1. I advise you, O wise men
With advice valued by rulers

2. It is guidance for the guided through its clarity
And light for those on the right path

3. So contemplate its verses and think deeply
It is the cure, and clarity for hearts

4. Never incline towards the crop that
Afflicts whoever is afflicted by it while innocent

5. The crop that makes people leave home destitute
And it makes the rich into the poor

6. That crop my friends call sugar
When refined, sweets are made from it

7. Do not grow too much of it, and abstain
From farming it, O people of insight

8. If growing it is inevitable, then act
As the prudent ones would do

9. So when abundant harvest comes, be wary
And abstain if rains are scarce

10. Never grow sugar where it may cause
Misery and misery for you

11. Misery is bound to happen in farming
If land dries up and water decreases

12. I would not instruct a man in hardship
Unless he had ample wealth

13. But with discernment and foresight
Lest enemies rejoice

14. Wealth deluded by profit
Lost all when ruin came

15. So look, if you have doubts
At what ancestors and descendants did

16. Had it ample shares in farming
The righteous would not condemn it so

17. Had it been condemned, still it is loved
And their ink is but whims

18. It gives then takes what it brought
As if a rational man does what he sees and wishes

19. If you are rational, shun it completely
Never grow it, it is a curse

20. If it tastes sweet, still it is bitter
Drinking it is not lawful as pleasure

21. It's as if its grower befriends a snake,
An evil speckled snake!

22. Growing it does not reduce great wealth
Does drinking reduce the thirsty?

23. But kings cannot be opposed
They alone have views over people

24. Do not show dissent against their actions
Let them do what they wish

25. For they see truths we do not see
Submit to their rule for they are supreme

26. If you hear, think and see
Take what the poets say

27. Their words in everything are wisdom
While others' words are nonsense and raving

28. Or if you are a fool with no judgment
Listen to what the ignorant said about sugar

29. Their homes are now for others and their
Wives enslaved out of poverty

30. Their wealth is scattered, views confused
And the wise are hesitant

31. They sank into poverty until they became
Humiliated, they who were generous

32. They became lesser than the least
And to humanity are like foam is to sea

33. If you, my friend, want to be like them
Then the horses are here and this is the desert

34. So run and race your horses if you wish
While I watch what the dyer colours

35. By God, if you oppose me and my advice
You shall reap what fools harvest

36. And you shall regret with utmost regret
Like Adam or Eve did after sin

37. So see the regret of those people for their deeds
And you may do what you wish to do

38. To you are the blooms if they bloom
Are the rosy garden blooms

39. And if they bloom one day, their seal undone
Amber drips from it and aroma

40. Flowers scatter from its edges
Should poets sing it with poems

41. Appearing dripping scattered pearls
Wet as dew drops scatter

42. I made it too pure for what doubters do
Lest the ignorant laugh

43. If you belittle it, as if you walk proud
In sunlight outshining lights

44. Or respect it and raise its merit
It is the cure, and for the sick, healing

45. It serves from its lips a draft of wine
That's not honey nor chains nor gleaming swords

46. It is joy for the onlookers and relief
From anxiety, it is the singing garden

47. In its beauty and perfection it seems
A houri, a beautiful houri

48. It makes you forget or comforts you or gives you life
The like of Layla or Asma is not its equal

49. Take it, its parent an advisor
Whose advice lacks bitterness