1. تَوَكَّل إذا نابتك يوماً ملمةٌ

    على من له في خَلقِهِ الخلقُ الحكمُ

    Put your trust, when a calamity befalls you one day,

    in Him to whom belong creation and judgment over His creatures.

  2. وسلّم له تقديره وقضاؤه

    فبينهما يجري لك الحرب والسلم

    And submit to His ordainment and His decree,

    for between them war and peace unfold for you.

  3. ولا ترجُ كشفَ الكربِ من عند غيره

    فترجع عنه خائباً ولك الرُّغم

    And do not hope for relief from distress from anyone besides Him,

    lest you return from him disappointed, with humiliation your lot.

  4. ضعيفاً يُرجِّي من ضعيف إغاثةً

    لقد غلط الإدراكُ وانعكس الفهم

    Weak yourself, hoping for aid from one who is weak!

    Surely perception has erred, and understanding is reversed.

  5. فيا نائم الجفنين في حال يقظةٍ

    وكم نائم معنى ولم يغشَهُ نومُ

    O you whose eyelids sleep even while you are awake,

    and how many are asleep in spirit, though no sleep has overtaken them!

  6. وما الحكم إلاَّ حكمُ ربِّكَ وحده

    فاذعن له فالياس من غيره حتم

    And judgment is none but the judgment of your Lord alone.

    So yield to Him; you must abandon hope in anyone besides Him.

  7. وكم واهم في قصد عمرو وخالد

    فإيَّاك لا يذهب بخاطرك الوهم

    And how many are deluded in seeking Amr and Khalid!

    So beware: let no delusion carry your thoughts away.

  8. فمن ذا الذي أنشَاكَ إذ كنت نطفةً

    ضعيفاً ولا لحمٌ عليك ولا عظمُ

    Who, then, brought you into being when you were a drop of seed,

    weak, with neither flesh upon you nor bone?

  9. ومن ذا الذي غذَّاك تسعة أشهرٍ

    وأمُّك لا حس لديها ولا علم

    And who nourished you for nine months,

    while your mother had neither awareness nor knowledge of it?

  10. ومن ذا الذي ربَّاك حولين راضعاً

    ولا مشربٌ إلاَّ لبان ولا طعم

    And who reared you for two years as a suckling,

    with no drink but mother's milk, and no food?

  11. ومن ذا الذي نَجَّاك من شرّة الصبا

    وهرك رام ما يصيب له سهم

    And who saved you from the impetuousness of youth,

    while [your fate?] is an archer whose arrows never hit?

  12. ومن ذا الذي ألقى عليك محبةً

    تعاورها في حقك لاأب والأم

    And who cast love upon you,

    which father and mother took turns showing you?

  13. ومن ذا الذي أعطاك عقلاً وفطنةً

    فشاع لك الوصف المشهر والاسم

    And who gave you reason and discernment,

    so your celebrated reputation and name spread abroad?

  14. ومن ذا الذي لقَّاك رشدَكَ يافعاً

    فأقررت بالتوحيد إذ جحد الخصم

    And who granted you right guidance as an adolescent,

    so you affirmed God's oneness when the adversary denied it?

  15. هو الله جلَّ اللهُ فاعكف ببابِهِ

    له البدءُ في مخلوقه وله الختم

    He is God—exalted is God! So remain at His door.

    His is the beginning of His creation, and His the end.

  16. فكم أمسك الأرماق والروحُ زاهق

    وكم جلب الأرواح والقلب مغتم

    For how often He preserved life's last remnants as the soul was departing!

    And how often He brought refreshing breezes while the heart was grieving!

  17. وكم دعوة مضطرة قد أجابها

    فنلت المنى منها ومن دونها النجم

    And how many a desperate prayer He has answered,

    so through it you attained your wishes, with the stars beneath them!

  18. وكم زلَّة جددتها إثر زلَّة

    تداركك الإمهال فيهن والحلم

    And how many a lapse you committed, lapse upon lapse,

    yet amid them, respite and forbearance came to your rescue!

  19. أتعلم هذا ثم تعمل ضدَّهُ

    لقد ضاع فيك الرأي واطَّرح الحزم

    Do you know this, then act against it?

    Surely sound judgment is lost in you, and prudence cast aside.

  20. فمالك في التحقيق حبٌّ ولا هوى

    ولا من سداد الفكر حظّ ولا قسم

    So in truth you have neither love nor passion,

    nor any share or portion of sound thought.

  21. تخلَّ على المخلوق إنَّك مثله

    وأمّ الذي يهدي إلى قصده الأمّ

    Give up reliance on the creature; you are like him.

    And seek Him whom intent guides you to seek.

  22. ولا ترجُ إلاّ الله في كلِّ حالة

    فوضع الرجا في غير موضعه ظلم

    And hope in none but God in every circumstance,

    for placing hope where it does not belong is wrongdoing.

  23. وفي يوسف الصديق أعظمُ حجة

    بأن ليس للمخلوق في مثله حكم

    And in Yusuf the truthful lies the greatest proof

    that no created being has authority in such a matter.

  24. وفي قوله اذكرني لساقي مليكه

    دليلٌ لمن في الصالحات له عزم

    And in his saying, 'Mention me,' to his king's cupbearer,

    is a sign for anyone resolved to do righteous deeds.

  25. فاصلح فساد الفعل منك بتوبة

    فمن خان مال الغير ظهَّره العزم

    So mend your corrupt conduct through repentance,

    for whoever misappropriates another's wealth, resolve exposes him [wording unclear].