1. مَن كان عند الله غالبْ

    لا شكَّ بالخيرات آيبْ

    Whoever is victorious in God's sight

    surely returns with blessings.

  2. ومَن اتَّقاه فاز فَوْ

    زاً لا يخافُ من العواقبْ

    And whoever fears Him wins

    a victory, fearing no consequences.

  3. مَن لا يفكَّرُ في العواقبْ

    دهراً يعيشُ بغير صاحبْ

    Whoever gives no thought to consequences

    lives a long time without a friend.

  4. وقلاهُ كل مُساعدٍ

    وجفاه أولادُ الأقاربْ

    And every helper loathes him,

    and his relatives' children forsake him.

  5. وأهانَهُ كل الأنا

    مِ من الأباعِدِ والأقاربْ

    And he is humiliated by all

    people, distant strangers and kin alike.

  6. فتراه كالغَرَضِ الذي

    يرمونه من كل جانبْ

    So you see him like a target that

    they shoot at from every side.

  7. عما قليلٍ سوفَ ينشُبُ

    في براثنها المخالبْ

    Before long he will become caught

    in their taloned clutches.

  8. لا يستطيعُ لدفعِ ما

    هو فيه من دفعِ المصايبْ

    He has no power to ward off what

    besets him, no way to repel calamities.

  9. لا عَمَّ ينفُعه ولا

    خالٌ ولا خِلٌّ مُصاحبْ

    No paternal uncle helps him, nor

    a maternal uncle or a friend at his side.

  10. أُوصيكَ لا تصحبْ فتىً

    ينحو إلى طلب المثالبْ

    I counsel you: do not befriend a youth

    who goes looking for faults.

  11. واختر لنفسك صاحباً

    حُرّاً كريماً ذا مراتبْ

    And choose for yourself a friend,

    freeborn and generous, a man of standing;

  12. فطناً لبيباً صادِقاً

    نَدْباً حليماً ذا تجاربْ

    perceptive, wise, and truthful,

    gallant, forbearing, and experienced.

  13. أنت المعظَّمُ لم تزلْ

    تسمو به فرق الثواقبْ

    You remain held in honor,

    rising through him above the ranks of piercing stars.

  14. لا يستبدُّ برأْيه

    أبداً يُشَاوِرُ في النوائبْ

    He does not rely on his own judgment alone;

    he always seeks counsel in adversity.

  15. فمن استبدَّ برأْيه

    لا زالَ يأتي بالعجائبْ

    For whoever relies solely on his own opinion

    never ceases to produce strange things.

  16. لا شكَّ ذلك أحمقٌ

    فالبُعدُ منه عليك واجبْ

    That man is undoubtedly a fool,

    so keeping away from him is your duty.

  17. فالحُمق داءٌ لا دواءَ

    له فأَهْمِلْهُ وجانبْ

    For folly is an illness with no cure

    for it; so leave him alone and keep your distance.

  18. كالبالِ إن رَقَّعْتَهُ

    من جانبٍ ينحلُّ جانبْ

    Like a worn-out garment: if you patch it

    on one side, another side comes apart.

  19. أتعبتَ نفسك إن تصا

    حب صاحباً أعمى المذاهبْ

    You weary yourself if you keep

    company with a friend blind to the ways he takes.

  20. لا زالَ يلقى نفسه

    بين المتالف والمعاطبْ

    He is forever casting himself

    amid places of ruin and deadly peril.

  21. يُسْدِى ويُلْحِمُ ساكناً

    طرق المخاوف والمتاعِبْ

    He lays the warp and weaves the weft, dwelling

    on the paths of fear and hardship.

  22. بل كلما نَهْنَهْتَهُ

    عن حالةٍ أبدى غرائبْ

    But whenever you restrain him

    from a course of action, he displays oddities.

  23. يُمسى ويُصبح في المضي

    قِ ودمعُه في الخَدِّ ساكبْ

    He passes evening and morning in

    distress, his tears streaming down his cheek.

  24. لا يَرْعَوِى عن جهله

    ويقول ما قد خَطَّ صائبْ

    He will not desist from his ignorance,

    and says that what he has written is correct.

  25. وإذا الصبيُّ اعتادَ طبعاً

    في الشبيبة فهْوَ راسبْ

    And when a boy grows accustomed to a disposition

    in youth, it becomes deeply rooted.

  26. ليس التطبُّعُ ثابتاً

    كالطبعِ إن الطبعَ لازبْ

    Acquired character is not as firmly fixed

    as innate nature, for innate nature clings fast.

  27. إن لم يُؤَدَّبْ فهْوَ با

    خِعُ نفسِه والطبعُ غالبْ

    If he is not disciplined, he is

    his own destroyer, with nature holding sway.

  28. ما ضَرَّهُ لو أنَّهُ

    من ذنبه أن جاءَ تائبْ

    What harm would it do him if he

    came repentant of his sin?

  29. فلعلَّ ربِّ العرش يق

    بَلُ توبة العدلِ المواظبْ

    Perhaps, then, the Lord of the Throne will

    accept the repentance of the steadfast, upright man.

  30. فهو الرحيم بخَلْقِه

    ولخلقِه جَمُّ المواهبْ

    For He is merciful to His creation,

    and His gifts to His creatures are abundant.

  31. فارجوه في العُقْبَي فمن

    يرجو سواه فهو خائبْ

    So hope in Him in the hereafter, for whoever

    hopes in another will be disappointed.

  32. وعليك بالتقْوَى فتقْوَى

    الله من خير المكاسبْ

    And hold fast to piety, for reverence for

    God is among the finest gains.

  33. وتعلّم القرآنَ وادرُسْه

    وأكرمْه وواظبْ

    And learn the Qur'an and study it,

    and honor it and persevere.

  34. فهو الصراطُ المستقي

    مُ ودرسُه خير المآدِبْ

    For it is the path that is

    straight, and studying it is the finest of banquets.

  35. والنحوَ لا تُهْمِلْهُ فهْ

    وَ أساسُ كل بيانِ كاتبْ

    And do not neglect grammar, for

    it is the foundation of every writer's clear expression.