إِلَهي لا تُعَذِّبني فَإِنّي

مُقِرٌّ بِالَّذي قَد كانَ مِنّي

My God, do not torment me, for I

Confess to all that I have done.

فَما لي حِيلَةٌ إِلا رَجائي

بِعَفوِكَ إِن عَفَوتَ وَحُسنِ ظَنّي

I have no recourse except my hope

In Your pardon—should You forgive—and my trust in You.

فَكَم مِن زَلَّةٍ لِي في الخطايا

عَضَضتُ أَناملي وَقَرَعتُ سِنّي

How many a slip have I made into sin,

Biting my fingertips and grinding my teeth in remorse.

يَظُّنُ الناسُ بي خَيراً وَإِنّي

لَشَرُّ الخَلقِ إِن لَم تَعفُ عَنّي

People think well of me, yet truly I

Am the worst of creation if You do not pardon me.

وَبَينَ يَديَّ مُحتَبسٌ طَويلٌ

كَأَنّي قَد دُعِيتُ لَهُ كَأَنّي

And before me lies a long confinement,

As though I have already been summoned to it, as though I...

أَجُنُّ بِزَهرَةِ الدُنيا جُنوناً

وَأَفنِي العُمرَ مِنها بِالتَمَنّي

I am possessed by madness for this world's splendor,

Wasting my life away in empty wishes.

فَلَو أَنّي صَدَقتُ الزَهدَ فيها

قَلَبتُ لَها حَقّاً ظَهرَ المُجَنِّ

Had I been sincere in my renunciation of it,

I would have truly turned the back of my shield against it.