أَيُّهَذا الشاكي وَما بِكَ داءٌ

كَيفَ تَغدو إِذا غَدَوتَ عَليلا

O you who complain, what ails you?

O complainer who suffers from no illness, / how will you fare when you actually become sick?

How can you start your day feeling unwell?

The worst offender on this earth is a soul / that awaits death before the time of departure has come.

إِنَّ شَرَّ الجُناةِ في الأَرضِ نَفسٌ

تَتَوَقّى قَبلَ الرَحيلِ الرَحيلا

The worst sinner on earth is the soul

You see the thorns in the roses, yet remain blind / to the dew that crowns them like a wreath.

That longs for departure before departure is due

He is a heavy burden upon life itself, / whoever considers life to be a heavy burden.

وَتَرى الشَوكَ في الوُرودِ وَتَعمى

أَن تَرى فَوقَها النَدى إِكليلا

And sees thorns in roses and is blind

And he whose own soul is devoid of beauty / sees nothing beautiful in all of existence.

To see the dew above as a wreath

None is more wretched than he who sees life as bitter, / and considers its pleasures mere superfluities.

هُوَ عِبءٌ عَلى الحَياةِ ثَقيلٌ

مَن يَظُنُّ الحَياةَ عِبءً ثَقيلا

It is a heavy burden on life

The wisest people in this life are those / who find reason to hope and make the best of it.

Who thinks life a heavy burden

So enjoy the morning as long as you are in it; / do not fear its passing until it actually fades.

وَالَّذي نَفسُهُ بِغَيرِ جَمالٍ

لا يَرى في الوُجودِ شَيئاً جَميلا

And he whose soul lacks beauty

And if a worry casts its shadow over your head, / cut short your brooding lest it lingers long.

Sees nothing beautiful in existence

The birds of the hills have grasped life's essence, / so it is a disgrace for you to remain in ignorance.

لَيسَ أَشقى مِمَّن يَرى العَيشَ مُرّاً

وَيَظُنُّ اللَذاتِ فيهِ فُضولا

None is more wretched than one who sees life as bitter

Do you not see them? Though the fields belong to others, / they make of them a stage and a place of rest.

And thinks pleasure in it excessive

They sing, though the hawk dominates the sky above them, / and hunters control the paths below.

أَحكَمُ الناسِ في الحَياةِ أُناسٌ

عَلَّلوها فَأَحسَنوا التَعليلا

The best people in life are those

They sing, though they have seen some of their kin taken alive, / and others meeting their end in death.

Who gave it meaning and made the best meaning

They sing, though their lifespan is but part of a year; / do you weep, when you may live for so long?

فَتَمَتَّع بِالصُبحِ ما دُمتَ فيهِ

لا تَخَف أَن يَزولَ حَتّى يَزولا

So enjoy the dawn as long as you are in it

At dawn, upon the branches, they chant / verses of passion and love in holy recitation.

Do not fear it will disappear until it disappears

At times they alight upon the soil, / pecking at grains or strutting with trailing tails.

وَإِذا ما أَظَلَّ رَأسَكَ هَمٌّ

قَصِّرِ البَحثَ فيهِ كَيلا يَطولا

And if worries shade your head

Whenever stillness seizes the branches, / they flutter their wings until the boughs sway in applause.

Shorten your search in it so it does not lengthen

And when the setting sun gilds the hills, / they stand atop them, whispering to the twilight.

أَدرَكَت كُنهَها طُيورُ الرَوابي

فَمِنَ العارِ أَن تَظَلَّ جَهولا

The birds of the meadows understood its essence

So seek joy just as the birds seek / a deep, cooling shade in the midday heat.

It is shameful for you to remain ignorant

Learn the love of nature from them, / and leave gossip and idle talk to the crowds.

ما تَراها وَالحَقلُ مِلكُ سِواها

تَخِذَت فيهِ مَسرَحاً وَمَقيلا

While she sees the field belonging to another

For he who dreads the critics will encounter / a critic in every person at every turn.

