1. يا ذاكِرَ النَعماءِ إِن نُسِيَت

    وَمَجَدِّدَ المَعروفِ إِن دَرَسا

    O you who remember blessings if they are forgotten,

    And renew kindness if it has faded,

  2. وَمُنَبِّهِ الآمالِ إِن رَقَدَت

    بِالطَولِ لا أَغفى وَلا نَعِسا

    And awaken hopes if they have slept,

    With bounty—may he neither slumber nor doze!

  3. نَصلٌ إِذا وَقَفَ النُصولُ مَضى

    جَبَلٌ إِذا اِضطَرَبَ الجِبالُ رَسا

    A blade that advances when blades stand still;

    A mountain that stands firm when mountains shake.

  4. لِلَّهِ بَحرٌ ما هَتَفتُ بِهِ

    حَتّى اِستَهَلَّ عَليَّ وَاِنبَجَسا

    God be praised for such a sea! No sooner did I call to him

    Than he poured down upon me and gushed forth.

  5. أَجمَمتُ جُمَّتَهُ فَفاضَ بِها

    يَطَأُ الرُبى وَيُبَلِّلُ اليَبَسا

    I let his pool replenish, and he overflowed with it,

    Treading the hills and wetting the dry land.

  6. زَخَرَت غَوارِبُهُ إِلَيَّ وَلَم

    يَقُلِ الرَجاءُ لَعَلَّما وَعسى

    His wave-crests surged toward me, and never

    Did hope say, 'Perhaps' or 'Maybe.'

  7. وَأَغَرَّ مُختَلِسٍ مَكارِمَهُ

    إِنَّ الكَريمِ يَرى النَدى خُلَسا

    And a radiant man, snatching chances for his noble deeds—

    Indeed, the generous man sees giving as chances to be seized.

  8. غَرَسَ الصَنائِعَ ثُمَّ عادَ بِهِ

    عَودُ النَدى فَسَقى الَّذي غَرَسا

    He planted kindnesses; then he was brought back

    By renewed bounty, and watered what he had planted.

  9. كَالعَضبِ فيهِ صاقِلٌ عَمِلٌ

    يَنفي القَذى وَيُباعِدُ الدَنَسا

    Like a keen blade worked upon by a diligent polisher,

    Who removes impurities and keeps stains away.

  10. مِن مَعشَرٍ رَكِبوا المَكارِمَ في

    أَولى الزَمانِ مَصاعِباً شُمُسا

    From a people who rode noble deeds in

    Time's earliest days as untamed, unruly mounts.

  11. شَغَلوا مَلابِسَها فَلَم يَدَعوا

    لِلناسِ إِلّا الدَنِسَ اللُبُسا

    They filled virtue's robes, leaving

    For others only soiled clothing.

  12. العاطِفونَ إِذا الصَديقُ نَبا

    وَالمُحسِنونَ إِذا الزَمانُ أَسا

    Those who show kindness when a friend turns cold,

    And do good when time does harm.

  13. وَإِذا خِناقُ الكَربِ ضاقَ بِنا

    رَدّوا النُفوسَ وَرَدَّدوا النَفَسا

    And when distress's noose tightens around us,

    They restore souls and make breath flow again.

  14. ما ضَرَّ مَن مُطِروا بِبَلدَتِهِ

    إِن كانَ ماءُ المُزنِ مُحتَبَسا

    No harm comes to one whose town receives them as rain,

    If the rain-clouds' water is withheld.

  15. لا أَزلَقَ اليَومُ العَبوسُ لَكُم

    قَدَماً وَلا أَطفى لَكُم قَبَسا

    May the scowling day never make you lose

    Your footing, nor extinguish a firebrand for you.

  16. لا تَفتُرُنَّ عَلى الزَمانِ وَإِن

    عَثَرَ الزَمانُ بِعِزِّكُم تَعِسا

    May you never falter through time; and if

    Time stumbles against your might, may it come to grief!