لِلَّهِ دَرُّكَ فَمَا أَعْذَبَ نَفَثَاتِ فِيكَ! وَاهًا لَكَ لَوْلَا خِدَاعٌ فِيكَ!
What delightful expressions you possess! If only they were not tainted by deception!
The judge explicitly praises the sweetness of Abū Zayd’s speech and then condemns the deception within it. The two judgements are compatible because technical excellence and ethical conduct are not the same thing.
To excuse deceit because the performance was brilliant would sacrifice justice; to deny the brilliance because deceit occurred would distort literary assessment. The contrast models two independent standards.