كُن بَلسَماً إِن صارَ دَهرُكَ أَرقَما

وَحَلاوَةً إِن صارَ غَيرُكَ عَلقَما

Be a healing balm, though your time becomes a viper,

And a sweetness, even if others become bitter as gall.

إِنَّ الحَياةَ حَبَتكَ كُلَّ كُنوزِها

لا تَبخَلَنَّ عَلى الحَياةِ بِبَعضِ ما

For life has bestowed upon you all its treasures,

So do not be stingy with life regarding a mere fraction of what it gave.

أَحسِن وَإِن لَم تُجزَ حَتّى بِالثَنا

أَيَّ الجَزاءِ الغَيثُ يَبغي إِن هَمى

Do good, even if you are not rewarded—not even with praise;

What reward does the rain seek when it pours down?

مَن ذا يُكافِئُ زَهرَةً فَوّاحَةً

أَو مَن يُثيبُ البُلبُلَ المُتَرَنِّما

Who is there to compensate a fragrant flower?

Or who repays the nightingale for its song?

عُدَّ الكِرامَ المُحسِنينَ وَقِسهُمُ

بِهِما تَجِد هَذَينِ مِنهُم أَكرَما

Count the noble, generous souls and measure them,

Against these two, and you shall find the latter more generous still.

يا صاحِ خُذ عِلمَ المَحَبَّةِ عَنهُما

إِنّي وَجَدتُ الحُبَّ عَلَماً قَيِّما

O friend, learn the wisdom of love from them;

For I have found love to be a knowledge of great worth.

لَو لَم تَفُح هَذي وَهَذا ما شَدا

عاشَت مُذَمَّمَةً وَعاشَ مُذَمَّما

Had the former not yielded scent, nor the latter sung,

She would have lived dispraised, and he condemned.

فَاِعمَل لِإِسعادِ السِوى وَهَنائِهِم

إِن شِئتَ تُسعَدَ في الحَياةِ وَتَنعُما

So strive for the happiness and joy of others,

If you wish to find happiness and bliss in this life.

أَيقِظ شُعورَكَ بِالمَحَبَّةِ إِن غَفا

لَولا الشُعورُ الناسُ كانوا كَالدُمى

Awaken your heart to love if it has slumbered;

For were it not for feeling, people would be but dolls.

أَحبِب فَيَغدو الكوخُ كَوناً نَيِّراً

وَاِبغُض فَيُمسي الكَونُ سِجناً مُظلِما

Love, and the hut becomes a radiant universe;

Hate, and the universe becomes a dark, confining prison.

ما الكَأسُ لَولا الخَمرُ غَيرُ زُجاجَةٍ

وَالمَرءُ لَولا الحُبُّ إِلّا أَعظُما

What is the goblet without the wine but a piece of glass?

And what is man without love but a heap of bones?

كَرِهَ الدُجى فَاِسوَدَّ إِلّا شُبهُهُ

بَقِيَت لِتَضحَكَ مِنهُ كَيفَ تَجَهَّما

The night loathed the darkness, so it turned black save for its stars,

Which remained to laugh at how sullen it had become.

لَو تَعشَقُ البَيداءُ أَصبَحَ رَملُها

زَهراً وَصارَ سَرابُها الخَدّاعُ ما

If the barren desert knew how to love, its sands would turn

Into flowers, and its deceptive mirage into real water.

لَو لَم يَكُن في الأَرضِ إِلّا مِبغِضٌ

لَتَبَرَّمَت بِوُجودِهِ وَتَبَرَّما

If the earth contained nothing but a hateful soul,

It would have wearied of his existence, as he wearied of it.

لاحَ الجَمالُ لِذي نُهىً فَأَحَبَّهُ

وَرَآهُ ذو جَهلٍ فَظَنَّ وَرَجَّما

Beauty revealed itself to the wise, and he loved it,

But the ignorant saw it and merely guessed and conjectured.

لا تَطلِبَنَّ مَحَبَّةً مِن جاهِلٍ

المَرءُ لَيسَ يُحَبُّ حَتّى يُفهَما

Do not seek love from the ignorant;

For a person cannot be loved until they are understood.

