1. قف بي خليلي واستمحْ

    مولاي عني تسترحْ

    Stand beside me, my friend, and seek grace

    from my Lord on my behalf; you will find rest.

  2. لقد اتقيت مصائباً

    عن ساحتي لا تنتزح

    I have indeed guarded against calamities

    that will not depart from my courtyard.

  3. عهدي وجرحي معضلٌ

    بالمتقي لا ينجرح

    I had thought—though my wound is grievous—

    that the cautious man goes unwounded.

  4. دمعي ينم بغربتي

    فلذلك سرّي يفتضح

    My tears tell of my estrangement,

    and so my secret is exposed.

  5. دمعي كسري كالنوى

    من جفن عيني ينسفح

    My tears, like my secret, like separation,

    flow down from the eyelid of my eye.

  6. يا صبر ما لك راحلاً

    وأنا الأسير المنجرح

    O patience, why are you departing,

    while I am the wounded captive?

  7. يا قلب ما لك طائراً

    دوني وغصني ما كسح

    O heart, why are you flying

    away from me, though my branch has not been lopped?

  8. عهدي بودك صادقاً

    فعلام عني قد برح

    I had known your affection to be sincere;

    so why has it departed from me?

  9. يا لائمي كن مسعدي

    فيما تراني أصطلح

    O my reproacher, be my helper

    in the reform you see me seeking.

  10. دع عنك لومي إنني

    أمسي بحزني واَصطبح

    Set aside your reproaches of me, for I

    spend the evening in my sorrow and drink it at dawn.

  11. عيني تلت آياتها

    لكن كراها ما شرح

    My eye has recited its verses,

    but its sleep offered no explanation.

  12. ناديته لكنه

    لو كان حيّاً لم أبح

    I called to it, but

    had it been alive, I would not have spoken out.

  13. ما بين جفني والكرى

    حرب الحنين المفتضح

    What lies between my eyelid and sleep

    is the war of longing laid bare.

  14. ذا من عيوني طائرٌ

    والجفن في دمعي سبح

    It flies from my eyes,

    and the eyelid swims in my tears.

  15. وزناد همي في دجا

    ليل البلايا ينقدح

    And the flint of my grief, in the darkness

    of affliction's night, strikes sparks.

  16. والقلب فيَّ كأنه ال

    خاطي بنارٍ ينتفح

    And the heart within me is like the

    sinner, scorched by fire.

  17. إن رمت شرح مصابه

    مضمومنه لا ينشرح

    If you seek to explain its affliction,

    its meaning cannot be explained.

  18. ولذاك يأبى صدره

    من حزنه أن ينشرح

    And so its breast refuses,

    out of sorrow, to find relief.

  19. يا رُبَّ خلٍّ قائلٍ

    قول النصوح المنتصح

    How many a friend has spoken

    the words of a sincere adviser who heeds counsel:

  20. حتام في ليل الأسى

    وجواد عزمك ينطرح

    How long will you remain in sorrow's night,

    while the steed of your resolve lies fallen?

  21. جبريل مالك غافلاً

    وثناك أسود منكلح

    Gabriel, why are you heedless,

    while your repute is black and grim?

  22. جبريل فق حتى متى

    عن باب ربك منتزح

    Gabriel, awake! How long

    will you remain far from your Lord's door?

  23. جبريل إحذر شهوةً

    قد عشت فيها منفضح

    Gabriel, beware a lustful desire

    in which you have lived disgraced.

  24. جبريل تب عن عادةٍ

    قد خلت فيها تنصلح

    Gabriel, repent of a habit

    in which you thought you would mend your ways.

  25. جبريل جدَّ بتوبةٍ

    اسجم دموعاً تنفسح

    Gabriel, be earnest in repentance;

    shed tears that flow freely.

  26. جبريل أحسن تستتر

    حقّاً وإلّا تفتضح

    Gabriel, do good, and you will be sheltered

    truly; otherwise you will be disgraced.

  27. واعلم بأن الموت قد

    وافاك يوماً ينتطح

    And know that death will surely

    come upon you one day, locking horns.

  28. كم هام مثلك مثقلٌ

    لما بصخرته نطح

    How many a head like yours was weighed down

    when death struck it with its rock!

  29. خفقت عليك بنوده

    من تحتها كم منجرح

    Its banners have fluttered over you;

    how many wounded lie beneath them!

