لِيَ صاحِبٌ دَخَلَ الغُرورُ فُؤادَهُ

إِنَّ الغُرورَ أُخَيَّ مِن أَعدائي

My friend, vanity has entered his heart

I have a companion whose heart vanity has invaded,

Surely vanity is a brother of my enemies

And vanity, my brother, is among my greatest foes.

أَسدَيتُهُ نُصحي فَزادَ تَمادِياً

في غَيِّهِ وَاِزدادَ فيهِ بَلائي

I gave him my advice but he became more stubborn

I tendered him my counsel, yet he grew more persistent

In his error, and my trials with him increased

In his delusion, and my tribulation through him increased.

أَمسى يُسيءُ بِيَ الظُنونَ وَلَم تَسُؤ

لَولا الغُرورُ ظُنونُهُ بِوَلائي

He began to think ill of me, though if not for vanity

He has come to think ill of me, though never would have faltered—

His thoughts of my loyalty would not have worsened

Were it not for vanity—his trust in my loyalty.

قَد كُنتُ أَرجو أَن يُقيمَ عَلى الوَلا

أَبَداً وَلَكِن خابَ فيهِ رَجائي

I had hoped he would remain loyal forever

I had hoped he would remain steadfast in devotion

But in this my hopes were dashed

Forever, but my hope in him has been disappointed.

أَهوى اللِقاءَ بِهِ وَيَهوى ضِدَّهُ

فَكَأَنَّما المَوتُ الزُؤامُ لِقائي

I yearn to meet him, but he yearns the opposite

I long to meet him, while he desires the contrary;

So meeting feels like death, a miserable encounter

As though meeting me were sudden, violent death.

إِنّي لَأَصحَبَهُ عَلى عِلّاتِهِ

وَالبَدرُ مِن قِدَمٍ أَخو الظَلماءِ

Yet still I accompany him in his wretched state

Yet I remain his companion despite his flaws;

For the full moon was once a slender crescent

For the full moon has, of old, been the brother of darkness.

يا صاحِ إِنَّ الكِبرَ خُلقٌ سَيٌّ

هَيهاتِ يوجَدُ في سِوى الجُهَلاءِ

My friend, arrogance is an ugly trait

O friend, truly arrogance is a wretched trait,

You’ll find it only in fools, this I state

Seldom found in any but the ignorant.

وَالعُجبُ داءٌ لا يَنالُ دَواءَهُ

حَتّى يَنالَ الخُلدَ في الدُنياءِ

Conceit is a disease with no cure

And self-admiration is a malady that finds no cure,

Until one reaches eternity in the grave

Unless one could attain immortality in this worldly life.

فَاِخفِض جَناحَكَ لِلأَنامِ تَفُز بِهِم

إِنَّ التَواضُعَ شيمَةَ الحُكَماءِ

So lower your wings to people, you’ll excel through them

So lower your wing in humility to the people, and you shall win them;

For humility is the mark of the wise

For humility is the nature of the wise.

لَو أُعجِبَ القَمَرُ المُنيرُ بِنَفسِهِ

لَرَأَيتَهُ يَهوي إِلى الغَبراءِ

If the brilliant moon were vain about itself

If the luminous moon were to marvel at its own self,

You'd see it plummet down to the dust

You would see it plummeting down to the dust.