تعلم حفظَ آفاتِ اللسانِ

تعلم حفظَ آفاتِ اللسانِ

لتحظى بالأمان وبالإماني

لتحظى بالأمان وبالإماني

Learn to guard against the scourges of the tongue,

Learn by heart the pitfalls of the tongue,

that you may attain safety and your hopes.

That you may attain safety and faith.

وخذها إنها سبعون شيئاً

وخذها إنها سبعون شيئاً

حكت في نظمها عقد الجمان

حكت في نظمها عقد الجمان

Heed them: they are seventy things,

And take them: they are seventy things,

whose verse resembles a necklace of pearls.

Resembling, in their arrangement, a necklace of pearls.

فكفر والخطا مع خوف كفر

فكفر والخطا مع خوف كفر

وكذْب ثم سب في هوان

وكذْب ثم سب في هوان

Unbelief and error, together with fear of unbelief;

Unbelief, and error accompanied by fear of unbelief;

lying, then abuse that brings humiliation;

And lying, then insults spoken in contempt;

وفحش غيبة ونميمة مع

وفحش غيبة ونميمة مع

مرآء والجدال وطعن جاني

مرآء والجدال وطعن جاني

obscenity, backbiting, and tale-bearing, with

And obscene speech, backbiting, and tale-bearing, along with

wrangling, argument, and injurious slander;

Wrangling, disputation, and a wrongdoer's disparagement;

وسخرية وتعريض ولعن

وسخرية وتعريض ولعن

ونوح واشتغال بالأغاني

ونوح واشتغال بالأغاني

mockery, insinuation, and cursing;

And mockery, insinuation, and cursing;

wailing and preoccupation with songs;

And wailing, and preoccupation with songs;

مخاصمة وإفشاء لسر

مخاصمة وإفشاء لسر

وخوض في محال بافتتان

وخوض في محال بافتتان

quarreling and divulging a secret;

Quarreling, and divulging a secret;

delving, beguiled, into impossible things;

And delving into absurdities with fascination;

سؤال المال والدنيا نفاق

سؤال المال والدنيا نفاق

بقول والكلام لدى الأذان

بقول والكلام لدى الأذان

begging for wealth and worldly things; hypocrisy

Asking for money and worldly gain; hypocrisy

in speech; and talking while the call to prayer is made;

In speech, and talking during the call to prayer;

سؤالك عن أغاليط وأيضا

سؤالك عن أغاليط وأيضا

عوام الناس عن صعب المعاني

عوام الناس عن صعب المعاني

your asking about trick questions, and also

Your asking about tricky problems, and also

asking ordinary people about abstruse meanings;

Asking ordinary people about difficult meanings;

وتغليظ الكلام وأمرُ نكرٍ

وتغليظ الكلام وأمرُ نكرٍ

ونهيُ العرفِ مع خطأ اللسان

ونهيُ العرفِ مع خطأ اللسان

harsh speech and enjoining wrong,

And making speech harsh, and enjoining wrong;

forbidding recognized good, and slips of the tongue;

And forbidding good, along with slips of the tongue;

سؤال عن عيوب الناس أخذ

سؤال عن عيوب الناس أخذ

لذي الوجهين في أمر الدهان

لذي الوجهين في أمر الدهان

asking about people's faults; accepting words

Asking about people's faults; siding

from a two-faced person in the practice of dissembling;

With the two-faced in matters of dissimulation;

كلامك حالة القرآن يتلى

كلامك حالة القرآن يتلى

وبعد طلوع فجر للعيان

وبعد طلوع فجر للعيان

your speaking while the Qur’an is being recited,

Your speaking while the Qur'an is recited,

and after dawn has plainly risen;

And after dawn has risen into view;

وحالة خطبة وبمسجد مع

وحالة خطبة وبمسجد مع

دخول خلا لحاجات تعاني

دخول خلا لحاجات تعاني

during a sermon; in a mosque; and

And during a sermon, and in a mosque, as well as

upon entering the privy to answer nature’s needs;

On entering a privy to attend to your needs;

وفي حال الصلاة وفي جماع

وفي حال الصلاة وفي جماع

وفتح القول عند كبير شان

وفتح القول عند كبير شان

during prayer and during intercourse;

And during prayer, and during intercourse;

initiating speech before a person of great standing;

And initiating speech before a person of high standing;

