تَغَيَّرَتِ المَوَدَّةُ وَالإِخاءُ

وَقَلَّ الصِدقُ وَاِنقَطَعَ الرَجاءُ

Affection and brotherhood have altered,

Honesty has grown scarce, and hope has been severed.

وأَسلَمَني الزَمانُ إِلى صَديقٍ

كَثيرِ الغَدرِ لَيسَ لَهُ رَعاءُ

Time has surrendered me to a companion

Abounding in treachery, with no regard for honor.

وَرُبَّ أَخٍ وَفَيتَ لَهُ بِحَقٍّ

وَلَكِن لا يُدومُ لَهُ وَفاءُ

How often have I fully fulfilled a brother's right,

Yet loyalty never endures on his part.

أَخِلّاءٌ إِذا اِستَغنَيتُ عَنهُم

وَأَعداءٌ إِذا نَزَلَ البَلاءُ

They are friends when I have no need of them,

But enemies when calamity descends.

يُديمونَ المَوَدَّةَ ما رَأوني

وَيَبقى الوُدُّ ما بَقِيَ اللِقاءُ

They feign affection as long as they see me,

And the love lasts only as long as the meeting.

وَإِن غُنّيتُ عَن أَحَدٍ قَلاني

وَعاقَبَني بِما فيهِ اِكتِفاءُ

If I can do without one of them, he loathes me,

And punishes me with ample severity.

سَيُغنيني الَّذي أَغناهُ عَنّي

فَلا فَقرٌ يَدومُ وَلا ثَراءُ

He who enriched him will surely enrich me,

For neither poverty lasts, nor wealth.

وَكُلُّ مَوَدَّةٍ لِلّهِ تَصفو

وَلا يَصفو مَعَ الفِسقِ الاِخاءُ

Every affection for the sake of God remains pure,

But brotherhood is never pure alongside vice.

وَكُلُّ جِراحَةٍ فَلَها دَواءٌ

وَسوءُ الخُلقِ لَيسَ لَهُ دَواءُ

For every physical wound there is a cure,

But a corrupt character has no remedy.

وَلَيسَ بِدائِمٍ أَبَداً نَعيمٌ

كَذاكَ البُؤسُ لَيسَ لَهُ بَقاءُ

Bliss is never everlasting,

Just as misery has no permanence.

إِذا أَنكَرتُ عَهداً مِن حَميمٍ

فَفي نَفسي التَكَرُّمُ وَالحَياءُ

If I encounter a broken bond from a close friend,

Within my soul reside dignity and modesty.

إِذا ما رَأسُ أَهلِ البَيتِ وَلّى

بَدا لَهُمُ مِنَ الناسِ الجَفاءُ

When the head of the household departs,

The harshness of people is revealed to them.