1. Leave yesterday behind and take care of tomorrow's affairs,
And count for yourself the best numbers within it.

2. Be content with what the Generous God has apportioned; extend not
Your hands to gain sustenance from anyone.

3. Don for each era a cloak that suits it,
Until the next is tailored for you from burdah cloth.

4. Coexist with time and look into its consequences,
Beware that your eyes become afflicted with cataracts.

5. When you see the dog in the days of its reign,
Make anklets of chrysolite for your feet.

6. You are shamed by the dog’s bite, not by the lion’s,
So beware of being bitten and stung.

7. Do not hope for good from one whose grace is newly found,
For he is keen to wear his new clothes.

8. Be eager for pearls that you may give them as necklaces
To one who cannot tell pearls from beads.

9. The most hostile of foes is a friend in prosperity. If
You seek him in times of woe, you will not find him.

10. The strongest pact between companions is for one
Who bonds heart to heart, not hand to hand.

11. Give thanks to the Giver for a gift,
And leave your envious ones to broil their livers.

12. If envy could affect the prosperous,
No prosperous one would be safe from harm by envy.

13. I have counseled you out of experience and wisdom,
And God, glorified is He, is the Guide to the right way.

14. So choose for yourself another friend besides me, for I
Am preoccupied with pressing matters in town.

15. Ibrahim has honored our country today,
As if spirit has overflowed into body.

16. The suburbs of Egypt have gifted us a jewel
From our wealth, so they have given generously without reserve.

17. Damascus still complains of the length of his absence,
Like a mother long separated from her son.

18. She was gladdened by his visit one day, but then
Saddened by the fear of parting, so was not spared sorrow.

19. She is sick with pining, for when she saw
His kindness, it cured her like a caring visitor.

20. If he is forbidden from nearing her,
Then his heart is not estranged from her passion.

21. He is a generous soul who respects his vow to a friend,
So neither length of separation makes him neglect it.

22. Refined, with no flaws in his words,
And no faults in his deeds to criticize.

23. He takes charge of affairs among the people single-handedly
While others have refrained, not equally prepared.

24. With his determination, not his brawn, he shatters
The loftiest shoulder, so strong is his wisdom and judgment.

25. Among men are those whose number is futile,
While one man alone has sufficed against the multitude.

26. What is it to me and the night stars? I deem them
Naught, when favored by the face of the full moon shining bright.

27. I gifted him a daughter born of my thoughts after
Unlocking for her treasures of his merits without count.

28. After weakness, I gained mastery of his gems
Until each towering verse was built with foundation and pillar.

29. All garments wear out, like their wearers,
But the raiment of poetry will never fray.

30. The best praise is to appraise the one you praise
By the measure of verse – neither less nor more.