1. يا نَفسُ أَنّى تُؤفَكينا

    حَتّى مَتى لا تَرعَوينا

    O soul, how are you led astray?

    How long will you fail to take heed?

  2. حَتّى مَتى لا تَعقِلي

    نَ وَتَسمَعينَ وَتُبصِرينا

    How long will you not understand,

    though you hear and see?

  3. أَصبَحتِ أَطوَلَ مَن مَضى

    أَمَلاً وَأَضعَفَهُم يَقينا

    You have come to surpass all who have passed away

    in far-reaching hope, and are the weakest of them in certainty.

  4. وَلِيَأتِيَنَّ عَلَيكِ ما

    أَفنى القُرونَ الأَوَّلينا

    And surely there will befall you what

    destroyed the generations of old.

  5. يا نَفسُ طالَ تَمَسُّكي

    بِعُرى المُنى حيناً فَحينا

    O soul, long have I clung

    to the bonds of wishes, time after time.

  6. يا نَفسُ إِلّا تَصلُحي

    فَتَشَبَّهي بِالصالِحينا

    O soul, if you do not become righteous,

    then emulate the righteous.

  7. وَتَفَكَّري فيما أَقو

    لُ لَعَلَّ قَلبَكِ أَن يَلينا

    And reflect on what I

    say; perhaps your heart may soften.

  8. أَينَ الأُلى جَمَعوا وَكا

    نوا لِلحَوادِثِ آمِنينا

    Where are those who amassed wealth and were

    secure against calamities?

  9. أَفناهُمُ الأَجَلُ المُطِل

    لُ عَلى الخَلائِقِ أَجمَعينا

    The appointed end destroyed them, looming

    over all creatures, one and all.

  10. فَإِذا مَساكِنُهُم وَما

    جَمَعوا لِقَومٍ آخَرينا

    Then behold, their dwellings and what

    they amassed belong to other people.