إني موصيك فاحفظ عن أخي ثقة
راض الزمان وراضته تجاربه
I entrust you, so preserve the trust of my brother
Content with time and content with its trials
غضّ الزمان على عودي فقوّمَه
غضّ الثقاف ألان الحدّ جانبُه
Time has worn down my lute, so fix it
Wear down ambition, for excess is its flaw
صاحبت دهري بفكر ثاقب وعنى
راق إذا لسبت قلبي عقاربه
I have lived my days with penetrating thoughts and care
Pleasant when I examine its intricacies in my heart
كم مرّة رعت خوفا من مخالبه
وكم سطا فنكت قلبي مخالبه
How often did I graze in fear of its claws
And how often did it pounce and claw my heart
كأنني منه في بحر تلاطمني
أمواجه وتوافيني عجائبه
As if I am amidst its tumultuous sea
With waves crashing over me and wonders befalling me
ما تبتديني بإحسان مواهبه
إلا تلتها وبتنعيص نوائبه
It does not begin with kindness and its gifts
Except followed by adversity and misfortune
لكل أحواله عندي مغالبة
صبرا وللموت خطب لا أغالبه
For all its states, I have perseverance
With patience, though death's affairs I cannot overcome
فاقبل وصية من ناجاك عن فطن
ناجاه عن غيبها فكر يخاطبه
So accept the bequest of one who protected you from insight
Who protected you from its unseen with conversing thoughts
سلم إلى الدهر واسمح ما استطعت وكن
ممّن إذا سامه أمرا يقاربه
Make peace with fate and pardon what you can and be
Of those who when ordained accepts and accompanies
لا تبق يوما ليوم أنت خائفه
فكلّ يوم له رزق يصاحبه
Do not spend a day in fear of the next
For each day has provision that accompanies it
لا يدفع الفقر تقتير يواظبه
بل يكسف الفقر إقبال يشاغبه
Poverty is not averted with hoarding
Rather poverty is push away by forthcoming sustenance
إن الفقير إذا نالته موهبة
من يومه فله يوم يحاسبه
When the poor person gains a gift
He has a day that calls him to account
إن زيد بالأمس فضلا في معيشته
فاليوم يسلبه ما الأمس واهبه
If yesterday Zayd had extra livelihood
Today it is stripped of what yesterday provided
كن كيسا فطنا جزلا تجد وزر
فالكيّسُ النحد قد تصفو مشاربه
Be wise, perceptive and solemn, you will find resolve
The wise composed person's endeavors are pure
إن فاته المال فالتدبير صاحبه
والعقل كاتبه والحلم حاجبه
If wealth escapes him, ingenuity is his companion
Intellect his writer, and forbearance his chamberlain
لا يؤيسنّك لفظ من أخي ملق
أرضاك حاضره وازور غائبه
Do not be disheartened by the words of my slippery tongue
That pleased you when present, and was fickle when absent
فالسيف في غمده كفت مكارهه
وحدذه فيه إن غابت مضاربُه
The sword in its sheath curbed its harm
And its sharpness in it if its striking was absent
ألن جناحا وكن كالأفعون إذا
لأنت ملامسه أردت عواقبه
Be gentle and be like the snake when
You touch it and it intends the consequences
ألق العدو بوجه ضاحك وأقم
في القلب منك له جيشا يحاربه
Meet the enemy with a smiling face and harbor
In your heart an army to battle him
حتى إذا ظفرت يوما يداك به
فابعث عليه حنى سوط يعاقبه
Until one day your hands triumph over him
Then unleash a supple whip to punish him
ادفع عليه حدارا أو أذقه ردى
مكر تقوم له فيه نوادبه
Inflict deception or make him taste rejection
A plot to establish against him discipline
سالم أخا السلم واغفر للصديق وكن
ممّن إذا عدّ لم تذكر معايبه
Greet a brother with peace and forgive a friend and be
One who when counts does not mention faults
دع المطامع إن لاحت كواذبها
تعش عزيزا فشر الفكر كاذبه
Leave ambitions if their lies allure you
You will live honorable, for the thought is lying
لا تكشفنّ سفيها عن مقاولة
وكن وقورا فخير الدر راسبه
Do not expose foolishly a discourse
And be dignified, for the best pearls are formed in darkness
إن السفية كحش غاب أنته
إن أنت حرّكته هاجت غوائبُه
Folly is a wild forest, you are its prey
If you disturb it, its calamities will be roused
اجعل شعارك سوء الظن تنح به
من كان مستيقظا قلت مصائبه
Make your motto bad expectations, veer with it
From one who is vigilant, his afflictions are few
لا تشرهنّ فكم من أكلة قتلت
فالطير في الجو ترديه مناصبه
Do not be deceived, for how many a food killed
The birds in the air that hunt it
والحوت يخرجها الصياد عن شره
فيها عن البحر في شص يحاذبه
And the whale leaves it for its evil
In the sea stranded in a crevice contending it
وكن جوادا فإن فاتتك مكرمة
عن عسرة في معاش شط غاربه
And be generous, for if generosity escapes you
In hardship, in a life of aridity and ebb
وخالق الناس خلقا يحمدوك به
فالبشر نائل من قلت مواهبه
And the Creator created people with praise for you
So humankind attains when your gifts are few
لا تحتقر أحدا غالته نائبة
من دهره فتأبته مكاسبه
Do not scorn anyone whom misfortune has reduced
His livelihood, so you deny him prospects
فربما دالت الدنيا له فغدا
بعد الوضاعة قد زادت مراتبه
Perhaps fate will favor him and tomorrow
After adversity, his stations are raised
كم عاجز جاءه مالا يؤمّله
وكيس فطن سدّت مذاهبه
How many helpless gained unexpected wealth
And how many shrewd and wise had prospects blocked
