لا تلم يا مهذب الانذالا

واشهد الكون ان عرفت خيالا

Do not reproach the base, O refined man;

and, if you understand, behold the universe as a phantom.

وتباعد عن اللئام وعن قل

بك زخزح بالحكمة الاثقالا

Keep far from the vile, and from your heart

dislodge burdens through wisdom.

واذا لم تجد كراما ففي الخل

وة صحح من طورك الاعمالا

If you find no noble people, then in solitude

set right the deeds arising from your conduct.

وخذ الحق صاحبا واجعل الصد

ق رفيقا واحو القناعة مالا

Take truth as a companion, and make honesty

your fellow; hold contentment as your wealth.

وارفع العزم واصلح الحزم واثبت

صاح واعمل ولا تكن بطالا

Raise your resolve, perfect your prudence, and stand firm,

my friend; work, and do not be idle.

وتمسك بالله واترك سواه

وليكن حسبك الاله تعالى

Hold fast to God, and leave all besides Him;

let God, exalted is He, suffice you.

لا ترى الناس في المهمات عونا

من سوى الله يصرف الاهوالا

Do not count on people for help in grave affairs;

who but God turns away terrors?

وتخلق بكل خلق شريف

رب عبد بالخلق ساد وطالا

Adorn yourself with every noble trait;

many a slave has gained mastery and stature through character.

جانب الحرص واصحب الجود لكن

لا تبذر وكن فتى بذالا

Shun greed and keep company with generosity, but

do not squander; be a young man free in giving.

انما الرزق خط في اللوح قدما

وسوى ذاك قد يعد محالا

Sustenance is only what was inscribed on the Tablet long ago;

and anything beyond that may be deemed impossible.

واقتن الطيبات ان رمت يوما

لك من زمرة النساء عيالا

Choose virtuous women, if one day you desire

a family for yourself from among women.

رب زاكي الاعمام ارداه خال

فانتخب للابناء يا خل خالا

Many a man with noble paternal uncles was ruined by a maternal uncle;

so choose a maternal uncle for your children, my friend.

واهجر الخائنين لا تدن منهم

قربهم كان وصمة ووبالا

Forsake the treacherous; do not draw near them;

closeness to them was a stain and a calamity.

وقباح العروق مهما اصطفاهم

دهرهم لا تصرف اليهم بالا

And those of vile lineage, however favored

by their age—give them no thought.

قد طوى الل في العروق شؤنا

نشرت ثم سميت افعالا

God has enfolded matters within bloodlines;

they were unfolded, then called deeds.

ودع الناس وارض بالله ذخرا

لا تعلق بغيره الآمالا

Leave people be, and accept God as your treasure;

fasten your hopes upon none besides Him.

قصرت همة الزمان فاهدت

لرجال العلا هموما طوالا

The age's aspiration has fallen short, and so bestowed

long-lasting cares upon men of eminence.

فانتق الخبرين صحبا وحاذر

ان ترى اكثر الرجال رجالا

So choose the experienced as companions, and beware

of regarding most men as true men.

خلقت جدة الليالي واضحت

بأفانين ما يسيء حبالي

The freshness of the nights has worn away, and they have become

pregnant with manifold kinds of harm.

لا اقول الكرام ما توا ولكن

ندروا ثم ادركوا اقلالا

I do not say the noble have died, but

they have grown rare, then fallen into poverty.

ما ترى العلم فاقدا والمعالي

جذبت نحو دستها الجهالا

Do you not see learning bereft, while high honors

have drawn the ignorant toward their seat of honor?

واولو البخل اصبحوا سادة القو

م وقعر الحضيض سامي الجبالا

The miserly have become masters of the people,

and the bottom of the abyss has rivaled the mountains.

واذا قام بالظهور كريم

ناله من بني الفجور نكالا

Whenever a noble man rises to prominence,

punishment befalls him from the sons of wickedness.

عده الدهر حانقا واو عمرو

خط وانحط بعد عن ان يقالا

The age, enraged, deems him the wāw in ʿAmr:

written, then sunk too low even to be uttered.

فاخو الفضل والكمال يعادي

حيث اعطي فضلا وحاز كمالا

For the man of virtue and perfection is opposed

because he was granted excellence and attained perfection.

وذميم الاصول عز لذل

قام في نوعه فقال وصالا

And one of vile ancestry gains power through abasement

prevailing among his kind, then speaks and swaggers.

حكم تاهت البصائر فيها

غامضات اقصرن منا المقالا

Wisdoms in which insight has lost its way—

obscure, cutting short what we can say.

ليت شعري والحادثات خيال

هل نرى الدهر يصلح الاحوالا

Would that I knew—while events are phantoms—

whether we shall see time set conditions right.

كل نشر لا بد يطوى وقد يغ

دو بآن كون الوجود زوالا

Every unfolding must be folded away; and it may

be that existence turns to extinction in an instant.

ما علينا الا الرضاء بما يب

ديه خلاقنا تعالى جلالا

We need only be content with what is shown

by our Creator, exalted in majesty.

غصص تنقضي وتمضي فصحح

صاح دهرا على الكريم اتكالا

Choking griefs come to an end and pass; so make firm,

my friend, your lifelong reliance on the Generous One.