وبالألقاب نبز مع يمين

وبالألقاب نبز مع يمين

غموس أو بغير الله داني

غموس أو بغير الله داني

taunting with nicknames; and an oath

And taunting with nicknames, along with an oath

that is perjured, or sworn by other than God, O seeker drawing near;

Knowingly false, or basely sworn by other than God;

أخافة مؤمن وفضول قول

أخافة مؤمن وفضول قول

وإكثار اليمين بلا تواني

وإكثار اليمين بلا تواني

frightening a believer; superfluous talk;

Frightening a believer, and superfluous speech;

ceaselessly multiplying oaths;

And multiplying oaths without hesitation;

على غير الدعاء لأهل ظلم

على غير الدعاء لأهل ظلم

بدون صلاح حال كل آن

بدون صلاح حال كل آن

praying against another, or praying for oppressors

Invoking harm on others; praying for oppressors,

without ever asking that their condition be reformed;

Without seeking reform of their condition, at any time;

سؤال إمارة ووصاية مع

سؤال إمارة ووصاية مع

توليه على دار وخان

توليه على دار وخان

requesting authority or trusteeship, together with

Requesting authority and guardianship, along with

appointing someone over a house or an inn;

One's appointment over a house and a caravanserai;

ورد كلام متبوعٍ وقطعٌ

ورد كلام متبوعٍ وقطعٌ

لقول الغيرِ شعرٌ ذو امتهان

لقول الغيرِ شعرٌ ذو امتهان

refuting the words of one who is followed, and interrupting

And rejecting the words of one you follow, and interrupting

another’s speech; and poetry that demeans;

Another's speech; demeaning poetry;

تَناجي اثنين مدحٌ مع مزاجٍ

تَناجي اثنين مدحٌ مع مزاجٍ

ونطقٌ بالذي هو غير عاني

ونطقٌ بالذي هو غير عاني

private whispering between two; praise, together with jest;

Private whispering between two; praise with admixture;

and saying what one does not mean;

And speaking of what does not concern one;

على النفس الدعاء ورد عذر

على النفس الدعاء ورد عذر

أتى بالرأي تفسير القران

أتى بالرأي تفسير القران

praying against oneself; rejecting an excuse;

Invoking harm upon oneself, and rejecting an excuse;

interpreting the Qur’an by mere opinion;

An interpretation of the Qur'an arising from personal opinion;

سؤالك عن حلال أو طهور

سؤالك عن حلال أو طهور

بغير محله قصد امتحان

بغير محله قصد امتحان

asking about what is lawful or about purification

Your asking about lawfulness or purification,

out of its proper place, intending to test;

Out of place, with the intent to test;

وسجع والفصاحة مع سلام

وسجع والفصاحة مع سلام

على الذمِّيْ وذي فسقٍ مهان

على الذمِّيْ وذي فسقٍ مهان

affected rhyming and eloquence; offering peace

And rhymed prose and eloquence, along with greeting

to a protected non-Muslim or a debased sinner;

A protected non-Muslim and a disgraced sinner;

كذا متغوط أو بائل مع

كذا متغوط أو بائل مع

كلام الأجنبية في مكان

كلام الأجنبية في مكان

likewise, speaking while defecating or urinating; and

Likewise someone defecating or urinating, along with

speaking with an unrelated woman in some place;

Speaking with a non-mahram woman in a place;

وإرشاد لنحو طريق سوء

وإرشاد لنحو طريق سوء

وإذن في المعاصي للمداني

وإذن في المعاصي للمداني

directing someone toward an evil road,

And guiding toward a path of evil;

and permitting those near you to commit sins;

And giving someone close by permission to sin;

وآفات العبادات اللواتي

وآفات العبادات اللواتي

تعدت والتي قصرت لعاني

تعدت والتي قصرت لعاني

the failings in acts of worship which

And the faults of worship, those

exceed bounds, and those which fall short, to one’s grief;

That extend to others, and those confined to the sufferer;

كذا الآفات ضمن معاملات

كذا الآفات ضمن معاملات

وآفات السكوت بلا بيان

وآفات السكوت بلا بيان

likewise, the failings contained within dealings,

Likewise the faults within dealings,

and the failings of silence when one should speak.

And the faults of silence without clarification.

وقد تمت بعون الله فاخلص

وقد تمت بعون الله فاخلص

لناظمِها دعاءك بالجنان

لناظمِها دعاءك بالجنان

It is finished with God’s aid; so sincerely offer

And now they are complete, with God's help; so make sincere

the poem’s composer your prayer that he attain the Gardens.

Your prayer for their versifier to be granted Paradise.