أَبْنَاءُ فَاسٍ مَنْ يُفَارِقُهُمْ

يُبْقِي عَلَيْهِ السِّتْرَخَالِقُهُمْ

The sons of Fez, forsaking them

The sons of Fes, whoever parts ways with them,

Upon their creator remains their veil

His Creator will maintain a veil of protection over him.

أَبْنَاءَ فَاسٍ فَارِقُوا فَهُمُ

يَسْعَدُ عِنْدِي مَنْ يُفَارِقُهُمْ

The sons of Fez, forsake them thus they

Part ways with the sons of Fes, for indeed,

Prosper, those who forsake them

In my eyes, he who leaves them finds true joy.

تُدَنِّسُ الأَعْرَاضَ خُلْطَتُهُمْ

وَتَكْلَمُ الدِّينَ مَرَافِقُهُمْ

Their mingling defiles dignity

Mingling with them defiles one's honor,

And talking ruins the faith, their company

And their companionship leaves wounds upon faith.

يُبْدُونَ تَرْحِيباً وَمَا اشْتَمَلَتْ

إِلاَّ عَلَى الشَّرِّ مَفَارِقُهُمْ

They show welcome, though it contains naught

They feign a warm welcome, yet nothing is contained

But evil, those who accompany them

Within their heads but absolute malice.

ظَاهِرُهُمْ أَرْيٌ صَفَا وَحَلاَ

وَالشَّرْيُ مَا يَشْتَارُ ذَائِقُهُمْ

Their facade is honest and pure

Their outward face is clear and sweet honey,

Yet evil is what their taster desires

Yet bitter colocynth is what their taster truly gathers.

لَيْسَ لَهُمْ إِلاَّ النِّفَاقُ حُلىً

وَالْخَبُّ سِيمَا مَنْ يُرَافِقُهُمْ

They have nothing but hypocrisy as sweetmeat

They possess no adornment except hypocrisy,

And wickedness is the mark of those who accompany them

And deceit is the mark of all who join them.

رَائِدُهُمْ كَيْدٌ وَصَاحِبُهُمْ

خَبٌّ وَمَحْضُ الْمَكْرِ سَائِقُهُمْ

Their guide is cunning, and their friend

Their scout is cunning, their companion

Is wickedness, and pure deceit leads them

Is a fraud, and pure deception drives them on.

لِذَاكَ لاَ يَسْلَمُ صَاحِبُهُمْ

إِلاَّ إِذَا كَانَ يُنَافِقُهُمْ

Thus, none who accompany them are safe

For this reason, their companion is never safe,

Unless they pretend to agree with them

Unless he meets them with equal hypocrisy.

وَفِي النِّفَاقِ الْخُبْثُ مُدَّغَمٌ

يُورِثُ ذُلاًّ مَنْ يُخَالِقُهُمْ

And in such pretense, evil is sealed

Yet wickedness is deeply embedded in hypocrisy,

Bringing disgrace to those who befriend them

Bringing disgrace upon whoever humors them.

فَالْحَزْمُ عِنْدِي أَنْ أُنَابِذَهُمْ

وَلاَ أُرَى الدَّهْرَ أُصَادِقُهُمْ

My wisdom is to turn away from them

Thus, true prudence to me is to cast them aside,

And not to see this life befriending them

And never in my lifetime be seen as their friend,

وَأَبْذُلَ النُّصْحَ لِكُلِّ فَتىً

غِرّاً نَبَتْ عَنْهُ حَقَائِقُهُمْ

I give advice to every naive lad

And to offer sincere counsel to every young man,

Whose truths sprouted far from theirs

A naive soul from whom their true nature is hidden,

كَيْ لاَ يُرَى يَوْماً لِغِرَّتِهِ

تَخْدَعُهُ مَكْراً بَوَارِقُهُمْ

So that his naivete one day does not

Lest he be seen one day, due to his innocence,

Allow their cunning to trick him

Deceived by the false lightning of their trickery.

وَأُرْشِدَ السَّاهِي خِيفَةَ أَنْ

تَطْرُقَهُ يَوْماً طَوَارِقُهُمْ

And I guide the heedless lest one day

And I guide the unaware, out of fear that

Their plots should strike him

Their sudden calamities might strike him in the night.

فِي مِحَنٍ جَلَّتْ وَفِي تَعَبٍ

مَنْ كَانَ تَغْوِيهِ مَخَارِقُهُمْ

Into ordeals fell, and exhaustion

Mired in grave ordeals and deep weariness is

Those their parting made stray

The one who lets their fabrications lead him astray.

وَعَنْ سَبِيلِ الرُّشْدِ مُنْتَبَذٌ

مَنْ لَمْ تَضِقْ عَنْهُ طَرَائِقُهُمْ

And from the path of righteousness outcast

And cast far away from the path of right guidance is

Those whose ways would not constrict them

He who does not find their ways intolerable.

وَفِي يَدِ الأَحْزَانِ مُرْتَهَنٌ

شَخْصٌ تُغَادِيهِ بَوَائِقُهُمْ

And hostage to sorrows, a person

And held hostage in the grip of sorrows is

Whose salvation their separation grants him

The person greeted each dawn by their disasters.