1. ما حاجتي في ذمِّ أهل زماني

    وبهم مصالح فافتى وأماني

    What need have I to censure the people of my time?

    And through them come relief for [my need] and fulfillment of my hopes.

  2. إن عبتُ منهم واحداً وذممتُه

    لم أخلُ من عيبٍ ولا نقصانِ

    If I fault one of them and censure him,

    I am not free of fault or deficiency.

  3. وليدخلُن بغيضهم وحبيبهم

    ذمّى ومن أهْوى ومن يَهْواني

    Their hated and their beloved alike would surely come under

    my censure—those I love and those who love me.

  4. فعلامَ أذكرُ عيبَ غيرِي واغلاً

    في ذكرِه وأنَا الخبيرُ بشاني

    So why mention another's fault, intruding

    into its telling, when I know my own condition well?

  5. إن لذُو عيبٍ ولم أكُ خالصاً

    أأذمُّ غيري والقذَى يَغْشَاني

    Indeed, I have faults and am not blameless.

    Shall I censure another while motes cloud my sight?

  6. لو ينظر المرزى مثالبَ نفسهِ

    ما عابَ في دُنْياه مِنْ إنسانِ

    If [a man] examined his own failings,

    he would fault no person in his worldly life.

  7. فإن ادَّعيتَ بأنهم ذكروك أو

    هابوكَ بالسوآى فأنتَ الجاني

    And if you claim that they mentioned you, or

    feared you on account of evil, then you are the wrongdoer.

  8. إن شئتَ تحمدُ في زمانِك فلا تدعْ

    عَنْ كل عيبٍ شانَ في الإنسانِ

    If you wish to be praised in your time, do not neglect

    turning away from every fault that disgraces a person.

  9. واذكر عيوبَك قبل عيب سواك إمَّا

    إن كنتَ ذَا دِينٍ وذَا إيمانِ

    And recall your own faults before another's,

    if you possess religion and faith.

  10. وكل العبادَ ولا تعبْ أخلاقهم

    وارعَ الذمامَ لهم إلى الرحمن

    Leave God's servants be; do not fault their character,

    and honor their covenant, leaving them to the Most Merciful.

  11. أفأنت ناج أن تعيبَ طباعهم

    مما تجرحهم بحدِّ لسانِ

    Are you safe, when you fault their dispositions,

    from the harm of wounding them with a tongue's sharp edge?

  12. إن عبتَهم كثرتْ عيوبُك بينهم

    ورموك بالبغضائ والشنآنِ

    If you fault them, your faults will multiply among them,

    and they will assail you with hatred and rancor.

  13. عش سالماً من ذكرهم وعيوبهم

    تَسْلم من التوبيخِ والهجرانِ

    Live free of speaking of them and their faults,

    and you will be spared rebuke and estrangement.

  14. واشكرْ لمن أفضَى إليك بجوده

    فالشكرُ مرقاةٌ إلى الإحسانِ

    Thank whoever has shared his bounty with you,

    for gratitude is a stairway to beneficence.

  15. واعلمْ يقيناً أن تركَ الشكر عند

    أولى النهى يفضى إلى الخُسْرانِ

    And know with certainty that forsaking gratitude, in the eyes of

    those of sound judgment, leads to loss.

  16. لا تجحد النعماءَ مِنْ أهل الندى

    إن الجحودَ لغايةُ الحرمانِ

    Do not deny the favors of generous people;

    indeed, denial is the utmost deprivation.

  17. واحمد من استرعاكَ حقَّ ودادِه

    فرضٌ عليك محبةُ الإخوانِ

    Praise whoever entrusted his friendship's rights to your care;

    loving one's brethren is a duty incumbent on you.

  18. إن شئتَ ألا يذكرُوك بغيبة

    فاذكرْ محاسنهم بكلِّ مكانِ

    If you wish them not to speak of you behind your back,

    then mention their virtues everywhere.

  19. واكفُفْ لسانك لا تعبْ أخلاقهم

    فالحرُّ يحفظُ غيبةَ الجيرانِ

    Restrain your tongue; do not fault their character,

    for the noble man guards his neighbors' honor in their absence.

  20. خذْ ما بدَا من أهلِ دهرك واقتصرْ

    عَنْ باطنِ الأسرارِ بالإعلانِ

    Take what appears from the people of your age, and be content

    with what is public, rather than the secrets within.

  21. إن أنتَ فتشتَ الخلائقَ سرَّهم

    عيبَ المعيبِ تَعِشْ بِلاَ خِلاَّنِ

    If you search people's hidden selves

    for the faults of the faulty, you will live without friends.

  22. فاسلكْ سبيلَ المتقينَ فبالتقى

    ينجيكَ ربكَ من هوىً وهوان

    Follow the path of the God-fearing, for through piety

    your Lord will save you from desire and humiliation.

