غيري يُغيِّرُه الجفا

ويصدُّ عنْ ميْتٍ بحيْ

Others are changed by ill treatment,

And he turns away from the dead as from the living.

لا أرتضي ودَّ امرئٍ

إنْ زدتُ رشداً زادَ غيْ

I do not approve the affection of a man

Who, when I show wisdom, shows more folly.

إن الغنيَّ هو الغنيّ

بربِّهِ والمالُ فَيْ

Truly the rich man is he

Who is rich in his Lord, not in money.

ما كلُّ شيءٍ كافياً

وإذا قنعْتَ فبعضُ شيْ

Not everything suffices,

And when you are content, it is still not enough.

عزَّ الخلاصُ فلمْ أقلْ

هذا جناهُ أبي عليْ

Deliverance is difficult, so I have not achieved

What my father Abu Ali attained.