لا تَطلُبَنَّ مَعيشَةً بِمَذَلَّةٍ

وَاِرفَع بِنَفسِكَ عَن دَنِيِّ المَطلَبِ

Do not seek a livelihood through humiliation,

Do not ever seek a livelihood through humiliation,

And raise yourself above the lowness of the seek.

And raise your soul above base pursuits.

وِإِذا اِفتَقَرتَ فَداوِ فَقرَكَ بِالغِنى

عَن كُلِّ ذي دَنَسٍ كَجِلدِ الأَجرَبِ

And when you are poor, cure your poverty through riches

If you face poverty, cure your want with self-sufficiency

Far from all that is unclean as a leper’s rags.

From every tainted soul, avoided like mangy skin.

فَليَرجِعَنَّ إِلَيكَ رِزقُكَ كُلُّهُ

لَو كانَ أَبعَدَ مِن مَحَلِّ الكَوكَبِ

So all your daily bread will come back to you,

For your destined sustenance shall surely come to you,

Though it were farther than the place of stars.

Even were it further than the abode of the stars.