مُقِرُّ العَينِ أَسخَنَها

مُقِرُّ العَينِ أَسخَنَها

وَمُسلى النَفسِ أَحزَنَها

وَمُسلى النَفسِ أَحزَنَها

He who cooled my eye has made it burn,

The delight of my eyes made them burn,

He who was the solace of my eyes has now made them weep hot tears,

and my soul's solace has saddened it.

And the comfort of my soul made it mourn.

And he who consoled my soul has now filled it with grief.

بِنَفسي رَوضَةٌ أنفٌ

بِنَفسي رَوضَةٌ أنفٌ

ذَوَت ما كانَ أَحسَنَها

ذَوَت ما كانَ أَحسَنَها

My soul would ransom a fresh garden—

My soul is a garden of narcissus bent over,

I sacrifice my soul for a pristine garden, untouched and fresh,

it has withered; how beautiful it was!

That withered what was most beautiful of it.

It withered away—oh, how beautiful it once was!

مَحاها اللَهُ إِذ جَلّى

مَحاها اللَهُ إِذ جَلّى

بِها الدُنيا فَزَيَّنَها

بِها الدُنيا فَزَيَّنَها

God effaced it, when He had brightened

May God erase it when He manifested

God effaced it just as He had unveiled

the world with it and adorned it.

Through it the world and adorned it.

The world through it, adorning the earth thereby.

كَأَنّي قَطُّ لَم أَلثم

كَأَنّي قَطُّ لَم أَلثم

شَقائِقَها وَسَوسَنَها

شَقائِقَها وَسَوسَنَها

As though I had never kissed

It is as if I am a cat that did not kiss

It is as though I never kissed

its anemones and its irises.

Its daisies and lilies.

Its anemones nor its lilies.

لَقَد سَلَبَ الزَمانُ يَدي

لَقَد سَلَبَ الزَمانُ يَدي

مِنَ الأَعلاقِ أَثمَنَها

مِنَ الأَعلاقِ أَثمَنَها

Time has indeed robbed my hand

Time has robbed my hand

Time has indeed robbed my hand

of the most precious of treasures:

Of the most precious things from the throats.

Of its most precious and valuable treasure.

أَغَرّ لَو اِنتَهى أَمَدي

أَغَرّ لَو اِنتَهى أَمَدي

دَعَتهُ العربُ أَلسَنَها

دَعَتهُ العربُ أَلسَنَها

a radiant one—had my allotted span ended,

I wish my term had ended when

A noble youth; had my life ended before his,

the Arabs would have called him their most eloquent,

The Arabs summoned their tongues.

The Arabs would have proclaimed him their most eloquent tongue,

وَأَشعَرَها وَأَخطَبَها

وَأَشعَرَها وَأَخطَبَها

وَأَضرَبَها وَأَطعَنَها

وَأَضرَبَها وَأَطعَنَها

their finest poet and orator,

And inspired them and made them speak

Their greatest poet and their finest orator,

their strongest sword-striker and spear-thruster.

And cite examples and stab with them.

Their fiercest striker and their surest lancer.

يُنَبِّهُني إِذا فِكَري

يُنَبِّهُني إِذا فِكَري

أَنامُ الهَمُّ أَعيُنَها

أَنامُ الهَمُّ أَعيُنَها

He rouses me when my thoughts

It reminds me when my thoughts sleep,

He alerts me whenever my thoughts

have their eyes lulled to sleep by sorrow.

And worries are the sleep of its eyes.

Are lulled to sleep by the weight of care.

وَمَهما كُنتُ في شَكٍّ

وَمَهما كُنتُ في شَكٍّ

مِنَ الأَشياءِ أَيقَنَها

مِنَ الأَشياءِ أَيقَنَها

And whenever I was in doubt

And whenever I doubt

And whenever I found myself in doubt

about things, he knew them for certain.

Things I ascertain.

Concerning matters, he saw them with certainty.

وَكَم مِن آيَةٍ خَفِيَت

وَكَم مِن آيَةٍ خَفِيَت

مَعانيها فَبَيَّنَها

مَعانيها فَبَيَّنَها

How many a verse had hidden

And how many signs were hidden

How many a verse whose meaning lay hidden

meanings that he made clear!

