فَلَو كانَتِ الدُنيا تُنالُ بِفِطنَةٍ

فَلَو كانَتِ الدُنيا تُنالُ بِفِطنَةٍ

وَفَضلٍ وَعَقَلٍ نِلتُ أَعلى المَراتِبِ

وَفَضلٍ وَعَقَلٍ نِلتُ أَعلى المَراتِبِ

For if the world were attained through discernment,

Were this world attained by wisdom and merit, I would sit enthroned on high;

If the world were obtained through acumen,

and merit and reason, I would have attained the highest ranks.

But in this lottery of life, we draw our lots as Heav'n may decide.

And merit and intellect, I would have attained the highest ranks;

وَلَكِنَّما الأَرزاقُ حَظٌّ وَقِسمَةٌ

وَلَكِنَّما الأَرزاقُ حَظٌّ وَقِسمَةٌ

بَفَضلِ مَليكٍ لا بِحيلَةِ طالِبِ

بَفَضلِ مَليكٍ لا بِحيلَةِ طالِبِ

But sustenance is fortune and allotment,

Not wisdom, wit or intellect confers this world's prosperity,

But livelihoods are merely luck and destiny,

by the grace of the Sovereign, not by a seeker's cunning.

But only destiny, bestowed through grace of God, the Most High.

By the grace of the King, not by the device of a seeker.