1. They abandoned beds of ease and worldly pleasures,
And stood with steadfast feet before their Lord.

2. They banished sleep and chased away their dreams
To wake before their God, the One adored.

3. They wiped their streaming tears when they discerned
That shedding tears distracts the heart from God.

4. They never won the heights of truth and faith
Till they forsook the luxury they trod.

5. Freed from life's turbulences when set free,
So won they the supreme, serene abode.

6. They fasted through the days of fierce heat—till
Their parched mouths drank sweetness from their Lord.

7. O Muhammad, they beheld a vision there,
Beyond what hope aspires where hope has soared.

8. So aim to gain those heights, and persevere
In ways that lead to goals so long explored.

9. You who fall short of an exalted quest—
How can you hope to reach that far reward?

10. If you lack strength to match their mighty thoughts,
Let glorious ancestry suffice, bestowed.

11. Make a pilgrimage to those hallowed shrines,
And kiss the dust where noble saints have bowed.

12. May you then win the joy of glad assent,
And gain while living there beatitude.

13. O you who seek a glorious destiny,
Though far from that loved place of your abode—

14. You have approached a people great and pure;
Convey to them from one now elsewise owed:

15. He sings, though distant from his native grounds,
Like branches trembling with the birds they load.

16. Will time bring back to me what time has taken?
God's help and justice still in you abide.