فَلَو كانَتِ الدُنيا تُنالُ بِفِطنَةٍ

وَفَضلٍ وَعَقَلٍ نِلتُ أَعلى المَراتِبِ

Were this world attained by wisdom and merit, I would sit enthroned on high;

If the world were obtained through acumen,

But in this lottery of life, we draw our lots as Heav'n may decide.

And merit and intellect, I would have attained the highest ranks;

وَلَكِنَّما الأَرزاقُ حَظٌّ وَقِسمَةٌ

بَفَضلِ مَليكٍ لا بِحيلَةِ طالِبِ

Not wisdom, wit or intellect confers this world's prosperity,

But livelihoods are merely luck and destiny,

But only destiny, bestowed through grace of God, the Most High.

By the grace of the King, not by the device of a seeker.