1. الحَمدُ لِلَّهِ لَيسَ لي فَرَسُ

    وَلا عَلى بابِ مَنزِلي حَرَسُ

    Praise be to God: I have no horse,

    Nor guards at the door of my home,

  2. وَلا غُلامٌ إِذا هَتَفتُ بِهِ

    بادَرَ نَحوي كَأَنَّهُ قَبَسُ

    Nor a servant-boy who, when I call to him,

    Hurries toward me like a firebrand.

  3. إِبني غُلامي وَزَوجَتي أَمَتي

    مَلَّكنيها المُلّاكُ وَالعُرُسُ

    My son is my servant, and my wife my bondwoman;

    The marriage contract and wedding made her mine.

  4. غَنيتُ بِاليَأسِ وَاِعتَصَمتُ بِهِ

    عَن كُلِّ فَردٍ بِوَجهِهِ عَبَسُ

    I have found sufficiency in despair and sought refuge in it

    From every man whose face wears a scowl.

  5. فَما يَراني بِبابِهِ أَبَداً

    طَلقَ المُحَيّا سَمحٌ وَلا شَرِسُ

    So no man ever sees me at his door,

    Whether smiling and generous or surly.