Whose meanings He made clear.

Did he illuminate and clarify!

وَأُخرى قَبل أَن تُملى

وَأُخرى قَبل أَن تُملى

فَيَكتُبَها تَلَقَّنَها

فَيَكتُبَها تَلَقَّنَها

And another, before it was dictated

And others before they were revealed

And others, even before they were dictated

for him to write, he had learned by heart.

He dictated and they memorized them.

To be written, he had already grasped them.

وَلَو لَقَّنتَهُ مائَةً

وَلَو لَقَّنتَهُ مائَةً

مِنَ الآياتِ أَتقَنَها

مِنَ الآياتِ أَتقَنَها

Even if you taught him a hundred

And if you dictated to him a hundred verses

Had you taught him a hundred

verses, he mastered them.

He mastered them.

Of verses, he would have mastered them all.

وَغابَ عَلى مُؤَدِّبِهِ

وَغابَ عَلى مُؤَدِّبِهِ

قِراءتهُ وَلَحَّنَها

قِراءتهُ وَلَحَّنَها

His tutor could not fathom

And his teacher was absent when he read them

While his tutor faltered over

his recitation, and judged it faulty.

So he mispronounced them.

The recitation and erred in the grammar.

وَلا عَجَبٌ لِجَوهَرَتي

وَلا عَجَبٌ لِجَوهَرَتي

أَلَيسَ البَحرُ مَعدَنَها

أَلَيسَ البَحرُ مَعدَنَها

No wonder at my jewel—

And no wonder about my dear one,

Yet there is no wonder regarding my jewel;

is not the sea its mine?

Isn’t the sea its source?

Is not the vast sea its very origin?

أَلَستُ أَباهُ وَهوَ اِبني

أَلَستُ أَباهُ وَهوَ اِبني

وَأَنَّهُ ذاكَ بَرهَنَها

وَأَنَّهُ ذاكَ بَرهَنَها

Am I not his father, and he my son?

Am I not his father and he is my son?

Am I not his father, and is he not my son?

And he proved that this was so.

And this is what proved it.

That fact alone stands as his proof.

حَبيبُ النَفسِ إِذ أَقوت

حَبيبُ النَفسِ إِذ أَقوت

بِهِ أَودى فَأَوهَنَها

بِهِ أَودى فَأَوهَنَها

My soul's beloved, while I sustained it

The beloved whom when I feed

Beloved of my soul—when desolation struck,

with him, died and left it weak.

With it the love makes me weak.

His loss destroyed it and left it frail.

فَإِن رزقت شَفاعَتَهُ

فَإِن رزقت شَفاعَتَهُ

غَداةَ الخَوفِ أَمَّنَها

غَداةَ الخَوفِ أَمَّنَها

If I am granted his intercession,

So if I gain his intercession

If I am granted his intercession

on the morning of fear he will make it safe.

Tomorrow when there is fear it will give me security.

On the Day of Fear, he will secure my soul.

عَسى شَفَتي تَقي جَسَدي

عَسى شَفَتي تَقي جَسَدي

أَشَدَّ لَظىً وَأَهوَنَها

أَشَدَّ لَظىً وَأَهوَنَها

May my lip shield my body

Perhaps my lips will protect my body

Perhaps my lips may shield my body

from the fiercest blaze and the mildest,

From the intense heat and make it easier.

From the fiercest of flames and the least of them,

بِرَحمَةٍ مَن تَقَبَّلَها

بِرَحمَةٍ مَن تَقَبَّلَها

فَأسكنُ حَيثُ أَسكَنَها

فَأسكنُ حَيثُ أَسكَنَها

through the mercy of Him who accepted it,

With a mercy from the One who accepts it

By the mercy of Him who accepted that kiss,

so I may dwell where He has settled it.

I will reside where He resides me.

That I may dwell where He has made him dwell.

دَفَنتُ اِبني فَقالَ النا

دَفَنتُ اِبني فَقالَ النا

سُ ربّ الشَمسَ أَدفَنَها

سُ ربّ الشَمسَ أَدفَنَها

I buried my son, and the people said:

I buried my son so people said

I buried my son, and the people said:

'O Lord, he has buried the sun,

Bury the sun.

