1. لم يفه يا ذا الوجه فمُ

    بك لولا أنني العدمُ

    No mouth would have spoken, O bearer of the face,

    of you, were I not nothingness.

  2. فالتفت وانظر لأصلك لا

    تفتخر يلحق بك الندم

    So turn and look to your origin; do not

    boast, lest regret overtake you.

  3. إن ربي عند قدرته

    تستوي الأنوار والظلم

    Indeed, before my Lord's power,

    lights and darkness are equal.

  4. وعطاياه بلا علل

    وكذا الحرمان والنعم

    And His gifts are without causes,

    and so are deprivation and blessings.

  5. ما استحق المرءُ مرتبة

    هو فيها أيها الفهم

    No person has merited a station

    he occupies, O discerning one.

  6. ما اقتضت نفس عطيَّتها

    بل عطاياه لنا كرم

    No soul has necessitated its gift;

    rather, His gifts to us are generosity.

  7. ما اقتضى القبح القبيح ولا

    يقتضي الحرمان منحرم

    The ugly one has not necessitated ugliness, nor

    does one deprived necessitate deprivation.

  8. بل بمحض الإختيار على

    كل ذي رأس له قدم

    Rather, it is by sheer choice; over

    every bearer of a head He has a foot.

  9. وجميعاً أسر قبضته

    منعمٌ طوراً ومنتقم

    And all are captive in His grasp:

    at times a giver of blessings, at times an avenger.