1. عايِن أَواخِرَ كائِنٍ بِأَوائِلٍ

    إِنَّ الهِلالَ يُحَقُّ بِالإِبدارِ

    Discern a thing's endings from its beginnings.

    Indeed, the crescent finds fulfillment in the full moon.

  2. وَاللَيلُ يُؤذِنُ بِالصَباحِ فَإِن تَرُم

    فيهِ سُراكَ لِحاجَةٍ فَبِدارُ

    And night heralds dawn; so if you plan

    your journey through it on an errand, make haste.

  3. أَرَجَوتَ أَن تُعطى اِختِيارَكَ وَالفَتى

    يَغدو عالى شُمسٍ مِنَ الأَقدارِ

    Did you hope to be granted your choice, when a man

    rides forth on the unruly steeds of fate?

  4. وَأَرى العَروسَ تَحَجَّبَت في خِدرِها

    كَمُعَرَّسِ الآسادِ في الأَخدارِ

    And I see the bride veiled in her chamber,

    like lions at rest within their lairs.

  5. أَحسِن جِواراً لِلفَتاةِ وَعُدَّها

    أُختَ السِماكِ عَلى دُنُوِّ الدارِ

    Be a good neighbor to the maiden, and count her

    a sister to al-Simāk, though her dwelling is near.

  6. كَتَجاورُ العَينَينِ لَن تَتَلاقَيا

    وَحِجازُ بَينَهُما قَصيرُ جِدارِ

    Like two neighboring eyes, you two will never meet,

    though the barrier between them is a low wall.

  7. وَالحَيُّ دارٍ بِالَّذي هُوَ حّادِثٌ

    وَلَهُ مِنَ الأَمَلِ المُضَلَّلِ دارِ

    And the living man knows what is to come,

    yet in delusive hope he has a beguiler.

  8. يَسعى الحَريصُ وَما القَضاءُ بِغافِلٍ

    عَن رَبِّ إيرادٍ وَلا إِصدارِ

    The covetous man strives, yet fate is not heedless

    of anyone who brings in or sends out.

  9. كَم نِعمَةٍ لِلَّهِ يَحسِبُها اِمرُؤٌ

    بِالشَحطِ وَهِيَ قَريبَةُ المُزدارِ

    How many a blessing from God a man thinks

    far away, though it lies within easy reach.