أَلا سَبيلٌ إِلى مالٍ يُعارِضُني

أَلا سَبيلٌ إِلى مالٍ يُعارِضُني

كَما يُعارِضُ ماءُ الأَبطَحِ الجاري

كَما يُعارِضُ ماءُ الأَبطَحِ الجاري

Is there no way for wealth to come my way,

Is there no way to wealth that comes to meet me,

as a wayfarer comes upon the water of al-Abṭaḥ?

as does the flowing water of the gravelly valley?

أَلا أُعانُ عَلى جودي بِمَيسَرَةٍ

أَلا أُعانُ عَلى جودي بِمَيسَرَةٍ

فَلا يَرُدُّ نَدى كَفَّيَّ إِقتاري

فَلا يَرُدُّ نَدى كَفَّيَّ إِقتاري

Could I not be aided in my generosity by affluence,

Will I not be aided in my generosity with ample means,

so my poverty would not hold back the dew of my two hands?

so that my poverty does not hold back the bounty of my two palms?