توالى عليّ اليبس من كلِّ جانبِ

توالى عليّ اليبس من كلِّ جانبِ

وأقلقني طولُ التفكُّرِ والسهرْ

وأقلقني طولُ التفكُّرِ والسهرْ

Dryness kept coming upon me from every side.

Hardship besieged me from every side,

And prolonged reflection and sleeplessness troubled me.

And long contemplation and vigilance troubled me,

وأزعجني داعي المنية للبِلى

وأزعجني داعي المنية للبِلى

وأذهلني عما يجلُّ يحتقرْ

وأذهلني عما يجلُّ يحتقرْ

And death's herald, summoning me to decay, alarmed me.

And the call of mortality to decay disturbed me,

And distracted me from what is exalted or despised.

And the One who is most Sublime amazed me by what He scorns.

وقوّى فؤادي حسنُ ظني بخالقي

وقوّى فؤادي حسنُ ظني بخالقي

وأضعفَ مني قوّةَ السمعِ والبصرْ

وأضعفَ مني قوّةَ السمعِ والبصرْ

And my trust in my Creator strengthened my heart,

Yet my good opinion of my Creator strengthened my heart,

And weakened my powers of hearing and sight.

Though the powers of hearing and sight weakened me.

وإن مُرادي حيل بيني وبينه

وإن مُرادي حيل بيني وبينه

بردِّي كما يُتلى إلى أرذَلِ العمر

بردِّي كما يُتلى إلى أرذَلِ العمر

And indeed I was kept apart from my desire,

And if what I desire is hindered from me

By being returned, as is recited, to life's feeblest stage.

In my coolness, as one grown senile with age is told off.

فنادى بروحي للبرازخِ والتوى

فنادى بروحي للبرازخِ والتوى

ينادي بجسمي للمقابرِ والحفَر

ينادي بجسمي للمقابرِ والحفَر

So he summoned my spirit to the intermediate realms, and turned,

So my spirit called out to the intermediate realm and twisted away,

Calling my body to the graves and pits.

And my body called out to the graves and the dug pits.

فهذا حبيسُ القبرِ في منزل البلى

فهذا حبيسُ القبرِ في منزل البلى

وهذا حبيس الصورِ في برزخِ الصور

وهذا حبيس الصورِ في برزخِ الصور

So this one is confined to the grave, in the abode of decay,

For this one is the prisoner of the grave, in the abode of decay,

And that one is confined to the Trumpet, in the intermediate realm of forms.

While that one is the prisoner of the tomb, in the intermediate realm of forms.

فلو لم أكن بالحق كنتُ مقيداً

فلو لم أكن بالحق كنتُ مقيداً

ولو لم أكن بالخلقِ كنتُ على خطر

ولو لم أكن بالخلقِ كنتُ على خطر

So, if I did not exist through the Real, I would be bound,

And had I not had Truth, I would have been fettered,

And if I did not exist through creation, I would be in danger.

And had I not had creation, I would have been endangered.

فحقي يحلِّيني بما فيّ من قوى

فحقي يحلِّيني بما فيّ من قوى

وخلقي يحلِّيني بما يُوصَفُ البشر

وخلقي يحلِّيني بما يُوصَفُ البشر

So my divine reality adorns me with the powers within me,

So my Truth adorns me with the powers that are in me,

And my created nature adorns me with the qualities ascribed to humankind.

And my creation adorns me with what is attributed to mankind.

فما أعذبَ الطعم الذي قد طعمته

فما أعذبَ الطعم الذي قد طعمته

من العلمِ بالله المريدِ وما أمرْ

من العلمِ بالله المريدِ وما أمرْ

How sweet is the taste I have tasted

How sweet is the taste I have tasted

From knowledge of God, the One who wills—and how bitter!

Of knowing God—the desired, and what He has commanded!

كأني طعمتُ التمر في طيباته

كأني طعمتُ التمر في طيباته

وفي العلم ما ذقنا سوى مطعم العشر

وفي العلم ما ذقنا سوى مطعم العشر

As though I had tasted dates at their sweetest,

It is as if I tasted dates in their prime,

Yet in knowledge we have tasted only the flavor of bitter ushar.

And in knowledge we have tasted only the appetizer.

فوفيتُ ما قد أوجبَ الله فعله

فوفيتُ ما قد أوجبَ الله فعله

عليّ بتصريفِ القضاءِ مع القدر

عليّ بتصريفِ القضاءِ مع القدر

So I fulfilled what God had made obligatory to do

So I have fulfilled what God has obligated me to do,

For me, through the ordering of decree together with destiny,

Through the disposal of Fate along with Predestination—

عنايةَ مختارٍ عليمٍ منبأ

عنايةَ مختارٍ عليمٍ منبأ

وجئتُ كما قد جاء موسى على قدر

وجئتُ كما قد جاء موسى على قدر

Out of care for a chosen one, learned and informed,

The care of a Choosing One, Knowing, Informed,

And I came, as Moses had come, at the appointed time.

And I have come just as Moses came, according to his appointed term.