أخلاءُ هذا الزمان الخؤونِ

أخلاءُ هذا الزمان الخؤونِ

توالت عليهم حروف العلل

توالت عليهم حروف العلل

The close friends of this treacherous age—

The empty-hearted people of this time

the letters of infirmity have come upon them one after another.

Upon them came letters of affliction

تغيّر إخوان هذا الزَّمان

تغيّر إخوان هذا الزَّمان

وكلُّ صديقٍ عَراهُ الخلل

وكلُّ صديقٍ عَراهُ الخلل

The brethren of this age have changed,

The brothers of this time have changed

and every friend has been afflicted by a flaw.

And every friend in whom is imperfection

وكانوا قديماً على صحّةٍ

وكانوا قديماً على صحّةٍ

فقد داخلتهم حُروفُ العللِ

فقد داخلتهم حُروفُ العللِ

And once they were in sound health,

They used to be in good health long ago

but the letters of infirmity have crept into them.

But letters of affliction entered them

قضيت التّعجبَ من أَمرهم

قضيت التّعجبَ من أَمرهم

فصرتُ اَطالِعُ بابَ البدَل

فصرتُ اَطالِعُ بابَ البدَل

I have finished marveling at their condition,

I ended my astonishment at their state

so I began studying the chapter on substitution.

And so I began to look to change