وَكاتِبٍ ما عِندَهُ أَنَّهُ

يَنفَعُهُ الشُكرُ عَلى النَقعِ

A writer who thinks not

That gratitude for a favor is gain;

جَميعُ ما يَفعَلُهُ كُلفَةٌ

إِلّا أَذاهُ فَهوَ بِالطَبعِ

All he does seems a burden to him,

Save the hurt he can give, which is plain.

قَد نَصَبَ البُخلُ لَهُ قِبلَةً

يَقرأُ فيها سورَةَ المَنعِ

Misers make greed their qibla and creed,

Reciting in it the chapter "Refrain".

مَن حَلَّ مِنّا بِفَناءٍ لَهُ

حَلَّ بِوادٍ غَيرَ ذي زَرعِ

Whoever takes lodging with us in our abode

Might as well lodge in a barren terrain.