جاهِر بنفسِكَ واهتك السترا

واخلع عذاركَ في الهوى جهرا

Reveal yourself and rend the veil asunder,

Proclaim your self aloud and tear the veil of decency,

And openly profess your love affair.

And cast off the bridle of shame in passion, openly.

لا يردعنّكَ عن هواكَ تحرّج

إنّ التحرّج يورثُ الفقرا

Let no bashfulness deter you from your love,

Let no pious hesitation deter you from your desire,

For bashfulness leads only to destitution.

For truly, such hesitation bequeaths but poverty.

نِك مَن لقيتَ فإنّني لكَ ناصحٌ

واشرب وإن حرِمَت أخي الخمرا

Drink with whomsoever you meet, for I counsel you sincerely,

Lay with whomever you meet, for I advise you true,

And drink though unlawful to my brother wine may be.

And drink the wine, my brother, though forbidden unto you.

وافرض لنفسِكَ كل يوم ركعةً

لا تكثرنَ فتوجب الأجرا

Appoint for yourself each day one prayer alone,

And impose upon yourself but one prostration every day,

Pray not overly much, lest recompense you earn.

Do not increase it, lest you earn the heavenly pay.

والبيت إن حجّوا فحجّ مبادراً

حانوتَ خمّارٍ وعج سهرا

And when the pilgrims go on pilgrimage, set out before them quickly,

And the House—if they go on Hajj—then make your pilgrimage flee,

To a wine-seller's booth, and pass the night in wakefulness.

To the tavern of a vintner, and turn there for revelry.

وإذا أحلّ المحرمون فغنّنى

يا من يلاحظُ خيفةُ شزرا

And when the pilgrims end prohibitions, let songs delight me!

And when the pilgrims leave their sacred state, then sing to me:

O you who scans the horizon for a glimpse of lightening!

"O you who watches in fear, glancing sideways warily."

وأطلع فطاعتهُ عليكَ فريضة

إبليسَ عمّكَ تُكملُ الكفرا

Obey Iblis your uncle completely,

And obey—for obedience to him is a duty laid on you—

For obedience to him is an obligation you must not shirk.

Your uncle Iblis, to make your disbelief come true.

لا تركبنَّ من الخطايا هيّناً

وإذا ركبت فجاوز القَدرا

Do not commit venial sins,

Do not commit of sins the ones that are merely slight,

And if you commit them, exceed the limit.

But if you commit them, exceed the bounds and height.