إِذا صَغُرَتْ نفسُ الفتى كانَ شوقُهُ

إِذا صَغُرَتْ نفسُ الفتى كانَ شوقُهُ

صغيراً فلم يتعبْ ولم يتجشَّمِ

صغيراً فلم يتعبْ ولم يتجشَّمِ

When a young man's soul is small, his longing is

When the soul of a young man is small, his longing is small. He neither toils nor undertakes hardships.

When the soul of a youth is small, his desire is slight,

Small, so he neither toils nor takes on hardship.

And he whose ambitions are mighty, continues to meet the harshness of dunya like broken shards of glass.

So he suffers no weariness and bears no heavy plight.

ومَنْ كانَ جبَّارَ المطامِعِ لم يَزَلْ

ومَنْ كانَ جبَّارَ المطامِعِ لم يَزَلْ

يلاقي من الدُّنيا ضَراوَةَ قَشْعَمِ

يلاقي من الدُّنيا ضَراوَةَ قَشْعَمِ

And whoever has towering ambitions never ceases

But he who is mighty in his ambitions shall never cease

To face the world's ferocity, like that of an old eagle.

To face the world's ferocity, savage as a lion's bite.