أُفٍّ لها دُنْيا فلا تستِقرّْ

وعيشُها بالطبعِ مُرٌّ كَدِرْ

Fie upon this world—it never stays at rest!

Life in it is bitter and turbid by nature.

جميلةُ المنظرِ لكنّها

أقبحُ شيءٍ عند مَنْ يختبِر

Beautiful in appearance to one who has never tried it,

yet the ugliest thing to one who puts it to the test.

قد وَحِل العالم في سجنها

فكل جنسٍ تحت بؤس وضُرّ

The whole world is mired within its prison,

every kind beneath misery and harm.

فقيرُها يطلب نيلَ الغِنى

وذو الغِنى يجمعُ كيْ يَدَّخِر

Its poor seek to attain wealth,

while its wealthy gather riches to hoard.

فذاك للإملاقِ في حسرةٍ

وذاك خوفَ الفقرِ تحت الحَذر

The former grieves over destitution;

the latter, fearing poverty, remains on guard.

والزاهد العابدُ في كُلْفةٍ

من شَعَث الصومِ وطولِ السَّهَر

The ascetic worshiper is in hardship,

through fasting’s dishevelment and long night vigils,

وخوفِ مايلقاهُ من ربِّه

في آخر الأمرِ إذا ما حُشِر

and through fear of what he will meet from his Lord

at the final end, when he is gathered for judgment.

وَهَمُّه في القوتِ من حِلِّه

صعبٌ شديدٌ مستحيلٌ عَسر

His concern with obtaining sustenance lawfully

is difficult, severe, impossible, and hard.

والفاسقُ المذنِبُ في وصمةٍ

مُسفَّه الرأيِ قبيح الأَثَر

The wanton sinner bears a stigma,

his judgment deemed foolish, his conduct shameful.

ليس بمأمونٍ ولا آمنٍ

مُذمَّم في قومه محتقَر

Neither trusted nor secure,

reviled among his people and held in contempt,

منخِفض الرتبِة بين الوَرَى

يفتخِر الناسُ ولا يفتخِر

low in rank among humankind—

others boast, but he cannot.

والحوتُ والطير ووَحْش الفَلا

في كُلَفٍ من وِرْدها والصَّدَر

Fish, birds, and the beasts of the wild

suffer hardship in going to water and returning from it.

فالوحشُ لا يأمَنُ من قانِصٍ

أو حابِل أو أسدٍ محتِضر

The wild beast is never safe from a hunter,

a snarer, or a lion lying in wait,

أو جارح يُدرِكها بَغْتةً

في الجو لا يضرِب إلا كَسَر

or a bird of prey that overtakes it suddenly,

striking it in the air only to break it.

والطيرُ في الأقفاصِ سجنا لها

تَنوح فيه نَوْحَ صَبٍّ أُسِر

Birds have cages for their prison,

where they lament like a passionate lover taken captive.

والملكُ الأعظم في خُطَّة

من شدةِ الأمرِ وطول السَّهَر

The mightiest king is caught in a plight

by the gravity of affairs and long wakefulness,

وخوفِه من ملكٍ غادرٍ

إذا رأى الفرصةَ فيه غدر

and by fear of a treacherous king

who, seeing an opening against him, betrays him.

إما بسُمٍّ أو سلاحٍ فلا

يأمَنُ حاليْ سَفَرٍ أو حَضَر

By poison or by weapon—he is never

safe, whether traveling or at home.

يَستشعِر الخِيفةَ من مَلْبسٍ

أو مطعم أو مشرب أو خَضِر

He senses fear in his very garment,

or in food or drink or fresh greens.

فالناسُ في أمن به وهْو في

توهُّم الخوف فلا ينحصر

The people feel secure through him, while he

imagines boundless terrors without end.

والحوتُ في اللُّجِّ على بُعْدِه

من مَلْمسِ الكفِّ ولَمْحِ البصر

The fish in the deep, though far removed

from the touch of a hand and the glimpse of an eye—

يُدْلِي له الصيادُ خِيطانَه

والطُّعْم فيها فوق عُقْفِ الإِبَر

the fisherman lowers his lines for it,

with bait set upon the curves of hooks,

حتى إذا أَوْقَعه جَرَّه

جرَّ عنيف جار لما قَدَر

until, once he has caught it, he drags it in

with a violent, merciless pull, as was decreed.

والبعضُ منها آكِلٌ بعضَه

فما جَفا يأكل ما قد صَغُر

Some of them devour others;

the larger consumes whatever is small.

مصائبٌ جَلَّتْ ولكنني

أوردتُ منها نُبذةَ المختِصر

The calamities are immense, yet I

have offered only a brief selection of them.

تقديرُ من لا حُكْمَ إلا له

في كلِّ ما يأتِي وفيما يَذَر

They are the decree of Him alone to whom judgment belongs,

in everything He brings about and everything He leaves.

حَذَّرتُك الدنيا فلا تحتِقر

نصيحتي عندك نصفُ الخَبر

I have warned you of the world, so do not scorn

my counsel: what you now have is half the tale.