زن بِالفَضائل مجدَ جَدِّك

وَاِقدح بِجدّكِ زند جدِّك

Adorn yourself with the virtues of your ancestors,

And ignite the flint of your ancestors with your ancestors' glory.

وَاِعلم بِأَنّك إِن وَني

ت أفيد نِدُّكَ طيب ندِّك

And know that if you are steadfast,

Your steadfastness will benefit you with pure generosity.

لا تَرتَقي المَجدَ المُؤث

ثل وَالعُلى إِلّا بِكدّك

Glory and highness cannot be attained

Except through your toil.

فَاِضرب عَن التَشبيب صف

حاً وَاِلهُ عَن أَوصاف دعدك

So turn away from frivolity

And turn away from the attributes of your negligence.

وَاِخلَع خَلاعَتك الَّتي

أَخلت حسامك مِن فِرِندِك

And take off your robe that

Has stripped your sword of its sheath.

وَاِقمَع هَواك وَلا يَغر

رك غيّ نَفسك بَعد رُشدك

And suppress your desires, and do not let

Your own soul mislead you after your maturity.

ماذا يُفيدك مِن جَوا

ك سِوى اِصطِلائك نار وَجدك

What benefit can your passion bring you

Other than your burning in hellfire?

وَلَواعِجاً تَفري مُدى

أظفارها حَكّاً بِجلدِك

And intense longings that scratch

Their claws on your skin.

وَإِذا السقام براك وَال

عَينان قرّحتا بِسهدِك

And if disease has stricken you and

The eyes have ulcerated your eyelids.

هَيهات أن تجديكَ نَف

عاً بَعدَها غزلان نَجدك

Alas! After that, you will not find

Any benefit from the gazelles of Nejd.

فَاِنظُر لِحال بَني الزَما

ن فَإِنَّهُم إِخوان عَهدِك

So look at the state of people of the times,

For they are brethren of your era.

وَقس الخليّ عَلى الشجي

ي تَخَل هُنالك عَكس طَردك

And compare the sincere friend to the unfaithful one;

There, the opposite occurred from your analogy.

فَاِشمل خِلالك بِالمَكا

رم كَي يَفوح شَميم وردِك

So include the noble traits among your morals

So that the fragrance of your roses may spread.

أَو لَيسَ أَخلاق الشُيو

خ أجلّ مِن أَخلاق مردِك

Are not the morals of the shaykhs nobler

Than the morals of your rebels?

فَأدب مَعاشرة النَبي

ل تَجده مُنتَظماً بِعقدك

The manners of associating with the noble

You will find organized with your necklace.

وَاِنفح برفدك مِن جَفا

ك تَكرّماً وَاِرحب بِوَفدك

And blow gently with your breath from your grace,

Out of generosity, and welcome your visitors.

لا تَصرمنَّ مِن الصَدي

ق وَلَو قَلاك حبالَ ودّك

Do not forbid even if the sincere criticizes you

And severs the ropes of your friendship.

ما كُلَّ حينٍ تَلتَقي

مَن لا يخلُّ بِحفظ عَهدِك

You do not always meet

One who is true to keeping your covenant.

سِيّان حال بَني الزَما

ن وَحاله في بَحث نَقدِك

The state of people of the times is similar

And their state in your critical research.

يَعلو وَيَسفل عِندَ جز

رك طيش شَأنهما وَمَدّك

They rise and fall in your presence;

Their caprice and your tide are similar.

فَاِحفظ لِنَفسك قَدرَها

وَاِحذَر تَجاوز رَسم حَدّك

So preserve for yourself its worth,

And beware transgressing the border of your limit.

وَاِعطف عَلى ذلّ الحَقي

رِ إِذا اِرتَقيت سَرير مَجدِك

And show compassion for the poor

When you ascend the throne of your glory.

لا يَطغينَّك صيت بَط

شك في الأَنام وَصَوت جُندك

Let not the fame of your heroism in the people

And the voice of your soldiers make you arrogant.

ما إِن يَزيدك هَيبَةً

بَينَ الوَرى تَصعير خَدّك

It will not increase your awe

Among the people, the snarling of your frown.

كَلّا وَلا تزري شَما

ئلك الحِسان بِلين صلدِك

No! And do not know your perfect traits

Through the softness of your firmness.

بِالحلم تَبلغ غاية الش

شرف الرَفيع بَرَغم ضدّك

With forbearance you will attain the pinnacle of

Noble honor, despite those against you.

وَبضدّه تَلقى الهَوا

ن مُعارِضاً بِسَبيل قَصدِك

And with opponents you will meet

Resistance in the path of your aim.

فَاِختَر مِن الأَمرين ما

تَرضى لِذمّك أَو لِحَمدِك

So choose between the two what

You approve for your blame or your praise.

وَاِعلَم بِأَنَّ الدَهر أَي

سرُ ما يُحاولُ خلف وَعدِك

And know that time is very easy

In what it tries behind your promise.

لَيسَ الزَمان وَإِن أَطا

عَك كُلّ آونةٍ بِعَبدِك

Time is not, even if it has made

You subservient every moment, your servant.

ما إِن يَروقك مِن زَما

نك ما حَييتَ صَفاءُ وردك

It does not please you, from your time,

Except what you lived in purity of your roses.

فَلَقَد يَبلّغكَ المُنى

حيناً وَقَد يَسعى بردّك

For death can reach you at times

And it can hasten your chill.

وَكما يُعلّك بِالرَحي

ق يَشوب عَلقمَهُ بِشهدِك

And just as it raises you to comfort,

It mixes its bitterness with your sweetness.

يُبدي وَيحجب طالع ال

إِسعاد مِن أَقمار سَعدِك

It reveals and conceals the fate of

Felicity from the moons of your fortune.

فَاِرغَب عَن الدُنيا الدَني

ئة فَهيَ لَيسَت دار خُلدِك

So turn away from the base, lowly world,

For it is not the abode of your eternity.

وَاِزهد بِما مَلَكت يَدا

ك فَإِنَّهُ أَحرى بِزُهدك

And abstain from what your hands possess,

For it is more deserving of your abstinence.

وَاِجهد نهاك بِبَذل عل

مك وَاِمزج التَقوى بِجهدك

And strive, forbid yourself by exerting your

Knowledge, and mix piety with your striving.

لا رثّ ثَوبك يَزدري

ك وَلا يَزينك وَشي بردِك

Do not patch your garment, it is contemptible,

And a borrowed finery does not adorn you.

إنّ التَفاضل بِالفَضا

ئل لا ببرقك أَو بِرَعدِك

For precedence is through merits,

Not by your lightning or your thunder.