“But there on that high ground, kindle the fire—use stout logs when you light it, not mere brushwood.” (1)

He then drew back the curtains, set out the food, and invited the people; he ate, and they ate with him.
She protested, “You have not granted me what you promised.”
He replied, “My soul will not consent, and it is dearer to me than to have anyone praise me for this; my generosity has already been proven.”
He then recited:

I wrestle with the soul of miserliness until I humble it,
And leave the soul of bounty alone—I need not consult it.

Let my neighbor have no complaint against me, save only that—
When her husband is away, I do not visit her.

My kindness will still reach her, and her husband will return to her;
Her veils will never have been shortened. (2)

Among Ḥātim’s verses:

If ever I pass the night drinking, draining more than my wineskin,
Seeking drunkenness—may I never be satisfied. (3)

If ever I lie in wait for my neighbor’s wife,
Hoping darkness will conceal me—may I not be concealed.

Would I disgrace my neighbor’s wife and betray my neighbor?
By God, I shall never do so while I live. (4)

He also said:

No harm will befall a neighbor who lives beside me,
Even if his doorway lacks a curtain.

I lower my gaze whenever my neighbor’s wife appears,
Until the curtain draws to hide her. (5)

And he said as well:

It is no trait of mine to revile my cousin,
Nor shall I disappoint the one who hopes in me.

A slanderer’s word, uttered without cause, I heard and said,
“Pass on—be gone!” and I was spared.

They blamed me for that, yet it never shamed me;
Not once did my brow sweat on its account.

A two-faced man greets me with a smile,
But when I am absent he shows no concern.

I discovered his fault and kept silent,
Safeguarding my honor and my faith. (6)