أعْنيكَ يا من سِواه تلحَقُ التهمُ

أعْنيكَ يا من سِواه تلحَقُ التهمُ

يا واحد الفهم إذْ للواهم الوهَمُ

يا واحد الفهم إذْ للواهم الوهَمُ

I mean you, O you—accusations attach to others, not you.

I plead for your help, O you whom false accusations besiege,

O peerless in understanding, while the deluded have delusion.

O you of singular wisdom, since fanciful notions are delusion’s realm,

ومن له من يدٍ كفٌّ وساعدُها

ومن له من يدٍ كفٌّ وساعدُها

إذ ليس لي عنده ساقٌ ولا قدمُ

إذ ليس لي عنده ساقٌ ولا قدمُ

And you whose hand of favor has palm and forearm,

And who has an arm to lend support when I have neither leg nor foot?

while I have neither leg nor foot in your regard.

For man’s heedlessness there are incompatible descriptions,

لِغفلةِ المرءِ وصْفٌ غير مُتَّفِقٍ

لِغفلةِ المرءِ وصْفٌ غير مُتَّفِقٍ

والذَّمُّ مُجتَنبٌ والحمد مُغْتَنَمُ

والذَّمُّ مُجتَنبٌ والحمد مُغْتَنَمُ

A man's heedlessness is not uniformly judged;

And blame is avoided while praise is welcomed.

blame is shunned, and praise is eagerly sought.

So heedlessness about another’s right is baseness,

فغَفْلةُ المرءِ عن حقٍّ لصاحبه

فغَفْلةُ المرءِ عن حقٍّ لصاحبه

لؤمٌ وغَفْلتُهُ عن حقِّه كرمُ

لؤمٌ وغَفْلتُهُ عن حقِّه كرمُ

For a man's neglect of a right owed his companion

While heedlessness of one’s own right is nobility.

is baseness, while neglecting his own right is generosity.

I have appealed to you in the name of past obligations

ناشدتُكَ اللهَ في أشياءَ مُسْلفةٍ

ناشدتُكَ اللهَ في أشياءَ مُسْلفةٍ

لا يَمْحُها من كتابي عندكَ القِدَمُ

لا يَمْحُها من كتابي عندكَ القِدَمُ

I adjure you by God concerning things bestowed before:

That the passage of time at your place cannot erase.

let time not erase them from my record with you.

They have become pledges, though once they were face-to-face encounters,

أضحتْ عُهوداً وقد كانت مُشاهدةً

أضحتْ عُهوداً وقد كانت مُشاهدةً

والمجد حيث يُصانُ العهدُ والذممُ

والمجد حيث يُصانُ العهدُ والذممُ

They have become memories, though once they were witnessed,

For glory lies in keeping pledges and obligations sacrosanct.

and glory lies where pledges and obligations are preserved.

A man may sit secure in a well-guarded mansion,

قد يربع المرءُ في دارٍ محافَظةً

قد يربع المرءُ في دارٍ محافَظةً

وليس إلا الأثافي السفعُ والحُمَمُ

وليس إلا الأثافي السفعُ والحُمَمُ

A man may linger in a dwelling out of loyalty,

Though it shelters none but the ignoble and base.

though nothing is there but blackened hearthstones and charcoal.

No discretion or taciturnity keeps him from addressing it,

ولا يُنَهْنِهُ منه أن يُخاطِبَها

ولا يُنَهْنِهُ منه أن يُخاطِبَها

حلمٌ ولا خَرَسٌ فيها ولا صمَمُ

حلمٌ ولا خَرَسٌ فيها ولا صمَمُ

Nor is he deterred from addressing it

Deaf, mute, oblivious that it is.

by his good sense, nor by its muteness or deafness.

O light of sublime knowledge, descendant of the noble,

يا نورَ علم تعالى في ذُرى شَرَفٍ

يا نورَ علم تعالى في ذُرى شَرَفٍ

أنى تجور وأنت النار والعلمُ

أنى تجور وأنت النار والعلمُ

O beacon-light, risen among the peaks of honor,

How could you tyrannize when you are fire and enlightenment?

how can you stray, when you are the fire and the landmark?

Virtues alone are not preserves closed off

إن الكرائم ليستْ وحدها حُرَماً

إن الكرائم ليستْ وحدها حُرَماً

دون المكارم لكن كُلُّها حُرَمُ

دون المكارم لكن كُلُّها حُرَمُ

Noble women are not the only ones held sacred,

From moral excellence ― no, all are its preserves.

to the exclusion of noble virtues; rather, all are sacred.