سليمُ الزمان كمنكوبِهِ

سليمُ الزمان كمنكوبِهِ

وموفورُهُ مثلُ محروبِهِ

وموفورُهُ مثلُ محروبِهِ

The one Time spares is like the one it afflicts;

The peace of time is like its afflicted one

and its prosperous one is like its plundered one.

And its abundant like its war-torn one

وممنوحهُ مثلُ ممنوعِهِ

وممنوحهُ مثلُ ممنوعِهِ

ومكسوُّهُ مثلُ مسلوبِهِ

ومكسوُّهُ مثلُ مسلوبِهِ

The one it gives to is like the one it denies,

And its granted like its forbidden one

and the one it clothes is like the one it strips.

And its clothed like its plundered one

ومحبوبُهُ رَهْنُ مكروهِهِ

ومحبوبُهُ رَهْنُ مكروهِهِ

ومكروهُهُ رهنُ محبوبِهِ

ومكروهُهُ رهنُ محبوبِهِ

What is loved in it is hostage to what is hated,

And its loved one is hostage to its hated one

and what is hated in it is hostage to what is loved.

And its hated one is hostage to its loved one

ومأمونُهُ تحت محذورِهِ

ومأمونُهُ تحت محذورِهِ

ومرجوُّهُ تحت مرهوبِهِ

ومرجوُّهُ تحت مرهوبِهِ

What is secure in it lies beneath what is feared,

And its safe is under its hazardous one

and what is hoped for in it beneath what is dreaded.

And its hoped for is under its feared one

وريبُ الزمان غداً كائنٌ

وريبُ الزمان غداً كائنٌ

وغالبُهُ مثلُ مغلوبِهِ

وغالبُهُ مثلُ مغلوبِهِ

And Time's reversals will come tomorrow;

And the doubt of time tomorrow will happen

its victor is like its vanquished.

And its conqueror is like its conquered one

فلا تهربنَّ إلى ذِلَّةٍ

فلا تهربنَّ إلى ذِلَّةٍ

ذليلُ الزمانِ كمنكوبِهِ

ذليلُ الزمانِ كمنكوبِهِ

So never flee into abasement:

So do not flee to disgrace

the man Time abases is like the man it afflicts.

The disgraced of time is like its afflicted one

أمَا في الزمان فتىً ماجدٌ

أمَا في الزمان فتىً ماجدٌ

ينفِّسُ كربةَ مَكْرُوبِهِ

ينفِّسُ كربةَ مَكْرُوبِهِ

Is there no noble young man in this age

Is there not in time a glorious youth

who eases the anguish of one it has afflicted?

Who relieves the anguish of its anguished one

سأستُر نفسي أجادَ اللئيـ

سأستُر نفسي أجادَ اللئيـ

ـمُ أم ضنَّ عنّي بموهوبِهِ

ـمُ أم ضنَّ عنّي بموهوبِهِ

I shall preserve my dignity, whether the base man gives

Shall I conceal my soul, did he who is generous

or withholds his gift from me.

Withhold from me his gifted one

فَحَظِّي وإن كنتُ مغصوبَهُ

فَحَظِّي وإن كنتُ مغصوبَهُ

فَسِتْرِيَ لستُ بمغصوبِهِ

فَسِتْرِيَ لستُ بمغصوبِهِ

For though I may be robbed of my share,

And if my lot was usurped

I am not robbed of my dignity.

My concealment, I'm not usurped

ويَنْبُوتِ أرضٍ ترى شوكَهُ

ويَنْبُوتِ أرضٍ ترى شوكَهُ

يُطيلُ حماية خَرُّوبِهِ

يُطيلُ حماية خَرُّوبِهِ

And a yanbūt shrub on some land—you see its thorns

And it grows on land you see its thorns

keeping long guard over its carob-like pods.

Prolonging the protection of its blighted one

ترفَّعتُ عن لؤْمِ مَجنِيِّهِ

ترفَّعتُ عن لؤْمِ مَجنِيِّهِ

بنفسي وعن لؤم محطوبِهِ

بنفسي وعن لؤم محطوبِهِ

I rose above the baseness of its gathered fruit,

I rose above the stigma of its stainer

in self-respect, and above the baseness of its gathered wood.

By myself and the stigma of its felled one

وآكِلُ أطعمةِ الأدنيا

وآكِلُ أطعمةِ الأدنيا

ء رهنٌ بأن يستخفُّوا بِهِ

ء رهنٌ بأن يستخفُّوا بِهِ

And whoever eats the food of base men

And the eater of the foods of the lowly

is hostage to their treating him with contempt.

Is hostage to being derided by it

ألم تَرَ صاحبَهُمْ لا يزا

ألم تَرَ صاحبَهُمْ لا يزا

لُ فيهم شقيّاً بمصحوبِهِ

لُ فيهم شقيّاً بمصحوبِهِ

Have you not seen that their companion never

Have you not seen their companion still

ceases to suffer among them from the company he keeps?

