1. الدَهرُ يوعِدُ فُرقَةً وَزَوالا

    وَخُطوبُهُ لَكَ تَضرِبُ الأَمثالا

    Time threatens separation and passing away,

    and its calamities offer you examples.

  2. يا رُبَّ عَيشٍ كانَ يُغبَطُ أَهلُهُ

    بِنَعيمِهِ قَد قيلَ كانَ فَزالا

    Ah, how many a life whose people were envied

    for its bliss has been spoken of: 'It was, then vanished!'

  3. يا طالِبَ الدُنيا لِيُثقِلَ نَفسَهُ

    إِنَّ المُخِفَّ غَداً لَأَحسَنُ حالا

    O you who seek this world to burden yourself,

    the lightly laden will surely fare better tomorrow.

  4. إِنّا لَفي دارٍ نَرى الإِكثارَ لا

    يَبقى لِصاحِبِهِ وَلا الإِقلالا

    We are indeed in an abode where we see that abundance does not

    last for its possessor, nor does scarcity.

  5. أَأُخَيَّ إِنَّ المالَ إِن قَدَّمتَهُ

    لَكَ لَيسَ إِن خَلَّفتَهُ لَكَ مالا

    O my dear brother, wealth, if you send it ahead,

    is yours; if you leave it behind, it is no wealth of yours.

  6. أَأُخَيَّ كُلٌّ لا مَحالَةَ زائِلٌ

    فَلِمَن أَراكَ تُثَمِّرُ الأَموالا

    O my dear brother, all things inevitably pass away;

    for whom, then, do I see you making your riches grow?

  7. أَأُخَيَّ شَأنَكَ بِالكَفافِ وَخَلَّ مَن

    أَثرى وَنافَسَ في الحُطامِ وَغالى

    O my dear brother, be content with enough, and leave whoever

    grows rich, vies for worldly chaff, and goes to excess.

  8. كَم مِن مُلوكٍ زالَ عَنهُم مُلكُهُم

    فَكَأَنَّ ذاكَ المُلكَ كانَ خَيالا

    How many kings have had their dominion pass from them,

    as though that dominion had been an illusion!

  9. وَالدَهرُ أَلطَفُ خاتِلٍ لَكَ خَتلُهُ

    وَالدَهرُ أَحكَمُ مَن رَماكَ نِبالا

    And time is the subtlest deceiver in its deceit of you,

    and time is the most skillful of those who shoot arrows at you.

  10. حَتّى مَتى تُمسي وَتُصبِحُ لاعِباً

    تَبغي البَقاءَ وَتَأمُلُ الآمالا

    How long will you pass your evenings and mornings at play,

    seeking lasting life and cherishing hopes?

  11. وَلَقَد رَأَيتُ الحادِثاتِ مُلِحَّةً

    تَنعى المُنى وَتُقَرِّبُ الآجالا

    And I have indeed seen calamities pressing relentlessly,

    announcing the death of hopes and bringing life's appointed ends nearer.

  12. وَلَقَد رَأَيتُ مَساكِناً مَسلوبَةً

    سُكّانُها وَمَصانِعاً وَظِلالا

    And I have indeed seen dwellings stripped

    of their inhabitants, and edifices and shaded places.

  13. وَلَقَد رَأَيتَ مَنِ اِستَطاعَ بجَمعِهِ

    وَبَنى فَشَيَّدَ قَصرَهُ وَأَطالا

    And you have indeed seen one whose amassed wealth gave him the means,

    who built, then erected his palace and raised it high.

  14. وَلَقَد رَأَيتُ مُسَلَّطاً وَمُمَلَّكاً

    وَمُفَوَّهاً قَد قيلَ قالَ وَقالا

    And I have indeed seen one invested with power, and one made king,

    and an eloquent speaker of whom it was said, 'He spoke, and spoke.'

  15. وَلَقَد رَأَيتُ الدَهرَ كَيفَ يُبيدُهُم

    شيباً وَكَيفَ يُبيدُهُم أَطفالا

    And I have indeed seen how time destroys them

    as gray-haired elders, and how it destroys them as children.

  16. وَلَقَد رَأَيتُ المَوتَ يُسرِعُ فيهِمُ

    حَقّاً يَميناً مَرَّةً وَشِمالا

    And I have indeed seen death hasten among them,

    truly—now to the right, now to the left.

  17. فَسَلِ الحَوادِثَ لا أَبا لَكَ عَنهُمُ

    وَسَلِ القُبورَ وَأَحفِهِنَّ سُؤالا

    So ask the calamities—may you have no father—about them,

    and ask the graves; press them with questions.

  18. فَلتُخبِرَنَّكَ أَنَّهُم خُلِقوا لِما

    خُلِقوا لَهُ فَمَضَوا لَهُ أَرسالا

    Then they will surely tell you that those people were created for what

    they were created for, and passed on to it in successive bands.

  19. وَلَقَلَّ ما تَصفو الحَياةُ لِأَهلِها

    حَتّى تُبَدَّلَ مِنُهُم أَبدالا

    And rarely indeed does life become serene for its people

    before others are substituted for them.

  20. وَلَقَلَّ ما دامَ السُرورُ لِمَعشِرٍ

    وَلَطالَما خانَ الزَمانُ وَغالا

    And rarely indeed has joy endured for a people;

    and how often time has betrayed and dealt death!

