بأوج الهوى كم منزل قد علمتُهُ

بأوج الهوى كم منزل قد علمتُهُ

ولوح وجودي بالكمال رقمتُهُ

ولوح وجودي بالكمال رقمتُهُ

At love's zenith, how many a station I have known!

At the peak of passion, how many a home I've come to know,

And I inscribed the tablet of my existence with perfection.

And with my very being, its perfection I've mapped.

ولما جرى دمعي وصبري عمدتُهُ

ولما جرى دمعي وصبري عمدتُهُ

أبى الحب أن يخفى وكم قد كتمتُهُ

أبى الحب أن يخفى وكم قد كتمتُهُ

And when my tears flowed, I upheld my patience.

When my tears flowed and patience I mastered,

Love refused to be hidden, though how often I had concealed it!

Love refused to hide, though much I've concealed.

فأصبح عندي قد أناخ وطنبا

فأصبح عندي قد أناخ وطنبا

توقيت من شؤم السوى سوء مكره

توقيت من شؤم السوى سوء مكره

So it alighted with me and pitched its tent.

So it came to reside, making itself at home,

I guarded myself from the ill fortune of otherness and its evil guile.

Saving me from the ills of all others.

وطائر سرِّي ساكنٌ أوجَ وكرِهِ

وطائر سرِّي ساكنٌ أوجَ وكرِهِ

ومن لفؤادي قد حلا كأس فكره

ومن لفؤادي قد حلا كأس فكره

And the bird of my inmost secret dwells at the height of its nest.

My secret bird nested atop its nest,

And the One whose cup of contemplation has grown sweet to my heart—

While for my heart a cup of its thoughts poured.

إذا اشتد شوقي هام قلبي بذكره

إذا اشتد شوقي هام قلبي بذكره

وإن رمت قربا من حبيبي تقربا

وإن رمت قربا من حبيبي تقربا

When my longing intensifies, my heart is enraptured by remembrance of Him.

When longing intensified, my heart fluttered with its mention,

And if I seek nearness to my beloved, He draws near.

And if I drew near my beloved, intimacy we shared.

له نور وجه أصبح الكون ظلَّهُ

له نور وجه أصبح الكون ظلَّهُ

تبارك فينا ذو العلا ما أجله

تبارك فينا ذو العلا ما أجله

His face has a radiance whose shadow the cosmos has become.

With a face of light, it lit up the universe as its shade,

Blessed within us is the Exalted One—how majestic He is!

Blessed be in us the Most High, how sublime.

هو الحق كلى قد أحل محله

هو الحق كلى قد أحل محله

فيبدو فأفنى ثم أحيى به له

فيبدو فأفنى ثم أحيى به له

He is the Real; He has set my whole being in His place.

It is the Ultimate Truth, occupying its rightful place,

Then He appears, so I am effaced; then I live through Him, for Him.

Appearing then disappearing, giving me life for its sake.

ويسعدني حتى ألذ وأطربا

ويسعدني حتى ألذ وأطربا

And He gladdens me until I delight and am enraptured.

Bringing me joy until pleasure and bliss abound.