1. الشَيءُ مَحروصٌ عَلَيهِ إِذا اِمتَنَع

    وَلَقَلَّ مَن يَخلو هَواهُ مِن وَلَع

    A thing is coveted when it is out of reach.

    And rare indeed is one whose desire is free of obsession.

  2. وَالمَرءُ مُتَّصِلٌ بِخَيرِ صَنيعِهِ

    وَبِشَرِّهِ حَتّى يُلاقي ما صَنَع

    And a man is bound to the good of his deeds,

    and to their evil, until he faces what he has done.

  3. وَالدَهرُ يَخدَعُ مَن تَرى عَن نَفسِهِ

    إِنَّ اِبنَ آدَمَ يَستَريحُ إِلى الخُدَع

    And time beguiles everyone you see, drawing him away from himself;

    indeed, the son of Adam finds comfort in deception.

  4. وَلِمَن يَضيقُ عَنِ المَكارِمِ ضيقَةٌ

    وَلِمَن تَفَسَّحَ في المَكارِمِ مُتَّسَع

    And for whoever has no room for noble deeds, there is constraint,

    and for whoever opens himself to noble deeds, there is ample room.

  5. وَالناسُ بَينَ مُسَلِّمٌ رَبِحَ الرِضى

    فيما يُمَضُّ وَبَينَ مَن خَسِرَ الجَزَع

    And people are divided between one who submits and gains contentment

    in what pains him, and one who suffers loss through anguish.

  6. وَالحَقُّ مُتَّصِلٌ وَمُتَّصِلٌ بِهِ

    فَإِذا سَمِعتَ بِمَيِّتٍ فَقَدِ اِنقَطَع

    And truth is unbroken, and one is bound to it;

    so when you hear of someone dead, he has been cut off.

  7. وَلَرُبَّ مُرٍّ قَد أَفادَ حَلاوَةً

    وَلَرُبَّ حُلوٍ في مَغَبَّتِهِ شُنَع

    And many a bitter thing has yielded sweetness,

    and many a sweet thing has horrors in its aftermath.

  8. وَأَمامَكَ الوَطَنُ المَخوفُ سَبيلُهُ

    فَتَزَوَّدِ التَقوى إِلَيهِ وَلا تَدَع

    And ahead of you lies the abode whose road is feared;

    so provision yourself with piety for it, and do not neglect it.

  9. لَيسَ المُوَفّى حَظُّهُ مِن مالِهِ

    إِلّا المُوَفّى زادَ هَولِ المُطَّلَع

    None receives his full share of his wealth

    except one fully provisioned for the terror of what awaits beyond death.

  10. وَاِعلَم بِأَنَّكَ لَستَ تَطرِفُ طَرفَةً

    إِلّا تَفاوَتَ مِنكَ ما لا يُرتَجَع

    And know that you do not blink a single blink

    without something slipping away from you that cannot be reclaimed.

  11. عَبدُ المَطامِعِ في لِباسِ مَذَلَّةٍ

    إِنَّ الذَليلَ لَمَن تَعَبَّدَهُ الطَمَع

    The slave of cravings wears the garb of humiliation;

    indeed, the abased man is the one whom greed has enslaved.

  12. وَلَرُبَّما مُحِقَ الكَثيرُ وَرُبَّما

    كَثُرَ القَليلُ إِلى القَليلِ إِذا جُمِع

    And often much is wiped out, and often

    a little added to a little becomes much when gathered.

  13. وَالمَرءُ أَسلَمُ ما يَكونُ بِدينِهِ

    عِندَ التَحَفُّظِ وَالسَكينَةِ وَالوَرَع

    And a man is most secure in his faith

    when he is cautious, serene, and scrupulously pious.