كم في الدياجير من ذخر وفائدة

لمن بضاعته التذكار والسَّهرُ

How much treasure and benefit the deep darkness holds

For one whose stock-in-trade is remembrance and wakefulness.

وكم به لرجال الجدّ من أربٍ

نام المقصّر عنه وهو مدَّخر

And how much it holds that men of earnest effort desire;

The negligent sleeps heedless of it, though it lies in store.

تصفو الخواطر فيه من شوائِبهَا

ويحضر الفكرُ للإفهام والنظر

Thoughts grow clear in it, free of their impurities,

And the mind is ready for explanation and reflection.

فَسُهَّدُ اللَّيلِ مصفاةٌ مواردُهُم

ونوَّمُ الليلِ لا يدرون مالاخبر

So the wellsprings of those who keep night vigil are purified,

And those who sleep at night do not know what is afoot [reading uncertain].

شتَّان من جَفنُهُ بالنوم مغترقٌ

ومن خواطره باللَّيل تَعتَبِرُ

How far apart are one whose eyelid is immersed in sleep

And one whose thoughts take heed by night!

يا مُغنِيَ اللّيل نوماً والنهار عمى

متى تَفِيقُ ولا سمعٌ ولا بصرُ

O you who enrich the night with sleep and the day with blindness,

When will you awaken, with neither hearing nor sight?

ترجو الإِقامة في دار منقلة

وتغفلُ الزادَ فيها إذ دَنَا السَّفَرُ

You hope to settle in an abode of passage,

And neglect provisions there as the journey draws near.

أَيقظ فؤادَكَ من نومِ ومن سنة

واحذر فذو الحَزمِ من أوصافِهِ الحذر

Awaken your heart from sleep and from drowsiness,

And be wary, for caution is a trait of the prudent.

ولا تُضِع عُمراً في غير فائدةٍ

فَعَن قريبٍ لَعَمري يَنفَذُ العُمُرُ

And do not squander a lifetime on what brings no benefit,

For soon—by my life!—life will pass away.

وقم إذا صُبِغَت في الليل دهمتُهُ

وأُسرِجت في دُجَاهُ الأنجمُ الزّهر

And rise when the night is dyed with its blackness,

And the radiant stars are lit as lamps within its gloom.

فاندب ذنوبَكَ واستوهب إقالتها

فالعفو عند اعترافِ العبدِ ينتَظَرُ

Then lament your sins and beg for their pardon,

For pardon is awaited when the servant confesses.

فأرسِلِ الدَّمع عن خوفٍ وعن نَدَمٍ

يَمحُ الخلافَ الذي مازال يُستَطَرُ

So let tears flow from fear and from remorse;

They will erase the defiance still being written down.

وارجع إلى الله واقرع بابَ رحمتِهِ

واصبر فذو الصَّبرِ مضمونٌ له الظفر

And return to Allah, and knock at the door of His mercy,

And be patient, for triumph is assured to the patient.

واجعل نعيمَكَ في القرآن تقرأه

فخيرُ ما يُقرأُ الآياتُ والسُّور

And make your bliss lie in the Qur'an as you recite it,

For the verses and surahs are the best of what is read.

وإن عراك عداءٌ في الدُّجى فَبِهِ

يأتيك بالنجم في أعقابه السَّحر

And if hostility assails you in the darkness, then through it

The hour before dawn brings you the star in its wake.