وَمُحتَرِسٍ مِن نَفسِهِ خَوف ذِلَّةٍ

تَكونُ عَلَيهِ حُجَّةٌ هِيَ ماهِيَا

Cautious of himself, fearing disgrace

And there is one who guards himself for fear of abasement,

That would be proof against him, destroying him.

Lest a judgment fall upon him—and weighty indeed is that judgment.

فَقَلَّصَ بَردَيهِ وَأَفضى بِقلبِهِ

إِلى البِرِّ وَالتَقوى فَنالَ الأَمانيا

So he drew in his cloak and opened his heart

So he gathered his robes, holding aloof, and surrendered his heart

To righteousness and piety, attaining his wishes.

To righteousness and piety, and thus attained his aspirations.

وَجانِبَ أَسبابَ السَفاهَةِ وَالخَنا

عَفافاً وَتَنزيهاً فَأَصبِح عاليا

He avoided the causes of frivolity and impudence

He shunned the causes of foolishness and obscenity

With chastity and probity, and so became exalted.

Out of virtue and integrity, rising to a lofty station.

وَصانَ عِن الفَحشاءِ نَفساً كَريمَةً

أَبَت هِمَّةً إِلا العُلى وَالمَعالِيَا

He guarded a noble soul from indecency

He preserved a noble soul from indecency,

That refused any goal but the highest and loftiest.

A soul that refused, in its ambition, anything but glory and the heights.

تَراهُ إِذا ما طاشَ ذو الجَهلِ وَالصِبى

حَليماً وَقوراً صائِنَ النَفسِ هاديا

You see him, when the ignorant and foolish act wildly,

You see him, when the ignorant and the youthful act rashly,

Calm, dignified, protecting himself, providing guidance.

Forbearing, dignified, composed of soul, and calm.

لَهُ حِلمُ كَهلٍ في صَرامَةِ حازِمٍ

وَفي العَينِ إِن أَبصَرَت أَبصَرَت ساهيا

He has the patience of an old man in the firmness of a resolute man,

He possesses the wisdom of the mature within the resolve of the decisive,

And if his eye sees, it sees calmly.

And to the eye, should it gaze upon him, he appears unassuming.

يَروقُ صَفاءَ الماءِ مِنهُ بِوَجهِهِ

فَأَصبَحَ مِنهُ الماءُ في الوَجهِ صافيا

The clarity of water becomes clearer from his face,

The clarity of water shines pleasingly from his face,

So the water became pure in his face.

For the water of dignity upon his countenance is pure.

وَمِن فَضلِهِ يَرعى ذِماماً لِجارِهِ

وَيَحفَظُ مِنهُ العَهدَ إِذ ظَلَّ راعيا

From his excellence, he tends the reins of his neighbor

And of his virtue, he honors the rights of his neighbor,

And keeps his covenant with him while he remains a shepherd.

And preserves the bond with him, remaining ever a guardian.

صَبوراً عَلى صَرفِ اللَيالي وَرُزئِها

كَتوماً لِأَسرارِ الضَميرِ مُداريا

Patient with the passage of nights and their adversity,

Patient against the vicissitudes of time and its calamities,

Concealing the secrets of his conscience, conducting himself virtuously.

Burier of the heart's secrets, treating others with tact.

لَهُ هِمَّةٌ تَعلو عَلى كُلِّ هِمَّةٍ

كَما قَد عَلا البَدرَ النُجومُ الدَراريا

He has an ambition that rises above any ambition

He possesses an ambition that towers over every other ambition,

As the full moon rose above the twinkling stars.

Just as the glittering stars rise above the full moon.