شُغِلنا بِكَسبِ العِلمِ عَن مَكسَبِ الغِنى

شُغِلنا بِكَسبِ العِلمِ عَن مَكسَبِ الغِنى

كَشُغلِهِمُ عَن مَكسَبِ العِلمِ بِالوَفرِ

كَشُغلِهِمُ عَن مَكسَبِ العِلمِ بِالوَفرِ

Our pursuit of knowledge distracted us from acquiring wealth,

Just as their pursuit of abundance distracted them from acquiring knowledge.

فَصارَ لَهُم حَظٌّ مِنَ الجَهلِ وَالغِنى

فَصارَ لَهُم حَظٌّ مِنَ الجَهلِ وَالغِنى

وَصارَ لَنا حَظٌّ مِنَ العِلمِ وَالفَقرِ

وَصارَ لَنا حَظٌّ مِنَ العِلمِ وَالفَقرِ

Thus they came to have their share of ignorance and wealth,

While we came to have our share of knowledge and poverty.