ألا لَيتَ لي ما قد دعاه بنو الورى

ألا لَيتَ لي ما قد دعاه بنو الورى

حُطاماً فأعطي البائسينَ وأنفحُ

حُطاماً فأعطي البائسينَ وأنفحُ

Oh, would that I had what the sons of humankind have called

Oh would that what the people pray for were bestowed on me

'worldly dross,' so I might give to the wretched and bestow gifts.

As wreckage, so I could give to the destitute and exhale

سموحٌ هوَ المَرءُ المُفرِّقُ مَاله

سموحٌ هوَ المَرءُ المُفرِّقُ مَاله

ولكنّ مَن يُعطي من القلبِ أسمحُ

ولكنّ مَن يُعطي من القلبِ أسمحُ

Generous is the man who distributes his wealth,

He is most generous, the man who gives away his wealth

But whoever gives from the heart is more generous.

But more so is he who gives from his heart’s core

ألم تَرَني والدّهرُ أصمى حشاشتي

ألم تَرَني والدّهرُ أصمى حشاشتي

أعلّمُ وَرقاء الحمى كيفَ تصدحُ

أعلّمُ وَرقاء الحمى كيفَ تصدحُ

Have you not seen me, though Time has mortally wounded my soul,

Have you not seen me when fate left me bereft

Teaching the gray dove of the sanctuary how to sing?

Teaching the fever-wasted how to be jubilant

إذا صلحت بالمال نفسٌ فإنّها

إذا صلحت بالمال نفسٌ فإنّها

بإعطائها ممّا لديها لأصلحُ

بإعطائها ممّا لديها لأصلحُ

If a soul becomes good through wealth, then it

When a soul is healed with wealth, then through giving

Is surely better for giving of what it has.

What it has, it becomes more wholesome

فما المال إِلاّ بعد موتك بارحٌ

فما المال إِلاّ بعد موتك بارحٌ

وما الجود إِلاّ صنع ماليس يبرحُ

وما الجود إِلاّ صنع ماليس يبرحُ

For wealth is but a thing that departs after your death,

For wealth after your death is but a fleeting lodger

And generosity is but the making of what never departs.

While charity is a legacy that lives on ever after