أخاك أخاك إن مَنْ لا أخا له === كَساعٍ إلى الهيجا بغير سلاح
Literal meaning: Your brother your brother for that who has no brother; is like a person rushing to battle without a weapon.
Metaphoric meaning: be good to your brothers/friends/family because you need them for support as much as they need you.
إذا أنت أكرمت الكريم ملكته === وإن أنت أكرمت اللئيم تمردا
Literal meaning: If you were generous to a generous person you would own him; if you were generous to a mean person he would rebel on you.
Metaphoric meaning: A good person remembers a favor, a bad person does not.
إذا أنت لم تشرب مرارا على القذى === ظمئت وأي الناس تصفو مشاربه
Literal meaning: If you do not drink unclean water several times you will be thirsty, who among people ever drinks pure?
Metaphoric meaning: You have to put up with bad times, no one's life is void of bad times.
وليس الذئب يأكل لحم ذئب === ويأكل بعضنا بعضا عيانا
Literal meaning: the wolf does not eat wolf meat; and we eat each other openly.
Metaphoric meaning: humans hurt each other constantly, more than animals do.
ومن خطب الحسناء لم يغلها الْمَهْرُ
Literal meaning: And he who has proposed to the beautiful does not find her dowry expensive.
Metaphoric meaning: one is willing to pay highly for something that is worth it.
Note: In Arabic culture, the woman does not pay the dowry rather the man pays it to the woman; so the verse is saying that if a man wants to marry a woman he will not care how much he has to pay for it.
ومهما يكن عند امرئ من خَليقَة === وإن خالها تَخْفَى على الناس تُعْلَمِ
Literal meaning: whatever a man has of traits; even if he thinks they are hidden they will be known.
Metaphoric meaning: there is no point in hiding the truth because eventually it will be known.
ستُبْدي لك الأيامُ ما كنت جاهلا === ويأتيك بالأخبار من لم تزود
Literal meaning: days will show you what you were ignorant of; and news will come to you by that that you have not sent.
Metaphoric meaning: wait and you will find out what you want to know.
Use: to express that no matter how one is ignorant of what is going on, eventually he will know.
إذا كنتَ ذا رأىٍ فكن ذا عزيمة === فإن فساد الرأي أن تترددا
Literal meaning: If you have an opinion, be determined; the only faulty opinion is to hesitate.
Metaphoric meaning: none.
Use: to encourage someone to act based upon his opinions; as a wrong action is better than no action.
علمته شد الرماح === فلما اشتد ساعِدُهُ رماني
علمته نظم القوافي === فلما نظم قافية هجاني
Literal meaning: I taught him how to archer, when his arm became strong he shot me - I taught him how to write verses (poems), when he wrote a verse he attacked me.
Metaphoric meaning: I was the one that helped him, but he attacked me as soon as he found it in his benefit.
Use: to describe someone that has not been faithful to those that have helped him.
من رعى غنما في أرض مسبعة === ونام عنها تولى رعيها الأسد
Literal meaning: Higher than the heavens(sky).
إذا رأيت نيوب الليث بارزة === فلا تظنن أن الليث يبتسم
Literal meaning: If you see the lion's fangs, don't think the lion is smiling. (From a famous poem by Al-Mutanabbi)