هِيَ الحَياةُ الَّتي تَحْيَا النُّفُوسُ بِها

تُمِيتُها كُلَّما شَاءَتْ وَتُحْييها

It is the life with which souls live

It kills them whenever it wants and revives them

لَوْ أَنَّها خَاطَبَتْ مَيْتاً لَكَلَّمَها

وَقَامَ مِنْ قَبْرِهِ شَوْقاً يُلَبِّيها

If it spoke to a dead person, he would answer its call

And rise from his grave yearning to meet it

عَادَيْتُ مِنْ أَجْلِها رُوحي وَقَدْ عَلِمَتْ

رُوحي بِأَنِّي أُعَادِي مَنْ يُعادِيها

I turned against my soul for its sake, and my soul knew

That I oppose whoever opposes it

وَلَسْتُ أَبْكي بِدَمْعِي حِينَ تُبْعِدُني

لَكِنْ بِرُوحي عَلَيْها حِينَ أَبْكِيها

And I don’t cry with my tears when it distances me

Rather with my soul that cries for it

للَّهِ إِنْسانُ طَرْفي حِينَ صَارَ بِها

عَبْدي كَما صِرْتُ فِيها عَبْدَ حُبِّيها

By Allah, the human in whose eyes it resides

Becomes its slave just as I became a slave to my love for it

غُرِيتُ بِاللَّوْمِ فِيها إِذْ غُرِيتُ بِها

فَصِرْتُ أَهْوى مَلامي مِنْ مَلامِيها

I was tempted to blame it when I was tempted by it

So I grew to love blaming it along with blaming myself for it

هَذا لأَنَّ عَذابي صارَ يَعْذُبُ لِي

فيها وَأَنَّ حَيَاتي مِنْ أَيادِيها

This is because my torment started tormenting me through it

And my life was in its hands

يَا قَاتَلَ اللَهُ قَلْبي كَيْفَ صَبَّرَنِي

دَعَوْتُ بِالْمَوْتِ خَوْفاً مِنْ دَوَاعِيها

O killer of my heart, how did you make me patient

I called for death fearing its allure

بِحَقِّها يا هَوَاها أَغْرِ هَجْرَكَ بِي

إِذا تَمَنَّيْتُ مِنْها هَجْرَ وَصْلِيها

For its sake, O its passion, make your abandonment hard on me

Whenever I wish for its abandonment or its union

رُحْ يا سَقَامِي عَلَى الأَعْضاءِ مُحْتَكِماً

كَما غَدَوْتَ لِفَرْطِ السُّقْمِ تُفُنِيها

Go away, my sickness, judging my limbs

As you have become due to intense sickness that destroys it

خُذْ مِنْ قُوى النَّفْسِ مَا أَحْبَبْتَهُ صِلَةً

مِنِّي وَلا تُبْقِ لِي إِنْ شِئْتَ باقِيها

Take from the soul's strength whatever connection you wanted

And leave me nothing of it, if you wish

وَأَنْتَ فَاحْكُمْ بِمَا تَهْواهُ يا تَلَفِي

رَضِيتُ مِنْكَ بِهِ إِنْ كُنْتَ تُرْضِيها

And you, my demise, judge however you wish

I will accept it from you if you please it

عَساكِرُ الشَّوْقِ في قَلْبِي مُخَيِّمَةٌ

مُذْ خَيَّمَ الوَجْدُ لِي في رَبْعِ حُبِّيها

The armies of passion camped in my heart

Ever since ardour pitched its tents in the land of my love for it

هَا قَدْ لَبِستُ ثِيابَ الضُّرِّ فِيكِ فَقَدْ

بُلِيتُ بِالسُّقْمِ فِيها قَبْلَ أُبْلِيها

Look, I have worn the clothes of misery for you, so

I was afflicted with sickness for its sake before it was