1. وَجد تحرك في قَلبي فَما سكنا

    فَقَدا لمن بنواحي مكة سكنا

    Longing stirred within my heart and would not rest,

    missing those who dwelt in the environs of Mecca.

  2. أحبة هم مني قَلبي وهم أَملي

    وَهم علاقة نَفسي اذنأوا وطنا

    Beloved ones, they are my heart's desires and my hope;

    and they are my soul's bond, now that their dwelling is far away.

  3. علقت في الركب آمالي غداة غدوا

    كأن في الركب روحا فارق البدنا

    I pinned my hopes on the caravan the morning they departed,

    as though the caravan bore a soul that had left its body.

  4. أَجرى دموعي فرادى بعدهم وَثنى

    وماثنى العذل عطف الصبر حين ثَنى

    After their departure, my tears were made to flow singly and in pairs;

    and reproach could not turn patience back when it turned away.

  5. أودّ طيف خيال لَو يَزور وَهَل

    يَستَعطف الطيف طرف حارب الوسنا

    I long for a dream-phantom to visit—but can

    a phantom win over an eye that has fought off sleep?

  6. كَم قلت واخرنا للقلب بعدهم

    وَلَيسَ يَنفَعني أَن قلت واخرنا

    How often, after they left, I told my heart, 'Alas, my sorrow!'

    And saying 'Alas, my sorrow!' does me no good.

  7. أَحباب قَلبي عَسى من نحوكم خبر

    لِهائم يندب الاطلال وَالدمنا

    O beloveds of my heart, perhaps news from you will come

    to a lovesick wanderer mourning the ruins and abandoned campsites.

  8. وَهَل يعيد عَلى الدهر قربكم

    بعد النَوى فنوا كَم زادَني شجنا

    And will time restore your nearness to me

    after separation? For your distance has increased my sorrow.

  9. غني غني عَن جَميع الكون غيركم

    وَلَيسَ لي عَنكم يا مالكي غني

    I am rich, rich enough to do without all creation except you;

    yet I cannot do without you, O my masters.

  10. قلوب اِمتزجت بالود ما بلغت

    وان بعدتم فَمَعنى سركم مَعنا

    Hearts have mingled in love, however far they have reached;

    and though you are far away, the essence of your mystery is with us.

  11. أَنتم أَنا وأَنا أَنتم وَلا عجب

    أن كنتم أَنتم وأَنتم في الوجود أَنا

    You are I, and I am you; there is no wonder

    that you are yourselves, and in existence you are I.

  12. روحي هنا بعد أَرواح هناك وأَر

    واح هناك هي الروح المُقيم هنا

    My soul is here, following souls there; and the souls

    there are the soul abiding here.

  13. أحبكم وأحب الدار آنسة

    منكم واسأل عنكم من نأى ودنا

    I love you, and love the dwelling made welcoming

    by you; I ask about you of those far and near.

  14. فَلَيتَ شعري هَل في الدار متسع

    حَتّى تَعود اللَيالي الذاهبات لنا

    Would that I knew whether the dwelling has room

    for the bygone nights to return to us.

  15. أَم تَرحَمون أَحبابي جوى كبد

    كادَت تَذوب اليكم لوعة وضنى

    Or will you, my beloveds, pity the burning anguish of a liver

    that nearly melts for you in torment and wasting sickness?

  16. فَوالَّذي حجت الركبان كعبته

    وَما حواه المصلى وَالنقا ومني

    So, by Him whose Kaaba the caravans have visited in pilgrimage,

    and by all that the prayer-ground, al-Naqa, and Mina contain,

  17. ما حلت في الحب عَن حال الوداد لكم

    وَلا خلعت لماضي حبكم رسنا

    I have not changed in love from my devotion to you,

    nor cast off the halter of my old love for you.

  18. باخائضا غمرات الشوق متخذا

    حسن التوكل زادا وَالرضا سفنا

    O you who wade through the depths of longing, taking

    firm trust in God as provisions, and contentment as ships,

  19. دَع المَقادير تَجري وارض ما فعلت

    واكتم هواك وَلا تستعتب الزمنا

    let fate's decrees run their course, and accept what they have done;

    conceal your passion, and do not ask time to make amends.

  20. ان الفَضائل في الاخطار مودعة

    فاِبغ الفَضائل واجعل روحك الثمنا

    Indeed, virtues are stored within dangers;

    so seek the virtues, and make your soul the price.

  21. وان أَراد الهَوى منك الهوان فقل

    حكم المَنيَّة في حب الحَبيب منى

    And if love demands humiliation from you, say:

    'Death's decree in love of the beloved is my desire.'

  22. وَالراح يَستَلب الارواح عندهم

    حيث الحضور مغيب وَالبَقاء فنا

    And among them wine steals souls away,

    where presence is absence and abiding is annihilation.

  23. فاحفظ هَواهم وَمت في حبهم كمدا

    ان كنت حرا عَلى الاسرار مؤتمنا

    So preserve their love, and die of grief in loving them,

    if you are free and entrusted with the secrets.

  24. فالكَون مسترق منهم محاسنه

    وَالدين يَلبس منهم بهجة وَسنا

    For the universe steals its beauties from them,

    and religion wears splendor and radiance drawn from them.

  25. أَرائح الشام بلغ سيدي عمرا

    تحية من محب يسكن اليمنا

    O traveler to al-Sham, convey to my master Umar

    a greeting from a lover who dwells in Yemen.

  26. والثم يَمين امام ماجد علم

    أَحيا الهدى وَالنَدى وَالفرض وَالسننا

    And kiss the right hand of a noble imam, a luminary,

    who revived guidance, generosity, religious duty, and prophetic practices.

  27. مبارك الوجه نَستَكفي الخطوب به

    وَنَستقي بدعاه العارض الهتنا

    Blessed in countenance, through him we seek relief from calamities,

    and through his prayer we seek rain from the pouring cloud.

  28. مَولاي أَنتَ مُرادي حيث كنت وَكَم

    وَشي الوشاة وَقالوا عابد وَثنا

    My master, you are my desire wherever you are; how often

    the slanderers have maligned me and called me an idol-worshipper.

  29. لا أَشكر الدهر يَهدي ظل أَنعمه

    إِليّ مالم يريني وَجهك الحسنا

    I do not thank time for offering the shade of its blessings

    to me, so long as it does not show me your beautiful face.

  30. فاذكر أَبا القاسم الخاظى عبيدك في

    تلك المَساكن كم من خائف أمنا

    So remember Abu al-Qasim, the sinner, your humble servant, in

    those dwellings—how many a fearful one has found safety!

  31. وَصل بمرحمة عَبد الرَحيم ورش

    منه الجناح فَكَم أَولَيته مننا

    And extend mercy to Abd al-Rahim, and feather

    his wing; how many favors you have bestowed upon him!

  32. مني عليك سَلام اللَه ما سجعت

    وَرق الحمى وَثني روح الصبا غصنا

    From me, God's peace be upon you, so long as the cooing

    of the sanctuary's doves lasts and the east wind's breath bends a branch.