إذا أقبلتْ دُنيا تقادُ بشعرةٍ

إذا أقبلتْ دُنيا تقادُ بشعرةٍ

وإن أدبرتْ لم تَرْتِبط بالسلاسلِ

وإن أدبرتْ لم تَرْتِبط بالسلاسلِ

When worldly fortune comes, it can be led by a hair,

If fate comes led by a single hair

and if it turns away, it cannot be bound with chains.

And if it turns away, it's not tied by chains

ألم ترونّ اليعربيَّ بلعرباً

ألم ترونّ اليعربيَّ بلعرباً

سلالةَ سلطان بن سيف الجلائلِ

سلالةَ سلطان بن سيف الجلائلِ

Have you not seen Bal‘arab, the Ya‘rubi,

Have you not seen the Arab in an Arab

a scion of Sultan ibn Sayf, whose deeds were mighty?

The dynasty of Sultan bin Saif Al-Jalail

هو الملكُ السلطانُ شرقاً ومغرباً

هو الملكُ السلطانُ شرقاً ومغرباً

مليكٌ لهُ تعنُو رُءوسُ القبائلِ

مليكٌ لهُ تعنُو رُءوسُ القبائلِ

He was the king, the sultan, in the east and west,

He is the King, the Sultan in the East and West

a king before whom the heads of the tribes bowed.

A king whom the heads of tribes obey

فلم يحمِه بنيانُه حين أدبرتْ

فلم يحمِه بنيانُه حين أدبرتْ

ولم ينتفع بالصافِنَاتِ الصَّواهِلِ

ولم ينتفع بالصافِنَاتِ الصَّواهِلِ

Yet his edifice did not protect him when fortune turned away,

So his buildings did not protect him when fate turned away

nor did he benefit from the poised, neighing steeds.

Nor did he benefit from the mighty towers

طوتْهُ صروفُ الدهرِ طيّاً فأصب

طوتْهُ صروفُ الدهرِ طيّاً فأصب

حتْ مساكِنُه مُغْبرَّة كالمجاهِلِ

حتْ مساكِنُه مُغْبرَّة كالمجاهِلِ

The vicissitudes of time folded him away utterly, and so

The turns of fate folded him up so he became

his dwellings became dust-covered, like trackless wastes.

His dwellings covered in dust like the barren valleys

ألاَ فاعتبرْ يا صاحِ إن كنتَ عاقلاً

ألاَ فاعتبرْ يا صاحِ إن كنتَ عاقلاً

وكنْ حَذِراً مما بقى غيرَ غافلِ

وكنْ حَذِراً مما بقى غيرَ غافلِ

Take heed, then learn the lesson, O friend, if you are wise,

Beware, oh conscious one, if you are reasonable

and be wary of what remains, not heedless.

And beware of what remains other than the heedless