1. كل الأَمر من الَّذي مَلَكَ الأَمرا

    وَصابر عَلَيهِ ما اِستَطَعتَ لَهُ صَبرا

    The whole affair comes from the one who holds command;

    and endure it with all the patience you can muster.

  2. عَلى مِثلِ ما تَشكو الحَياة وَإِنَّما

    أَرى جَزَعَ المَكروبِ كُربتهُ الأُخرى

    Life is built on things like those you lament; I only

    see the sufferer's anguish as his other affliction.

  3. وَأَجمَلَ بِالمَرءِ التَّجَمُّلَ إِنَّهُ

    إِذا عافه طَوعاً تَكلَّفهُ جَبرا

    How becoming is composure in a man! For

    if he willingly shuns it, he must assume it by force.

  4. هُوَ الدَّهرُ لا يَبقى عَلى شَطرِ حالةٍ

    فَبرْءٌ يَلي سُقماً وَيُسرٌ يلِي عُسرا

    Such is time: it never stays in a single phase;

    so recovery follows sickness, and ease follows hardship.

  5. وَإِنَّ قُصارى كُلِّ ضيقٍ وَإِن يَطُلْ

    إِلى فرَج يَدعو الكَئيب لَكَ البُشرى

    And every distress, however long it lasts, ends

    in relief that calls to the sorrowful: 'Glad tidings to you!'

  6. إِذا ما عَدِمنا طَلعةَ البَدرِ لَيلةً

    فَلا بُدَّ بَعدَ اللَّيلِ أَن نُدركَ الفَجرا

    If one night we lack the sight of the full moon,

    then, after night, we are bound to reach the dawn.

  7. يَمحِّصُ هَذا الدَّهر صَبرَ رِجالهِ

    فَيُوسعُهم سَبكاً لِيُخلِصهُم تِبرا

    This age tests the patience of its men,

    and smelts them thoroughly to refine them into pure gold.

  8. وَإِن الظُبى تَلَقى عَلى الصَّقلِ شدَّةً

    فَتَخرجَ بِعدَ الصَّقلِ ضاحِكَةً بُشرا

    And though sword blades endure harsh treatment in polishing,

    they emerge after polishing, laughing with joy.

  9. فَدَيتَكَ يا مَن باتَ يَشكو مِنَ الضَّنى

    وَبي ما بِهِ مِمَّا طَوَت كَبِدي الحَرّى

    May I be your ransom, you who spend the night lamenting wasting illness,

    and I suffer what he suffers, enfolded in my burning liver;

  10. وَمَن عادَه قَلبي الكَليمَ وَإِنَّما

    أحب لِعَيني أَن تُحيط بِهِ خُبرا

    and you whom my wounded heart has visited; I only

    wish my eye to know him fully.

  11. إِذا طالَ مَكث الدَّاءِ عِندَك مُدَّةً

    فَصَبرُك قَد أَلقى عَلى طولِهِ قِصرا

    If the illness stays with you for a long while,

    your patience has cast brevity over its length.

  12. وَإِن عَبَثتْ يَوماً بِجسمِكَ علةٌ

    فَما عَبَثت بِالعَرض وَالشِّيمةِ الغَرّا

    And if an illness has one day played havoc with your body,

    it has not played havoc with your honor or your radiant character.

  13. أُجلُّكَ أَن أَدعوكَ بَحراً لِأَنَّني

    أَرى أَضعَفَ الأَنفاسِ قَد حرَّك البَحرا

    I esteem you too highly to call you a sea, for I

    see that the faintest breath has stirred the sea.

  14. عَهدتُكَ مِمَّن لا تَروع عَظيمةٌ

    حَشاهُ وَلا يَخشى لنائبةٍ شَرّا

    I have known you as one whom no great calamity terrifies

    in his innermost being, and who fears no harm from misfortune.

  15. وَمَن ذاقَ طَعمَيْ حالتيْهِ فَلَم يَكُنْ

    لِيَحفلَ لِلأَيّام خِلّاً وَلا خَمرا

    And one who has tasted both flavors of time's two states would never

    care whether the days bring vinegar or wine.

  16. وَمَن صَحِبَ الأَخطارَ حَتّى غَدا لَها

    أَليفاً فَما تَلَقى عَلى قَلبِهِ ذُعرا

    And whoever has kept company with dangers until he has become

    familiar with them—you find no terror upon his heart.

  17. إَلَيكَ سَلامٌ راحَ باسمكَ عاطِراً

    يُطارحُ في البَيداءِ مِن عُرفِهِ العِطرا

    To you a greeting goes forth, fragrant with your name,

    exchanging some of its scent with perfume in the desert.

  18. سَلام يُؤدّي مِن شَجٍ كُلَّما اِنتَهى

    إَلَيكَ سَلامٌ مِنهُ أَتبَعَهُ عَشرا

    A greeting conveyed from a sorrowful man: whenever

    a greeting from him reaches you, he follows it with ten more.