English
On Counsel and Praise
The world is built on water, and life is built on wind.
I am the servant of the noble soul who set no heart on it.
The world will not last, but joyful is the person
whose good name remains behind after they are gone.
The everlasting house of fortune is the reward of the afterlife.
When you lay a foundation, make sure the ground is solid.
What pleasure can there be in this garden, when the wind of death
uproots even the tallest, straightest tree?
This borrowed body is a house in the path of a flood;
the lamp of life is set on a window open to the wind.
The sun will rise many times and set without us;
there will be springs and autumns, winters and summers.
Do not fix your heart on what is passing, for the Tigris
will keep flowing through Baghdad long after the caliph is gone.
If you have the means, be generous like the fruit-laden palm;
if you have nothing to give, be free and upright like the cypress.
I will not flatter you with titles: glory of state and faith,
sky of honor and greatness, world of knowledge and justice.
I offer you one prayer, without pretense, from sincerity:
may God forgive you at your final breath.
You are that kind and wise brother whom mother time
has not borne a child as fortunate as you in many years.
In your reign the hand of chaos was bound,
and by your blessing the door of prosperity opened to the world.
The proof that good will come to you from God
is enough that good has come to the people of the world through you.
One who sends no provision ahead for the day of reckoning
will look back many times with eyes full of regret.
Take this advice of mine and do good,
for I know that after my death you will remember me kindly.
The one who hoarded and never enjoyed had no true insight;
the one who spent and gave away carried off the prize of happiness.