أماناً لقلبٍ طال فيه اعتناؤهُ

وتبّاً لعقلٍ زال عنه اتقاؤهُ

Safety to a heart where care for it grew long

And woe to a mind where consciousness of God withdrew

ورعياً لمرءٍ ظن دنياه إنَّها

منكَّرَةٌ والنقصُ فيها جزاؤه

And piety to a man who thought the world is

Abhorrent while the flaw is his reward in it

فإن سمحت يوماً بنعمة مُفرطٍ

فكان كما نَسْخَ الصباحَ مساؤه

So if one day you freely let overflowing bounty in

It would be as the morning sun erased dusk

فلا خير في حظٍّ يكون مؤجَّلاً

كتأجيل عُمرٍ آن منه انقضاؤه

No good in a lot that comes late

Like life delayed when its end has arrived

ذرِ الدهرَ لا تحفل به فهو ماكرٌ

ولن يخدع الإنسان إلّا صداؤه

Leave time be, pay it no heed, for it is cunning

And it will only fool man through its echo

ولا تعمُرَنْ في الدهر داراً فإنها

عفاءٌ وهل ميتٌ يرجَّى شفاؤه

Do not build in this life a house, for it

Is ruins and does a dead hope for healing?

وزحزحَ جِرمَ القلب عن شمس إفكها

فمركزُها دوماً يحولُ لواؤه

Remove the sin of your heart from the sun of slander

For its orbit is always turning awry

كفى حشدُك الأموالَ إن طريفَها

وتالدَها يغدو ويفنى بقاؤه

It suffices you hoarding wealth for its insignificance

And multiplying it comes and goes in existence

وأصغ لما أبديه عقلاً وناظراً

ووَجِّهْ سماعاً لا يضيق وِعاؤه

And listen to what I say in reason and reflection

And lend an ear that does not lack room for it

ونُط نفثاتِ الدرّ في جيد حازمٍ

وناهيك من درٍّ يزين حِلاؤه

Chewing the beads of wisdom in the necklace of resolve

While nothing graces pearls like their shine

فمن كان معواناً على الدهر إنه

أخو ثقةٍ والحرُّ يزهو بَهاؤه

For he who can defeat time, he is the brother

Of confidence, and the free soul prides in its splendor

ومن يك جوَّاداً بكل نفسيةٍ

سوى العرض لا يخشى الإلهَ لقاؤه

He who is generous with every breath

Except honor, he needn't fear meeting his God

ومن يك ذا سلمٍ يعشْ وهو سالمٌ

من الدهر إن الدهر يكدُرُ ماؤه

He who lives safely with peace of mind

From time, for time muddies its water

ومن يك ذا عقلٍ رصينٍ فإنه

عن البؤس في حصن مكينٍ علاؤه

And he who has sane, solid reason, he is

Safe from misery in an impregnable fortress exalted

ومن يك طمّاحاً إلى الفحش طرفه

يُغَضَّ على شوكٍ أليمٍ قَذاؤه

And he who aspires to vileness, his glance

Is averted to thorny, painful firewood

ومن يختلط بالناس يشمله بؤسُهم

كما يهلك اليعقوبَ يوماً مُكاؤه

And he who mingles with people is afflicted by their woe

As Jacob was destroyed one day by his mourning

ومن يأمن الأشرار يوماً فإنه

يبيت له قلبٌ تُشَبُّ لَظاؤه

And he who trusts the wicked one day, indeed

He wakes to a heart seared by its harshness

وكن طَلِقاً فالبِشرُ في الوجه يا أخي

دليلٌ كما قد دل عنه جفاؤه

And be gentle, for a smile on the face, my brother,

Signals, just as its absence signals his coldness

ولا تعجلن فيما تروم صنيعَه

وسر في طريق شفَّ فيه صفاؤه

And do not hasten what you wish to accomplish

And walk the path of lucid, pure clarity

ولا تغترر بالحظِّ عند وروده

فكم غادرٍ وافى يهُبُّّ رخاؤه

And do not be fooled by fortune in its approach

For many a deserter came to rest at ease

وقابل ببشر حين تلمحُ ناظراً

عدوَّك ذا وجهٍ يَهِلُّ ضياؤه

And meet with a smile when you glimpse an eye

Of your enemy, one whose brilliance withers

ومن يَسبُرِ الإخوان يلق أجلَّهم

خؤوناً وأي الناس بادٍ خفاؤه

And he who digs up the secrets of brethren meets their fate

Full of sorrow, and what people's hidden is lost?

