فَوارِسُ الدَهرِ جاءَت تَسبِقُ النُذُرا
كَأَنَّما هِيَ خَيلٌ تَنفُضُ العُذُرا
The horsemen of Time have come, outrunning every warning,
as though they were horses shaking off their bridles.
فَاِجعَل شِعارَكَ حَمدَ اللَهِ تَذكُرُهُ
في كُلِّ دَهرِكَ وَاِستَشعِر بِهِ حَذَرا
So make the praise of God your innermost garb, remembering Him
throughout your life, and clothe yourself through it in vigilance.
وَاِعذِر سِواكَ فَأَمّا النَفسُ أَن جُرَمَت
فَاِنقَم عَلَيها وَلا تَقبَل لَها عُذُرا
Pardon everyone but yourself; if the soul does wrong,
punish it, and accept no excuse on its behalf.
وَكَثرَةُ القَولِ دَلَّت أَنَّ صاحِبَها
أَلغى وَبَذَّر فَاِهجُر وَاِتَّقِ البُذُرا
A profusion of words reveals that the one who speaks them
talks vainly and squanders words; shun him, and beware such squanderers.
فَإِنَّ في الطَيرِ ذا ريشٍ بِهِ ضَرَعٌ
إِذا أَفاقَ أَطالَ النَطقَ وَالهَذَرا
For among the birds is a feathered creature beset by weakness:
when it recovers, it spins out speech and idle chatter.
Sol 5.6