1. مَرارة الصَبر خَصَت بِالحَلاوات

    وَجَدت في مرها حُلو السَلامات

    The bitterness of patience was graced with sweetness.

    I found in its bitterness the sweetness of safety.

  2. صِيانَتي في كُهوف الصَبرِ أَمنَع لي

    مِن حِصن كسرى وَمِن أَعماق اغمات

    My shelter in patience's caves is more secure for me

    Than Kisra's fortress or the depths of Aghmat.

  3. كَما باتَ دَهري يُريني نَهج ترببتي

    فَيَنثَني بِقَبولي وَاِمتِثالاتي

    As my fate kept showing me the path of my upbringing,

    It relented through my acceptance and submission.

  4. وَما اِحتِجابي عَن عَيب أَتَيتُ بِهِ

    وَاِنَّما الصون من شَأنى وَغاياتي

    My seclusion is not for any fault I have committed;

    Rather, self-preservation is my way and my aim.

  5. وَكُلَّما شَب دَهري في مُعانَدَتي

    لَم يَلقَ مِني لَه اِلّا اِطاعاتي

    Whenever my fate flared up in opposition to me,

    It met from me nothing but obedience.

  6. كَم قابَلَتني لَيال ريحُها سعر

    بَطيئَة السَير تَرمي بِالشَرارات

    How many nights confronted me, their wind a blaze,

    Slowly passing, casting sparks!

  7. لاقيتُها بِجَميل الصَبرِ مِن جَلدي

    وَبت أَسفى الثَرى مِن غَيث عبراتي

    I met them with beautiful patience, born of my fortitude,

    And spent the night watering the earth with the rain of my tears.

  8. كَم أَقعَدَتني أَيّامُ بصدمتها

    وَقُمت بِالعَزمِ مَشهور العنايات

    How often days laid me low with their blows,

    And I rose with resolve, renowned for my diligent care.

  9. وَكَم حَليفَة سعد اِذ تَعنفني

    تَقولُ سَعيك مَذموم النِهايات

    How often a woman favored by fortune, reproaching me,

    Says: Your endeavor has blameworthy outcomes.

  10. فَأَخفِض الطرف من حُزن أكابِده

    وَاِهمِل الدَمع من تِلكَ المَقالات

    So I lower my gaze from the sorrow I endure,

    And let tears flow because of those words.

  11. وَكَم لَصقت بِأَرض الظُلم ناصِيَتي

    فَقُمتُ من سجدَتي أَتلو تَحِيّاتي

    How often my forelock clung to the ground of oppression,

    And I rose from my prostration, reciting my salutations.

  12. وَكَم شَكَرت بِفَضل العَدلِ عاذلتي

    اِن أَحسَنتَ أَو اِطالَت في اِسآتي

    How often, in fairness, I thanked my reproacher,

    Whether she did good or persisted in mistreating me.

  13. وَما مَنَحت بِيَوم قَد اِتى غلطا

    بِالانسِ اِلّا وَقامَت فيهِ غاراتي

    And never, on a day that came by mistake, was I granted

    Companionship without my battles erupting that day.

  14. وَمُذ أَتَت عذلي تَبغي مُصادَرَتي

    ظُلماً مَنحتهمو أَسنى الكَرامات

    When my reproachers came seeking to dispossess me

    Unjustly, I bestowed on them the loftiest honors.

  15. وَكُلَّما عددوا ذَنبا رَميت بِهِ

    بَسَطت لِلعَفو راحات اِعتِرافاتي

    Whenever they enumerated a sin with which I was charged,

    I opened the palms of my confessions to seek pardon.

  16. وَكُلَّما حَرَّروا مَنشور مظلَمتي

    وَاِثبَتوا في الوَرى ظُلما جِناياتي

    Whenever they drafted a proclamation of my grievance,

    And unjustly established my crimes among humankind,

  17. اِظهَرت شُكرى لَهُم بِالرَغمِ عَن اِسفى

    وَكانَ ما كانَ مِن فَرط التِهاباتي

    I showed them my gratitude despite my sorrow,

    And what happened happened from my intense inner burning.