وصن حُرَّ ماء الوجه منك صيانةً

فلا خير في وجهٍ يُرقرَقُ ماؤه

Protect the free water of your face from you

For no good in a face dirtied in its water

ومُدَّ لبذل الجود كفّاً ومعصماً

وحسبُك جودٌ لاح منك ذكاؤه

And extend to generosity a palm and forearm

And suffice you a generosity whose brilliance shone from you

فلا البَسطُ مفنيه ولا القبض جامعٌ

لأشتاته والمالُ شينٌ ثواؤه

For neither ample giving is its loss

Nor hoarding its collection, and wealth, miserable is its accumulation

وإن بني الدنيا تميل لموسرٍ

وتعرضُ عن خلٍّ أُذيعَ شقاؤه

And the sons of the world incline toward the wealthy

And turn away from bare sir whose misery spread

فسَحبانُها في العسر باقلُ عصرِه

وباقِلُها في اليسر بادٍ رُواؤه

For its clouds in hardship are at their driest

And its driest in luxury, lost is their watering

ولا تنظمِ الأسرارَ في غير سلكها

ونُطها بشخصٍ جل فيه ذَكاؤه

And do not string secrets on any thread but their own

And their pearls to a person of abundant wisdom confide

وإن كان نوع الخلق في الخلق واحداً

فإن ذكي العقل عَسْرٌ لقاؤه

And though the type of people in people is one

The wise of mind are hard, difficult to meet

فما كل برقٍ لاحَ بالغيث هاملٌ

ولا كل ماءٍ راق منه صفاؤه

For not every lightning that flashes brings rain looming

Nor every clear water flowing in it purity blooming

ولا تخدشنَّّ البرَّ منك بمطله

فكم ماطلٍ قد عيبَ منه نَداؤه

And do not blemish benevolence by delaying it

For many who procrastinate, their call is flawed

ولا تستشر في الخطب إلّا مهذَّباً

خبيراً بما يقضيه يَقْظاً حِجاؤه

And do not seek counsel in grave matters except from one refined,

Experienced, awake and judicious is his argument

وإرْضَ بنزر العيش واقنع ببَرْضِه

فكم نَهِمٍ قد أهلكته مِعاؤه

And be content with a meager living and pleased with its breadth

For many a coveter, his greed destroyed him

ولا ترض يا هذا بجهلٍ يحطُّه

أخو الرأي عن قدرٍ رفيعٍ ذُراؤه

And do not, my lad, accept ignorance that demeans him

The brother of opinion from a high worth makes him remote

وإن كنت مظلوماً فربك عادلٌ

وإن كنت ظلّاماً عليك بلاؤه

And if you are wronged, your Lord is just

And if you are the wronger, the test is yours

سرورك يا هذا بأنك مقلعٌ

عن الخطأ المذموم منك جَناؤه

Your delight, my friend, in abstaining

From the blameworthy mistake, your conscience calls you away

فنفس الفتى تزهو بتوبةِ ناصحٍ

متى شامها العقل استهلَّ بكاؤه

For the soul of a lad gloats in the repentance of one who advises

When the mind inhales it, sobbing ensues

ونهنهَ عنه عبءَ إثمٍ أقلَّهُ

لقد كان يوهيه أسىً إقواؤه

And deter him from the burden of sin, make it light

For it was ruining him, his regrets were profound

ويا لابساً بُرْدَ الشباب بزهوةٍ

فبُردُك يا هذا يَرِثُّ بهاؤه

O you who wears the fur coat of youth boastfully

Your coat, this will lose its splendor

عساك تُعبِّي في الشبيبة أنعماً

تقيك إذا ما العمر حان ذَواؤه

May you do favors in youth

That will protect you when the time of old age nears

فما عذرُ شيبٍ لاح في لمَّةِ الفتى

فحوَّلها بيضاً فملَّّ قِواؤه

For what excuse for white hair that creeps on a lad

And make it white, for its darkness fades away

وأرفع أعمال الفتى في حياته

أمانته والوُدُّ ثم رجاؤه

The best deeds of a lad in his life

Are his honesty and affection, then his hope

وكن ماسكاً في حبل دينِ ابن مريمٍ

ومذهبِه المرفوعِ يوماً لواؤه

And hold on to the religion of the son of Mary

And his lofty way, one day its banner will rise

وخذ بالذي أنشاه أنصارُهُ وما

أيِمَّتُهُ نصّوه لا خُصماؤه

And take what his supporters established

And when adversaries refuted them, his defenders rose

مقرّاً بأربعة المجامع أنها

محققةٌ والحق هم شهداؤه

Confessing the four schools of law are

Corrected, and the truth they witnessed

وثامنِها المنبثِّ في الأرض ذكرُه

فسَقياً لمرءٍ كان فيه اعتناؤه

And the eighth that spread through earth, his mention

Is water to a man who cared for it

أخي وابن عمي هاك مني نصيحةً

مهذبةً والنصح يعلو علاؤه

My brother and cousin, here is some advice from me

Polished, and advice is supreme in degrees

فما ضرها والإثم غلَّلَ ربَّها

إذاً لن يَعيبَ الدرَّ يوماً وِعاؤه

For it did not harm, though sin shackled its luck

If so, no flaw in a pearl will its oyster one day contain