وَاِرفُق بِأَبناءِ الغَباءِ كَأَنَّهُم

مَرضى فَإِنَّ الجَهلَ شَيءٌ كَالعَمى

Be gentle with the children of folly, as though they were

The sick; for ignorance is an affliction like blindness.

وَاِلهُ بِوَردِ الرَوضِ عَن أَشواكِهِ

وَاِنسَ العَقارِبَ إِن رَأَيتَ الأَنجُما

Distract yourself with the garden’s roses, ignoring the thorns,

And forget the scorpions when you gaze upon the stars.

يا مَن أَتانا بِالسَلامِ مُبَشِّراً

هَشَّ الحِمى لَمّا دَخَلتَ إِلى الحِمى

O you who came to us as a herald of peace,

The sanctuary rejoiced when you entered its bounds.

وَصَفوكَ بِالتَقوى وَقالوا جَهبَذٌ

عَلامَةٌ وَلَقَد وَجَدتُكَ مِثلَما

They described you as pious, and called you a brilliant sage,

A scholar of great renown; and indeed, I found you just so.

لَفظٌ أَرَقُّ مِنَ النَسيمِ إِذا سَرى

سَحَراً وَحُلوٌ كَالكَرى إِن هَوَّما

Your words are gentler than the breeze when it blows

At dawn, and sweet as slumber when it descends.

وَإِذا نَطَقتَ فَفي الجَوارِحِ نَشوَةٌ

هِيَ نَشوَةُ الروحِ اِرتَوَت بَعدَ الظَما

When you speak, a euphoria fills the senses,

The ecstasy of a soul quenched after long thirst.

وَإِذا كَتَبتَ فَفي الطُروسِ حَدائِقٌ

وَشّى حَواشيها اليَراعُ وَنَمنَما

And when you write, the pages become gardens,

Their borders embroidered and embellished by the pen.

وَإِذا وَقَفتَ عَلى المَنابِرِ أَوشَكَت

أَخشابُها لِلزَهوِ أَن تَتَكَلَّما

And when you stand upon the pulpits,

Their very wood nearly speaks aloud in pride.

إِن كُنتَ قَد أَخطاكَ سِربالُ الغِنى

عاشَ اِبنُ مَريَمَ لَيسَ يَملُكُ دِرهَما

If the garment of wealth has passed you by,

Know that the Son of Mary lived possessing not a single coin.

وَأَحَبَّ حَتّى مَن أَحَبَّ هَلاكَهُ

وَأَعانَ حَتّى مَن أَساءَ وَأَجرَما

Yet he loved even those who sought his destruction,

And aided even the evildoer and the criminal.

نامَ الرُعاةُ عَنِ الخِرافِ وَلَم تَنَم

فَإِلَيكَ نَشكو الهاجِعينَ النُوَّما

The shepherds have slept, neglecting the sheep, but you did not sleep;

So to you we complain of those who slumber.

عَبَدوا الإِلَهَ لِمَغنَمٍ يَرجونَهُ

وَعَبَدتَ رَبَّكَ لَستَ تَطلُبُ مَغنَما

They worshipped God for the sake of gain they hoped to win,

While you worshipped your Lord seeking no reward.

كَم رَوَّعوا بِجَهَنَّمٍ أَرواحَنا

فَتأَلَّمَت مِن قَبلُ أَن تَتَأَلَّما

How often have they terrified our souls with Hell,

So that we suffered pain before the time of suffering came.

زَعَموا الإِلَهَ أَعَدَّها لِعَذابِنا

حاشا وَرَبُّكَ رَحمَةٌ أَن يَظلِما

They claimed that God prepared it for our torment;

Heaven forbid! Your Lord is Mercy itself and would not oppress.

ما كانَ مِن أَمرِ الوَرى أَن يَرحَموا

أَعدائَهُم إِلّا أَرَقَّ وَأَرحَما

It is not in the nature of mortals to show mercy

To their enemies, yet He is gentler and more compassionate.

لَيسَت جَهَنَّمُ غَيرَ فِكرَةِ تاجِرٍ

اللَهُ لَم يَخلُق لَنا إِلّا السَما

Hell is nothing but the invention of a merchant;

God created nothing for us but Heaven.