"Has the master buried the sun itself?"

وَغَسَّلَها بِكَوثَرِهِ

وَغَسَّلَها بِكَوثَرِهِ

فَقَدَّسَها وَصَوَّنَها

فَقَدَّسَها وَصَوَّنَها

and washed it with his Kawthar,

And He washed him with His Kawthar

"He washed him with the waters of his Kawthar,"

then sanctified it and kept it safe,

And sanctified him and protected him.

"Sanctifying him and preserving his purity."

وَبِالصَلَواتِ حَنَّطَها

وَبِالصَلَواتِ حَنَّطَها

وَفي الأَنوارِ كَفَّنَها

وَفي الأَنوارِ كَفَّنَها

and embalmed it with prayers,

And with prayers He perfumed him

"With prayers he embalmed him,"

and shrouded it in light,

And in lights He enshrouded him.

"And in woven light he shrouded him."

وَأَوطَنَها الثَرى لا بَل

وَأَوطَنَها الثَرى لا بَل

رِياضُ الخُلدِ أَوطَنَها

رِياضُ الخُلدِ أَوطَنَها

and settled it in the earth—no, rather,

And He made the earth his homeland, no but

"He settled him in the soil—nay, rather,"

in the gardens of eternity he settled it.'

The gardens of eternity made it his homeland.

"It is the gardens of Eternity he has made his home."

أَطعتُ الصَبرَ في نوبٍ

أَطعتُ الصَبرَ في نوبٍ

عَلَيَّ الدَهرُ لَوَّنَها

عَلَيَّ الدَهرُ لَوَّنَها

I obeyed patience through calamities

I obeyed patience during times

I have obeyed patience in many calamities

that Time inflicted on me in varied colors.

When life dyed me.

That Time has painted in varied hues upon me.

وَفي عَبدِ الغَنيِّ اِبني

وَفي عَبدِ الغَنيِّ اِبني

عَصيتُ الصَبرَ حينَ نَهى

عَصيتُ الصَبرَ حينَ نَهى

But over Abd al-Ghani, my son,

And in Abd al-Ghani my son

But in the loss of Abd al-Ghani, my son,

I defied patience when it forbade me.

I disobeyed patience when it prohibited.

I disobeyed patience when it bade me cease grieving.

وَكَيفَ أكنُّ حَسرَتَهُ

وَكَيفَ أكنُّ حَسرَتَهُ

وَهذا الدَمعُ أَعلَنَها

وَهذا الدَمعُ أَعلَنَها

How could I conceal my grief for him,

And how can I restrain my sorrow

How can I conceal the heartbreak of his loss,

when these tears have proclaimed it?

And these tears declare it.

When these tears have openly proclaimed it?

إِذا وَشَتِ المَدامِعُ لَم

إِذا وَشَتِ المَدامِعُ لَم

يَكُفَّ الحِلمُ أَلسُنها

يَكُفَّ الحِلمُ أَلسُنها

When tearful eyes tell tales,

When the tears flow,

If the eyes betray the secret they hold,

composure cannot curb their tongues.

Patience cannot restrain them.

Self-restraint cannot silence their tongues.

حَبَبتُ مِن اِجلِهِ الدُنيا

حَبَبتُ مِن اِجلِهِ الدُنيا

فَفارَقَني لِأَضغَنَها

فَفارَقَني لِأَضغَنَها

I loved the world for his sake;

I loved the life for his sake

I loved the world for his sake alone,

then he left me, so I would resent it.

So he left me to make me weep.

So he departed, leaving me to loathe it.

شَوادِنُ مكنسي بَعُدَت

شَوادِنُ مكنسي بَعُدَت

فَلَستُ أُحِبُّ مُشدنها

فَلَستُ أُحِبُّ مُشدنها

The fawns of my covert have gone far away;

My flasks are far

The fawns of my sanctuary have fled far away,

so I no longer love the doe that rears them.

So I don’t like to fetch them.

So I no longer cherish those that remain.

