هُوَ البَرُّ في بَحرٍ وَإِن سَكَنَ البَرّا
إِذا هُوَ جاءَ الخَيرَ لَم يَعدَمِ الشَرّا
He is righteousness in a sea, even if the land is still,
When he brought good, he did not lack for evil.
وَهَل تَظفَرُ الدُنيا عَلَيَّ بِمِنَّةٍ
وَما ساءَ فيها النَفسَ أَضعافُ ما سَرّا
How could this world bestow a favor upon me
When my soul was saddened by it, evils multiplied over joys.
يُلاقي حَليفُ العَيشِ ما هُوَ كارِهٌ
وَلَو لَم يَكُن إِلّا الهَواجِرَ وَالقُرّا
The companion of life meets what he dislikes,
Even if it were only locusts and grit.
نَوائِبُ مِنها عَمَّتِ الكَهلَ وَالفَتى
وَطِفلَ الوَرى وَالشَيخَ وَالعَبدَ وَالحُرّا
Its reversals have encompassed the grown and the young,
The child of the land, the old man, the slave and the free man.
إِذا وُصِلَت بِالجِسمِ روحٌ فَإِنَّها
وَجُثمانُها تَصلى الشَدائِدَ وَالضَرّا
When a soul is joined to the body, it and
Its corpse suffer hardships and harm.
بَدا فَرَحٌ مِن مُعرِسٍ أَفَما دَرى
بِما اِختارَ مِن سوءِ الفِعالِ وَما جَرّا
Joy appeared from a wedding feast, but did he not know
What evil deeds he chose and what he dragged along?
سَعى آدَمٌ جَدُّ البَرِيَّةِ في أَذىً
لِذُرِّيَّةٍ في ظَهرِهِ تُشبِهُ الذَرّا
Father of mankind, Adam, strove to harm
Offspring that in his loins were like motes.
تَلا الناسُ في النَكراءِ نَهجَ أَبيهِمُ
وَغُرَّ بَنوهُ في الحَياةِ كَما غُرّا
People have followed the path of their father;
His sons were deluded in life as he was deluded.
يَقولُ الغُواةُ الخِضرُ حَيٌّ عَلَيهِمُ
عَفاءٌ نِعمَ لَيلٌ مِنَ الفِتَنِ اِخضَرّا
The ignorant say, "Khidhr lives," may well-being
Be upon them! A fine night of tribulations has become verdant!
وَلَو صَدَقوا ما اِنفَكَّ في شَرِّ حالَةٍ
يُعاني بِها الأَسفارَ أَشعَثَ مُغبَرّا
Had they told the truth, they would not have escaped from evil circumstances
In which they suffer travel, disheveled and covered in dust.
وَلَكِنَّ مَن أَعطاهُمُ الخَبَرَ اِفتَرى
وَأُلفِيَ مِثلَ السدِ أَجمَعَ وَاِفتَرّا
But he who told them the news was making it up,
And, like a dam, he gathered and fabricated it.
جَنى قائِلٌ بِالمَينِ يَطلُبُ ثَروَةً
وَيُعذَرُ فيهِ مَن تَكَذَّبَ مُضطَرّا
A speaker obtained wealth by lying;
One whose need drives him to it may be excused.
خُذا الآنَ فيما نَحنُ فيهِ وَخَلِّيا
غَداً فَهُوَ لَم يَقدُم وَأَمسِ فَقَد مَرّا
Take now to what we are in and leave
Tomorrow, for it has not come, and yesterday, for it has passed.
لِنَفسِيَ ما أَطعَمتُ لَم يَدرِ آكِلٌ
سِوايَ أَحُلواً جازَ في الفَمِ أَم مُرّا
None but I knows if what I have tasted
Was sweet or bitter when it passed my mouth.
وَمِن شِيَمِ الإِنسِ العُقوقُ وَجاهِلٌ
مُحاوِلُ بِرٍّ عِندَ مَن أَكَلَ البُرّا
It is the nature of man to be ungrateful, and an ignorant man
Attempts kindness with one who has eaten grit.
عَجِبتُ لِهَذي الشَمسِ يَمضي نَهارُنا
إِذا غَرَبَت حَتّى إِذا طَلَعَت كَرّا
I am amazed by this sun: our day passes,
When it sets, until it rises again.
لَها ناظِرٌ لَم يَدرِ ما سِنَةُ الكَرى
وَلا ذُرَّ مُذ قالَ المَليكُ لَهُ ذُرّا
It has a watcher who does not know how many times it has circled around,
Nor how many motes since the King said to it, "Circle!"
وَساعاتُنا كَالخَيلِ تَجري إِلى مَدىً
حَوالُكَ دُهماً لا مُحَجَّلَةً غُرّا
And our hours race on to an extent,
Your revolutions galloping, not equipped with housing.
نَعيمٌ طَما عِندَ اِمرِئٍ وَمُسَخَّرٌ
لَهُ بِمَجالِ الحوتِ يَلتَمِسُ الدُرّا
Pleasure belongs to someone, and made subservient
To him is the expanse of the whale, that he may seek pearls.
سِوايَ الَّذي أَرعى السَوامَ وَساقَهُ
وَبِالجَدِّ لا بِالسَعيِ أَحتَلِبُ الدَرّا
Except me, who herds the sheep and drives them
And, in earnest, not by effort, I milk the pearls.
وَمَن ذا الَّذي يَنضو لِباسَ بَقائِهِ
نَقِيَّ بَياضٍ لَم يُدَنِّس لَهُ زِرّا
And who is he who will put on the garment of his permanence,
Pure white, which no speck has soiled?