  21. وَلَقَلَّ ما تَرضى خِصالاً مِن أَخٍ

    آخَيتَهُ إِلّا سَخِطتَ خِصالا

    And rarely indeed do you approve of traits in a brother

    you have befriended without disliking other traits.

  22. وَلَقَلَّ ما تَسخو بِخَيرٍ نَفسُهُ

    حَتّى يُقاتِلَها عَلَيهِ قِتالا

    And rarely indeed does his soul give generously of good

    until he battles it in earnest to that end.

  23. أَأُخَيَّ إِنَّ المَرءَ حَيثُ فِعالُهِ

    فَتَوَلَّ أَحسَنَ ما يَكونُ فِعالا

    O my dear brother, a man stands where his deeds place him;

    so undertake the finest deeds that can be done.

  24. فَإِذا تَحامى الناسُ أَن يَتَحَمَّلوا

    لِلعارِفاتِ فَكُن لَها حَمّالا

    So when people shrink from taking on burdens

    for deeds of kindness, be one who bears them fully.

  25. أَقصِر خُطاكَ عَنِ المَطامِعِ عِفَّةً

    عَنها فَإِنَّ لَها صَفاً زَلّالا

    Hold back your steps from greedy desires, in self-restraint

    from them, for their rock is smooth and slippery.

  26. وَالمالُ أَولى بِاِكتِسابِكَ مُنفِقاً

    أَو مُمسِكاً إِن كانَ ذاكَ حَلالا

    And wealth is more fitting for you to earn, whether you spend

    or keep it, provided that is lawful.

  27. وَإِذا الحُقوقُ تَواتَرَت فَاِصبِر لَها

    أَبَداً وَإِن كانَت عَلَيكَ ثِقالا

    And when obligations come one after another, bear them patiently

    always, even if they weigh heavily upon you.

  28. فَكَفى بِمُلتَمِسِ التَواضُعِ رِفعَةً

    وَكَفى بِمُلتَمِسِ العُلُوِّ سِفالا

    So seeking humility is elevation enough;

    and seeking exaltation is abasement enough.

  29. أَأُخَيَّ مَن عَشِقَ الرِئاسَةَ خِفتُ أَن

    يَطغى وَيُحدِثَ بِدعَةً وَضَلالا

    O my dear brother, whoever loves leadership—I fear he may

    become tyrannical and introduce innovation and misguidance.

  30. أَأُخَيَّ إِنَّ أَمامَنا كُرَباً لَها

    شَغبٌ وَإِنَّ أَمامَنا أَهوالا

    O my dear brother, ahead of us lie afflictions full of

    turmoil, and ahead of us lie terrors.

  31. أَأُخَيَّ إِنَّ الدارَ مُدبِرَةٌ وَإِن

    كُنّا نَرى إِدبارَها إِقبالا

    O my dear brother, this abode is retreating, even though

    we regard its retreat as an advance.

  32. أَأُخَيَّ لا تَجعَل عَلَيكَ لِطالِبٍ

    يَتَتَبَّعُ العَثَراتِ مِنكَ مَقالا

    O my dear brother, give no fault-seeker

    who tracks your stumbles anything to say against you.

  33. فَالمَرءُ مَطلوبٌ بِمُهجَةِ نَفسِهِ

    طَلَباً يُصَرِّفُ حالَهُ أَحوالا

    For a man is pursued for his very lifeblood,

    a pursuit that shifts his condition from state to state.

  34. وَالمَرءُ لا يَرضى بِشُغلٍ واحِدٍ

    حَتّى يُوَلِّدَ شُغلُهُ أَشغالا

    And a man is not content with a single occupation

    until his occupation breeds further occupations.

  35. وَلَرُبَّ ذي عُلَقٍ لَهُنَّ حَلاوَةٌ

    سَيَعُدنَ يَوماً ما عَلَيهِ وَبالا

    And many a man has attachments that are sweet,

    which will someday become a bane to him.

  36. وَأَرى التَواصُلَ في الحَياةِ فَلا تَدَع

    لِأَخيكَ جُهدَكَ ما حَيِيتَ وِصالا

    And I favor fellowship in life; so do not neglect

    ties with your brother, to your utmost, as long as you live.

  37. أَأُخَيَّ إِنَّ الخَلقَ في طَبَقاتِهِ

    يُمسي وَيُصبِحُ لِلإِلَهِ عِيالا

    O my dear brother, creation in all its ranks

    passes evening and morning as dependents of God.

  38. وَاللَهُ أَكرَمُ مَن رَجَوتَ نَوالَهُ

    وَاللَهُ أَعظَمُ مَن يُنيلُ نَوالا

    And God is the most generous of those whose bounty you hope for,

    and God is the greatest of those who bestow bounty.

  39. مَلِكٌ تَواضَعَتِ المُلوكُ لِعِزِّهِ

    وَجَلالِهِ سُبحانَهُ وَتَعالى

    A King: kings have humbled themselves before His might

    and His majesty—glory be to Him, exalted is He!

  40. لا شَيءَ مِنهُ أَدَقُّ لُطفَ إِحاطَةٍ

    بِالعالَمينَ وَلا أَجَلُّ جَلالا

    Nothing is subtler than He in the delicacy of His encompassing

    of all worlds, nor greater in majesty.