1. لم أكثر الواشي المقال وزورا

    واطال فيما لا يجوز واقصرا

    Why did the slanderer multiply his words and fabricate lies,

    And dwell at length on what is forbidden, then cut it short?

  2. ترك الحياء من الإِله مجاهرا

    وأشاع في أهل العفاف المنكرا

    He openly abandoned shame before God,

    And spread reports of vice about the chaste.

  3. مسكين سامحه الإِله بذنبه

    فلقد تفوه بالحديث المفترا

    Poor wretch—may God pardon him for his sin!

    For he has indeed uttered a fabricated tale.

  4. وسعى ولون كل قبح لم يكن

    يا ما جرى من كيده ياما جرا

    And he schemed and embellished every vice that never was;

    Oh, how much came of his plotting—how much!

  5. ولقد بليت بفتية ما فيهم

    رجل رشيد يرعوي ان ذكرا

    And I have indeed been afflicted with youths among whom there is no

    Sensible man who takes heed when reminded.

  6. مثل السباع كفاك ربك شرهم

    إن أظهروا خيرا فشر يضمرا

    Like beasts of prey—may your Lord spare you their evil!

    If they display goodness, evil is concealed.

  7. قد كان لي ولهم هناك مجلس

    أنصفتهم فيه ولم أك مقصرا

    There was once a meeting there between me and them;

    I treated them fairly in it and did not fall short.

  8. أعطيتهم ما لم يكونوا اعطيوا

    ورضوا وقالوا واجب ان تشكرا

    I gave them what they had not been given,

    And they were satisfied and said, 'You ought to be thanked.'

  9. وأخذت منهم بالخطوط شهادة

    ورحلت عنهم راضيا مستبشرا

    And I obtained from them a testimony in writing,

    And left them content and glad.

  10. أحضرتها عند الوزير محمد

    فقرا وكرر ما قراه وفكرا

    I presented it before the vizier Muhammad;

    Then he read it, repeated what he had read, and pondered.

  11. وثنى إلى تحت الوسادة كفه

    اليمنى فاخرج ضد ذاك مسطرا

    And he reached beneath the cushion with his hand—

    His right—and brought out a written statement contradicting that:

  12. قالوا كذبنا في الشهادة أولا

    والحق خذه من الشهاة آخرا

    They said, 'We lied in our testimony at first;

    And take the truth from the later testimony.'

  13. عزّر رجالا قد اقروا إنهم

    كذبوا ومن يشهد بزور عزرا

    Punish the men who have admitted that they

    Lied; whoever bears false witness is punished.

  14. هل هذه صفة الرجال ذوي التفا

    أين الحجا أين الحياء من الورا

    Is this the character of men of piety?

    Where is good sense? Where is shame before mankind?

  15. فسكتّ عنهم واطرحت حديثهم

    هجرا وحق لمثله ان يهجرا

    So I kept silent about them and cast aside their talk,

    Rejecting it—and such talk rightly deserves rejection.

  16. واليوم هذا قد أتوا بمكيدة

    في غافل يقعون فيه وما درا

    And this very day they have come with a plot

    Against an unsuspecting man whom they malign without his knowing.

  17. قسما برب العالمين لأحمد

    أزكى وأحلم من على وجه الثرا

    By the Lord of the worlds, I swear that Ahmad is indeed

    The purest and most forbearing person upon the face of the earth.

  18. لو قللوا الشكوى لاحدث عنده

    فالوهم يحصل في الفتى أن كثرا

    Had they complained less, it would have had an effect on him;

    For doubt arises in a man when complaints grow frequent.

  19. نهضت باعباء الخلافة نفسه

    وحمى البرايا سائسا ومدبرا

    His soul shouldered the burdens of the caliphate,

    And he protected all creation, governing and administering.

  20. وسعى فلم يك إذ سعى متثبطا

    ورما فلم يك حين يرمي مقصرا

    And he strove, never hesitant in his striving;

    And he shot, never falling short in his shooting.

  21. إن سالم الأعداء كان موفقا

    أو حارب الأعداء كان مظفرا

    If he made peace with his enemies, he was successful;

    Or if he fought his enemies, he was victorious.