  18. وَلَم أَفه لِذَوى رد لِمَعرِفَتي

    اِنَّ الحَبيب حَبيب في المَسَرّات

    Nor did I utter a reply to them, knowing

    That a beloved is beloved in times of joy.

  19. أَقوم وَالضيم تَطويني تَوائِبه

    طَيّ السجل وَلَم اِسمَعُه أَناتي

    I rise while oppression's calamities fold me up

    Like a scroll, yet I let it hear none of my groans.

  20. أَخفى الأَسى اِن حَسود جاءَ يَسأَلني

    لِأَين تَسعى وَأَومى لاِبنِها جاتي

    I conceal my grief if an envious person comes to ask me:

    Where are you striving?—and I gesture [closing words unclear].

  21. اِن ضَل سَعي فَهادى الصَبر يُرشِدُني

    اِلى طَريقِ رَشادي وَاِستِقاماتي

    If my striving goes astray, patience's guide leads me

    To the path of my right guidance and steadfastness.

  22. وَلَم ازَل اِشتَكي بثى وَمَظلَمَتي

    لِعالم الجَهر مِني وَالخفيات

    I have never ceased to complain of my anguish and grievance

    To the Knower of what I reveal and what I conceal.

  23. علت ولاة الصفا اِشهى نَجائِبها

    لتقنص الفوز مِن وادي المودات

    Serenity's guardians mounted their choicest noble camels,

    To capture success from the valley of affections.

  24. وَبت بِاليَأسِ في بَطحاء متربتي

    وَكان شغلي لضيمي دق راحاتي

    While I spent the night in despair on the broad plain of my poverty,

    My task under oppression was beating my palms.

  25. أَقول لِلصَّبرِ لا عتب عَلى زَمَن

    أَعطى لِأَبنائِه أَسمى العطيات

    I say to patience: There is no reproach against a time

    That gave its children the loftiest gifts.

  26. فَقال مَهلا وَلا تَغررك شَوكَتِهِم

    فَالصَحو يَعقُبه سود الغَمامات

    It said: Gently! Do not let their might deceive you,

    For clear skies are followed by black clouds.

  27. فَلَيسَ كُل ملوم دام مُكتَئِباً

    وَما السَعيدُ سَعيد لِلمُلاقاة

    Not everyone blamed remains dejected,

    Nor is the fortunate fortunate at the encounter.

  28. فَدَهرِهِم غرهم جَهلا وَما عَلِموا

    اِنَّ الزَمانَ قَريب الاِلتِفاتات

    Their time deceived them in ignorance, and they did not know

    That time is swift to turn.

  29. فَما تَوارَت بغاة الغَم من أَسفى

    حَتّى أَناخوا بِاِجبال النكايات

    The seekers of grief had scarcely withdrawn from my sorrow

    Before they camped amid mountains of affliction.

  30. تَذكر الدَهر عادات لَه سَلَفَت

    وَقَد نَسوها بِحانات الخَلاعات

    Time remembered its former habits,

    Which they had forgotten in taverns of debauchery.

  31. وَرد دَهرى سِهام الحِقد صائِبَة

    اليَهمو فَغَدوا في شَرَّ حالات

    My fate sent back the arrows of hatred, unerring,

    At them, and they entered the worst of states.

  32. فَما اِستَطابوا أَمانيهِم وَلا قَنَصوا

    حَتّى اِستَوينا بِكَهف الاِعتِكافات

    They neither savored their wishes nor caught their quarry,

    Until we were equal in the cave of seclusion.

  33. قالَ الدهاة سِهام الدَهر قَد وَقَعَت

    مِن ذلِكَ الجمع في كَشح وَلبات

    The shrewd said: Time's arrows have struck

    Flanks and upper chests within that company.

  34. فَقُلت أَنعم بِهِ مِن حاذِق فَطن

    وَاِنه لَحقيق بِالعدالات

    I said: How excellent it is, skillful and discerning!

