1. شربت كأساً من المعاني

    عاينت فيها بلا عياني

    I drank a cup of meanings.

    In it I beheld without my own sight.

  2. فهمت منها العلوم شتى

    وهمت في حبّ من سقاني

    From it I understood many kinds of knowledge,

    And I was lost in love for the one who gave me drink.

  3. ومت فيه وعدت حيا

    وكلّ حيّ سواي فاني

    And I died in him and returned alive,

    While every living being besides me is perishing.

  4. وكلّ ميدان أرض شوق

    أطلقت في قطعه عناني

    And every arena of longing's land—

    I loosed my reins to traverse it.

  5. وبت أرقى على براقي

    من التلاقي بلا توان

    And I spent the night ascending on my Buraq,

    Through communion, without delay,

  6. حتى قطعت الطباق سبعاً

    وكان فيها عظيم شاني

    Until I traversed all seven tiers,

    And great was my standing within them.

  7. ورثت فيها مكان جدّي

    فأيّ عين ترى مكاني

    There I inherited my grandfather's place;

    What eye, then, can behold my place?

  8. وكنت كلي لسان شكر

    إذا توانى به لساني

    And all of me was a tongue of gratitude,

    Whenever my tongue faltered at it.

  9. فكلّ رفع لديّ خفض

    وكلّ عال لديّ داني

    Thus every elevation is abasement to me,

    And all that is lofty is low before me.

  10. حذار مني ومن جوادي

    ومن حسامي ومن سناني

    Beware of me and of my steed,

    And of my sword and of my spearhead.

  11. أبي وجدي الرسول ركني

    فذاك حصني وذاك احتصاني

    My father and my grandfather, the Messenger, are my mainstay;

    So that is my fortress, and that my protection.

  12. كفاني العيدروس فخراً

    وسيفه للعدا كفاني

    Al-Aydarus is pride enough for me,

    And his sword is enough for me against foes.

  13. خضم علم وطود حلم

    بكل حكم له حباني

    An ocean of knowledge, a mountain of forbearance,

    He favored me with every judgment of his.

  14. عريض جاه طويل باع

    يكاد يسطو على الزمان

    Broad in prestige, long in reach,

    He all but overpowers time.

  15. به انتصاري به اقتداري

    به افتخاري على الشواني

    Through him is my victory; through him, my power;

    Through him I glory over my detractors.

  16. فأيّ شمس أنا ولكن

    حتماً على العمى لا تراني

    What a sun I am! Yet

    Surely, in blindness, you cannot see me.

  17. أمسى بصبح الهدى ويمسي

    بظلمة الجهل من جفاني

    He spent the evening in guidance's dawn, and spends it

    In ignorance's darkness—he who shunned me.

  18. براني اللَه للبرايا

    نوراً فسبحان من براني

    God created me for all creatures,

    As a light—glory be to the one who created me!

  19. والنجم في الماء مثل وصفي

    عال ودان لمن دعاني

    And the star in the water is a likeness of me:

    High, yet near to whoever calls me.

  20. لو أن للكون كف شخص

    أشار نحوي بلا بنان

    If the cosmos had a human palm,

    It would point toward me without fingertips.

  21. والعرب والعجم يعرفوني

    من قبل قولي أنا الفلاني

    And Arabs and non-Arabs know me,

    Before I say, 'I am so-and-so.'

  22. على جبيني أنا ابن طه

    أنا ابن من خصّ بالمثاني

    Upon my brow: 'I am the son of Taha.'

    I am the son of the one favored with the oft-repeated verses.

  23. ولي حال يذبّ عني

    ان قلت سيف فقد حماني

    And I have a spiritual state that defends me;

    If I call it a sword, it has indeed protected me.

  24. كرم بسيف يهزّ يوماً

    فينثر اللفظ كالجمان

    How noble a sword, brandished one day,

    Then scattering words like pearls!

  25. كان لفظي بكلّ معنى

    ثياب وشي على الغواني

    My words, in every sense, were

    Brocaded robes upon beautiful women.

  26. تسيل بالصخر مطر باتي

    فما جرير وما ابن هاني

    My enchanting verses flow through stone [apparent reading of the split text].

    What is Jarir, then, and what is Ibn Hani?

  27. وكلّ قلب يميل سكرا

    كأنما القلب غصن بان

    And every heart sways in drunkenness,

    As though the heart were a branch of the ban tree.

  28. واختم صلاة مع السلام

    على الذي خصّ بالمثاني

    And conclude with blessings and peace

    Upon the one favored with the oft-repeated verses.