عَلَيكَ بِفِعلِ الخَيرِ لَولَم يَكُن لَهُ

مِنَ الفَضلِ إِلّا حُسنُهُ في المَسامِعِ

Do good even if its merit is but the fair impression it leaves on listening ears.

I swear by your life, neither ascetics of sure faith nor monastery recluses are as virtuous.

لَعَمرُكَ ما في عالَمِ الأَرضِ زاهِدٌ

يَقيناً وَلا الرُهبانُ أَهلُ الصَوامِعِ

And I see the princes of men seize to do their worst when they snatch like flashes of lightning.

In every land there is a ruler, either righteous or an oppressor courting the lowest greed,

وَأَرى أُمَراءَ الناسِ يُمسونَ شَرَّهُم

إِذا خَطَفوا خَطفَ البُزاةِ اللَوامِعِ

Who does wrong and denies the kingdom to its rightful owner, so eyes brimming with tears are spilled,

And around him are men whose faces are like an array that harsh torrents have not softened,

وَفي كُلِّ مِصرٍ حاكِمٌ فَمُوَفَّقٌ

وَطاغٍ يُحابي في أَخَسِّ المَطامِعِ

Upright, for whom wronging the weak is nature, who call the commoners of villages and mosques bedouins,

يَجورُ فَيَنفي المُلكَ عَن مُستَحَقِّهِ

فَتَسكُبُ أَسرابُ العُيونِ الدَوامِعِ

وَمِن حَولِهِ قَومٌ كَأَنَّ وُجوهَهُم

صَفّاً لَم يُلَيِّن بِالغُيوثِ الهَوامِعِ

عَدولٌ لَهُم ظُلمُ الضَعيفِ سَجيَّةٌ

يُسَمَّونَ أَعرابَ القُرى وَالجَوامِعِ