كَرِهتُ النَسلَ لا رقت

كَرِهتُ النَسلَ لا رقت

مخدّرَة لِأَحصنها

مخدّرَة لِأَحصنها

I hate begetting children; may I never charm

I hated procreation out of fear

I have come to detest all offspring; may no mother

a secluded maiden, that I might wed her.

For sterility to protect me.

Feel tenderness for the child she guards most closely.

نَعَت نَفسي أَحبَّتها

نَعَت نَفسي أَحبَّتها

أَهِلَّتَها وَأغصُنها

أَهِلَّتَها وَأغصُنها

My soul has announced its loved ones' deaths,

My soul described those it loved,

My soul has announced the death of its beloveds,

its crescent moons and its boughs.

Made them permitted and branches.

Its crescent moons and its flowering branches.

وَهذا كانَ أَكبَرها

وَهذا كانَ أَكبَرها

وَأَسعَدها وَأَيمَنها

وَأَسعَدها وَأَيمَنها

This one was the eldest of them,

And this was the greatest of them

And he was the greatest of them all,

the happiest and most blessed of them.

And the most fortunate and blessed.

The most joyous and the most auspicious.

رَجَوتُ بِمَوتِ أَربَعَةٍ

رَجَوتُ بِمَوتِ أَربَعَةٍ

مُنى نَفسي وَمَأمَنها

مُنى نَفسي وَمَأمَنها

Through the death of four, I hoped

I hoped with the death of four

Through the death of four, I had hoped

to gain my soul's desires and its refuge.

The wish of my soul and its refuge.

To find my soul's desire and its sanctuary.

رَسولُ اللَهِ سَوفَ يَفي

رَسولُ اللَهِ سَوفَ يَفي

بِمَوعِدَة تَضَمَّنَها

بِمَوعِدَة تَضَمَّنَها

God's Messenger will be true

The Messenger of God will fulfill

The Messenger of God will surely fulfill

to a promise he guaranteed.

His promise that contained it.

The promise that he has guaranteed.

عَهِدتُ مَشارِبي صِرفاً

عَهِدتُ مَشارِبي صِرفاً

فَما لِلدَهرِ أَجَّنَها

فَما لِلدَهرِ أَجَّنَها

I knew my draughts as unmixed—

I determined my pursuits to be pure

I once knew my life's springs to be pure;

what ails Time, that it has made them stagnant?

So time cannot spoil them.

What ails Time, that it has turned them brackish?

لَحا اللَهُ الزَمانَ أَباً

لَحا اللَهُ الزَمانَ أَباً

أسودُ بَنيهِ أَثخَنَها

أسودُ بَنيهِ أَثخَنَها

May God curse Time as a father:

May God disfigure time, a father

May God curse Time as a father—

it has grievously wounded the lions among its sons.

Whose children are black, and He wounded them.

Who wounds the very lions among his sons.

كَأَنَّهُمُ عداهُ فَكَم

كَأَنَّهُمُ عداهُ فَكَم

أَثارَ وَغىً وَأَكمَنَها

أَثارَ وَغىً وَأَكمَنَها

As though they were its enemies—how often

It is as if they transgressed against it so how much

As if they were his foes! How often

has it roused warfare and concealed it in ambush!

Strife and schemes it made.

He stirs up war against them and lays ambushes.

أَغَثُّ بَنيهِ يَأكُلُهُ

أَغَثُّ بَنيهِ يَأكُلُهُ

فَكَيفَ يَعافُ أسمَنَها

فَكَيفَ يَعافُ أسمَنَها

It eats the leanest of its sons;

It is harmful to its children, eating them

He devours the frailest of his children,

how, then, would it shun the fattest?

So how can it spare the fat ones?

So how could he spare the strongest of them?

وَأَيُّ أَبٍ يُديرُ عَلى

وَأَيُّ أَبٍ يُديرُ عَلى

بَنيهِ رَحىً ليَطحَنَها

بَنيهِ رَحىً ليَطحَنَها

And what father turns a millstone

And which father turns

What kind of father turns upon

over his sons to grind them?

A millstone against his children to grind them?

His own sons, grinding them beneath a millstone?

