جَعَلتُ عُبَيداً دونَ ما أَنا خائِفٌ

وَصَيَّرتُهُ بَيني وَبَينَ يَدِ الدَهرِ

I have made servants other than what I fear

I made Ubayd a shield against all that I fear,

And I have made him between me and the hands of fate

And placed him between myself and the hand of Fate.

أَشارَ إِلَيهِ الناسُ مِن كُلِّ جانِبٍ

وَقالوا أَبو عَمروٍ لَها وَأَبو عَمروِ

People pointed to him from every side

The people pointed to him from every side,

And said, there goes Abu Amr, yes Abu Amr

Saying, "Abu Amr is the man for it, truly Abu Amr!"

فَتاً لا يُحِبُّ الكَسبَ إِلّا أَحَلَّهُ

وَلا الكَنزَ إِلّا مِن ثَناءٍ وَمِن شُكرِ

A young man who loves no earning but what is lawful

A youth who loves no gain unless it is pure,

No treasure but from praise and gratitude

And stores no treasure save praise and gratitude.

عُيوفٌ لِأَخلاقِ اللِئامِ وَهَديِهِم

وَذو زَوَرٍ عَمّا يُقَرِّبُ مِن وِزرِ

Kind to the ethics of villains and their guidance

He disdains the nature of the base and their ways,

And showing falsehood about what brings him closer to sin

And turns aside from all that draws near to sin.

وَيَقصُرُ كَفُّ الدَهرِ عَمَّن أَجارَهُ

وَيَرعى مِنَ الآفاتِ مِن حَيثُ لا يَدري

And the hand of fate is too short for whoever it protects

The hand of Time falls short of those he shelters,

And it guards him from harms in ways he knows not

Guarding against calamities from whence they do not know.