1. نصبت لأهل المناجاه

    في حندس الليل أعلام

    For those in intimate prayer were raised

    banners in the pitch-darkness of night.

  2. واستعذبوا الشهد وأمسوا

    قياماً إذ نام من نام

    And they savored the honey and spent the evening

    standing, while those who slept lay asleep.

  3. واستقبلتهم لطائف

    بهجات فضل وإكرام

    And subtle graces welcomed them,

    delights of bounty and honor,

  4. من لذّة لا تكيف

    ولا تصوّر في الأوهام

    from a delight that cannot be defined

    nor pictured in the imagination.

  5. قد ذاقها من عناها

    وهام فيها الذي هام

    He who sought it has tasted it,

    and he who was enraptured lost himself in it.

  6. واستوحش الخلق واضحاً

    في الفيافي والأكام

    And he plainly felt estranged from mankind,

    in the deserts and on the hills.

  7. ولا يعرج على شيء

    سواه أو لام من لام

    And he pays no heed to anything

    other than Him—or let whoever reproaches, reproach.

  8. طابوا وفاز المخفون

    ونحن أرباب الأثام

    They were pure, and the lightly burdened triumphed,

    while we are masters of sin.

  9. نبني ونهدم بنانا

    ومنتهى أمرنا إهدام

    We build and demolish what we have built,

    and our affairs end in destruction.

  10. بالسوف والسوف تسويف

    تمضي الليالي والأيام

    With 'later' and 'later'—procrastination—

    the nights and days go by.

  11. أيامنا قد تقضت

    على التماني والأوهام

    Our days have already passed

    in wishful thinking and illusions.

  12. وكلّ آت قريب

    والعافيه بعدها أسقام

    And whatever is to come is near,

    and health is followed by illnesses.

  13. والعمر فان وان طال

    لا بدّ من كرّة السام

    And life passes away, however long it lasts;

    there is no escaping the onslaught of death.

  14. والغيد تمسي أرامل

    منا وأطفالنا أيتام

    And the graceful women become widows

    bereft of us, and our children orphans.

  15. ونذكر أيام كنا

    كأنها أضغاث أحلام

    And we recall the days we once lived,

    as though they were a jumble of dreams.

  16. نندم على ما فعلنا

    توبتك من عام إلى عام

    We regret what we have done.

    Your repentance is deferred from year to year,

  17. وليس تدري بعام

    يأتيك من ناقص أو تام

    and you do not know, of any year,

    whether it will come to you incomplete or whole.

  18. أو هل تحققت دنيا

    دامت لحدّ أو لها دام

    Or have you ever known worldly life

    to last for anyone, or anyone to last for it?

  19. وليس تعلم لخصمك

    أمد إذا جاء للالزام

    And you do not know your adversary's

    appointed time, when he comes to compel you.

  20. يا كاشف الضرّ يا من

    قضى بقدره وإحكام

    O remover of affliction, O One who

    ordained by His decree and with precision,

  21. احفظ علينا جميعاً

    عند انقضا العمر الاسلام

    preserve for all of us

    Islam when life comes to an end.

  22. قد جدت فضلاً بالإسلام

    وأفضل الجود الاتمام

    You have indeed bestowed Islam as a favor,

    and the finest generosity is to complete it.

  23. حاشاك بعد التفضل

    تذيقنا هون الاصرام

    Far be it from You, after showing favor,

    to make us taste the humiliation of abandonment.

  24. فنحن أهل للاسوا

    وأنت أهل للانعام

    For we are deserving of the worst,

    and You are worthy of bestowing bounty.

  25. تمت وصلوا على أحمد

    مكرّرا طول الأعوام

    It is complete; send blessings upon Ahmad,

    repeatedly, throughout the years.