إِنّي أَتَتني عَنِ المَهدِيِّ مَعتَبَةٌ

تَكادُ مِن خَوفِها الأَحشاءُ تَضطَّرِبُ

News has reached me of the Mahdi that makes

A rebuke has reached me from Al-Mahdi,

My heart quake in fear of what's to come

From the fear of which my very vitals nearly tremble.

اِسمَع فِداكَ بَنو حَواءَ كُلُّهُمُ

وَقَد يَحورُ بِرَأسِ الكاذِبِ الكَذِبِ

Hear me, oh sons of Eve, hear all of you

Listen—may all the sons of Eve be your ransom—

As falsehood twists around the liar's neck

For truly, a lie often recoils upon the head of the liar.

فَقَد حَلَفتُ يَميناً غَيرَ كاذِبَةٍ

يَومَ المَغيبَةِ لَم يُقطَع لَها سَبَبُ

I swore an oath not falsely made

I have sworn a solemn oath, devoid of falsehood,

That day of absence whose rope was cut

On the day of my absence—a bond that was never severed:

أَلا يُحالِفَ مَدحي غَيرَكُم أَبَداً

وَلَو تَلاقى عَلَيَّ الغَرضُ وَالحَقَبُ

To never praise but you until I die

That my praise shall never ally itself with anyone but you,

Though cause and time against me rub

Even were the saddle-girth and the crupper to meet upon me in distress.

إِنّي أَعوذُ بِخَيرِ الناسِ كُلِّهِمِ

وَأَنتَ ذاكَ بِما نَأتي وَنَجتَنِبُ

To the best of men I plead and flee

I seek refuge in the best of all mankind,

And you are he, in what we do or shun

And you are he, in all that we approach and all that we shun.

كَيفَ الفِرارُ وَلَم أَبلِغ رِضى مَلِكٍ

تَبدو المَنايا بِعَينَيهِ وَتَحتَجِبُ

How can I flee before my king's wish is met

How can there be flight, when I have not yet won the pleasure of a king

Where death lurks visible in his eyes?

In whose eyes the dooms of death appear and withdraw?

وَأَنتَ كَالدَهرِ مَبثوثاً حَبائِلُهُ

وَالدَهرُ لا مَلجَأٌ مِنهُ وَلا هَرَبُ

You are like fate, snares cast everywhere

You are like Time itself, with its snares cast wide,

No escape or flight from fate can one find

And from Time, there is neither refuge nor escape.

وَلَو مَلَكتُ عِنانَ الريحِ أَصرِفُها

في كُلِّ ناحِيَةٍ ما فاتَها الطَلَبُ

If I held the winds' reins I'd direct them

Even if I held the reins of the wind, turning it

To every place not yet searched

To every quarter, your pursuit would not fail to overtake it.

فَلَيسَ إِلّا اِنتِظاري مِنكَ عارِفَةً

فيها مِنَ الخَوفِ مُنجاةٌ وَمُنقَلَبُ

My only hope is in your knowing

So nothing remains but my waiting for an act of grace from you,

My fears carry both refuge and return

In which lies salvation from fear, and a safe return.

مَولاكَ مَولاكَ لا تُشمِت أَعادِيَةُ

فَما وَراءَكَ لي ذَكرٌ وَلا نَسَبُ

My lord, my lord, let not my enemies gloat

Your servant! Your servant! Do not let my enemies gloat,

For beyond you I have no fame or lineage

For beyond you, I have neither renown nor lineage to claim.