1. Tears flow freely, for his shackles grant no respite,
So I flee the hated tumult and take flight.

2. Yet though alive, like a corpse he remains enslaved,
Preferring life in humiliation, however bitter and trite.

3. What life whose length the mind finds sweet,
If, for the man who lives it, it holds no worthy height?

4. A youth’s greying locks mean his prime has passed;
A shroud conceals the shame of an aged wight.

5. So spend your youth pursuing lofty goals,
And say to the greatly lauded: the lad’s life is but a short night.

6. The first of a man’s life is a racecourse for his steeds;
In it, failure has no ally or assistant in sight.

7. So strive, for through striving comes glory, O youth!
And do not let the summits of glory discourage your flight.

8. Fear not what will inevitably come to you,
For caution will not save you from that plight.

9. He who does not boldly storm the heights of glory
In his youth will never find triumph or might.

10. If faced with a matter from which you cannot flee,
Meet it with a heart that will shatter the rock of granite tight.

11. Plunge into the floodwaters of death, begrudging not
The least that Fate has granted of your numbered days and nights.

12. No good is a glory hidden in disgrace;
What glory comes from secrecy? Lay bare your light!

13. Know that none can evade his fate;
To whom does command belong, if not to the Divine Might?

14. You must come to doom, so march to it with head held high;
Thus for you will memory's scribe recite words shining bright.

15. How many a lad has surpassed the elders through effort!
The breast can expand only for one with ample chest in sight.

16. Most deserving of praise are those whose bounty spreads
Among people, and spreading bounty multiplies gratitude right.

17. Most contemptible, when boasting, are those
Who pride themselves on riches they hold through happenstance and sleight.

18. The wise man strives for nothing in this life
But what Allah rewards in the next with ample recompense and delight.

19. Most foolish are those who burden the future
With that which they thoughtlessly bequeath, accrued through sin and blight.

20. All who boast of wealth betray their poverty
To what makes them wealthy - on them distress stands plain in sight.