1. أوصيكُمو يا أيها العُقلاءُ

    بوصيَّة تعنو لها الحُكماءُ

    I counsel you, O wise ones,

    with counsel before which the sages bow.

  2. فهِي الهُدَى لمن اهتدَى ببيانِها

    وهِي التي للمُهتدين ضِياءُ

    It is guidance for whoever is guided by its clear exposition,

    and it is a light for those who are guided.

  3. فتدبَّروا آياتِها وتفكَّرُوا

    فهي الدَّواءُ وللقلوبِ جلاءُ

    So ponder its verses and reflect;

    it is medicine and a cleansing for hearts.

  4. لا تَرْكَنوا يوماً إلى الزَّرع الذي

    يُزْرِى بمن وَافَاهُ وهْو بَرَاءُ

    Never rely on the crop that

    brings disgrace upon whoever approaches it, though he is blameless.

  5. وهو الذي يَدَعُ الدِّيار بَلاقِعاً

    والأغنياءُ به همُ الفقراءُ

    It is what leaves dwellings desolate,

    and through it the rich become poor.

  6. ذاكَ الذي سمَّاهُ صحبي سُكَّراً

    وإذا صَفَا عُمِلَتْ به الحَلْوَاءُ

    That is what my companions have called sugar,

    and when it is refined, sweets are made with it.

  7. لا تُكْثِرُوا من زرعه وتنكَّبوا

    عن حرثه يا أيها البُصَرَاءُ

    Do not overdo its cultivation, and turn aside

    from tilling it, O discerning ones.

  8. إن كان ذا لابُدَّ منه فانعلوا

    في حرثه ما يفعلُ الفُطَنَاءُ

    If this is unavoidable, then do

    in its cultivation what the shrewd do.

  9. فإذا أتَى الخِصْبُ الكثير تنبَّهوا

    وتنكبَّوا إن قَلّت الأنواءُ

    Then, when great plenty arrives, take heed;

    and turn aside if the rains grow scarce.

  10. لا تزرعوا في المَحْلِ يوماً سُكراً

    أن لا يَحُلَّ بكم أَسىً وشَقاءُ

    Never plant sugar during drought,

    lest sorrow and misery befall you.

  11. إن الشَّقاءَ لفي الزراعة مطلقاً

    إن أجْدَبَت أرضٌ وقَلَّ الماءُ

    There is surely misery in cultivation of any kind

    if land becomes barren and water dwindles.

  12. لا آمُرَنَّ به فتىً ذا عُسْرة

    إلا امرأً معه غِنىً وثرَاءُ

    I would never urge it upon a young man in hardship,

    but only upon a man with wealth and riches.

  13. لكن على نَظَرٍ له وبصيرةٍ

    أن لا يُقِلَّ ويفرحُ الخُصماءُ

    Yet only with deliberation and insight on his part,

    lest he become poor and his adversaries rejoice.

  14. لا غرَّ ذا المالَ الكثير بربحه

    أمسى فقيراً خانَهُ الإثْرَاءُ

    May its profit not beguile the man of great wealth:

    he became poor; enrichment betrayed him.

  15. ها فانظُرُوا إن كنتم في مِرْيةٍ

    ما قدَّمَ الآباءُ والأبناءُ

    Behold, then look, if you are in doubt,

    at what fathers and sons have put forward.

  16. لو في زراعته نصيبٌ وافِرٌ

    ما أطنبت في ذَمِّهِ الصُّلحاءُ

    If its cultivation yielded an ample share,

    the righteous would not have dwelt so long on condemning it.

  17. لو ذَمَّ كل الذَّمِّ فهو محبَّبُ

    معهم وكان مِدادَهُ الأهواءُ

    Even if utterly condemned, it remains beloved

    among them, and desires were its ink.

  18. يعطى فَيُسْلبُ ما أفادَ كأنه

    ذو العقل يفعلَ ما يَرَى ويشاءُ

    It gives, then strips away what it bestowed, as though

    endowed with reason, doing what it sees fit and wishes.

  19. إن كنتَ ذا عَقْل فأعرض عنه لا

    تزرعه قطعاً إنه لَعَناء

    If you have reason, turn away from it; do not

    grow it at all: it is sheer hardship.

  20. لو كان حلواً في المذاق فإنه

    مُرٌّ وما في شُرْبه استحلاءُ

    Even if it is sweet to the taste, it is

    bitter, and there is no sweetness in drinking it.

  21. فكأن صاحبه مُصاحب حَيَّةٍ

    رقطاءَ بئست حَيَّةٌ رقطاءُ

    Its owner is like a companion of a snake—

    speckled—what a wretched speckled snake!

  22. لا ينقُصُ المالَ الكثير زراعةٌ

    أَتُرَى بشربٍ ينقُصُ الدَّأْماءُ

    Cultivation does not diminish great wealth;

    do you think the sea dwindles from a drink?

  23. أمَّا الملوكُ فلا يُعارَضُ رأْيُهم

    فلهم به دون الوَرَى آراءُ

    As for kings, their judgment is not to be opposed;

    they have their own views on it, apart from the rest of mankind.

  24. لا تُظْهِرَنَّ خلاف ما عملوا به

    فالرَّأْىُ دعْهم يفعلوا ما شاءوا

    Never show opposition to what they have acted upon.

    So the counsel is: let them do what they wish.

  25. فهمُ يرون حقائقاً ما لا نرى

    سَلِّمْ لأمرهم فهم كُبَرَاءُ

    For they see truths we do not see.

