عليَّ دينٌ ثقيلٌ أنتَ قاضيهِ

عليَّ دينٌ ثقيلٌ أنتَ قاضيهِ

يا مَنْ يُحَمِّلني دَيْني رَجائيهِ

يا مَنْ يُحَمِّلني دَيْني رَجائيهِ

A heavy debt lies upon me; you are the one to settle it.

I am heavily burdened with debt, and you are its judge,

O you, my hope in whom makes me shoulder my debt.

O you who load me with my hopes for your grace.

وقد حماني إخواني مواردَهم

وقد حماني إخواني مواردَهم

ووكلتني إلى بحرٍ سواقيه

ووكلتني إلى بحرٍ سواقيه

And my brethren have barred me from their watering places,

And though my brothers have helped me with their resources,

and a sea's channels have entrusted me to its care.

They left me to a sea with no one to steer my ship.

قالوا أنسقي مَنِ الطوفانُ موردُه

قالوا أنسقي مَنِ الطوفانُ موردُه

كما يقال لمولى أنت واليه

كما يقال لمولى أنت واليه

They said, “Shall we water one whose source is the flood?”

They said, "Bail out any water the storm may bring in,"

As is said to a client whose patron you are.

As one says to a master, "You are its governor."

وهل تُنازعك المعروفَ في رجلٍ

وهل تُنازعك المعروفَ في رجلٍ

يَدٌ لتكفيَ أمراً أنتَ كافيه

يَدٌ لتكفيَ أمراً أنتَ كافيه

And could you be rivaled in kindness toward a man

Does any kindness contest with you for a man

by any hand that would meet a need you yourself can meet?

Whose hand you make sufficient for all he must manage?

ما ذاك قَدْرُ بني الدنيا وإن عَظُمَتْ

ما ذاك قَدْرُ بني الدنيا وإن عَظُمَتْ

أقدارهم غيرَ مخْصوصٍ بحاشيه

أقدارهم غيرَ مخْصوصٍ بحاشيه

That is beyond the power of this world's sons, however great

That is not the way of worldly men, though their fortunes

their standing—with no one singled out as an exception.

Seem boundless, with no limit to their peripheries.

وما أحالوا على ضَحْل ولا ثَمِدٍ

وما أحالوا على ضَحْل ولا ثَمِدٍ

ولا تَظَنَّوْا بغيبٍ ظنَّ تَشْبيه

ولا تَظَنَّوْا بغيبٍ ظنَّ تَشْبيه

And they have referred me neither to shallows nor to a scant pool,

They did not refer me to an arid desert or an untrodden wilderness,

nor did they guess at the unseen by mere analogy.

Nor did they suppose of the unseen what cannot be envisioned.

فلا تُضِعْني وتَجْني لي إضاعتَهُمْ

فلا تُضِعْني وتَجْني لي إضاعتَهُمْ

إيايَ لا ضاع أَمرٌ أنت راعيه

إيايَ لا ضاع أَمرٌ أنت راعيه

So do not neglect me and make me reap their neglect

So do not abandon me and cause me to lose what they granted me.

of me; may no matter you watch over be lost.

No command of yours, as shepherd, is ever misplaced.

يا ابن الوزيرَيْنِ قد عَمَّتْ صنائعُكم

يا ابن الوزيرَيْنِ قد عَمَّتْ صنائعُكم

غيري فقد ولَّهتني كلَّ توليه

غيري فقد ولَّهتني كلَّ توليه

O son of the two viziers, your favors have reached

O son of two viziers, your kind acts encompass

everyone but me, leaving me utterly distraught.

Others, so why have you neglected all responsibility toward me?

للَّهِ موقعُ معروفٍ أراه لكم

للَّهِ موقعُ معروفٍ أراه لكم

نِيلتْ أقاصيه واحتيزت أَدانيهِ

نِيلتْ أقاصيه واحتيزت أَدانيهِ

How wondrous, by God, the reach of the kindness I see from you:

To Allah is the outcome of every kindness I see you extend;

its farthest reaches have been won, and its nearest claimed.

Its farthest reaches and closest neighborhoods are obtained through you.

كم من أناسٍ رَجَوْا بي رَيْعَ دولتكم

كم من أناسٍ رَجَوْا بي رَيْعَ دولتكم

حَظُوا وأُوسِعْتُ حِرماناً أُشافيه

حَظُوا وأُوسِعْتُ حِرماناً أُشافيه

How many people, hoping through me for the yield of your ascendancy,

How many people have hoped, through me, for the yield of your fortune,

won their share, while I was lavished with deprivation I strive to remedy!

And gained it, while I was left deprived of all relief!

وما من العدل أن يُقْضَى نَعيمُهم

وما من العدل أن يُقْضَى نَعيمُهم

ومُصْطَلاي بِبَرْحٍ مُبْرحٍ فيه

ومُصْطَلاي بِبَرْحٍ مُبْرحٍ فيه

Nor is it just that their comfort be assured

Justice does not dictate that I should be denied their bliss

while I burn within it in agonizing torment.

While my condition remains constantly bleak and comfortless.

لا تتركنَّ وليَّاً ذا محافظة

لا تتركنَّ وليَّاً ذا محافظة

ونارُ حَسْرةِ فَوْتِ الحظ تكويه

ونارُ حَسْرةِ فَوْتِ الحظ تكويه

Do not leave a loyal follower, steadfast in devotion,

Do not leave a loyal friend who strives to serve and protect,

while the fire of regret for a missed share sears him.

With the fire of regret for lost opportunity burning him.

لا تجعلنْه كراجي الغيثِ أصعَقَهُ

لا تجعلنْه كراجي الغيثِ أصعَقَهُ

وإنما أمَّلَ الإسقاءَ راجيه

وإنما أمَّلَ الإسقاءَ راجيه

Do not make him like one hoping for rain, struck down by its lightning,

Do not make him like one hoping for rain who is struck by lightning,

though its seeker had hoped only to be watered.

When he only hoped to be watered, seeking it insistently.

الحالُ مُرهقةٌ والنفسُ مُشفِقَةٌ

الحالُ مُرهقةٌ والنفسُ مُشفِقَةٌ

من دائها المتمادي أو تُداويه

من دائها المتمادي أو تُداويه

My plight is crushing, and my soul is fearful

My state is exhausted, my soul frightened

of its lingering illness, unless you cure it.

By its persisting illness with no cure to remedy.

هو الإياسُ أو الإيناسُ من كَثبٍ

هو الإياسُ أو الإيناسُ من كَثبٍ

فلا تدعْني من أَمريَّ في تيه

فلا تدعْني من أَمريَّ في تيه

It is either despair or reassurance close at hand;

This is despair or hoping for favor from one who refuses,

so do not leave me lost between my two alternatives.

So do not leave me bewildered, lost in my own affairs.