1. يا نفسُ أنتِ محادِدَهْ

    بطبائعٍ متضادِدَهْ

    O soul, you are defiant,

    with contradictory dispositions.

  2. وعدلْتِ عن قولِ النصيحِ

    وما اتَّبَعْتِ مقاصدَهْ

    And you turned away from the sincere adviser's words,

    and did not follow his aims.

  3. فاستقبِلي لا تُدْبِرِي

    عنِّي فأنتِ مبُاعدَهْ

    So face me; do not turn away

    from me, for you keep your distance.

  4. لابدَّ يوماً أنتِ في

    ه إلى المقابر قاصدَهْ

    Inevitably, one day you will

    be heading toward the graves.

  5. يا نفسُ توبي وارجعي

    لا تُدْبِرِي مُتباعِدَهْ

    O soul, repent and return;

    do not turn away, distancing yourself.

  6. لا تعزُيى كُوني معي

    في الحالتين مُساعِدَهْ

    Do not wander off; be with me,

    helpful in both states.

  7. كوني معي في كل ما

    يُرضى الإلهَ مُجاهِدَهْ

    Be with me in all that

    pleases God, striving earnestly.

  8. واستأنسى ثم اصبري

    فالصبر فيه فائِدَهْ

    And take comfort, then be patient,

    for there is benefit in patience.

  9. خافي العقابَ وحاذري

    إبليسنا ومكايِدَهْ

    Fear punishment and beware

    of our Iblis and his schemes.

  10. ودعي الرذائل واتّقي

    ربّاً وكوني ساجِدَهْ

    And forsake vices and fear

    the Lord, and prostrate yourself.

  11. وتنبَّهي وتيقّني

    لو مِتُّ أنك عائِدَهْ

    And be alert and be certain

    that, if I die, you will return.

  12. لا تسلكي طرقَ المها

    وي والمساعي الفاسِدَهْ

    Do not tread the paths that lead to

    abysses, or pursue corrupt aims.

  13. فتجارةُ الإفسادِ في

    سوق المكارِم كاسِدَهْ

    For the trade in corruption, in

    the market of noble virtues, is stagnant.

  14. ومتى فتىً نالَ المعا

    لي لا تكوني حاسِدَهْ

    And whenever a young man attains lofty

    rank, do not be envious.

  15. فإذا أطعتِ أقمتِ في

    جناتِ عدنٍ خالِدَهْ

    Then, if you obey, you will dwell in

    the Gardens of Eden forever.

  16. تجنين من ثمراتها

    من يانع أو جامِدَهْ

    You will gather from their fruits,

    whether ripe or firm.

  17. فيها نعيمٌ دائمٌ

    تحت الظلالِ البارِدَهْ

    There is everlasting bliss there,

    beneath the cool shade,

  18. مع حُورِ عِينٍ خُرَّدٍ

    بيضٍ حسانٍ ناهِدَهْ

    with wide-eyed houris, untouched,

    fair and beautiful, with budding breasts.

  19. كاللؤلؤ المكنونِ في

    سُرُرٍ تُرَى مُتسانِدَهْ

    Like well-guarded pearls, on

    couches, seen reclining together.

  20. فكُلى هنيئاً واشربي

    من أنهُرٍ مُتطارِدَهْ

    So eat with pleasure, and drink

    from rivers flowing one after another.

  21. والطلحُ والرُّمَّانُ في

    أغصانها مُتناضِدَهْ

    And bananas and pomegranates, on

    their branches, are clustered in tiers.

  22. فالوصف يقصُرُ عن صفا

    تِ نعيمهم والمائِدَهْ

    For description cannot capture the qualities

    of their bliss and the banquet table.

  23. وإذا عَصِيتِ هَويتِ في

    قعر الجحيمِ الواقِدَهْ

    And if you disobey, you will plunge into

    the depths of blazing Hell.

  24. ماذا يقولُ الواصفو

    نَ لها وما هي بائِدَهْ

    What can the describers say

    of it, when it never perishes?

  25. لو أطنبوا في وَصْفِها

    دهرا فكانت زايِدَهْ

    Even if they described it at length

    for an age, it would still exceed their words.

  26. يا نفسُ هذي غفلةٌ

    عنها وإنك وافِدَهْ

    O soul, this is heedlessness

    of it, though you will arrive there.

  27. مالي أردِّد عيبَهم

    مع خالدٍ أو خالِدَهْ

    Why do I keep repeating their faults

    with Khalid or Khalida?

  28. أفما ترين عيوبَ نفسِ

    ك كالجبال الراكِدَهْ

    Then do you not see the faults of your own

    self, like motionless mountains?

  29. وأراكِ تغتابين ك

    لَّ أخي صفاءٍ عامِدَهْ

    And I see you backbiting every

    sincere companion, deliberately.

  30. أفنجحد الفعلَ الذي

    تأتي وأنتِ الشاهِدَهْ

    Shall we then deny the deed that

    you commit, though you yourself are the witness?

  31. قالت لسانك موضع

    الغيباتِ وهْو القاعِدَهْ

    She said, “Your tongue is the seat

    of backbiting, and it is the foundation.”

  32. قال اللسانُ محرِّكي

    قلبٌ تبعتُ مقاصدَهْ

    The tongue said, “What moves me

    is a heart; I followed its aims.”

  33. والقلب قال فلستُ أعل

    م جمعَ شملِ الشارِدَهْ

    And the heart said, “I do not know

    how to gather together what has strayed.

  34. العينُ ثم العين تبّاً

    للموارد واردَهْ

    The eye, then the eye—woe to it!—

    comes to the watering places.”

  35. قال العيونُ محرِّكي

    أذنٌ وإنِّي راقِدَهْ

    The eyes said, “What moves me

    is an ear, while I lie asleep.”

  36. والأذن قالت مُرْسِلي

    قلبٌ فِصرْتُ القائِدَهْ

    And the ear said, “The one who sends me

    is a heart; so I became the leader.”

  37. قد صار كلٌّ يدَّعي

    دعوَى وليست فائِدَهْ

    Each has now begun to make

    a claim, but to no avail.

  38. قالوا تعالوا نحتكمْ

    فالجسمُ قاضي القاصِدَهْ

    They said, “Come, let us seek judgment;

    for the body is the seeker's judge.”

  39. فرضوا جميعاً بالقضا

    والنارُ مأْوَى الجاحِدَهْ

    So they all consented to adjudication,

    and the Fire is the denier's abode.

  40. فقَضى بأن القلب سل

    طانٌ عليهم قاعِدَهْ

    So it ruled that the heart is

    sovereign over them: that is the rule.

  41. فالقلبُ سلطانُ الجوا

    رح كلِّها يا حامِدَهْ

    For the heart is sovereign over the bodily

    organs, all of them, O Hamida.

  42. فمتى بدا منه فسا

    دٌ فالرعايا فاسِدَهْ

    So whenever corruption emerges from it,

    its subjects are corrupt.

  43. ومتى بدا منه صلا

    حٌ فالرعايا راشِدَهْ

    And whenever righteousness emerges from it,

    its subjects are rightly guided.

  44. فالحمدُ لله الذي

    فتح العيون الراقِدَهْ

    So praise be to God, who

    opened the sleeping eyes.