ولّما سَقاني صِرْفَ الهُمومِ

ولّما سَقاني صِرْفَ الهُمومِ

وصِرفَ المَصائبِ صَرْفُ الزَّمانِ

وصِرفَ المَصائبِ صَرْفُ الزَّمانِ

And when I was made to drink undiluted sorrows,

When worries poured their bitterness over me,

And undiluted calamities, by the vicissitudes of time,

And misfortunes poured down like rain,

وأبدَعَتِ النُّوَبُ المُبْدِعاتُ

وأبدَعَتِ النُّوَبُ المُبْدِعاتُ

ورُحْتُ ومَالي علَيها يَدانِ

ورُحْتُ ومَالي علَيها يَدانِ

And inventive calamities wrought unheard-of deeds,

And calamities worked their creativity,

And I found myself powerless against them,

I was relieved, having no control over them.

ولم أدْرِ كيفَ طريقُ النّجاةِ

ولم أدْرِ كيفَ طريقُ النّجاةِ

ومِنْ أينَ يُقصَدُ بابُ الأمانِ

ومِنْ أينَ يُقصَدُ بابُ الأمانِ

And I knew not what the path to deliverance was,

I did not know the way to safety,

Nor from where the gate of safety could be approached,

Nor where the gate of security could be found.

أتيتُكَ مُسْتَدفِعاً ما أُعاني

أتيتُكَ مُسْتَدفِعاً ما أُعاني

ومُستَكفياَ بِكَ ما قَد دَهاني

ومُستَكفياَ بِكَ ما قَد دَهاني

I came to you, seeking to ward off what I suffer,

I have come to you to defend me from my suffering,

And seeking through you protection against what had befallen me,

And suffice me from what has afflicted me,

لأنَّكَ أعلى وُجوهِ الكِرامِ

لأنَّكَ أعلى وُجوهِ الكِرامِ

كَما النَّصُّ أعلى وَجوهِ البيَانِ

كَما النَّصُّ أعلى وَجوهِ البيَانِ

For you are foremost among the noble worthies,

For you are the noblest of the generous,

Just as explicit wording is the highest form of expression.

As eloquence is the noblest form of expression.