Single Verses

488. Number 1

English
Do you know what the Banu Awf of Arabia said? A line cut short is better than offspring with no manners.
Explanation: The Banu Awf are an Arab tribe; the saying prizes good upbringing over mere continuation of a bloodline.

Original

شمارهٔ ۱

دانی چه گفته‌اند بنی عوف در عرب نسل بریده به که موالید بی‌ادب

489. Number 2

English
When you have the chance to do a good deed, do it for someone who has goodness in them.

Original

شمارهٔ ۲

خیری که برآیدت به توفیق از دست در حق کسی کن که درو خیری هست

490. Number 3

English
If a base man, thanks to wealth and rank, ranks above a free and noble soul, then even a dog, when it comes to hunting, ranks above a human being.
Explanation: The poet mocks the idea that money and status make someone worthy: by that logic, a good hunting dog would outrank a person.

Original

شمارهٔ ۳

گر سِفله به مال و جاه از آزاده به‌است، سگ نیز به صید از آدمیزاده به‌است

491. Number 4

English
There is no one whose heart could hold your love, so before you I have no choice but to bind my belt and stand ready.
Explanation: Binding the belt is a Persian image for readying oneself for service or devotion.

Original

شمارهٔ ۴

کس نیست که مهر تو درو شاید بست پس پیش تو ناچار کمر باید بست

492. Number 5

English
A lasting state stands firm on obedience to the law; a traveler's profit rests on having the right resources.
Explanation: The couplet draws a parallel: as a state endures through order and rule, a traveler prospers through proper means. 'Bezaat' here means capital or provisions.

Original

شمارهٔ ۵

دولت جاوید به طاعت درست سود مسافر به بضاعت درست

493. Number 6

English
Why should the speaker grieve if his advice is not accepted? If they reject the letter, the messenger is not to blame.
Explanation: The 'letter' and 'messenger' echo the idea that a bearer of good counsel carries no fault when his message is refused.

Original

شمارهٔ ۶

گوینده را چه غم که نصیحت قبول نیست گر نامه رد کنند گناه رسول نیست

494. Number 7

English
If leaving is a must and the home must be left behind, I still won't set down the heart I'm meant to carry with me.
Explanation: The poet plays on 'leaving behind': he can abandon the house but not his heart, which he insists on keeping close.

Original

شمارهٔ ۷

رفتن چو ضرورت‌است و منزل به گذاشت، من خود ننهم دلی که بر باید داشت

495. Number 8

English
Whoever claims a crow is like a falcon, no one listens, for everyone's eyes are open.
Explanation: The play is on 'baz' meaning both 'falcon' and 'open': people trust what they see with their own open eyes.

Original

شمارهٔ ۸

هر که گوید کلاغ چون باز است نشنوندش که دیده‌ها باز است

496. Number 9

English
If you guide the way, the whole world becomes a path; but if you let go of my hand, the whole world becomes a pit.
Explanation: The couplet contrasts 'path' (right guidance) with 'pit' (ruin and misguidance), a common Persian image for salvation versus downfall.

Original

شمارهٔ ۹

گر راه نمایی، همه عالم راه‌است ور دست نگیری، همه عالم چاه‌است

497. Number 10

English
If you want everyone to warm to you and your ways, then with whoever you meet, become just like them.
Explanation: The advice is to adapt yourself to each person's temperament to win their affection.

Original

شمارهٔ ۱۰

خواهی که به طبعت همه کس دارد دوست با هر که در اوفتی چنان باش که اوست

498. Number 11

English
Even if the gatekeepers and officers drive you from the king's court, that is better than being seated beside some worthless nobody.
Explanation: The poet argues that honorable rejection is better than being placed next to someone who does not value you.

Original

شمارهٔ ۱۱

اگر بَوّاب و سرهنگان هم از درگه برانندت، از آن بهتر که در پهلوی مجهولی نشانندت!

499. Number 12

English
This time it isn't the sound of harp, flute, and drum: this time it's hunting the lion and warring with the Mongols!
Explanation: The contrast sets festive music against the harsh reality of battle with the invading Mongols.

Original

شمارهٔ ۱۲

این‌بار نه بانگ چنگ و نای و دهل‌است کاین بار شکار شیر و جنگ مُغُل‌است!