رَأَينا أَشجَعَ الفُرسا

رَأَينا أَشجَعَ الفُرسا

نِ عِندَ المَوتِ أَجبَنَها

نِ عِندَ المَوتِ أَجبَنَها

We have seen the bravest of horsemen

We saw the bravest horseman

We have seen the bravest of knights

at death become the most cowardly of them.

Become cowardly at death.

Become the most cowardly in the face of death.

فَيا ما أَخدَعَ الدُنيا

فَيا ما أَخدَعَ الدُنيا

وَأَخبَثَها وَأَفتَنَها

وَأَخبَثَها وَأَفتَنَها

Oh, how deceitful this world is,

So what deceits, vileness, and trials

Oh, how deceptive is this world!

how vile it is, and how beguiling!

The life has, and how it betrays,

How malicious, and how beguiling!

وَأَقطَعَها إِذا وصلَت

وَأَقطَعَها إِذا وصلَت

مُحِبّيها وَأَخوَنَها

مُحِبّيها وَأَخوَنَها

How quick to sever ties when it has embraced

Severs those who love it,

How quick to sever ties when it seems to connect,

those who love it—how treacherous it is!

And strangles the newborns it breastfeeds.

And how treacherous to those who love it.

وَأَوأَدَها لِمَولودٍ

وَأَوأَدَها لِمَولودٍ

تَنشب فيهِ برثنها

تَنشب فيهِ برثنها

And how readily it buries a newborn alive,

I see the viciousness of life tomorrow

How prone to bury the newborn alive,

sinking its claw into him!

Leave it and become soft.

Sinking its claws deep into him.

أَرى شَرِسَ الحَياةِ غَداً

أَرى شَرِسَ الحَياةِ غَداً

يُفارِقُها وَليّنَها

يُفارِقُها وَليّنَها

I see life's fierce one, tomorrow,

So why do I delude myself with it

I see that the fierce ones of life will tomorrow

leaving it—and its gentle one too.

When I see its betrayal?

Depart from it, as will the gentle ones.

فَما لي وَالغرورُ بِها

فَما لي وَالغرورُ بِها

أَلَستُ أَرى تَخَوُّنها

أَلَستُ أَرى تَخَوُّنها

So why should I be deluded by it?

Beloved of my heart, let my lips meet yours

So why should I be deluded by it,

Do I not see its betrayals?

Wherever you allow them to.

When I see plainly its constant betrayal?

حَبيب القَلبِ صل شَفَتي

حَبيب القَلبِ صل شَفَتي

بِلَثمِكَ حَيثُ أَمكَنَها

بِلَثمِكَ حَيثُ أَمكَنَها

Beloved of my heart, join my lip

With a residence I asked, so say

Beloved of my heart, let my lips touch yours

to your kiss, wherever it may reach.

To a longing one you gave him residence.

In a kiss, wherever it is possible to reach.

بمَسكَنَةٍ سَأَلتُ فَقُل

بمَسكَنَةٍ سَأَلتُ فَقُل

لِمُشتاقٍ تَمَسكَنَ ها

لِمُشتاقٍ تَمَسكَنَ ها

I have begged humbly, so say

I extended my hands to the sky

In humble poverty I ask, so speak

to a yearning man who has humbled himself, 'Here!'

To have mercy, O Keeper of it.

To a yearning one who has humbled himself indeed.

مَدَدتُ إِلى السَماءِ يَدي

مَدَدتُ إِلى السَماءِ يَدي

لِتَرحَمَ يا مُهَيمِنَها

لِتَرحَمَ يا مُهَيمِنَها

I have stretched my hand toward heaven,

I did wrong with all my deeds

I have stretched my hands toward the heavens,

that You may show mercy, O its Guardian.

So enable me to do them well.

That You may have mercy, O Guardian of the Skies.

أَسَأتُ جَميعَ أَعمالي

أَسَأتُ جَميعَ أَعمالي

فَوَفّقني لِأُحسِنها

فَوَفّقني لِأُحسِنها

I have done wrong in all my deeds;

I have done evil in all my deeds;

so enable me to make them good.

So grant me grace to make them good.