1. يقولُ عليٌّ مرّةً وأنالني

    وكان علياً في معانيه كاسمِهِ

    Ali once said, while bestowing a gift on me—

    and he was lofty in his qualities, as his name suggests—

  2. أرى فضلَ مالِ المرءِ داء لعرضه

    كما أن فضل الزادِ داءٌ لجسمِهِ

    “I see a man's excess wealth as a sickness to his honor,

    just as excess food is a sickness to his body.

  3. فليس لفضل المال شيءٌ كبذله

    وليس لداءِ العرضِ شيءٌ كحسمِهِ

    So for excess wealth, nothing compares to giving it away,

    and for honor's sickness, nothing compares to eradicating it.”

  4. فرحتُ برفديه وما زلتُ رائحاً

    برفدين شتّى من نداهُ وعلمِهِ

    So I came away with his two gifts, and have continued to come away

    with two distinct gifts from his bounty and his knowledge.