500. Number 13

English
No one finds peace living off something worthless; how long can a snake feed on its own tail?
Explanation: The snake eating its own tail is an image for self-harm: relying on your own bad qualities only consumes you.

Original

شمارهٔ ۱۳

از مایهٔ بیسود نیاساید مرد مار از دم خویش چند بتواند خورد

501. Number 14

English
Don't imagine the world is worthy of your trust; nothing comes into being without carrying its own vanishing.
Explanation: The couplet plays on the pairing of 'existence' and 'nonexistence': everything that exists is already bound to non-being, so nothing is permanent.

Original

شمارهٔ ۱۴

گمان مبر که جهان اعتماد را شاید که بی‌عدم نبود هر چه در وجود آید

502. Number 15

English
The poor soul who has fallen into the middle of the sea, what else can the helpless one do but flail his arms and legs?
Explanation: The image of thrashing in the sea captures instinctive, desperate struggle when there is no real hope of rescue.

Original

شمارهٔ ۱۵

بیچاره که در میان دریا افتاد مسکین چه کند که دست و پایی نزند

503. Number 16

English
You can still eat bread even if you have no teeth; the real disaster is when there is no bread at all.
Explanation: The couplet contrasts a minor lack (teeth) with the true catastrophe: having nothing to eat. It points to poverty and scarcity as the deeper misfortune.

Original

شمارهٔ ۱۶

توان نان خورد اگر دندان نباشد مصیبت آن بود که نان نباشد

504. Number 17

English
What can a master with full power do if he gives no command? And what can a servant do but bow his head to that command?
Explanation: The couplet plays on the mutual dependence of authority and obedience: power is meaningless without a command, and service is meaningless without one to follow.

Original

شمارهٔ ۱۷

چه کندمالک مختار که فرمان ندهد چه کند بنده که سر بر خط فرمان ننهد

505. Number 18

English
Sometimes friends wound each other's hearts with quarrels so deeply that no room is left for making peace.

Original

شمارهٔ ۱۸

وقتی دل دوستان به جنگ آزارند چندانکه نه جای آشتی بگذارند

506. Number 19

English
I thought I could draw water from the well of hope; but the bucket itself fell down into the well.
Explanation: The well of hope and the fallen bucket picture a total collapse of any means to reach what one longs for.

Original

شمارهٔ ۱۹

گفتم که برآید آبی از چاه امید افسوس که دلو نیز در چاه افتاد

507. Number 20

English
A lie that lifts your heart for a moment is better than a truth that leaves you troubled.

Original

شمارهٔ ۲۰

دروغی که حالی دلت خوش کند به از راستی کت مشوش کند

508. Number 21

English
Until a man has been a stranger in someone else's town, he cannot truly feel the sorrow of strangers.
Explanation: Real empathy for the exiled and the outsider comes only from having lived that experience yourself.

Original

شمارهٔ ۲۱

غریب شهر کسان تا نبوده باشد مرد ازو درست نیاید غم غریبان خورد

509. Number 22

English
When a king comes to the home of beggars, it is fine if he sits on a mat of woven reeds.
Explanation: The reed mat (boria) is a symbol of poverty and humble living; the point is that a king's worth is unchanged by his surroundings.

Original

شمارهٔ ۲۲

سلطان که به منزل گدایان آید گر بر سر بوریا نشیند شاید

510. Number 23

English
It is not in my fate to be near you, so from afar I send you my prayers, if they ever reach you.
Explanation: 'In my fate' translates the astrological image of the poet's star or horoscope not permitting closeness.

Original

شمارهٔ ۲۳

در طالع من نیست که نزدیک تو باشم می‌گویمت از دور دعا گر برسانند

511. Number 24

English
God did not create you needing others' favor; so in thanks for His blessings, don't shut your door to people in need.
Explanation: The 'door' stands for generosity and help; being self-sufficient by God's grace obliges one to remain open-handed toward others.

Original

شمارهٔ ۲۴

نیافرید خدایت به خلق حاجتمند به شکر نعمت حق در به روی خلق مبند

512. Number 25

English
If harm comes down from the seven heavens, it lands straight on the one who is already weak and in need.
Explanation: The 'seven heavens' is a traditional cosmological image; here it stands for fate or misfortune from above, which always strikes the most vulnerable.

Original

شمارهٔ ۲۵

گر ز هفت آسمان گزند آید راست بر عضو مستمند آید