Sol 6.1

  1. مَنْ خَالَفَ الْحَزْمَ خَانَتْهُ مَعَاذِرُهُ

    وَمَنْ أَطَاعَ هَواهُ قَلَّ نَاصِرُهُ

    Whoever defies prudence finds his excuses fail him.

    And whoever obeys his desire finds few to support him.

  2. وَمَنْ تَرَبَّصَ بِالإِخْوَانِ بَادِرَهً

    مِنَ الزَّمَانِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ قَاهِرُهُ

    And whoever awaits a sudden calamity for his brethren

    From time—God will surely vanquish him.

  3. لا يَجْمُلُ الْمَرْءُ فِي ظَرْفٍ وَفِي أَدَبٍ

    مَا لَمْ تَكُنْ فَوْقَ مَرْآهُ سَرَائِرُهُ

    A man gains no grace from refinement and good manners

    Unless his inner qualities surpass his outward appearance.

  4. وَمَا الصَّدِيقُ الَّذِي يُرْضِيكَ بَاطِنُهُ

    مِثْلُ الصَّدِيقِ الَّذِي يُرْضِيكَ ظَاهِرُهُ

    And a friend whose inward nature pleases you is not

    Like a friend whose outward appearance pleases you.

  5. قَدْ لا يَفُوهُ الْفَتَى بِالأَمْرِ يُضْمِرُهُ

    وَبَيْنَ عَيْنَيهِ مَا تُخْفِي ضَمَائِرُهُ

    A young man may leave unspoken what he harbors,

    Yet between his eyes lies what his innermost thoughts conceal.

  6. أَسْتَودِعُ اللَّهَ عَصْرَاً قَدْ خَلَعْتُ بِهِ

    عُذْرَ الْهَوَى وَهْوَ غَضَّاتٌ مَكَاسِرُهُ

    I commend to God an age in which I cast off

    Love's reins, while its joints were still supple.

  7. لَمْ يَمْضِ مِنْ حُسْنِهِ مَا كُنْتُ أَعْهَدُهُ

    حَتَّى أَصَابَ سَوَادَ الْقَلْبِ نَاقِرُهُ

    The beauty I had known in it had not yet faded

    When its pecking blow struck my heart's black core.

  8. كَيْفَ الْوُصُولُ إِلَى حَالٍ نَعِيشُ بِهَا

    وَالدَّهْرُ مَأْمُونَةٌ فِينَا بَوَادِرُهُ

    How can we reach a state in which we live

    Secure from time's sudden assaults upon us?

  9. إِذْ لا صَدِيقَ يَسُرُّ السَّمْعَ غَائِبُهُ

    وَلا رَفِيقَ يَرُوقُ الْعَيْنَ حَاضِرُهُ

    For no friend delights the ear when absent,

    Nor any companion the eye when present.

  10. كُنَّا نَوَدُّ انْقِلابَاً نَسْتَرِيحُ بِهِ

    حَتَّى إِذَا تَمَّ سَاءَتْنَا مَصَايِرُهُ

    We longed for a change that would bring us rest;

    But once it came to pass, its outcomes grieved us.

  11. فَالْقَلْبُ مُضْطَرِبٌ فِي مَا يُحَاوِلُهُ

    وَالْعَقْلُ مُخْتَبَلٌ مِمَّا يُحَاذِرُهُ

    So the heart is troubled by whatever it attempts,

    And the mind is unhinged by what it fears.

  12. قَدْ كَانَ في السَّلَفِ الْمَاضِينَ نَافِعُهُ

    فَصَارَ فِي الْخَلَفِ الْبَاقِينَ ضَائِرُهُ

    Its good once belonged to the forebears now departed;

    Its harm now falls upon the successors who remain.

  13. مَا أَبْعَدَ الْخَيْرَ في الدُّنْيَا لِطَالِبِهِ

    وَأَقْرَبَ الشَّرَّ مِنْ نَفْسٍ تُحَاذِرُهُ

    How distant is good in this world from its seeker,

    And how near is evil to a soul that fears it!

