1. لَعِب الهَوى بِفؤاد صب نائى

    وَسَقاهُ كَأس لَوعَة وَعَناء

    Passion toyed with a far-off lover's heart,

    and gave him a cup of anguish and suffering.

  2. ما بالَه لَزِمَ الهَوى حَتّى غَدا

    في الحُبِّ لَم يَبرَح عَنِ البَرحاءِ

    What ails him, clinging to passion until he came

    to live in love, never free of torment?

  3. قَد كانَ قَبلَ العِشقِ لا يَدري الجَوى

    هَل تاهَ بَعدَ العِشقِ في تَيهاء

    Before ardent love, he had known no inward anguish;

    did he wander after love into a trackless wilderness?

  4. أَم هامَ وَجدا في المَلاحِ فَأَصبَحَت

    أَحشاؤُهُ لإترتجي لِشفاء

    Or did he roam, mad with longing, among the fair, so that

    his inmost parts have no hope of healing?

  5. ما بالَهُ يَشكو وَيَشكُر حالَة

    اِمسى بِها مِن جُملَةِ الشُهَداء

    Why does he both lament and bless a state

    in which he has become one of the martyrs?

  6. أَبدا تَراهُ لاهِجا بِاِسمِ الَّذي

    يَهواهُ ف الاِصباحِ وَالاِمساء

    You always see him repeating the name of the one

    he loves, at morning and evening.

  7. كَفى مَدامِعي الغزار أَو اِذرفى

    وَتَقَطُّعي بِالهَجرِ يا أَحشائي

    Cease, my copious tears—or flow;

    and tear yourselves apart in separation, O my inmost parts.

  8. وَتَثبتي يا مُهجتى أَو فَاِجزَعى

    وَتَفطري أَو فَاِصبِري لِقَضاء

    And stand firm, O my lifeblood—or despair;

    and break—or patiently bear the decree.

  9. حكم الهَوى وَالقَلب لازَمَه الجَوى

    تَبقى لِواعجه بِطول بَقائي

    Passion has ruled, and anguish has clung to the heart;

    its burning pains endure as long as I live.

  10. دَمعي وَقَلبي مُطلَق وَمُقَيَّد

    هذا لِتَعذبي وَذا لِشَقائي

    My tears are unbound, my heart in fetters;

    this for my torment, and that for my misery.

  11. حُب تَمكن في الفُؤاد وَقَد بَدَت

    آثاه في سائِرِ الأَعضاء

    Love has taken hold within the heart, and there have appeared

    its traces throughout all the limbs.

  12. اِني لِيُعجِبُني الَّذي يَرضى بِهِ

    سِيان بَعدي عَنهُ أَو اِدنائى

    Whatever pleases him indeed delights me;

    being far from him or brought near is all the same.

  13. فَعَلامَةُ العُشّاقِ حُسنُ رِضا همو

    عَمّا اِرتَضى المَحبوبُ مِن أَشياء

    For lovers are marked by the beauty of their acceptance

    of whatever things the beloved approves.

  14. وَقَد اِعتَرَفتُ بِأَنَّ مثلى لَم يَقُم

    بِحُقوقُهِ وَمُقصر بِأَداء

    I have confessed that one like me has not fulfilled

    his rights, and is remiss in rendering them.

  15. فَقَصَدت ساحَة عَفوِهِ متسربِلا

    بِجنايَتي مُتَوَحِّشاً بِحَيائي

    So I sought the courtyard of his pardon, clothed

    in my transgression, made desolate by my shame.

  16. وَأَتيتُ بابَكَ وَالرَجاءُ يَؤُمني

    وَاِخجَلتي اِن لَم أَفُز بِرِضاء

    And I came to your door, with hope leading me;

    oh, my shame, if I fail to win approval!

  17. غَواثاه مِن لي اِن منعت وَكَيف لي

    بِما عدان لَم تَقُم بِوَفائي

    Help! Who is there for me if I am denied, and how can I obtain

    what is promised [wording unclear], if you do not keep faith with me?

  18. أَم كَيفَ أَنعُم بِالبَقا وَيَلِذ لي

    عَيشُ اِذ أَشَمت بي أَعدائي

    Or how can I enjoy life and find sweetness

    in living, when you let my enemies gloat over me?

  19. وَادي الغَضا قَلبي بِما أَلقاهُ من

    أَمارَتي بِالسوء وَالضَرّاء

    My heart is Wadi al-Ghada, from what I suffer

    from my self that commands evil, and from adversity.

  20. فَزَعيم جَيش الجَهلِ حط عَزائِمي

    وَالشَر قَوض مربعى وَبنائى

    For the commander of ignorance's army has weakened my resolve,

    and evil has razed my dwelling and my edifice.

  21. وَكَبائرَ الهَفواتِ قَد أَلبَسَتني

    ثَوبَ الهَوانِ وَمَلبَسُ البُأَساءِ

    And grievous lapses have clothed me

    in the robe of humiliation and the garb of the wretched.

  22. أَن في رَحيبِ رحاب جودِكَ مَوجدي

    وَرِضاكَ يا مَولايَ من شُفَعائي

    Indeed, my place is in the spacious realms of your generosity,

    and your favor, my Lord, is among my intercessors.

  23. اِن كانَ عِصياني وَسوءُ جِنايَتي

    عَظما وَصرت مُهَدَّداً بِجَزائي

    If my disobedience and the evil of my transgression

    have grown great, and I am threatened with my requital,

  24. فَفَضاء عَفوِكَ لا حُدودَ لِوُسعِهِ

    وَعَلَيهِ مُعتَمِدي وَحُسنُ رَجائي

    then the expanse of your pardon has no bounds to its breadth;

    and upon it rest my reliance and my confident hope.

  25. يا مَن يَرى ما في الضَميرِ وَلا يَرى

    اِنّي رَجوتَكَ اِن تُجيبُ دُعائي

    O you who see what lies in the inward soul, yet are unseen,

    I have hoped in you to answer my prayer.

  26. يا عالَم الشَكوى وَحر تَوجعي

    دائي عَظيم القَرح جد بِدَوائي

    O knower of my complaint and the burning of my anguish,

    my malady's wound is grievous; be generous with my remedy.

  27. بَحَبيبِكَ الهادي سَأَلتُكَ دلني

    لِعِلاجِ أَمراضي وَجاب شَفائي

    By your guiding beloved, I ask you: guide me

    toward curing my illnesses, and grant me healing [reading uncertain].

  28. ثُمَّ الصَلاةُ عَلَيهِ ما هَب الصِبا

    سُخر فَعطر سائِر الاِرجاء

    Then blessings upon him, as long as the east wind blows,

    made to serve, then perfuming every quarter.