لِقَاؤُكَ يا عَبدَ الإِلهِ هُوَ الشِّفَا

لِنَفسَى مِن دَاءٍ لَهُ في الحَشَا إختَفَا

Meeting you, O Abdal-Ilah, is the cure

For my soul from an illness that hid in my thoughts

تَنَائِيكَ عني أكسَبَ القَلبَ لَوعَةً

تُذِيبَ الصَّفَا إِنَّ النَّوَى لَيسَ مُنصِفَا

Your distance from me made my heart grieve

It melts sincerity, for intention is not just

ولَم أستَطِب مِن بَعدِكَ لَذَّةً

ولَم أُرَ إِلاَّ حَائِراً مُتَأسِّفَا

And after you I enjoyed no pleasure

And saw nothing but confusion and regret

وَبعدَكَ مَا سَامَرتُ مِن ذِى قَرِيحَةٍ

يُوَافِقُ طَبعِى مُنشِداً ومُؤلِّفَا

And after you I conversed with no one of wit

Who suits my nature, reciting and composing

وتَسقِيني الأخلاَقُ مِنهُ مُعَتَّقاً

مِنَ الخَمرِ مُلذُوذَ الطَّوِيَّةِ قَرقَفَا

And manners make me drink from him as if

Intoxicated by smooth wine in a flask

وَإِن رَامَ إنشَاءَ القَوَافي تَرَاهُ في

عَوَاصِى القَوافي حَاكِماً مُتَصَرِّفَا

And if he tries composing rhymes you’ll find him

In the far reaches of rhyme, ruling and directing

وَيدعو إِلَى العَليَا وَينهَى عَنِ الخَنَا

ويَقفُو النبي المُصطفي ومَن اصطفي

He calls to the most high and forbids sin

And follows the chosen prophet and his followers

ويُنهِضُ حَالِى حَالُهُ ولِسَانُهُ

يُرَوِّضُ بِه رَوضَ القُلُوبِ التَّصَوُّفا

His state raises my state and his tongue

Trains with it the garden of mysticism’s hearts

لَحَا اللهُ أجلاَفاً يَخَالُونَ أنَّهُم

كِرَامٌ على أنَّ الزَّمَانَ لَهُم صَفَا

God has given long lives to dissolutes who think

They are nobles for the times have cleared for them

ولم تَكُ في دِينٍ ولا في مُرُوءَةٍ

لَهُم هِمَّةٌ بَل هَمُّهم شِدَّةُ الجَفَا

And they have no ambition in religion or chivalry

Their only concern is the harshness of deprivation

وكُلُّهُمُ لَم يَدرِ حَرفاً وعِندَهُم

سَفِيهٌ أخُو التَّقَوَى ومَن خَطَّ أَحرُفَ

And none of them can understand a letter yet

The ignorant claims to be devout and letters’ author