  30. كم قد سمعت نصائحاً

    من ناصحٍ حرٍّ ملح

    How much counsel have you heard

    from a noble, persistent adviser!

  31. أترك وساوسك التي

    شغلت فؤادك تسترح

    Abandon your misgivings, which

    have occupied your heart, and you will find rest.

  32. أهملت نصحَ موبخٍ

    إذ لم تشأ أن تنتصح

    You neglected a reprover's counsel,

    since you did not wish to heed advice.

  33. ألآن قد وضح الذي

    قد خلته لا يتضح

    Now there has come to light what

    you had thought would never come to light.

  34. ورأيت نار جهنمٍ

    وشرورها لا تنصفح

    And you have seen the fire of Gehenna,

    and its evils cannot be turned aside;

  35. ونعيم ربٍّ خالدٍ

    خيراته لا تنتزح

    and the bliss of an everlasting Lord,

    whose blessings never depart.

  36. لو شئته لورثته

    إرث النبي المنمسح

    Had you desired it, you would have inherited it,

    the inheritance of the anointed Prophet.

  37. ونجوت من نارٍ غدت

    بزناد شرِّكَ تنقدح

    And you would have escaped a fire that became

    kindled by the flint of your evil.

  38. فندمت لكن بعد ما

    غربت شموسك تتقح

    Then you regretted it, but only after

    your suns had set while you acted brazenly.

  39. وغدوت تهتف نائحاً

    يا ويح من لا يصطلح

    And you began to cry out, lamenting:

    Woe to whoever does not mend his ways!

  40. لو كنت أكبح همتي

    كانت وحقك تنكبح

    Had I reined in my ambition,

    it would, by your truth, have been reined in.

  41. لكن وثقت بمدتي

    والعمر فخٌّ منطرح

    But I trusted in my allotted span,

    while life is a snare laid out.

  42. فذهلت حتى غشني

    وأبيك فعلي ما ربح

    So I grew heedless until it deceived me;

    by your father, my deed brought no gain.

  43. والموت وافى صارخاً

    بالباب بابك قد فتح

    And death arrived, crying out

    at the door: Your door has opened!

  44. لو كان سعيي منجحاً

    كنت السعيد أخا النجح

    Had my striving been successful,

    I would have been blessed, a brother to success.

  45. يا توبتي يا شقوتي

    يا حسرتي لو انتصح

    O my repentance! O my misery!

    O my regret—had I heeded counsel,

  46. لما أرى بين الورى

    ميزان إثمي قد رجح

    I would not see, among mankind,

    the scale of my sin tipping down.

  47. يا رب إقبل توبتي

    من قبل أني أفتضح

    O Lord, accept my repentance

    before I am exposed,

  48. يوماً تقوم مناقشاً

    والسر عندك يتضح

    on a day when you rise to scrutinize,

    and the secret is made clear before you.

  49. إن كانت الأبرار من

    صوت اقتدارك تنطرح

    If the righteous, at

    the sound of your might, are cast down,

  50. ما حال من قد كان عن

    آثامه لا ينتزح

    what is the plight of one who, from

    his sins, has never withdrawn?

  51. يا مريم البكر التي

    مَن أَمَّها يوماً رجح

    O Mary, the Virgin:

    whoever turns to her one day prevails.

  52. ما جاءك المضنوك من

    أحزانه إلّا فرح

    No distressed soul has come to you out of

    his sorrows without rejoicing.

  53. غيثي افتقاري إنني

    في باب جودك منطرح

    Relieve my need, for I

    lie prostrate at the door of your generosity.

  54. كم من عدوٍّ قد غدا

    من حد سيفك منجرح

    How many an enemy has become

    wounded by the edge of your sword!

  55. فبها أصير مؤيداً

    بسواك أيدي لا يصح

    So through her I become strengthened;

    through anyone but you, my strength cannot stand.

  56. وأعود حرّاً مطلقاً

    منها وفيها أمتدح

    And I return free and unbound

    by her, and in her I offer praise.

  57. وأعود حياّ قائلاً

    قول المثاب المنشرح

    And I return alive, speaking

    the words of one rewarded and gladdened:

  58. أحييت ميتاً كان في

    سكين شهوته ذبح

    You have revived a dead man who was

    slaughtered by the knife of his lust.