Lord is One,'

    and supported him when he said, 'Rather, they are many.'

  16. اتطيعه في الله جل ولا تط

    يع الله فيه إنها لكبيرة

    Do you obey him concerning God—exalted is he—yet not

    obey God concerning him? Surely that is a grievous thing.

  17. وبلغت جهدك كي تربه على

    أعناق أهل الله لا تستلفت

    You exerted your utmost effort to exalt him above

    the necks of God's people, without turning aside.

  18. فأبى المليك كما أبا رب السما

    فارجع وعقبي السعي منك الخيبة

    But the king refused, just as the Lord of heaven refused;

    so turn back: disappointment is the outcome of your striving.

  19. ما كنت تحسب أن جنيت جناية

    أن تعتريك من المليك عقوبة

    You never thought that, if you committed an offense,

    punishment from the king would befall you.

  20. هذى خلائقه ولكن قلبه

    بيد الإِله فما عليه حجة

    Such are his traits, but his heart

    is in God's hand, so there is no argument against him.

  21. ما للمليك مشيئة فيما جرى

    بل كان فيه للإِله مشيئة

    The king had no will in what occurred;

    rather, God's will was at work in it.

  22. انحاك ربك أن تقول مقالة

    ألقى بها لك في القلوب البغضة

    Your Lord impelled you to utter a statement

    through which he cast hatred for you into hearts.

  23. ما قالها عقل ولكن القضا

    يجري فيستلب الحجا والحجة

    Reason did not utter it; rather, destiny

    runs its course, stealing away reason and proof.

  24. وشهادة الفقهاء لا شك بها

    هم صادقون وما بذلك ريبة

    The jurists' testimony is beyond doubt;

    they are truthful, and there is no uncertainty in that.

  25. الله انطقهم بما شهدوا به

    ما في قوى من أنطقوا أن يسكتوا

    God made them speak what they testified to;

    those made to speak had no power to remain silent.

  26. كم قد نهيتك باابن روبك قبلها

    عما به انجرت إليك الفتنة

    How often, Ibn Rubak, I warned you beforehand

    against what brought the turmoil upon you.

  27. اتغيظ ربك باتباع عدوه

    وتقول مثلي منه تأتي الزلة

    Do you anger your Lord by following his enemy,

    yet say, 'Can a slip come from someone like me?'

  28. لا تنكرن فعادة الاقدار أن

    يعمي بها بصر يرى وبصيرة

    Do not deny it: it is the way of destinies

    to blind a seeing eye and inner sight.

  29. فمر ابن روبك أن يتوب فربما

    قبلت له عند المهيمن توبة

    So bid Ibn Rubak repent; perhaps

    repentance will be accepted for him by the Guardian.

  30. وأسأله كم حذرته من شؤم من

    ظهرت له في الشؤم منه عبرة

    And ask him how often I warned him of the ill omen of one

    from whose ill fortune a lesson had become plain to him.

  31. يربى على الخمسين قوم غرهم

    قد عددوا أمسوا وكل ميت

    More than fifty were the people he deceived;

    they have been counted, and all ended up dead.

  32. وأقام في بيت الفقيه فما بقى

    لخيارهم بيت الفقيه بقية

    He settled in Bayt al-Faqih, and no remnant remained

    of their finest men in Bayt al-Faqih.

  33. حذرت إسماعيلها من شؤمه

    قدما فما انبعثت لذلك همة

    I warned its Ismail of his ill omen

    long ago, but no resolve arose in response to that.

  34. ومضى أبو بكر أخوه وأحمد

    وهم بها للمسلمين أئمة

    Abu Bakr, his brother, passed away, and Ahmad,

    and there they were imams to the Muslims.

  35. وجماعة من بعدهم هلكوا به

    ومماتهم عنه عليهم رحمة

    A group after them perished because of him;

    their deaths, away from him, were a mercy to them.

  36. والذنب يهواه ولو شاؤا نفي

    كرها وما أمست عليه ليلة

    He loves sin; had they wished, he would have been banished

    against his will, before a single night had passed over him.

  37. والأولياء يؤاخذون بدون ذا

    لو شاء ربي كان ذاك الفدية

    The saints are held accountable for less than this;

    had my Lord willed, that would have been the ransom.

  38. يا أيها الملك السعيد ومن به

    رب السما يرضى وترضي الأمة

    O fortunate king, you through whom

    the Lord of heaven is pleased and the community is satisfied,

  39. لا يرحمن إلا الذين بربهم

    قد آمنوا لا كافراً يتعنت

    let mercy be shown only to those who, in their Lord,

    have believed—not to an obstinate unbeliever.

  40. لو كان ذاك رثى ورق لكافر

    دامت عليه في العذاب المدة

    Were that so, he would pity and soften toward an unbeliever

    whose time in torment had endured.

  41. بل كلما نادوه كيما يرحموا

    زادت عليهم من لديه نقمة

    Rather, whenever they called to him to be shown mercy,

    punishment from him increased upon them.

  42. فيجيب أنتم ماكثون وقد دعو

    ه ألف عام لا تجاب الدعوة

    He answers, 'You will remain,' though they have called

    to him for a thousand years—the appeal goes unanswered.

  43. وبقتلهم أمر الأَله وأوجبته

    على لسان المرسلين شريعة

    God commanded their killing, and it was made obligatory

    by a law proclaimed on the tongues of the messengers.

  44. لكن إذا تابوا فربك قابل

    منهم ويغفر حين تسلح نية

    But if they repent, your Lord accepts it

    from them and forgives when intention is sound.

  45. فمر ابن روبك أن يكف لسانه

    فلكم لها بالمسلمين وقيعة

    So bid Ibn Rubak restrain his tongue;

    for many are its slanderous attacks upon Muslims.

  46. أما أعادى الله فهو يحبهم

    ويخصهم منه الثنا والمدحة

    As for God's enemies, he loves them

    and singles them out for his praise and commendation.

  47. لازلت عن دين الإِله محاميا

    بدع تموت بكم وتحيى سنة

    May you ever defend the religion of God;

    through you, innovations die and the Sunnah comes to life.