1. وا طول حُزني في غدٍ وتَحسّري

    وفَضِيحتي في الحشر إن لم تَسْتُر

    Alas, how long my sorrow and regret will be tomorrow!

    And my disgrace at the Gathering, if You do not shield me!

  2. وا حيْرتي إن فاز أقْراني غَداً

    وَوَقَفتُ وَحْدي وقفَة المتحيرِّ

    Alas for my bewilderment if my peers triumph tomorrow,

    And I stand alone, as one bewildered!

  3. وا سَوأتي ن أَفْردَتْنِي حائراً

    أَهْلي وأسْلمني هنالك مَعْشري

    Alas for my shame if I am left alone, bewildered,

    By my family, and my people forsake me there!

  4. وا لهف نفسي حينَ تكشَفُ في غدٍ

    عن سُوء أعمالي ثيابُ تَسَتُّري

    Alas for my soul's anguish when tomorrow are stripped away

    From my evil deeds the garments of my concealment!

  5. وَوَدِدْتُ فيهِ عندَ نَشْرِ صحيفتي

    أنّي نُشِرْتُ وأنّها لَمْ تُنْشرِ

    And on that day, when my record is unfolded, I shall wish

    That I had been sawn apart, and that it had not been unfolded.

  6. يا نفسُ كم هذا النّزوعُ إلى الهوى

    طالَ اكتسابُكِ للذِّنوبِ فأقصرِي

    O soul, how long this yearning toward desire?

    Long have you gone on accumulating sins; desist!

  7. يا عينُ ويحكِ إنَّ أقراني ثوَوْا

    في الرَّمِس فَاعْتَبري بهِمْ واسْتَعبري

    O eye, woe to you! Indeed, my peers have come to rest

    In the grave; take warning from them, and weep.

  8. هذي ديارهُم بَلاَقع بعدَهُمْ

    فَسَلِي البَلاقعَ عَنْهمُ واسْتخبري

    These are their dwellings—barren wastes after their passing.

    So ask the barren wastes about them, and seek their news.

  9. واذْري المدامعَ حسرةً وتلهُّفاً

    وتغسّلي بمياهِهَا وتطهّري

    And shed tears in regret and anguish,

    And wash yourself in their waters, and purify yourself.

  10. فازَ الرِّجالُ الصَّالحون بِسَبْقهِم

    ولحقْتُ بعدهمُ لحوقَ مُقصِّرِ

    The righteous men have triumphed by taking the lead,

    And I followed after them, as one who falls short.

  11. ما لي غَفلتُ عَنِ المعادِ وشانِه

    وأمنتُ هولَ نقاشِ يومِ المحشرِا

    Why did I grow heedless of the Resurrection and its import,

    And feel safe from the terror of strict reckoning on the Day of Gathering?

  12. ما لي عَكَفتُ علَى الذّنوب وكَسْبها

    وأمِنْتُ مِن تَبعاتها أمْنَ البري

    Why did I cling to sins and keep committing them,

    And feel safe from their consequences as an innocent man does?

  13. وهَصَرتُ غُصْنَ اللَّهوِ في روضِ الهوى

    بيدِ البطالَةِ لَيْتَني لم أَهْصِرِ

    And I bent the bough of idle pleasure in the garden of desire,

    With the hand of idleness—if only I had not bent it!

  14. وجَرَيتُ طَلْقاً في مَيادِينِ الصّبا

    ومَشيتُ فيها مشية المسْتكبرِ

    And I ran freely in the fields of youth,

    And walked in them with an arrogant man's gait.

  15. يا خاطبَ الدّنيا حذار فإنها

    بادٍ بَشاشتُها وباطنها وري

    O suitor of this world, beware, for she

    Shows her cheerfulness plainly, but her inward self is diseased.

  16. سَلَبتْ زخارفُها نُهاكَ ورُبَّما

    كشفَتْ قناعاً عن شنيع المخْبَرِ

    Her adornments have stolen your reason, and at times

    She has lifted a veil from her hideous inner nature.

  17. وأضَعْتَ عمرَكَ في عمارتِها ولَوْ

    تَدري حَقيقة أَمْرِها لم تَعْمرِ

    And you have wasted your life building her up; had you

    Known her true nature, you would not have built her up.

  18. غَرَتْكَ كاذِبةُ المُنى فأَطْعتَها

    لَوْ كُنتَ ذَا عَقلٍ بها لَمْ تُغْرِ

    She deceived you with false hopes, and you obeyed her;

    Had you possessed reason, you would not have been deceived by her.