She made it her theater and dwelling

You belong to the earth, first and last, / whether you are a king or a humble slave.

تَتَغَنّى وَالصَقرُ قَد مَلَكَ الجَوَّ

عَلَيها وَالصائِدونَ السَبيلا

She sings while the falcon owns the air

There is no immortality beneath the sky for any living thing, / so why do you chase the impossible?

Over her and the hunters on the road

Every star is destined to set, but / the star's tragedy is to fear its own setting.

تَتَغَنّى وَرَأَت بَعضَها يُؤ

خَذُ حَيّاً وَالبَعضَ يَقضي قَتيلا

She sings though she saw some of them taken alive

The rose's destiny in the garden is to wither; / be wise, and embrace it before the withering comes.

And others meet their death

And if you find a patch of shade upon the earth, / rest within it until the shadows shift.

تَتَغَنّى وَعُمرُها بَعضُ عامٍ

أَفَتَبكي وَقَد تَعيشُ طَويلا

She sings though her life is part of a year

And when the sky turns gloomy, anticipate / rain upon the plains that will bring them to life.

Will she cry though she may live long?

Say to those who exhaust their tear ducts: / "Has your weeping quenched your burning thirst?"

فَهيَ فَوقَ الغُصونِ في الفَجرِ تَتلو

سُوَرَ الوَجدِ وَالهَوى تَرتيلا

So over the branches in the dawn she recites

We did not come into this life to suffer, / so put your minds at ease, O people of reason.

Verses of passion and love chanting

Whoever heaps worries upon himself / shall be seized by them in a disastrous grasp.

وَهيَ طَوراً عَلى الثَرى واقِعاتٌ

تَلقُطُ الحَبَّ أَو تُجَرُّ الذُيولا

And at times on the ground fallen

Be like the nightingale singing in its nest, / who, even when bound, pays no heed to its chains.

She picks seeds or drags her tail

Be not a crow chasing worms in the dirt, / nor an owl in the night weeping over ruins.

كُلَّما أَمسَكَ الغُصونَ سُكونٌ

صَفَّقَت لِلغُصونِ حَتّى تَميلا

Whenever stillness held the branches

Be a brook flowing through the earth, glistening, / watering the fields on either bank.

She flapped to the branches until they swayed

In it the stars bathe, and within it, / every person and everything finds its reflection.

فَاِذا ذَهَّبَ الأَصيلُ الرَوابي

وَقَفَت فَوقَها تُناجي الأَصيلا

So when the companion birds left

Do not be a vessel that confines the water, / until it stagnates and turns into mud.

She stood over them conversing with the companions

With the dawn, be a breeze that showers the flowers / with sunshine at times, and at times with kisses.

فَاِطلُبِ اللَهوَ مِثلَما تَطلُبُ الأَط

يارُ عِندَ الهَجيرَ ظِلّاً ظَليلا

So seek pleasure as birds seek

Not a scorching wind from the sandstorms / that fills the earth with wailing in the dark.

In exile, shade and shelter

And in the night, be a star that brings comfort / to the forests, the rivers, the hills, and the plains.

وَتَعَلَّم حُبَّ الطَبيعَةِ مِنها

وَاِترُكِ القالَ لِلوَرى وَالقيلا

And learn the love of nature from her

Not a darkness that loathes the worlds and mankind, / casting a heavy veil over all things.

And leave nonsense to people and tales

O complainer who suffers from no illness, / be beautiful within, and you will see the whole universe as beautiful.

فَالَّذي يَتَّقي العَواذِلَ يَلقى

كُلَّ حينٍ في كُلِّ شَخصٍ عَذولا

For he who avoids caprices will find

Every time in everyone pleasant

أَنتَ لِلأَرضِ أَوَّلاً وَأَخيراً

كُنتَ مَلكاً أَو كُنتَ عَبداً ذَليلا

You are to the earth first and last

Whether you were king or abject slave

لا خُلودٌ تَحتَ السَماءِ لِحَيٍّ

فَلِماذا تُراوِدُ المُستَحيلا

There is no eternity under the sky for the living

So why pursue the impossible?

