يا نَفسُ هَذا مَنزِلُ الأَحبابِ

فَاِنسَي عَذابَكِ في النَوى وَعَذابي

O my soul, this is the abode of loved ones

O Soul, this is the abode of the beloveds,

So forget your torment in yearning, and my torment

So forget your torment in separation, and forget mine.

وَتَهَلَّلي كَالفَجرِ في هَذا الحِمى

وَتَأَلَّقي كَالخَمرِ في الأَكوابِ

And be joyous like the dawn in this fever

And beam with joy like the dawn in this sanctuary,

And shine like wine in cups

And sparkle like wine within the goblets.

وَلتَمسَحِ البُشرى دُموعَكِ مِثلَما

يَمحو الصَباحُ نَدىً عَنِ الأَعشابِ

And let good tidings wipe your tears

Let glad tidings wipe away your tears, just as

As the morning wipes away dew from plants

The morning wipes the dew from the grass.

وَاِستَرجِعي عَهدَ البَشاشَةِ وَالرِضى

فَالدَهرُ عادَ تَضاحُكاً وَتَصابي

And regain the era of cheerfulness and contentment

And reclaim the age of cheerfulness and contentment,

For time has returned, jesting and coquetting

For Fate has returned to laughter and youthful passion.

أَنا بَينَ أَصحابي الَّذينَ أُحِبُّهُم

ما أَجمَلَ الدُنيا مَعَ الأَصحابِ

I am among my friends whom I love

I am among the companions whom I love;

How beautiful is life with friends

How beautiful the world is when shared with friends.

قَد كُنتُ مِثلَ الطائِرِ المَحبوسِ في

قَفَصٍ وَمِثلَ النَجمِ خَلفَ ضَبابِ

I used to be like a bird imprisoned

I was like a bird imprisoned in

In a cage, and like a star behind clouds

A cage, and like a star obscured by fog.

يَمتَدُّ في جُنحِ الظَلامِ تَأَوُّهي

وَيَطولُ في أُذنِ الزَمانِ عِتابي

Extending its wailing in the wings of darkness

My sighing stretched out into the wings of darkness,

And my reproach lengthens in the ear of time

And my reproaches grew long in the ear of Time.

وَأَهُزُّ أَقلامي فَتَرشَحُ حِدَّةً

وَأَسى وَيَندى بِالدُموعِ كِتابي

And I shake my pens until they ooze sharpness

I shook my pens, and they bled sharpness

And sorrow, and my book flows with tears

And sorrow, while my book grew damp with tears.

حَتّى لَقيتَكُمُ فَبِتُّ كَأَنَّني

لِمَسَرَّتي اِستَرجَعتُ عَصرَ شَبابي

Until I met you, so I spend the night as if

Until I met you, and I became as though

For my joy, I regained the prime of my youth

In my joy, I had regained the days of my youth.

لَيسَ التَعَبُّدُ أَن تَبيتَ عَلى الطَوى

وَتَروحَ في خِرَقٍ مِنَ الأَثوابِ

Devotion is not that you spend the night atop mountains

True devotion is not to pass the night in hunger,

And go around in tattered clothes

Nor to wander about in tattered rags.

لَكِنَّهُ إِنقاظُ نَفسِ مُعَذَّبٍ

مِن رِبقَةِ الآلامِ وَالأَوصابِ

But it is awakening a tortured soul

Rather, it is the rescue of a tormented soul

From the shackles of pains and ailments

From the yoke of suffering and maladies.

لَيسَ التَعَبُّدُ عُزلَةً وَتَنَسُّكاً

في الدَيرِ أَو في القَفرِ أَو في الغابِ

Devotion is not isolation and asceticism

Devotion is not seclusion and ascetic rites

In a monastery, or in the desert, or in the forest

Within a monastery, the wasteland, or the woods.

لَكِنَّهُ ضَبطُ الهَوى في عالَمٍ

فيهِ الغِوايَةُ جَمَّةُ الأَسبابِ

Rather, it is controlling desire in a world

But it is the mastery of desire in a world

In which misguidance is the cause of most causes

Where the causes of temptation are abundant,

وَحَبائِلُ الشَيطانِ في جَنَباتِهِ

وَالمالُ فيهِ أَعظَمُ الأَربابِ

And snares of the devil in its edges

Where the snares of the Devil lie in its every corner,

And money in it is the greatest of lords

And wealth is revered as the greatest of lords.

هَذا هُوَ الرَأيُ الصَوابُ وَغَيرُهُ

مَهما حَلا لِلناسِ غَيرُ صَوابِ

This is the right opinion, and anything else

This is the righteous view; any other,

However it appears good to people, is not right

However sweet it seems to people, is not the truth.