من ظل يبغي فروع علم

من ظل يبغي فروع علم

بدءاً ولم يدر منه أصلا

بدءاً ولم يدر منه أصلا

Whoever keeps seeking the branches of a discipline

He who seeks branches of knowledge without knowing the roots

Whoever persists in pursuing the branches of knowledge,

first, without knowing any of its roots—

Is like one who gathers wood by night;

From the beginning, without understanding its roots,

فكلما ازداد فيه سعياً

فكلما ازداد فيه سعياً

زاد لعمري بذاك جهلا

زاد لعمري بذاك جهلا

the more he strives in it,

The more he toils therein,

The more effort he exerts in its pursuit,

the more, by my life, his ignorance grows thereby.

The greater is his bewilderment.

By my life, the more his ignorance only grows.