Among them wretched with his accompanied one

إذا امتاحهم أكْلَةً عبَّدُو

إذا امتاحهم أكْلَةً عبَّدُو

هُ تعبيدَ ربٍّ لمربوبِهِ

هُ تعبيدَ ربٍّ لمربوبِهِ

When he seeks a meal from them, they enslave

When a meal makes them full they worship it

him as a lord enslaves his subject.

Like worshipping a Lord for its worshipped one

يخالون أنهمُ بَلَّغُو

يخالون أنهمُ بَلَّغُو

هُ بالقوتِ أفضلَ مطلوبِهِ

هُ بالقوتِ أفضلَ مطلوبِهِ

They imagine that they have brought

They think that with sustenance they have given it

him, with sustenance, to his highest aim,

The best of its sought one

وأنَّهمُ حرسوا نفسَهُ

وأنَّهمُ حرسوا نفسَهُ

بِهِ من غوائلِ مرهوبِهِ

بِهِ من غوائلِ مرهوبِهِ

and that they have guarded his life

And that they have protected it

with it against the perils of what he dreads.

From the perils of its feared one

يُذيل مُضيفُهُمُ ضيفَهُ

يُذيل مُضيفُهُمُ ضيفَهُ

كملبوسِهِ وكمركوبِهِ

كملبوسِهِ وكمركوبِهِ

A host among them debases his guest

Their host trails his guest

like his clothing and like his mount.

Like his dressed one and his mounted one

فلا يُؤتِغَنَّ امرُؤٌ عرضَهُ

فلا يُؤتِغَنَّ امرُؤٌ عرضَهُ

لمأكولِهِ ولمشروبِهِ

لمأكولِهِ ولمشروبِهِ

So let no man ruin his honor

So let no man give his dignity

for his food and his drink.

For his eaten one and his drunk one

ولا يلتمسْ من خسيسِ الرجا

ولا يلتمسْ من خسيسِ الرجا

لِ ما خسَّ من فضل مكسوبِهِ

لِ ما خسَّ من فضل مكسوبِهِ

Nor let him seek from a base man

Nor seek from the meanest of men

a paltry share of that man's surplus earnings,

What is inferior from his earned one

كملتمسٍ من خسيسِ الجذو

كملتمسٍ من خسيسِ الجذو

عِ قَطْرَ إهالةِ مصلوبِهِ

عِ قَطْرَ إهالةِ مصلوبِهِ

like one seeking from a worthless tree trunk

Like one seeking from the meanest palm tree

drippings of fat from the man crucified upon it.

A drop to revive his crucified one

ووغدٍ وهبتُ له حُكْمَهُ

ووغدٍ وهبتُ له حُكْمَهُ

وأمَّلتُ منكودَ موهوبِهِ

وأمَّلتُ منكودَ موهوبِهِ

And a lout—I let him have his way

And a rude one I gave him wisdom

and hoped for his meager gift.

And hoped for the bestowed of its gifted one

فكنتُ كعابِدِ منحوتِهِ

فكنتُ كعابِدِ منحوتِهِ

ومسترزقٍ رزقَ منصوبِهِ

ومسترزقٍ رزقَ منصوبِهِ

So I was like one worshipping what he had carved,

So I became like the worshipper of his idol

and one seeking sustenance from the idol he had set up.

And the bread-seeker of his appointed one

ولو قد ألحَّ عليه الهجا

ولو قد ألحَّ عليه الهجا

ءُ جَرْجرَ من عضِّ كلُّوبِهِ

ءُ جَرْجرَ من عضِّ كلُّوبِهِ

And had satire pressed him hard,

And if insult had insisted on him

he would have groaned from the bite of its hook.

The snarling of every molared one

ولمَّا غدا كلُّ هذه الورى

ولمَّا غدا كلُّ هذه الورى

وممدوحُهُ مثلُ مندوبِهِ

وممدوحُهُ مثلُ مندوبِهِ

And when all these people had come to this—

And when all of these realms become

their praised one like their mourned one—

And its praised one like its tasked one

مدحتُ إلهاً جميلَ الثنا

مدحتُ إلهاً جميلَ الثنا

ءِ مصدوقُهُ غيرُ مكذوبِهِ

ءِ مصدوقُهُ غيرُ مكذوبِهِ

I praised a God whose praise is beautiful—

I praised a God of beautiful praise

true praise, not fabricated praise.

Its truthful one, not its lying one

ألا يا فراسِيُّ خذها إليـ

ألا يا فراسِيُّ خذها إليـ

ـكَ من ثاقب الحدّ مشبوبِهِ

ـكَ من ثاقب الحدّ مشبوبِهِ

Now, O Firāsī, take this for yourself—

Oh, take it Farasiy from the insightful poet

from one with a piercing, blazing edge:

Its poured one from the piercing of its pouring one

حليمٍ تَعَوَّذُ من جهلِهِ

حليمٍ تَعَوَّذُ من جهلِهِ

إذا ما حُصِبْتَ بِشُؤبوبِهِ

إذا ما حُصِبْتَ بِشُؤبوبِهِ

a forbearing man from whose rashness you seek refuge

Forbearing, seeking refuge from its ignorant one

when you are pelted by his downpour.

When afflicted by the misfortune of its misfortuning one