أقول لنفسي ما مبين كحالك

وما الناس إلا هالك وابن هالك

I tell my soul: nothing makes things plain like your condition.

And people are but mortals and the sons of mortals.

صن النفس عما عابها وارفض الهوى

فإن الهوى مفتاح باب المهالك

Guard the soul from whatever disgraces it, and reject desire.

For desire is the key to the gate of destruction.

رأيت الهوى سهل المبادي لذيذها

وعقباه مر الطعم ضنك المسالك

I have found desire easy and sweet in its beginnings,

but its outcome is bitter-tasting, its paths distressingly narrow.

فما لذة الإنسان والموت بعدها

ولو عاش ضعفي عمر نوح بن لامك

What is human pleasure, with death to follow it,

even if one lived twice the lifespan of Noah son of Lamech?

فلا تتبع داراً قليلاً لبانها

فقد أنذرتها بالفناء المواشك

So do not pursue an abode whose milk is scant,

for I have warned it of imminent extinction.

وما تركها الا إذا هي أمكنت

وكم تارك إضماره غير تارك

It is only truly forsaken when it is within reach,

and many a renouncer is inwardly no renouncer.

فما تارك الآمال عجباً جؤاذراً

كتاركها ذات الضروع الحواشك

For one who forsakes hopes as wondrous young wild cows [wording unclear]

is not like one who forsakes them with milk-swollen udders.

وما قابل الأمر الذي كان راغباً

بشهوة مشتاق وعقل مبارك

And whoever accepts the command, being eager [reading uncertain],

with the passion of one who yearns and a blessed mind,

لأجدي عباد الله بالفوز عنده

لدى جنة الفردوس فوق الأرائك

is surely best placed among God's servants to triumph in His presence,

in the Garden of Firdaws, upon couches.

ومن عرف الأمر الذي هو طالت

رأى سبباً ما في يدي كل مالك

And whoever knows the matter that he ... [source wording unclear],

sees whatever lies in each owner's hands as a means.

ومن عرف الرحمن لم يعص امره

ولو أنه يعطى جميع الممالك

And whoever knows the Merciful does not disobey His command,

even if he were given all kingdoms.

سبيل التقى والنسك خير المسالك

وسالكها مستبصر خير سالك

The path of piety and devotion is the best of paths,

and its clear-sighted traveler is the best of travelers.

فما فقد التنغيص من عاج دونها

ولا طاب عيش لامرئ غير ماسك

For whoever turns away from it has not escaped distress,

nor is life sweet for anyone who does not hold fast.

وطوبى لأقوام يؤمون نحوها

بخفة أرواح ولين عرائك

And blessed are the people who head toward it,

with lightness of spirit and gentle dispositions.

لقد فقدوا غل النفوس وفضلوا

بعز سلاطين وأمن صعالك

They have indeed shed their souls' rancor and been favored

with the dignity of sultans and the safety of paupers.

فعاشوا كما شاءوا وماتوا كما اشتهوا

وفازوا بدار الخلد رحب المبارك

So they lived as they wished and died as they desired,

and won the eternal abode, spacious in its resting places.

عصوا طاعة الأجساد في كل لذة

بنور محل ظلمة الغي هاتك

They refused to obey their bodies in every pleasure,

through a light that rends the abode of error's darkness.

فلولا اعتداد الجسم أيقنت أنهم

يعيشون عيشاً مثل عيش الملائك

Were the body not taken into account, I would be certain that they

live a life like the life of angels.

فيا رب قدمهم وزد في صلاحهم

وصل عليهم حيث حلوا وبارك

So, O Lord, advance them and increase their righteousness,

and bestow Your grace upon them wherever they dwell, and bless them.

ويا نفس جدي لا تملي وشمري

لنيل سرور الدهر فيما هنالك

And, O soul, strive; do not grow weary, and gird yourself,

to attain eternal joy in what lies there.

وأنت متى دمرت سعيك في الهوى

علمت بأن الحق ليس كذلك

And you, whenever you ruin your efforts in pursuit of desire,

will know that the truth is not like that.

فقد بين الله الشريعة للورى

بأبين من زهر النجوم الشوابك

God has indeed made the sacred law clear to humankind,

more plainly than the bright, interwoven stars.

فيا نفس جدي في خلاصك وانفذي

نفاذ السيوف المرهفات البواتك

So, O soul, strive for your deliverance, and pierce through,

with the piercing force of finely honed, cleaving swords.

فلو أعمل الناس التفكر في الذي

له خلقوا ما كان حي يضاحك

For if people put reflection to work on that

for which they were created, no living person would jest with another.