1. This is the book of a young man with ambition
His hopes have led him to you, driven by determination
١. هَذا كِتابُ فَتىً لَهُ هِمَمٌ
ساقَت إِلَيكَ رَجاءَهُ هِمَمُه
2. Yet time has bound the hands of his resolve
And he has fallen from the grasp of his aspirations
٢. غَلَّ الزَمانُ يَدَي عَزيمَتِهِ
وَهَوَت بِهِ مِن حالِقٍ قَدَمُه
3. While his own kin have left him to his own devices
And his inadequacy has obscured him from his peers
٣. وَتَواكَلَتهُ ذَوو قَرابَتِهِ
وَطَواهُ عَن أَكفائِهِ عَدَمُه
4. A pen confides in you his innermost secrets
If it could understand, its pen would have wept
٤. أَفضى إِلَيكَ بِسِرِّهِ قَلَمٌ
لَو كانَ يَعقِلُهُ بَكى قَلَمُه