وَما فَضلُ مَن كانَت سَريعاً عِداتُهُ

وَما فَضلُ مَن كانَت سَريعاً عِداتُهُ

وَمَن هُوَ إِن طالَبتَهُ الوَعدَ ما طِلُهْ

وَمَن هُوَ إِن طالَبتَهُ الوَعدَ ما طِلُهْ

And what merit has one who is quick to promise,

No virtue has he whose promises are swift,

and who, if you press him to keep his promise, delays it,

Nor he who, if you seek a pledge, is niggardly.

وَمَن إِنَّما مَوعودُهُ بَرقُ خُلَّبٍ

وَمَن إِنَّما مَوعودُهُ بَرقُ خُلَّبٍ

أَوِ الآلُ مُنفِيّاً بِفَيفاءَ جائِلُهْ

أَوِ الآلُ مُنفِيّاً بِفَيفاءَ جائِلُهْ

and whose promise is nothing but rainless lightning,

Whose only promise is a lightning flash,

or a mirage, its wavering form dispersed across a desert waste?

Or thunder rolling in a driving storm.

أَمانِيُّ تُرجى مِثلَ ما راحَ عارِضٌ

أَمانِيُّ تُرجى مِثلَ ما راحَ عارِضٌ

مِنَ المُزنِ لا يُندي حِسانٌ مخائِلُهْ

مِنَ المُزنِ لا يُندي حِسانٌ مخائِلُهْ

Hopes cherished, like a cloud bank passing at evening,

Hopes such as these are like a meteor’s gleam—

from the rain clouds—giving no moisture, though its signs of rain are fair.

Fair fallacies, where nothing real smiles.