  23. إني لأستحي من الرحمنِ أنْ

    أبدْى المثالبَ والعيوبُ تراني

    I am indeed ashamed before the Most Merciful to

    expose failings while faults look upon me.

  24. وإذا هممتُ بذمِّ أهل زماني

    فكرتُ في عيبي وفي نقصانِ

    When I consider censuring the people of my time,

    I ponder my own fault and deficiency.

  25. فإذا ذممتهمُ غدوت شريكَهم

    حقّاً لأنا كلنا سيّانِ

    If I censure them, I become their partner,

    truly, for we are all alike.

  26. الناسُ كلُّهمُ فكيفَ أذمُّهم

    يحنُو على وكلَهم إخوانُ

    All people—how could I censure them?—

    are tender toward me, and all are brothers.

  27. خرست لساني إن نطقتُ بذمُّهم

    وبلعربٌ فيهم فتىَ سلطانِ

    May my tongue fall mute if I speak in their censure,

    with Bal‘arab among them, Sultan's young son.

  28. جادَ الزمانُ به علينا فاغتدت

    تنهلُّ في الجَدْوى له كَفّانِ

    Time bestowed him upon us, and thereafter

    his two palms rained down beneficence.

  29. هُو نَسْلُ سلطان الإمامِ المرتضى

    ربُ البراعةِ طاهرُ الأذْهانِ

    He is the offspring of Sultan, the chosen imam,

    a master of excellence, pure of mind.

  30. يُعطى بلا منِّ ولا مَطْلٍ ولا

    كدَرِ بوجه واضح حسَّانِ

    He [gives] without reminders of favors, without delay, and without

    vexation, with a radiant, handsome face.

  31. يا منْ تَسُلُّ مواهباً كَفّاه في

    هذا الورَى جوداً بكلِّ أوان

    O you whose two palms draw forth gifts among

    these mortals, generously, at every hour,

  32. وأحلّنا في دار عزٍّ دائمِ

    وانتاشنا مِنْ نارلِ الحدثان

    and who lodged us in a home of enduring honor,

    and rescued us from the fire of time's calamities,

  33. وأقامنا في عزةٍ ومسرةٍ

    وأجارنا من شدةِ الأزمانِ

    and established us in dignity and joy,

    and sheltered us from the hardships of the times.

  34. لا جاره معه يضامُ ولا يرَى

    يوماً بذى كمدٍ ولا أحْزانِ

    No neighbor of his is wronged in his presence, or seen

    on any day burdened with grief or sorrow.

  35. إن الثناءَ عن المودة مخبرٌ

    مثل الطروس تبينُ بالعُنْوَانِ

    Indeed, praise reveals affection,

    as written sheets are made known by their headings.

  36. لا طامِعٌ ولئن طمعت فإنما

    طَمَعِى يؤولُ إلى جَدَى هتَّانِ

    I am not covetous; and even if I covet, then

    my desire turns only to bounty pouring like rain,

  37. وإلى خضمٍّ زاخرٍ متلاطم

    يغنى العباد بخالص العِقْيَانِ

    and to a vast, swelling sea of clashing waves

    that enriches the servants with pure gold.

  38. يا من أبوه موهن الأعداء في

    الغاراتِ وهو مُوهِّن الأقرانِ

    O you whose father weakens enemies in

    raids, while he himself weakens his peers;

  39. يا من أبوهُ مذلّل الشجعان في

    الوقعات وهو مفرِّق الفُرْسانِ

    O you whose father subdues the brave in

    battles, while he scatters the horsemen;

  40. يا من أبره مكرّم ومجللٌ

    في القَدْرِ وهو معظمٌ في الشانِ

    O you whose [father] is honored and exalted

    in rank, while he is great in standing;

  41. يا من غَدا ريبُ الزمانِ وصرفه

    لم يقض شيئاً كالأسير العاني

    O you before whom time's misfortunes and its turns have become

    unable to accomplish anything, like a captive in submission.

  42. أصبحتُ في نعماكَ أرفلُ ساحباً

    ذيلَ المسرةِ في غنَى وأمَانِ

    I now walk resplendent in your bounty, trailing

    the train of joy in wealth and safety.

  43. وحفظتني من كلِّ خطبٍ فادحٍ

    تفضى إلىّ بطرمك اليقظانِ

    And you protected me from every grievous calamity,

    turning toward me with your watchful [gaze].

  44. وخصصتني بمودةٍ وكرامةٍ

    حتى سلوتُ بها عن الأوْطَانِ

    And you singled me out for affection and honor,

    until, through them, I ceased to yearn for my homelands.

  45. حمداً وشكراً يا سليلَ إمامنا

    من جودِ كفّكِ أو قت أغْصَاني

    Praise and gratitude, O scion of our imam:

    through your hand's generosity, my branches [have put forth leaves].