لا تَبخَلَنَّ بدنيا وَهيَ مُقبِلَةٌ

فَلَن يَنقِّصَها التَبذيرِ وَالسَرَفُ

Do not be stingy with the world while it is still before you

Do not be miserly with the world while it advances toward you,

Wasting and extravagance will not lessen it

For neither squandering nor extravagance will diminish it.

وَإِن تَوَلَّت فَأَحرى أَن تَجودَ بِها

فَالجُودُ فيها إِذا ما أَدبَرَت خَلَف

And if it turns away, it is more fitting that you be generous with it

And if it turns away, then it is even more fitting to give it freely,

For generosity in it, when it turns its back, leaves a legacy

For generosity is the true substitute when fortune retreats.