1. نعم لو صحّ تحقيقي شهودي

    لأشغلني السؤال عن المقال

    Yes, were my realization of my witnessing sound,

    Questioning would keep me from speaking.

  2. ولو فنيت رعوناتي وحظي

    لعدمت رويتي عن شرح حالي

    And were my follies and self-interest annihilated,

    I would cease reflecting on how to describe my state.

  3. ولو بقيت لمولائي صفاتي

    لما خطر السوى أبداً ببالي

    And were my attributes to endure for my Master,

    Nothing other than Him would ever cross my mind.

  4. ببالي جنتي لو صحّ صدقي

    ولكن بالسوى قد صار بالي

    My paradise would be in my mind, were my sincerity true,

    Yet my mind has turned to what is other than Him.

  5. ولو حلّ اليقين صميم قلبي

    لكنت هجرت في المولى الموالي

    And were certainty to settle in the core of my heart,

    I would have forsaken patrons for the Master's sake.

  6. ولو أجلى الحضور مراة قلبي

    لما بالغير لذّ لي اتصالي

    And were presence to polish the mirror of my heart,

    My communion with other than Him would bring me no delight.

  7. ولما لم أشاهده يقينا

    ولم أرقى إلى أوج المعالي

    And since I did not witness Him with certainty,

    Nor ascend to the summit of lofty attainments,

  8. رجعت إلى العبارة وهي صدف

    وهل صدف يساوي درّ غالي

    I returned to expression, which is a shell;

    And can a shell equal a precious pearl?

  9. فانقص همة وأشد بخس

    لمختار الصدوف على اللآلي

    So the poorest aspiration and the gravest loss

    Belong to one who chooses shells over pearls.

  10. ولو كان المقال يفيد جدوى

    لأغناني مقالي لك مالي

    And if speech yielded any benefit,

    My saying, 'My wealth is Yours,' would have enriched me.

  11. فما أقبح مقالاً لم يؤيد

    بعدل شاهد حسن الفعال

    So how ugly is speech that is not supported

    By the upright witness of good deeds.

  12. ألا يا ربّ افتق رتق صبحي

    ليذهب نوره ليل المحال

    Ah, O Lord, tear open the sealed seam of my dawn,

    So its light may dispel the night of impossibility.

  13. واشغلني بفضلك عن فضولي

    وعن غيري وفعلي عن مقالي

    And occupy me with Your grace, away from my idle concerns,

    And from others; let my deeds keep me from my words.

  14. واجعل حبك العالي مقامي

    وفي طاعتك شغلي واشتغالي

    And make Your exalted love my station,

    And let my work and occupation lie in obeying You.

  15. أخى باللَه أترك كلّ حظّ

    حقيقته تصير إلى الزوال

    My brother, by God, renounce every personal gain;

    Its very substance is destined to vanish.

  16. أخي لا تحسبنك في سكون

    كان قد صاح برق الارتحال

    My brother, do not imagine yourself at rest;

    The lightning of departure had already cried out.

  17. فنحن سكون والأيام تجرى

    بنا جرياً على فلك الليالي

    For we are motionless, while the days run,

    Racing with us along the orbit of the nights.

  18. عجبت لمن تحقق سوف يفنى

    ويحصى ماجناً ويعيش سالي

    I marvel at one who is certain he will perish,

    Yet is reckoned wanton and lives heedlessly.

  19. على نص الطريق أدم سلوكا

    فان الترهات من الضلال

    Keep journeying along the path's prescribed course,

    For idle fancies are part of going astray.

  20. لقد أخرس لسان أهل المعارف

    مقام الزيغ في بيدا الحلال

    Indeed, the tongue of the people of spiritual knowledge was silenced

    By the station of straying in the wilderness of the lawful.

  21. ولولا روح برد الانس منه

    مقام العيش في سوح الجمال

    And but for the soothing coolness of intimacy from Him—

    The station of life in the precincts of beauty—

  22. لأفنوا من فناهم عن فناهم

    ودكوا مثل دكّ للجبال

    They would have been annihilated through their annihilation, beyond their annihilation,

    And been crushed as mountains are crushed.

  23. لقد قلنا لهذا العلم قولا

    وشابهنا الحقيقة بالخيال

    We have indeed spoken words concerning this knowledge,

    And likened reality to imagination.

  24. وجاز لنا المقالة واتسعنا

    وهذا عند غيبات الرجال

    And we were permitted to speak, and we spoke at length,

    And this was while the men were absent.

  25. إلهي باعترافي وافتقاري

    إلى رحمتك أصلح سوء حالي

    My God, by my confession and my need

    For Your mercy, set right my wretched state.

  26. عجزت عن الزوائد والفوائد

    فاحفظ يا إلهي رأس مالي

    I have been unable to attain additions and gains;

    So preserve, O my God, my capital.

  27. هو الإيمان لا أبغي بديلا

    به أرجو النجاة في المآل

    It is faith; I seek no substitute.

    Through it I hope for salvation in the end.

  28. وحبّ محمد أرجوه ذخرا

    وفرجا عند أهوال ثقال

    And I hope that love of Muhammad will be a treasure,

    And relief amid grievous terrors.

  29. عليه اللَه صلى كلّ حين

    وسلم عدّ ذرات الرّمال

    May God bless him at every moment,

    And grant him peace, as many times as there are grains of sand.