كُن بِما اوتيته مُقتَنِعاً

كُن بِما اوتيته مُقتَنِعاً

تَستَدم عَيش القَنوع المُكتَفي

تَستَدم عَيش القَنوع المُكتَفي

Be content with what you have been given;

Be content with what you have been given;

you will preserve the life of one content and self-sufficient.

You will keep living content and satisfied.

إِن في نَيل المُنى وَشك الرَدى

إِن في نَيل المُنى وَشك الرَدى

وَقِياس القَصد ضد السرف

وَقِياس القَصد ضد السرف

For in attaining one’s desires lies swift ruin,

Indeed, in attaining wishes, death is close at hand.

and measured moderation is the opposite of excess—

And moderation, the opposite of excess, is likened

كِسِراج دَهنه قوت لَهُ

كِسِراج دَهنه قوت لَهُ

فَإِذا غرقته فيهِ طُفي

فَإِذا غرقته فيهِ طُفي

like a lamp whose oil is its sustenance:

To a lamp whose oil is its sustenance;

if you drown it in that oil, it is extinguished.

Then if you drown it in that oil, it goes out.