أَقلّي عَليَّ اللَومَ يا أُمَّ مالِك

فَلَم يُؤتَ من حرص عَلى المال طالِبُه

Ease your blame upon me, O Umm Malik,

For wealth is not granted to the seeker simply for his greed.

فَواللَهِ ما قصّرتُ في وَجه مطلب

أَرى أَنَّ فيهِ مَطلباً فأُطالِبُه

By God, I have never fallen short in any worthy pursuit,

Wherein I saw a rightful goal to seek.

وَلَكِن لِهَذا الرِزقَ وَقتٌ مُوقتٌ

يقسّمه بَينَ البَريَّةِ واهبه

Yet for this sustenance, there is an appointed time,

Its Bestower divides it among all creation.

وأسهرني طول التفكّر أَنَّني

عَجِبتُ لأمر ما تُقضّى عَجائِبُه

Long contemplation has kept me sleepless, for I

Have marveled at a world whose wonders never cease.

أَرى فاجِراً يُعى جَليداً لظلمه

وَلَو كُلّف التَقوى لكلّت مَضاربه

I see a scoundrel deemed strong because of his tyranny,

Yet were he tasked with piety, his sword would be dull.

وَعفّا يُسمّى عاجِزاً لِعفافه

وَلَولا التَقى ما أَعجزته مَذاهِبُه

And a virtuous man called weak because of his restraint,

Though were it not for piety, his path would not be blocked.

وَأَحمقَ مَصنوعاً له في أُموره

يُسوِّده إِخوانه وَأَقاربه

And I see a fool, favored by fortune in all his affairs,

Whom his brethren and kinfolk elevate as chief.

عَلى خَير حزم في الأُمور وَلا تقىً

وَلا نائلٍ جزل تُعدّ مَواهبه

With neither prudence in matters nor piety to his name,

Nor generous gifts that are worthy of account.

فَلَيسَ لعجز المرء أَخطأه الغِنى

وَلا باحتيالٍ أدرك المالَ كاسبه

So it is not through weakness that wealth eludes a man,

Nor by cunning does the earner grasp his gold.

وَلَكِنَّه قبضُ الإِله وَبسطه

فمن ذا يُجاريه ومن ذا يُغالبه

Rather, it is the withholding and bestowing of God;

So who can challenge Him, and who can overrule Him?

هَل الدهر إِلّا صَرفُه وَنَوائِبُه

وَسرّاءُ عيش زائِلٍ وَمَصائِبُه

Is Time anything but its vicissitudes and calamities,

And the joys of a fleeting life mixed with its disasters?

يَقول الفَتى ثَمّرتُ مالي وَإِنَّما

لِوارثه ما ثمّر المالَ كاسبه

The young man says, "I have grown my wealth," but in truth,

The earner has but grown it for his heir.

يُحاسِب فيهِ نفسه عَن حَياتِهِ

وَيتركه نَهباً لمن لا يُحاسِبه

He burdens his soul accounting for it during his life,

Then leaves it as plunder for one who bore no such burden.

فكِلهُ وَأَطعِمه وَخالسه وارِثاً

شَحيحاً وَدَهراً تَعتَريكَ نَوائبه

So consume it, give it freely, and snatch it from a greedy heir,

Before stinginess prevails or Time's calamities afflict you.

أَرى المال وَالإِنسان للدهر نهبةً

فَلا البخل مبقيهِ وَلا الجود خاربه

I see that wealth and man are but plunder for Time;

Miserliness preserves neither, nor does generosity destroy.

لكل امرىء رزق وَللرزق جالِبٌ

وَلَيسَ يَفوت المَرءَ ما خَطّ كاتبه

For every man is a sustenance, and that sustenance has a Bringer;

And what his Scribe has written shall never pass him by.

يَخيبُ الفَتى من حَيثُ يَرزق غيره

وَيُعطى الفَتى من حَيثُ يحرم صاحبه

A man may fail in the very place another finds fortune,

And be gifted from the very source his companion is denied.

يُساق إِلى ذا رِزقة وَهوَ وادِع

وَيُحرم هَذا الرِزقَ وَهوَ يُغالِبه

Sustenance is driven to one while he rests at ease,

While another is denied though he strives for it bitterly.

وَإِنَّكَ لا تَدري أَرزقُك في الَّذي

تُطالِبه أَم في الَّذي لا تُطالِبُه

And you know not whether your provision lies in that which

You actively pursue, or in that which you do not seek.

تناسَ ذنوبَ الأَقرَبين فانّه

لِكُلِّ حَميم راكِب هوَ راكبه

Overlook the faults of your kin, for indeed,

Every close companion travels a path of his own nature.

لَهُ هَفواتٌ في الرَخاءِ يشوبها

بنصرة يوم لا توارى كَواكبه

He has slips in times of ease, yet redeems them

With aid on a perilous day when the stars are unveiled.

تَراهُ غُدوّاً ما أَمنت وَتَتّقي

بِجَبهَتِهِ يوم الوَغى مَن يُحارِبه

You may view him with caution when all is safe,

But shield yourself with his brow against the enemy in war.

لِكُلِّ امرىء إِخوانُ بؤسٍ وَنعمة

وَأعظمهم في النائِبات أَقاربه

Every man has brethren for misery and for blessing,

But the greatest support in calamities are his kin.

وَإِنّي لأرثي لِلكَريم إِذا غَدا

عَلى طمع عندَ اللَئيم يُطالِبُه

Truly, I pity the noble soul when he is forced

To seek out the base man, asking for his due.

وَأُرثي لَهُ مِن وَقفة عِندَ بابه

كمرثيتي للطِرف وَالعلجُ راكبه

I pity him for the shame of standing at that door,

Just as I pity a thoroughbred steed ridden by a lout.