1. يا رسولَ المليكِ نفسي تفوقُ

    وذُنوبي مثبّطاتٌ تعوقُ

    O Messenger of the Sovereign, my soul gasps,

    and my sins are hindrances that hold me back.

  2. كم تَعَرَّضتُ للقَبُولِ ولكن

    ليسَ للزَّائفِ المُبَهرَجِ سُوقُ

    How often I have sought acceptance, yet

    there is no market for a counterfeit, debased coin.

  3. كلّما قلتُ قد خلصتُ إلى البِر

    رِ ادّعاني بشاهِدَيهِ العُقوقُ

    Whenever I said, 'I have reached righteousness,'

    disobedience claimed me with its two witnesses.

  4. وبَعيدُ أن تستجيبَ إلى الرُّش

    دِ قلُوبٌ للغيّ فيها حقوقُ

    And it is unlikely that right guidance will be heeded

    by hearts in which waywardness has its claims.

  5. قَيَّدَتني الذُّنوبُ بل أسكرتني

    فصَبُوحٌ لا يَنقضي وغَبُوقُ

    Sins have fettered me—indeed, intoxicated me:

    so a morning draught that never ends, and an evening draught.

  6. لم يَرُعنِي المشيبُ بل لم يَرُعنِي

    وهو من صِبغَةِ الرَّدى مخلوقُ

    Gray hair has not frightened me—indeed, it has not frightened me,

    though it is fashioned from the dye of death.

  7. كلَّ يومٍ على المَفارِقِ منهُ

    كلُّ سيفٍ منهُ الحِمامُ مَذُوقُ

    Every day, upon the partings of the hair, from it comes

    a sword—each one gives a taste of death.

  8. ما اعتذاري من بعد خمسينَ ولَّت

    مثلَ ما أَومَضت ببحرٍ بُروقُ

    What excuse have I after fifty years have passed,

    like lightning that flashed over a sea?

  9. رأسُ مالِ الحَياةِ لم أستَفِد من

    هُ سِوَى حَسرةٍ وذكرى تشوقُ

    Life's capital—I have gained nothing from it

    but regret and a memory that stirs longing.

  10. وعلى ذاكَ فالرَّجاءُ مُقِيمٌ

    ما تَراخَت عنّي وعنهُ غُلوقُ

    And despite that, hope abides;

    no locks have loosened from me or from it.

  11. يا شفيعَ الحساب كن بي شَفيعاً

    قَبلَهُ رُبَّما تُسَدُّ الفُتوقُ

    O intercessor at the Reckoning, be an intercessor for me

    before it; perhaps the breaches can be closed.

  12. ولدَى الرّكبِ من صَلاتي وشوقي

    وسَلامي مُبَشّراتٌ تَرُوقُ

    And with the caravan, from my prayers of blessing and my longing

    and my greetings, are gladdening messages that delight.

  13. فَلَعلّي أفوزُ منكَ بردٍّ

    فيهِ حَادٍ إلى ذَراك يَسُوقُ

    So perhaps I may win from you a reply:

    within it, a chanting camel-driver urges me toward your shelter.

  14. إنّ ردَّ السَّلامِ منكَ عَلِمنا

    هُ وأدّاهُ صادِقٌ مَصدُوقُ

    Indeed, your returning greetings—we know

    it, and a truthful, trusted one has conveyed it.

  15. فعلى أحمدٍ صَلاةٌ وتَسلِي

    مٌ هو المِسكُ طِيبُهُ مَنشُوقُ

    So blessings and salutation be upon Ahmad—

    it is musk, its fragrance inhaled.

  16. رحمَ اللَهُ مَن دَعا لأخِيهِ

    حيثُ يُرجى للمبطئين لُحوقُ

    May God have mercy on whoever prays for his brother,

    where there is hope that those who lag behind will catch up.