    Indeed, it is worthy of just judgments.

  35. ظَنّوا الزَمانَ اِباح السَعد طالعهم

    وَاِنَّهُ اِختَصَّ تحمى بِالنحوسات

    They thought Time had granted good fortune to their rising star,

    And had singled out [unclear, perhaps my star] for ill omens.

  36. وَالصَبر أَشهَدَني ما كنت اِغبطهم

    عَلَيهِ عاد اِعتِبارا في العبارات

    Patience made me witness how what I had envied them

    For had become a cautionary lesson expressed in words.

  37. فَلا يَهولنك حرمان بليت بِهِ

    وَلا يغرنك اِقبال غَدا آتي

    So let no deprivation that afflicts you terrify you,

    Nor let prosperity coming tomorrow beguile you.

  38. كِلاهُما وَالَّذي اِنشاكَ من علق

    يَفنى وَبعدم في بَعض اللَميحات

    Both of them, by Him who created you from clotted blood,

    Perish and vanish in a few brief moments.

  39. اِينَ المُلوكِ الاولى كانَت اِوامِرُهُم

    مَحدودَة كَسُيوفِ مُشرفيات

    Where are the kings whose commands were

    Sharp-edged like Mashrafi swords?

  40. تَمحى وَتثبت ما رامَت وَما رَفَضَت

    بَينَ الاِنامِ بِاِقوالِ سميات

    Erasing and establishing what they desired and what they rejected,

    Among humankind through lofty words.

  41. قَد اِحكُم الدَهر مرماهُم فَما لَبِثوا

    حَتّى اِنطَووا في الثَرى طي السجلات

    Time perfected its aim at them, and they scarcely lingered

    Before they were folded in the dust like scrolls.

  42. فَكَم مَضى عَزمُهُم في عِز سَطوَتِهِم

    قَولا وَفِعلا بِتَسديد الرِياسات

    How often their resolve prevailed in the glory of their might,

    In word and deed, directing the affairs of rule!

  43. وَكَم سَرى في الوَرى مَنشور سلطتهم

    شَرقا وَغَربا بِاِنواعِ السِياسات

    How often the proclamation of their power spread among humankind,

    East and west, through varied forms of governance!

  44. يَؤوب بِالعَجزِ اِقواهُم اِذا الم

    بِهِ أَلَم وَيبدى شَر حَسرات

    Their strongest returns in helplessness when

    Pain befalls him, and he reveals the bitterest regrets.

  45. يَلوذ ضَعفا بِأَذيالِ الطَبيب وَما

    يَغنى الطَبيب لَدى فَتكِ المنيات

    In weakness he takes refuge in the physician's skirts, yet

    The physician is of no avail when death strikes.

  46. وَكَم لِفَقد عَزيز مَنهمو سكبت

    مَدامِعَ كُن بِالنعما مَصونات

    How often, at the loss of a loved one among them, were shed

    Tears once sheltered by prosperity.

  47. وَطالَما أَحرَقت حَسراتِهِم كَبدا

    تَضعضعت مِنهُ أَركان بِالنُعما مَصونات

    How often their regrets burned a liver,

    Whence pillars once sheltered by blessings were shaken.

  48. فَلا تَقُل لي مَتاع وَهو عارِيَة

    وَاليَأس عِندي راحات اِستِراحاتي

    So do not say: I have wealth, when it is only a loan.

    Despair, to me, is the comfort of my repose.

  49. وَقَد بَسَطت أَكف الذل ضارِعَة

    لِخالِق الخَلق جبار السموات

    I have spread the palms of humility in supplication

    To the Creator of creation, the Almighty of the heavens.

  50. وَبت أَدعو عَليم السر قائِلَة

    يا غافِرَ الذَنب جدلى بِاستِجابات

    I spent the night calling upon the Knower of secrets, saying:

    O Forgiver of sin, grant me answers!

