1. قُل للّذي راحَ بِعزٍّ وَاِغتَدى

    يسحبُ منه مِطْرَفاً مورّدا

    Say to him who goes forth in glory, evening and morning,

    trailing a rose-red cloak of that glory,

  2. صنيعَ مَنْ يطمعُ أنْ يُخلَّدا

    جمعتَ ما لا بدّ أنْ يُبدّدا

    as one who hopes to live forever would do:

    You have amassed what must inevitably be scattered.

  3. إنْ لم يزُلْ في يومِهِ زال غدا

    يا جامعاً لغيره مُحتشِدا

    If it does not vanish in its day, it will vanish tomorrow.

    O you who strive to gather for someone else,

  4. نَضَدتَ مالاً هل نَضَدتَ أمَدا

    سيّانِ مَنْ سار يجرّ العَدَدا

    you have piled up wealth—have you piled up a lifespan?

    Alike are he who walks with a multitude trailing behind

  5. ومن يَظِلّ واحداً مُنفردا

    كلاهما مفارقٌ ما وَجدا

    and he who remains solitary and alone.

    Both will part with what they have found,

  6. وَصائِرٌ ما يَقتَنيهِ قِددا

    وإنْ أتاه حَتفُه لا يُفتَدى

    and what each possesses will become scattered shreds.

    And when his death comes, no ransom can save him.

  7. هيهاتَ ما أغفلنا عن الهُدى

    وأوضحَ الحقَّ لنا لو قُصدا

    Alas, how heedless we are of guidance,

    and how clear the truth is to us, if only it were sought!

  8. كم نركبُ الوَعْرَ ونفرِي الجدَدَا

    ونأخذُ الغيَّ ونُلْقِي الرَّشَدا

    How often we ride rough ground and cut across level plains,

    and embrace error while casting right guidance aside!

  9. وَكَم يَرى الراؤُون فينا الأَوَدا

    قد آن في زهيدنا أنْ نزهدا

    And how much crookedness observers see in us!

    It is time to renounce our paltry possessions,

  10. وبعد جورٍ قد مضى أنْ نقصِدا

    وأنْ نُرى عن الدّنايا حُيَّدا

    and, after past wrongdoing, to take the straight course,

    and to be seen shunning base deeds.

  11. صَبراً عن الوِرْدِ وإنْ طال الصّدى

    إنْ فاتنِي العِدُّ أبيتُ الثَّمَدَا

    Abstain patiently from water, though thirst last long;

    if the unfailing spring eludes me, I refuse the scant pool.

  12. ولستُ أرضى بالهِجانِ النَّقَدا

    أما ترى زمانَنا ما أنكدا

    And I will not take small sheep for purebred camels.

    Do you not see how wretched our age is?

  13. كأنّنا إذا سألناه الجِدا

    نُرْحِلُ منه بازلاً مُقيّدا

    It is as though, whenever we ask it for bounty,

    we were saddling a fettered, full-grown camel of its own,

  14. أو نجتلِي الشّمسَ بعينَيْ أرْمَدا

    أو نمترِي النّارَ بزندٍ أصلَدا

    or beholding the sun through inflamed eyes,

    or coaxing fire from a sparkless fire-stick.

  15. وصاحبٍ أيقظنِي ورَقَدا

    ورام أنْ يصلحنِي فأفسدا

    And a companion roused me, but slept himself,

    and sought to set me right, but did harm instead.

  16. يحسُدنِي ولا أرى أن أُحسدا

    بات يُلاحينِي على بذلِ النّدا

    He envies me, though I do not think I should be envied;

    he spent the night upbraiding me for bestowing bounty.

  17. فقلتُ لمّا لامنِي وفنّدا

    مصوِّباً وتارةً مُصعّدا

    So I said, when he blamed me and called me foolish,

    now descending, now ascending:

  18. أليس عدلاً بالغنى أنْ أُحَمدا

    بِتْنا بذاتِ العَلَمين سُهَّدا

    Is it not a fair exchange for wealth that I be praised?

    We spent the night sleepless at Dhāt al-ʿAlamayn,

  19. نرقُبُ في ليلٍ طويلٍ أسودا

    كأنّما ذرَّ علينا الإِثْمِدا

    awaiting, through a long, black night—

    as though it had sprinkled kohl over us,

  20. أو كان بالطّولِ لِزاماً سَرْمدا

    فجراً كمصقولِ الغِرارِ جُرِّدا

    or were, in its length, inescapable and everlasting—

    a dawn like a polished sword-blade drawn bare.

  21. كأنّما الأُفقُ به إذا بدا

    حالَ لُجيناً لونُهُ وعَسجدا

    As though, with dawn's appearance, the horizon

    had changed its hue to silver and gold.

  22. وإنّما ننشد أوْتارَ العِدى

    بكلِّ عُريانِ العِذارِ أَمْرَدا

    And we seek only vengeance against our foes,

    with every bare-cheeked, beardless youth,

  23. ذِي هِمّةٍ لم تَرمِ إلّا صُعُدا

    إِذا اِحتذى بالحمدِ يوماً وَاِرتَدى

    whose ambition has aimed nowhere but upward.

    When, one day, he makes praise his shoes and cloak,

  24. وَمَدَّ بِالبيضِ أوِ السُّمرِ يدا

    لَم يَدنُ من حَيزومِهِ خوفُ الرّدى

    and stretches out a hand with gleaming swords or brown spears,

    no fear of death draws near his breast.

  25. أَسؤدداً ولا أرومُ سؤدُدا

    وما قضيتُ في الأعادِي موعِدا

    Would I have eminence without striving for eminence,

    and without keeping an appointment among my foes,

  26. ولَم أرِمْ طولَ الحياةِ البلَدا

    مُجتمعاً أَحسَبُ هِمّاً صَرِدا

    and without leaving town throughout my life,

    huddled up, reckoning myself a shivering old man,

  27. مُزَمَّلاً بكلِّ وتْرٍ مُكْمَدا

    موطِّئاً للمُثقِلاتِ الكَتَدا

    wrapped in every unavenged wrong, grief-stricken,

    offering my shoulders to heavy burdens,

  28. مَنْ شاء أنْ يعدُوَ في ما لِي عدا

    نَهْضاً فقد أَمكن ألّا تقعُدا

    while whoever wished to encroach on what is mine did so?

    Rise, for you can now cease sitting idle;

  29. وَاِستلَّ للفرصةِ نَصْلاً مُغمَدا

    ورِدْ حياضَ العزِّ فيمن وردا

    and draw a sheathed blade to seize the chance.

    And come to glory's pools among those who come,

  30. فَمن بغى المجدَ بجِدٍّ أُيِّدا

    for whoever seeks glory in earnest is aided.