إِذا اِجتَمَعَ الآفاتُ فَالبُخلُ شَرّها

وَشَرٌّ مِنَ البُخلِ المَواعيدِ وَالمَطلُ

When misfortunes gather, stinginess is the worst

If all vices were to gather, miserliness would be the worst of them,

And worse than stinginess are false promises and procrastination

And worse than miserliness are promises followed by delay.

وَلا خَيرَ في وَعدٍ إِذا كانَ كاذِباً

وَلا خَيرَ في قَولٍ إِذا لَم يَكُن فِعلُ

No good comes from a promise that is a lie

There is no good in a promise if it proves to be a lie,

No good comes from words not followed by action

And there is no good in speech if there is no action.

إِذا كُنتَ ذا عِلمٍ وَلَم تَكُ عاقِلاً

فَأَنتَ كَذي نَعلٍ وَلَيسَ لَهُ رِجلُ

If you have knowledge but lack wisdom

If you possess knowledge but lack sound reason,

You are like a sandal with no foot

Then you are like one who has a sandal but no foot.

وَإِن كُنتَ ذا عَقلٍ وَلَم تَكُ عالِماً

فَأَنتَ كَذي رِجلٍ وَلَيسَ لَهُ نَعلُ

And if you have wisdom but lack knowledge

And if you possess reason but lack knowledge,

You are like a foot with no sandal

Then you are like one who has a foot but no sandal.

ألا إِنَّما الإِنسانُ غِمدٌ لِعَقلِهِ

وَلا خَيرَ في غِمدٍ إِذا لَم يَكُن نَصلُ

Know that man is but a sheath for his intellect

Truly, a human being is merely a sheath for his intellect,

Of no use is a sheath without a blade

And there is no worth in a sheath if it holds no blade.