  51. يا كاشِف الضُر عَن أَيوب مرحمة

    حينَ اِستغاثَك من مس المَضَرّات

    O You who mercifully removed affliction from Ayyub

    When he called for Your aid against affliction's touch;

  52. وَصاحِب الحوت قَد أَنحببته كرما

    لِما دَعا بِاِبتِهال في الضَراعات

    And the companion of the whale—you loved him [wording uncertain] in Your generosity,

    When he called in fervent prayer and supplication.

  53. أَنقذته يا اله العَرش مِن ظُلم

    لِظُلمَة النَفس لاقته بِاِعنات

    You rescued him, O God of the Throne, from darkness

    That, through the soul's darkness, beset him with affliction.

  54. وَاِبيضت العَين من يَعقوب وَاِنسَكَبَت

    حُزنا عَلى سُيوف في فَيض عِبرات

    Yaqub's eye turned white, and overflowed

    In sorrow over swords [possibly Yusuf], in a flood of tears.

  55. وَمُذ شَكا البث لِلرحمن عادَ لَهُ

    نور العُيونِ قَرينا بِالمَسَرّات

    When he complained of his anguish to the Merciful, there returned to him

    The light of his eyes, joined with joy.

  56. وَيوسف السَيد الصَديق حينَ دَعا

    في ظُلمَة السِجن من بَعد الغِيابات

    And Yusuf, the noble, the utterly truthful—when he prayed

    In the darkness of prison, after the hidden depths,

  57. أَوليته الحُكم وَالمُلك العَظيم كَما

    آتَيتُهُ العِلم مِن اِسنى العِنايات

    You granted him judgment and mighty kingship, just as

    You gave him knowledge out of Your loftiest favors.

  58. وَمُذ عَلِمت بِاِخلاص الخَليل غَدا

    وَالنار من حَولِهِ في رَوض جنات

    When You knew the Friend's sincerity, he found himself

    Among paradisal gardens, though fire surrounded him.

  59. عادَت سَلاما وَبَردا بَعد ما اِشتَعَلَت

    وَلَم يَفه من يَقين بِالشِكايات

    It became peace and coolness after it had blazed,

    And, in his certainty, he voiced no complaints.

  60. وَقَد رَفَعَت يَمينَ الذُل داعِيَة

    اِلَيكَ يا رَب أَرجو غَفر زلاتي

    I have raised my right hand in humility, praying

    To You, O Lord, hoping for forgiveness of my slips.

  61. رَبّي اِلهي مَعبودي وَمُلتَجىء

    اِلَيكَ أَرفَعُ بثى وَاِبتِهالاتي

    My Lord, my God, whom I worship! Seeking refuge

    In You, I raise my anguish and my supplications.

  62. قَد ضَرَّني طَعن حسادي وَأَنتَ تَرى

    ظُلمي وَعِلمُكَ يَغنى عَن سُؤالاتي

    The thrusts of those who envy me have hurt me, and You see

    The wrong I suffer; Your knowledge suffices without my requests.

  63. فَاِمنُن عَلى بِالاف لِتُخرِجُني

    مِنَ الضَلالِ اِلى سبل الهِدايات

    So grant me thousands [of favors], to bring me out

    Of error into the paths of guidance.

  64. أَنت الخَبير بِحالي وَالبَصيرُ بِهِ

    فَاِفتَج لِهذا الدعا بابَ الاِجابات

    You know my state and see it clearly;

    So open for this prayer the door of answers.

  65. فَكَيفَ أَشكو لِمَخلوق وَقَد لَجَأت

    لَكَ الخَلائِق في يسر وَشدات

    How could I complain to a creature, when

    All creatures have sought refuge in You, in ease and hardship?

  66. فَيا لَها من جراح كُلَّما اِتسعت

    أَعيت طبيب رُغما عَن مُداواتي

    Ah, what wounds these are! Whenever they widen,

    They baffle a physician, despite my treatment.

  67. أَنتَ الشَهيد عَلى قَول أَفوه بِهِ

    ما دُمت عائِشة فَالحَمدُ غاياتي

    You are witness to the words I utter:

    As long as I am Aisha, praise shall be my aim.