أَرَيتَ امرَءً كُنتُ لَم أَبلُهُ

أَرَيتَ امرَءً كُنتُ لَم أَبلُهُ

أَتاني فَقالَ اِتَّخِذني خَليلا

أَتاني فَقالَ اِتَّخِذني خَليلا

Have you seen a man I had never tested,

Have you considered a man I had not yet tested?

Who came to me and said, “Take me as a close friend”?

He came to me and said, “Take me as a close friend.”

فَخالَلتُهُ ثُمَ أَكرَمتُهُ

فَخالَلتُهُ ثُمَ أَكرَمتُهُ

فَلَم أَستَفِد مِن لَدُنهُ فَتيلا

فَلَم أَستَفِد مِن لَدُنهُ فَتيلا

So I befriended him and then treated him with honor,

So I befriended him, then honored him,

Yet gained from him not so much as a thread.

yet gained from him not even a date-stone’s thread.

وَأَلفَيتُهُ حينَ جَرَّبتُهُ

وَأَلفَيتُهُ حينَ جَرَّبتُهُ

كَذوبَ الحَديثِ سَؤولاً بَخيلا

كَذوبَ الحَديثِ سَؤولاً بَخيلا

And when I put him to the test, I found him

And I found him, when I tested him,

False in speech, ever asking, miserly.

a habitual liar in speech, forever asking, and miserly.

فَذَكَّرتُهُ ثُمَّ عاتَبتُهُ

فَذَكَّرتُهُ ثُمَّ عاتَبتُهُ

عِتاباً رَفيقاً وَقولاً جَميلا

عِتاباً رَفيقاً وَقولاً جَميلا

So I reminded him, and then reproached him

So I admonished him, then reproached him,

With gentle reproach and gracious words.

with gentle reproach and gracious words.

فَأَلفَيتُهُ غَيرَ مُستَعتِبٍ

فَأَلفَيتُهُ غَيرَ مُستَعتِبٍ

وَلا ذاكِرَ اللَهَ إِلّا قَليلا

وَلا ذاكِرَ اللَهَ إِلّا قَليلا

But I found him unwilling to make amends,

Yet I found him not seeking to make amends,

And seldom mindful of God.

and remembering God only a little.

أَلَستُ حَقيقاً بِتَوديعِهِ

أَلَستُ حَقيقاً بِتَوديعِهِ

وَإِتباعِ ذَلِكَ صَرماً طَويلاً

وَإِتباعِ ذَلِكَ صَرماً طَويلاً

Am I not justified in bidding him farewell

Am I not justified in bidding him farewell

And following that with a long severance?

and following that with a long estrangement?