  14. أَكُلَّمَا مَرَّ مِنْ دَهْرٍ أَوَائِلُهُ

    كَرَّتْ بِمِثْلِ أَوَالِيهِ أَوَاخِرُهُ

    Whenever the first days of an age pass,

    Must its last days return with the like of its first?

  15. إِنْ دَامَ هَذَا أَضَاعَ الرُّشْدَ كَافِلُهُ

    فِي مَا أَرَى وَأَطاعَ الْغَيَّ زَاجِرُهُ

    If this persists, sound judgment's guardian will forsake it,

    As I see it, and error's restrainer will obey it.

  16. تَنَكَّرَتْ مِصْرُ بَعْدَ الْعُرْفِ وَاضْطَرَبَتْ

    قَوَاعِدُ الْمُلْكِ حَتَّى رِيعَ طَائِرُهُ

    Egypt, once familiar, turned strange; and shaken were

    The foundations of rule, till its bird took fright.

  17. فَأَهْمَلَ الأَرْضَ جَرَّا الظُّلْمِ حَارِثُهَا

    وَاسْتَرْجَعَ الْمَالَ خَوْفَ الْعُدْمِ تَاجِرُهُ

    So the farmer neglected the land because of oppression,

    And the trader withdrew his money for fear of destitution.

  18. وَاسْتَحْكَمَ الْهَوْلُ حَتَّى مَا يَبِيتُ فَتىً

    فِي جَوْشَنِ اللَّيْلِ إِلَّا وَهْوَ سَاهِرُهُ

    Terror took such hold that no man could pass the night

    Within night's coat of mail without keeping vigil through it.

  19. وَيْلُمِّهِ سَكَناً لَوْلا الدَّفِينُ بِهِ

    مِنَ الْمَآثِرِ مَا كُنَّا نُجَاوِرُهُ

    Woe to it as a dwelling! But for what lies buried there

    Of past glories, we would not dwell beside it.

  20. أَرْضَى بِهِ غَيْرَ مَغْبُوطٍ بِنِعْمَتِهِ

    وَفي سِوَاهُ الْمُنَى لَوْلا عَشَائِرُهُ

    I am content with it, though none envies me its bounty;

    My wishes lie elsewhere, were it not for its clans.

  21. يَا نَفْسُ لا تَجْزَعِي فَالْخَيْرُ مُنْتَظَرٌ

    وَصَاحِبُ الصَّبْرِ لا تَبْلَى مَرَائِرُهُ

    O soul, do not be dismayed, for good is yet to come;

    And the patient one's cords of resolve do not wear out.

  22. لَعَلَّ بُلْجَةَ نُورٍ يُسْتَضَاءُ بِهَا

    بَعْدَ الظَّلامِ الَّذِي عَمَّتْ دَيَاجِرُهُ

    Perhaps there will be a gleam of light to see by

    After the darkness whose deep gloom has spread everywhere.

  23. إِنِّي أَرَى أَنْفُسَاً ضَاقَتْ بِمَا حَمَلَتْ

    وَسَوْفَ يَشْهَرُ حَدَّ السَّيْفِ شَاهِرُهُ

    Indeed, I see souls overwhelmed by what they have borne;

    And the sword's wielder will lay bare its edge.

  24. شَهْرَانِ أَوْ بَعْضُ شَهْرٍ إِنْ هِيَ احْتَدَمَتْ

    وَفِي الْجَدِيدَيْنِ مَا تُغْنِي فَوَاقِرُهُ

    Two months, or part of a month, if it flares up;

    And day and night hold crushing calamities enough.

  25. فَإِنْ أَصَبْتُ فَعَنْ رَأْيٍ مَلَكْتُ بِهِ

    عِلْمَ الْغُيُوبِ وَرَأْيُ الْمَرْءِ نَاظِرُهُ

    If I am right, it is through judgment by which I gained

    Knowledge of the unseen—and a man's judgment is his seeing eye.