1. I advise you, O wise ones
With advice esteemed by the sages

2. It is guidance for the guided through its clarity
And light for the rightly guided

3. So ponder its verses and reflect
It is the cure, and for hearts it is radiance

4. Never incline towards the crop that
Feasts those it meets while still fresh

5. It is that which abandons homes deserted
And makes the wealthy into paupers

6. That which my friends called "sugar"
And when pure, the sweet is made from it

7. Do not overplant it, and avoid
Tilling it, O you with insight

8. If it is unavoidable, then tread
In its tilling as the prudent do

9. And when abundant fertility comes, beware
And avoid it if the streams run low

10. Do not plant in the field one day "sugar"
Lest sorrow and misery befall you

11. Misery is inherent in farming
If land is barren and water is scarce

12. I would never instruct a lad in hardship
Except a man with wealth and riches

13. But with insight and wisdom
Lest his foe rejoice and gloat

14. Let not the one with abundant wealth be deceived by its profit
He became poor, betrayed by prosperity

15. So look, if you have any doubts
At what the fathers and sons put forward

16. Had they a plentiful share in its farming
The righteous would not have denounced it so

17. Even if they denounced it fully, it is still beloved
To them, and their ink was passions

18. It gives then takes what it produced, as if
The wise act as they see and desire

19. If you are reasonable, shun it completely
It is curse, do not plant it ever

20. If it were sweet in taste, it is still
Bitter, and there is no joy in drinking it

21. It is as if its companion befriends
A venomous snake - wretched snake!

22. It does not diminish abundant wealth if
You think drinking diminishes the thirsty

23. But kings - do not oppose their opinion
For theirs alone are perspectives

24. Do not make public your disagreement with what they did
Let them be, do what they desire

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

26. If you have hearing, reason, and vision
Take what the poets have said

27. Their every saying is wisdom
While others' is nonsense and raving

28. Or you are a fool, cannot discern, so listen
To what the ignorant have said about sugar

29. Their homes are now for others and their
Women and children enslaved

30. Their wealth is scattered and their
Opinions perplexed, and the wise confused

31. They rushed into poverty until they
Became humbled, they who were generous

32. They became lesser than the least, and their worth
To mankind is like barking of dogs

33. If you, O this one, want to be like them
Then these barren valleys and horses run wild

34. So gallop and test your horses' speed. As for me,
I'm watching what the dyer will dye

35. By God, if you oppose me and my advice
You will reap what the foolish have reaped

36. And you will regret, a regret beyond
Which there is none like Kusa'i or Eve

37. So see the regret of these by their deeds
And to you - do what you see and desire

38. And to you - the blooming of beauties, if
Their flowers bloom, no garden is as splendid

39. And if one day they appear and their seal breaks
Ambergris will exude from it and aroma

40. Flowers will be strewn from its edges
When the poets sing its poem

41. Appearing and dripping scattered pearls
Juicy as hailstones scatter

42. I have protected it from the acts of unbelievers
And misguidance, so the foolish do not laugh

43. If you treat it lightly, it is as if you walk
In the sun, outshining all lights

44. Or that you honour it and raise its worth
It is the cure, and for the ill it is healing

45. It serves you a cup of wine from its lips
No honey, no necklace, no lightning

46. It is joy for onlookers, and solace
From worries, it is the singing garden

47. As if in its beauty, charm, and
Perfection, it is a lovely houri

48. It makes you forget, nay, entertains you, nay, gives you life
It has no match like Layla or Asma

49. Take it, Abu Mu'awiyah the adviser
No sincere advice like his is bitter