    Submit to their command, for they are the great ones.

  26. إن كنتَ ذا سمعٍ وذا عَقْلٍ وذا

    بَصَرٍ فخذ ما قالت الشُّعَراءُ

    If you possess hearing, reason, and

    sight, then take what the poets have said.

  27. فمقالُهم في كل شيءٍ حِكمةٌ

    ومقالُ غيرهم لَغّى وهَباءُ

    For their words on everything are wisdom;

    the words of others are idle talk and dust.

  28. أو كنتَ أحمق لا تميِّزُ فاستمع

    ما قاله في السُّكَّرِ الجُهلاءُ

    Or, if you are a fool who cannot discern, listen

    to what the ignorant have said about sugar.

  29. أمست مساكنهم لغيرهم وَفا

    رَقهم لذلك أَعْبُدٌ ونساءُ

    Their dwellings became others', and

    male slaves and women departed from them because of it.

  30. وتشتّتت أموالهم وتحيَّرت

    آراؤهم وتخاذلَ الحكماءُ

    Their wealth was scattered, and confusion overtook

    their judgments; the wise failed one another.

  31. وتهوَّروا في الفقر حتى إنهم

    صاروا ذوى ذُلٍّ وهم كُرماءُ

    And they plunged headlong into poverty until they

    became humiliated, though they were noble.

  32. أضحَوا أقَلَّ من القليل وقَدْرُهم

    عند البَرِيّة مثله الغَوْغاءُ

    They became less than the least, and their standing

    among humankind was like that of the rabble.

  33. إن كنتَ يا هذا تريد كمِثلهم

    هذى الخُيولُ وهذه البيداءُ

    If you, sir, wish to be like them,

    here are the horses, and here is the desert.

  34. فاركض وجَرِّب سبق خيلك إنني

    مُتَرَقِّبٌ ما يصبُغ الحِنَّاءُ

    Then gallop and test your horses' speed; I am

    waiting to see what the henna will dye.

  35. والله إن خالَفْتَني ونَصيحتي

    فلسوف تجنى ما جَنَى السفهاءُ

    By God, if you oppose me and my counsel,

    you will surely reap what fools have reaped.

  36. ولَتَنْدَمَنَّ ندامةَ ما فوقها

    أو مثلُها الكُسَعِيُّ أو حَوَّاءُ

    And you will surely feel a regret that neither

    al-Kusa‘i nor Eve exceeded or equaled.

  37. فانظُر ندامةَ هؤلاء بفعلهم

    فإليك فافعل ما تَرَى وتشاءُ

    So consider these people's regret over their deeds;

    then the choice is yours: do as you judge and wish.

  38. وإليك زاهِرَةَ المحاسن إن بَدَتْ

    أزهارُها ما الرَّوضةُ الزَّهراءُ

    And here for you is one radiant in beauty; if

    her blossoms appear, what is a flowering garden beside her?

  39. وإذا بَدَتْ يوماً وفُضَّ خِتامُها

    ينضاعُ منها عَنْبَرٌ وشَذاءُ

    And when she appears one day and her seal is broken,

    ambergris and fragrance waft from her.

  40. نتناثَرُ الأزهارُ من حافاتِها

    إن غَرَّدَت بقريضها الشُّعراءُ

    Flowers scatter from her edges

    when poets sing her verse.

  41. تُبدى وتقطُرُ لؤلؤاً متناثراً

    رطباً كما تتناثَرُ الأَنْدَاءُ

    She displays and drips scattered pearls,

    moist, as dewdrops scatter.

  42. نزّهتها عن فعل أهل الكُفر

    والتَّضْليل أن لا يضحكُ السُّفَهاءُ

    I have kept her free of the deeds of those who disbelieve

    and mislead, lest fools laugh.

  43. فإذا استهنت بها كأنك سارحٌ

    في الشمس تُطغى ضوءَك الأضواءُ

    Then, if you belittle her, you are like one roaming

    in the sun, where lights overwhelm your light.

  44. أو أن تكَرِّمها وترفَعَ قَدْرَها

    فهى الدَّواءُ وللمريض شِفاءُ

    Or if you honor her and raise her worth,

    she is medicine, and healing for the sick.

  45. تَسقيكَ كأس مُدامةٍ من ثَغْرِها

    ما الشّهْدُ ما السَّلسالُ ما الصهباءُ

    She gives you a cup of aged wine from her lips:

    what is honey, what is limpid water, what is tawny wine beside it?

  46. هي بهجةٌ للناظرين وسَلْوَةٌ

    لِلْهَمِّ وهي الرَّوضةُ الغَنَّاءُ

    She is delight to those who behold her, and solace

    for sorrow; she is the lush garden.

  47. وكأنها من حُسنها وجَمالها

    وكمالها حُورِيّةٌ حسناءُ

    And she seems, in her loveliness and beauty,

    and in her perfection, a beautiful houri.

  48. تنُسيكَ بل تُسليكَ بل تُحييكَ

    لا أمثالُها ليلَى ولا أسماءُ

    She makes you forget—rather, consoles you—rather, revives you.

    Neither Layla nor Asma is her equal.

  49. خُذها أبوها مُعْوَلِيٌّ ناصحٌ

    ما النُّصح منه شابَه الأقذاءُ

    Take her: her father is a Mu‘wali, a sincere adviser.

    His counsel has not been tainted by impurities.