1. صبرت لصرف هذا الدهر لما

    شجيت به وأعوزني الوجود

    I endured the vicissitudes of this age when

    I was grieved by it, and means failed me.

  2. طلبت إلى الغنى سببا فأعيا

    وقد يثنى عن الجلد الجليد

    I sought a path to wealth, but it proved beyond me;

    and even the steadfast may be turned from endurance.

  3. فهان عليّ ما في الأرض جمعا

    سوى قوت يجود به المجيد

    So everything on earth became insignificant to me,

    except sustenance generously bestowed by the Glorious One,

  4. وثوب أكتسيه ودفع يوم

    ووعد الله يتبعه الوعيد

    and a garment I wear, and warding off a day's hardship,

    and God's promise, followed by the warning of punishment.

  5. أردت غنى يصون عن المساعي

    وربّ العرش يفعل ما يريد

    I wanted wealth to shield me from striving,

    yet the Lord of the Throne does what He wills.

  6. صبرت لما أراد الله طوعا

    وقد يشجى وإن صبر الرشيد

    I willingly endured what God willed;

    yet the wise man may grieve, even though he is patient.

  7. ويعتنق اللبيب الصبر حزما

    وليس له عن البلوى محيد

    The discerning man embraces patience out of prudence,

    and he has no escape from affliction.

  8. أقول للائمي عتبا وجورا

    وما لوم على قدر مفيد

    I say to my critic, who reproaches me unjustly:

    Blame over fate is of no use.

  9. لماذا أسترقّ وكلّ يوم

    جديد فيه لي رزق جديد

    Why should I be enslaved, when each day

    comes anew with fresh sustenance for me?

  10. فإن وفقت في صبري بشكر

    فعند الله ما فيه المزيد

    So if I am enabled to give thanks in my patience,

    then with God lies still greater abundance.

  11. خلقت لأقتني كرما ومحدا

    ويغنيني عن النهض القعود

    I was created to acquire nobility and [glory?],

    and sitting spares me the need to rise.

  12. زمانة فطرة وزمان سوء

    فلا سعد يسرذ ولا سعيد

    An inborn disability and an evil age—

    so neither Saʿd nor Saʿīd [prevails?].

  13. إلى من أنتمي وبمن أسامي

    إلى العلياء والدنيا وقود

    To whom can I belong, and through whom can I strive

    for the heights, while the world is fuel?

  14. وأهل زماننا هجروا المعالي

    ومال بهم إلى البخل الجحود

    The people of our age have abandoned noble pursuits,

    and ingratitude has drawn them toward stinginess.

  15. هززتهم بأشعاري فشحّوا

    وهل يندى لعاصره الحديد

    I shook them with my poems, yet they were miserly;

    and does iron yield moisture to whoever squeezes it?

  16. رجال يحسدونك في قليل

    وعندهم الدراهم والعبيد

    Men who envy you for a little,

    while they possess dirhams and slaves.

  17. فقيد جودهم وهم ملوك

    وشرذهم على البلوى يزيد

    Their generosity is absent, though they are kings,

    and their [unclear word] exceeds affliction.

  18. لهم مالٌ وليس لهم نفوس

    وكيف ينيلك الرفد الحسود

    They have wealth, but they have no souls;

    and how can the envious man bestow aid on you?

  19. سروري بالسلامة من أمور

    تورطها المغفل والبليد

    My joy lies in safety from matters

    in which the gullible and the dull-witted have become entangled.