يُسَمّونَ بِالجَهلِ عَبدَ الرَحيمِ

وَعَبدَ العَزيزِ وَعَبدَ الصَمَد

They ignorantly name him Abdel Raheem,

Abdel Aziz, and Abdel Samad.

وَما بَلَغوا أَن يَكونوا لَهُ

عَبيداً وَذَلِكَ أَقصى الأَمَد

They could never become his servants—

that is the farthest hope.

وَلَكِنَّهُ خالِقُ العالَمينَ

ذائِبِ أَجزائِهِم وَالجَمَد

Yet He is the Creator of both worlds,

Melter of their bodies and bones.

تَعَمَّدهُ يُغنِكَ بِالهَدي أَن

تُدَرِّسَ مُغَنيَّهُم وَالعُمَد

Purposely He guides you with wisdom so

you teach His praisers and pillars.

إِذا كانَ ما نالَني بِالقَضاءِ

فَمِن سوءِ رَأيِيَ طولَ الكَمَد

If what befell me was by destiny,

it was because of my poor judgment and prolonged gloom.

وَلم يَبقَ في الأَمرِ مِن حيلَةٍ

فَيُقصَرَ مِن عُمُرٍ أَو يُمَدّ

And no trick remained

to shorten a lifetime or extend it.

وَإِنَّ ثُمَوداً أَتَت بَحَرهُم

خُطوبٌ فَما تَرَكَت مِن ثَمَد

Indeed calamity came to Thamud.

It left no withered corpses or ruins.

رَأَيتُ الفَتى شَبَّ حَتّى اِنتَهى

وَما زالَ يَفنى إِلى أَن هَمَد

I saw a young man grow up

until he withered away and died.

كَمِصباحِ لَيلٍ بَدا يَستَنيرُ

ثُمَّ تَناقَصَ حَتّى خَمَد

Like a lamp in the night that shone

then gradually dimmed until extinguished.

وَلَولا الَّذي بانَ حُّكمِهِ

لَقُلنا طَويلُ زَمانٍ سَمَد

If not for the One whose judgment was clear,

we'd say, "Time is endless."

إِذا طَفِئَت في الثَرى أَعيُنٌ

فَقَد أَمِنَت مِن عَماً أَو رَمَد

When eyes are shut in the earth,

they're safe from blindness or discharge.