كُلُّ نَجمٍ إِلى الأُفولِ وَلَكِن

آفَةُ النَجمِ أَن يَخافَ الأُفولا

Every star is bound to set but

The bane of a star is to fear setting

غايَةُ الوَردِ في الرِياضِ ذُبولٌ

كُن حَكيماً وَاِسبِق إِلَيهِ الذُبولا

The goal of flowers in gardens is to wither

Be wise and precede them in withering

وَإِذا ما وَجَدتَ في الأَرضِ ظِلّاً

فَتَفَيَّء بِهِ إِلى أَن يَحولا

And if you find shade on earth

Take shelter in it until it shifts

وَتَوَقَّع إِذا السَماءُ اِكفَهَرَّت

مَطَراً في السُهولِ يُحيِ السُهولا

And anticipate, when the sky grows dark

Rain in the plains reviving the plains

قُل لِقَومٍ يَستَنزِفونَ المَآقي

هَل شُفيتُم مَعَ البُكاءِ غَليلا

Say to a people who drain valleys dry

Did you heal your anguish with crying?

ما أَتَينا إِلى الحَياةِ لِنَشقى

فَأَريحوا أَهلا العُقولِ العُقولا

We did not come to life to suffer

So comfort, people of reason, reason

كُلُّ مَن يَجمَعُ الهُمومَ عَلَيهِ

أَخَذَتهُ الهُمومُ أَخذاً وَبيلا

All who gather worries upon themselves

Worries have seized them in a painful seizure

كُن هَزاراً في عُشِّهِ يَتَغَنّى

وَمَع الكَبلِ لا يُبالي الكُبولا

Be playful in your nest, singing

And with shackles cares not for shackles

لا غُراباً يُطارِدُ الدودَ في الأَر

ضِ وَبوماً في اللَيلِ يَبكي الطُلولا

Not a raven chasing worms in the soil

Nor an owl in the night weeping for fledglings

كُن غَديراً يَسيرُ في الأَرضِ رَقرا

قاً فَيَسقي مِن جانِبَيهِ الحُقولا

Be a stream flowing gurgling on earth

Watering on both sides the fields

تَستَحِمُّ النُجومُ فيهِ وَيَلقى

كُلُّ شَخصٍ وَكُلُّ شَيءٍ مَثيلا

Stars bathe in it and everyone and everything finds

An equal and a likeness

لا وِعاءً يُقَيِّدُ الماءَ حَتّى

تَستَحيلَ المِياهُ فيهِ وُحولا

Not a vessel to confine water

Until the water in it becomes stale

كُن مَعَ الفَجرِ نَسمَةً توسِعُ الأَز

هارَ شَمساً وَتارَةً تَقبيلا

Be with dawn a breeze expanding the days

At times a sun and at times a kiss

لا سُموماً مِنَ السَوافي اللَواتي

تَملَءُ الأَرضَ في الظَلامِ عَويلا

Not poisons from snakes that fill

The earth in darkness with wailing

وَمَعَ اللَيلِ كَوكَباً يُؤنِسُ الغا

باتِ وَالنَهرَ وَالرُبى وَالسُهولا

And with night a star comforting

The slumberous, the river, the hillside and plains

لا دُجى يَكرَهُ العَوالِمَ وَالنا

سَ فَيُلقي عَلى الجَميعِ سُدولا

Not gloom that people and mankind dislike

Casting lethargy on all

أَيُّهَذا الشاكي وَما بِكَ داءٌ

كُن جَميلاً تَرَ الوُجودَ جَميلا

O you who complain, what ails you?

Be beautiful and you will see existence as beautiful