تَداوَلَني صُبحٌ وَمِسيٌ وَحِندِسٌ

وَمَرَّ عَلَيَّ اليَومُ وَالغَدُ وَالأَمسُ

Morning, evening, and noon have passed me by,

And yesterday, today, and tomorrow went by.

يُضيءُ نَهارٌ ثُمَّ يُخدِرُ مُظلِمٌ

وَيَطلُعُ بَدرٌ ثُمَّ تُعقِبُهُ شَمسُ

A day lights up, then nighttime makes it dim,

The full moon rises, then the sun overtakes it.

أَسيرُ عَنِ الدُنَيا وَما أَنا ذاكِرٌ

لَها بِسَلامٍ إِنَّ أَحداثَها حُمسُ

I depart from this world, not remembering it,

For its events are insignificant.

صَرورَةَ ما حالينِ ما لِكِعابِها

وَلا الرُكنِ تَقبيلٌ لَدَيَّ وَلا لَمسُ

The obligatory rituals are a burden to me,

Neither kissing nor touching the Black Stone appeals to me.

وَلَم أَرِثِ النِصفَ الفَتاةَ وَلَم تَرِث

بِيَ الرَبعَ بَل رِبعٌ تَطاوَلَ أَو خِمسُ

I did not inherit half of the girl, and she did not inherit

A quarter of me, but a quarter has gone by or five.

لَعَمري لَقَد جاوَزتُ خَمسينَ حِجَّةً

وَحَسبِيَ عَشرٌ في الشَدائِدِ أَو خَمسُ

By my life, I have certainly passed fifty pilgrimages,

And ten or five are enough for me in hardships.

وَإِن ذَهَبَت كَالفَيءِ فَهِيَ كَمَغنَمٍ

يُحازُ وَلم يُفرَد لِخالِقِهِ الخُمسُ

If it goes like war booty, then it is like a gain

That is kept, with a fifth not set aside for its Creator.

فَلِلخَبِرِ المَروى وَلِلعالَمِ القِلى

وَلِلجَسَدِ المَثوى وَلِلأَثَرِ الطَمسُ

So credit is due to the narrated news and the wise scholar,

And to the body its abode, and to the trace its being covered over.

بَدارِ بَدارِ الخَيرَ يا قَلبِ تائِباً

أَلَستَ بِدارٍ أَنَّ مَنزِلِيَ الرَمسُ

To the Abode, the Abode of Goodness, O repentant heart,

Are you not in an abode whose dweller is buried in the sand?

وَأَجهَرُ حياً ثُمَّ أَهمُسُ تارَةً

وَسِيّانِ عِندَ الواحِدِ الجَهرُ وَالهَمسُ

I call out alive, then whisper at times,

And to the One, speaking out and whispering are equal.

وَأَقمُسُ في لُجِّ النَوائِبِ طالِباً

وَيُغرِقُني مِن دونِ لُؤلُؤِهِ القَمسُ

I plunge into the depths of tribulations, seeking

And I am drowned by it without its pearls.

وَلَم أَكُ نِدّاً لِلكِلابيِّ أَبتَغي

مِنَ السُؤرِ ما فيهِ لِذي شَنَبٍ غَمسِ

I was no mocker of the dog to try to get

From the pictures what is dipped in filth for the one with a mustache.