1. O you who denounce all the vile,
Begin with yourself before blaming others.

2. Rebuke may breed stubbornness, yet
The crooked may be straightened with guidance.

3. Are morals of use to a people
Who shun knowledge and education?

4. What wisdom in a fool but like
A sweet basil on a dunghill!

5. Its beauties smile for a face that's like
A mirror not wasted on the blind.

6. Kings prized the merit of eloquence;
A skillful pen was dearer than a realm.

7. Rule was for this entrusted to the capable
Whose lofty aspirations resolved problems.

8. Then time and its people passed away,
The page of glory sealed and confirmed.

9. Normalcy changed amongst us, the rule
Of the honorable ceased, and baseness spread.

10. It was as though, after their era,
Splits appeared devoid of fair alignment.

11. The seeker of esteem mounted his steed
And roamed between milestones and ruins.

12. Not only kings were unjust in their rule—
How many in the world are oppressor and oppressed!

13. Were the Mahdi to come to us, he'd scarcely find
Any man's neck free of an enemy's grasp.

14. The freeman may complain of woes, yet
Moaning may relieve the anguished.

15. An age intoxicated, its days
Drunken; the scourge of all companions.

16. Poison circulates amongst the masses; oft
Have I known steeds by their bridling.

17. Cares occupy souls to the extent
That base natures spurn the concerns of the grieved.

18. Only a heart that meets fortunes
With acceptance restrains anguish.

19. So be content; unveil not the mask of patience
To your bosom friend while breath remains.

20. Comfort your heart; ask not about the cause
Of fates, for they are but allotment.

21. When you know the Dispenser of rizq, the daring
Of the wolf and the cowardice of the fox are equal.

22. The Benevolent did not approve a generous
Gift for His servants, for He transcends need.

23. Had the world befitted His bounty,
He'd have made it a trifling dominion.

24. Think good of the Lord of the Throne, and you
Will attain the unforeseen best.

25. What wealth some rich possess, yet
Theirs are but toil and deprived longing!

26. The destitute meets sullen-faced ones
While the affluent are flanked by the meek.

27. You disdain sniffing at dogs, yet haughtiness
Is no better than the gait of the defeated.

28. The flame of the miser may flare, yet it flickers.
His affection an abyss without breeze.

29. Be endearing to all through humility,
For humility brings exaltation.

30. What an attendant in disgrace! Had he but left
Seclusion, he'd gain the station of the served.

31. Speaking gently to the needy as though
A soft breeze passing the burning hot.

32. He who plants kindness reaps affection,
Unlike the evildoer, shunned and banned.

33. Overlook the lapses of people and envy none,
For no man is infallible.

34. Lighten the burden when you meet,
For the lightener is not to be blamed.

35. When you do a good deed, then conceal it;
Boast not, for boasting sours the favor.

36. Beware the venom of backbiting, for never
Will you find an inveterate backbiter true.

37. Avoid the foolish, and do not contend generously
Against one whose argument is twisted and crushed.

38. Speak according to your worth always, and to the worth
Of whom you address, gently imparting wisdom.

39. Aspire, my lad, to truths, drawing
From the explicit and the implied.

40. Deem not that some knowledge can be attained
Save by devoting care and commitment.

41. Speak not ignorantly amidst the circle of experts
In prose or verse, lest you expose your deficiency.

42. What a pretentious prattler! Singing
Does not suit the throat of a donkey.

43. Be not content save with correctness, and stop
Short of limits in your persevering efforts.

44. A disputant bested by his betters—a group
Well-versed, yet he harvested nothing but pith.

45. Away with you, foal! For you bolted headlong.
You will be dragged between the stable and enclosure.

46. O soul! Beware, for you are chastised
Above all people with blame and sin.

47. Noble, you left your lofty world
And befriended all the vile and base.

48. You neglected thanking the Bestower of Reason
After blessed life, the Ever-Present Sustainer;

49. You grew lazy to acquire knowledge which,
If missed in life, becomes as naught;

50. You were content to gain each merit
And truth with fancied gain.

51. You were corrupted by passions in a pasture—
A gloomy, murky resort of vice.

52. How pretentiously you act while you are
In fact abased, degraded! Vainglory is most ugly.

53. If you have no faith or piety,
A dog is more deserving of honor.

54. Indeed, you have committed major sins,
And minor ones, wronging all the innocent.

55. If you are rational, you have been addressed
In rulings with obligation and prohibition.

56. So derive a lesson, O wise,
From this momentous affair!

57. God transcends praise; He forgives
And pardons the ordained duty.

58. With what can I escape when my argument
Is refuted and opponents gain mastery over me?

59. Alas, unless by the mercy of the love of one
Whose intercession has been made general.

60. His intercession is owed to every monotheist,
And I am resolved upon Divine Oneness.

61. God—exalted is His remembrance—is gracious
In emphasizing honor and reverence.

62. I expect, therefore, not to waste
The gift between an Honorer and the recipient of honor.

63. It is but a droplet of His boundless rain of mercy,
While the sea is contained in the dripping of its clouds.

64. Why not a sea of generosity and a droplet
To quench my thirst one day when I arrive?

65. Blessings upon him whom God mentioned whenever
His name is uttered, and upon his family and companions.