تَرى الرَجُلَ النَحيفَ فَتَزدَريهِ

وَفي أَثوابِهِ أَسَدٌ مُزيرُ

You see the slender man so you spurn him,

Yet in his clothes a fierce lion lurks.

وَيُعجِبُكَ الطَريرُ فَتَبتَليهِ

فَيُخلِفُ ظّنَّكَ الرَجُلُ الطَريرُ

The squawker pleases you, so you test him,

But he disappoints, that squawking man.

فَما عِظَمُ الرِجالِ لَهُم بِفَخرٍ

وَلَكِن فَخرُهُم كَرَمٌ وَخَيرُ

A man's greatness is not in boasting -

Rather, greatness is in kindness and good.

بُغاثُ الطَيرِ أَكثَرُها فِراخاً

وَاُمُّ الصَقرِ مِقلاةٌ نَزورُ

The warbler has the most chicks,

While the falcon's mother is meager prey.

ضِعافُ الطَيرِ أَطوَلُها جُسوماً

وَلَم تَطُلِ البُزاةُ وَلا الصُقورُ

Among birds, the weakest fly the highest,

Yet kites and falcons never fly that long.

ضِعافُ الأُسدِ أَكثرُها زَئيراً

وَأَصرَمُها اللَواتي لا تَزيرُ

Among lions, the weakest are loudest roaring,

While those who never roar do the most tearing.

لَقَد عَظُمَ البَعيرُ بِغَيرِ لُبِّ

فَلَم يَستَغنِ بِالعِظَمِ البَعيرُ

The camel grew great without a hump,

So the hump did not empower the camel.

يُصَرِّفُهُ الصَبيُّ بِكُلِّ وَجهٍ

وَيَحبِسُهُ عَلى الخَسفِ الجَريرُ

The boy turns the camel every which way,

While the pitiless driver has him trot.

وَتَضرِبُهُ الَوليدَةُ بِالهَراوى

فَلا غِيَرٌ لَدَيهِ وَلا نَكيرُ

The baby strikes him with a stick -

He has no recourse but to bear it.

فَإِن أَكُ في شِرارِكُمُ قَليلاً

فَإِنّي في خِيارِكُمُ كَثيرُ

So if I am among the worst of you a little,

I am also among the best of you a lot.